We Shall See God

Reassuring Our Heart

(1 John 3:18-20, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 6, 2016)

[18] Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

[19] By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

[20] for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart,

and he knows everything.

In Deed and in Truth

God calls us to do more than talk. Love is proven not by words, but by deeds and truth. But it is common for us to face doubts and even self-accusations when we are undertaking a good work for God and for His people. How can we fight the good fight and not give up?

Not everything with a good final outcome is always immediately successful. This is the world that we live in. We may fail at many good endeavors before our Good Shepherd leads us to a place of green pastures and still waters. While we wait for the Lord's deliverance, we need to trust Him and move forward with our calling as worshipers and servants. (Matthew 21:28-32)

We Shall Know

These verses by John teach us that worshiping and serving are a great aid to our reassurance of the Lord's love and of His intentions for us. We have in front of us what the prophet Jeremiah called a good “future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14) John instructs his readers that we can and will “know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart [note: singular] before him.”

While there is such a thing as false assurance, true assurance is a great benefit that is possible for us as a church and is very much worth pursuing. The theologians that composed our Confession of Faith in the 17^th century put it this way: “Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.” (WCF 18-1, cites 1 John 3:18-19)

It is hard to maintain a healthy sense of our eternal security unless we “walk in all good conscience before him.” As we think about the gift of assurance we can easily lose track of salvation by grace if we are not careful in our thinking. Tender hearts may and do struggle with their spiritual condition. With David they can cry out, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation.” Multiplying words of love for God may not help us here. We need to “love in deed and in truth.” Until we settle matters of obedience, we may find our heart rightly unsettled.

Hope in God

What should we do when we find ourselves longing for stability and rest but finding little or none? Where else can we go but to the arms of Jesus. We need to turn back to the Lord—in the words of Psalms 42 and 43, “Put your hope in God.” That is precisely the point that John is pressing upon his readers. Yes, our hearts may in fact condemn us. But God is greater than our heart. He knows everything. And He gives more grace. (James 4:6) Our only recourse is to humble ourselves before Him and to do what He commands.

Assurance of salvation is not the presumption of false pride, but a gift of God who knows everything. But how can we face the future with confidence if we treasure sin in our heart? Words of faith are not enough. God calls us to love in deed and truth. Above all, our confidence is that we are known and loved by the Almighty, who has saved us by the blood of His own Son.

Applying the truth of assurance in a difficult world

We may yet wonder why life is not working as we planned. Once again, judging the success of a story before its conclusion is an unnecessarily discouraging habit. Of course we do need to make sure that we are not treasuring sin in our vexed souls. “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Psalm 66:18) When we have done all we can to set apart the Lord as holy, not just in what we say, but in what we do, then we need to remember His good promises and stand on them. (Ephesians 6:13)

Consider the life of Mordecai for a moment. He served the Lord as a servant of Ahasuerus, the king over the vast Persian Empire five centuries before the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. At times it appeared that His good deeds had been forgotten by the king and by God. He found himself maliciously hated by a wicked man, Haman, who clearly had the ear of the king. Even his close relation, Esther, was at first unwilling to listen to his instruction at a key moment in the story. Mordecai had an understanding of the extreme present danger for the nation of God's elect that he loved so sincerely, but who was with him in his love for the Jews? Eventually Esther cared more about her people than about her own life, but that improvement in her character did not come easily. Mordecai had to challenge her, and everyone needed to humble themselves before the Lord in fasting. How alone was Mordecai? See Esther 4:1-3. It turned out that there was a great mourning among the Jews, but did Mordecai consider himself to be utterly alone when he put on sackcloth and wailed for his people? It would have been a bad time for him to evaluate the truth of God's love or of God's promises based on his own experiences.

What about Jesus? Even our Messiah seemed to be nearly out of strength right after the great moment of the Transfiguration. (Mark 9:19) Coming down from the mountain He was assaulted by the unbelief of all those around Him. He cried out, “How long am I to bear with you?” Yet He kept on going, even to His appointed death on the cross. Why did He do it? Was it because everything felt great? No. “For the joy that was set before Him,” He “endured the cross, despising the shame.” What now for Jesus? He is “seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

What must we do, then, if our hearts accuse us. Is there something to repent of? By all means do so. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” And do so continually, not believing any lie that would discourage you from the obvious duty of obeying God. Then we must “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Brothers and sisters, whatever else may take place in this fallen world, whether internationally or in our church, stand on the word and keep on going. Remember this good Word to all who will repent and believe, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Old Testament Reading—Esther 10 – The Greatness of Mordecai

Gospel Reading—Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.