Assurance- 1 John 5:13 ESV
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Do you have assurance of your salvation? Some people do not. Some people are either constantly or occasionally questioning whether they are really saved or not. But John does not want it to be this way. He wants you to know that if you are a Christian, (you have believed in the name of the Son of God), you can have that assurance.
John, the writer of the Gospel According to John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation, wrote the word believe more than 80 times. Every time, he used the same Greek word. The word he used is a word that does not mean intellectual belief alone, but belief that trusts. It is saving faith. If you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Have you placed your faith in Christ? Have you ceased relying on your self for your salvation and trusted Christ to save you? Have you committed yourself to His lordship? If you have, this verse applies to you.
Salvation is not dependent on our feelings. It is a promise from God himself. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Notice also that John says that you may know that you have eternal life. He does not say that someday you will have eternal life. He says that you have it already. Eternal life is not something to be granted to you at some future time. Eternal life begins for you the moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
If you have not yet trusted Christ for your salvation, do so today. You have God’s word that when you do, you will receive eternal life and will be able to have the assurance John speaks of here. Your faith grants you eternal life. You will know that you have it. No doubt about it. If you are a Christian with doubts, stop doubting and start trusting Christ today.