“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.” (1 John 5:13 ESV)
Missionary work is generally considered to be outward: missionaries proclaim the good news of Christ to the lost and disciple believers. This is an appropriate focus, as that is the heart of the missional task. However, as they proclaim the gospel to others, they have an equal duty to proclaim the gospel to themselves continually. The truth that comes out of their mouths flows from the truth that has taken root in their hearts.
John’s letter carries significant importance for evangelism. He clearly lays out the non-negotiables of the gospel and the broad-reaching influence that faith has on life. He holds up Jesus, in his true deity and true humanity, but he does not do so only, or even chiefly, for the unbeliever. Verse 13 gives a clear purpose statement. The reason he wrote this letter was “that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Who is the “you” to whom he is referring? “You who believe in the name of the Son of God.” He is writing to those who are already believers in Christ to give them assurance of their faith. He does this by presenting the fullness of Christ’s person and work. He makes a direct connection between the clarity and precision of one’s faith and the certainty of that faith. Confusion regarding the object of faith not only opens the door to outright heresy, but it can destabilize even true faith to the point that believers may not be confident that they do indeed possess true faith.
John’s pastoral heart is displayed in full color. His desire is not only to see converts but to see those converts possess unshakable assurance as part of their spiritual maturity. The doubting believer is fully saved, but he is not able to engage in the fullness of his salvation. He is, as it were, standing on the outskirts of the community of God’s people, wondering if he even belongs. These weak sheep need to be reminded of the true Shepherd. They need to be reminded of the voice they hear and know to be their master (John 10:27).
Practically, this means that missionaries cannot neglect to feed their own souls. They cannot expect to expend themselves in gospel ministry to others while neglecting gospel ministry to themselves without their faith being affected. They must preach the gospel to themselves and to one another. They must pray for one another. They must remind one another of who Christ is and what he has done. Without this inward work, the outward work will suffer.
John’s words also mean that assurance of salvation is both attainable and important. You can be sure that you are saved. While assurance is not a mechanical process that only requires certain steps to be done in the proper sequence, it is also not a completely abstract reality. Assurance, as John has gone to great lengths to communicate, does not primarily depend on the quality of one’s faith but upon the trustworthiness of the one in whom believers place their faith.
John’s goal is to show his readers who Jesus is, not for the sake of conversion, since that has already happened for his audience, but so that they will come to know him better and trust him more fully. When we see all of Christ as the God-man, the faith that is plagued by weakness will be bolstered. Like impurities that are removed by the heat of fire, the lack of certainty that remains in our faith is removed as we come nearer to the glory of Christ revealed to us.
Unbelievers need Christ. But when unbelievers become believers, they still need Christ. In this sense, the pastor’s task and the evangelist’s task are two sides of the same coin. The pastor proclaims Christ to the flock within the visible fold; the evangelist proclaims Christ to the flock not yet within the fold. The most important role of each is to share Christ.
If you are Christ’s and Christ is yours, you have every reason to be certain that he will carry you to the end.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for saving us and adopting us in Christ. Thank you that he is able to save to the uttermost all who come to you through him. May we grow nearer to Jesus each day, that our faith may be strengthened and our witness emboldened.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for missionaries producing and printing curriculum for children’s evangelism, teacher training, and theological education in Papua New Guinea.
- Wednesday: Pray for missionaries who serve with City Bible Forum in Australia and Japan as they create spaces and opportunities in the workplace to talk about the big issues of life and faith.
- Thursday: Pray for missionaries working with Reaching Africa’s Unreached in northern Uganda.
- Friday: Pray for the staff and students reaching their community through a Christian International School in North Africa.
- Saturday: Pray for the ministry of the Worthy of Life Prenatal and Family Counseling Center in Peru.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries serving through camp ministry.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving in Mexico.
Featured Opportunity to Serve:
Experienced Counselors and Trainers
Location: Peru
Our team is looking for spiritually mature counselors experienced in crisis pregnancy situations and family counseling to train Peruvian staff members at a pro-life prenatal ministry.
