Follow The Leader
1 John 3:1-6

What do you believe about security of salvation?

The security of salvation is a critical question. Can someone with genuine faith in Christ lose their salvation? This leads to two related questions: "Does continued sinning mean I don't know Christ?" and "Can a true believer lose their salvation?"

How do we deal with Verse 6? It can be very difficult to understand. John writes, "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him" (NKJV).  Over the centuries, scholars and theologians have attempted to explain this text and how it relates to John's other statements in this epistle that seem to contradict these words.

I believe John is talking about a particular type of sin. The Greek term is Anomia, which means lawlessness (see verse 5). It's a sin that encompasses the behaviors and actions of the false teachers of 1 John. Their sin is ultimately a denial of the Biblical Christ.

A straightforward reading of our text could cause even the most dedicated Christian to have fears. John writes, "Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him" (verse 6b). That's a strong statement. If every thought or action I’ve ever had were displayed for all to see, it would be clear how often I fall short. Does that mean I don't know Jesus? Of course not!

I used the following statement when summing up our text during yesterday's sermon:

"Everyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ as their holy, sinless Savior Who came to offer Himself on the cross to forgive their sins does not permanently rebel against the very one they’ve placed their faith, hope, and confidence in!"

Believers might waver in their profession throughout their lives (often because of habitual sinning), but they will persist in Christ and in the good works that evidence justification and finally be glorified.

There is only one sin that reveals you don't know Christ: Rejecting Jesus.

Those who genuinely believe in Jesus are secure: you will not commit this sin. How do I know? Later in chapter 3, John says God’s “seed” remains in believers. John says, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannotsin, because he has been born (verse 9 NKJV). Those who are true children of God cannot commit the sin of anomia (more on that next Sunday).

The test is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith. The test is not your sinlessness but the Savior who died for sin! The object of saving faith must be the Biblical Jesus! Paul explains this when writing, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test (2 Corinthians 13:5)! The Bibleref.com commentary helps clarify, "In short, Paul is asking them to see if Christ is truly in them. Do they still believe what they believed when Paul first introduced them to Jesus? Or will they find that their trust has been in someone or something else?

In summary, the security of salvation does not depend on our ability to be sinless but on the unchanging faithfulness of Christ. True believers are secure because their faith rests in Him, not in their own strength.