The Light of Confidence

February 19, 2023

In “The Light of Confidence,” Pastor Dave Gustavsen concludes the "Walk in the Light" series from the book of 1 John. John ends his letter with encouragement that we, as believers, will have confidence of eternal life, confidence of answered prayer, and confidence of spiritual protection.

This winter we’ve been walking through the book of 1 John, which is a letter written by John the Apostle to Christians living at the end of the first century. And there’s a phrase in the first chapter that we’ve been using as the big idea for the whole series. In 1 John 1:7 it says walk in the light, as he is in the light. One last time, would you say that with me? Walk in the light, as he is in the light. That’s the invitation of this letter: to come out of the shadows and live your life in the openness and truth of Christ. It’s a beautiful way to live.

So today we’re wrapping up the series, and at the very end of the letter, John talks about The Light of Confidence. What does it mean to be confident? It means to know something for sure. Last week we talked about the recent rise in agnosticism. An agnostic is someone who says, “I don’t know. I don’t know about God; I’m not even sure spiritual truth is knowable at all; so I’m just going to live my life and try to find happiness the best I can.” That’s a growing view in today’s world. More and more people are saying, “We just don’t know.”

But there’s also some encouraging news. About four months ago the Barna Group interviewed about 2,000 U.S. adults about their spiritual beliefs. And one of the statements they were asked to respond to was this: “I am more open to God today than I was before the pandemic.” And look how the responses differed by generation. Isn’t that interesting? The younger the generation, the more openness to God has increased since the pandemic. The highest rise is in Generation Z, which is people who are currently 25 and under. Now: those same people tend to have very low trust in any kind of organized religion, but they are spiritually open, which is a good thing—because it means they’re willing to consider moving past their agnosticism and finding God.

So as John finishes this letter, the word “know”—k-n-o-w—shows up seven times. John wanted us to walk away from this letter knowing some things for sure. Because when we walk in the light, with Christ, there should be a confidence to our lives that cannot be shaken.

So let’s read the passage together—1 John 5, starting in verse 13. Let’s hear the Word of God…

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. This is the Word of the Lord.

So…in a world that is so uncertain, here are three things that we can be confident of:

First, Confidence of Eternal Life. 1 John 5:13—I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. If you heard last week’s message, I mentioned a visit that I had with a woman who was nearing the end of her life. Even though her body was fading, there was a radiance and a joy to her, because she has eternal life—which is not just about quantity of life, right? In the Bible, “eternal life” is something we can have right now, because of our connection with the eternal God. So it’s about quality of life as much as quantity. That’s what I saw in that beautiful woman.

And John says, “You can know that you have that. You don’t have to guess. You don’t have to just hope. You can know.” Okay, based on what? If you believe in the name of the Son of God. Okay, so you’re saying it’s my faith that saves me? Well, no, it’s Jesus who saves you, but it’s your faith that connects you to Christ. One of my seminary professors explained it like this: he said imagine it’s a 90-degree day, and you’ve been working in the yard for hours, and you’re painfully thirsty. And someone hands you a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade with a straw in it. And you drink from that straw, and it’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted. Now: did the straw quench your thirst? Of course not. What quenched your thirst? The lemonade! So what was the role of the straw? It was just the vehicle to get the lemonade from the glass into you. And that’s exactly the role that faith plays in salvation. Your faith doesn’t save you! Jesus does. But without faith, God’s salvation would never get from Jesus to you. Does that make sense?

So…how can you know that you have eternal life? If you have faith—if you believe in Christ. Well, that’s pretty simple! Yeah, it is. But it’s also possible to fool ourselves into thinking we have faith when we really don’t. So throughout this letter, John has been giving us some gut checks to test if our faith is real.

First, if you truly believe in Christ, here’s the first test: you will have love for people. 1 John 2:9 says Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 1 John 4:7-8 says Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows god. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. So over and over, all through this letter, John reminds us that genuine belief in Christ always leads to love for people. And when he says “love,” he’s not just talking about words; it’s a love that is active and sacrificial.

So here’s the test: look back over these past couple of weeks. If you realize your life has been pretty much all about you—your work, your problems, your stuff—and you don’t really know or care much about anyone else, you should question whether you have the real thing. Because genuine belief in Christ always leads to love for people. On the other hand, if you look back over these past two weeks and there have been times when you have listened to someone share their problems, or helped your neighbor move something, or sent a text of encouragement to someone who’s struggling, or visited someone in the hospital, or allowed yourself to be interrupted, or offered free babysitting to someone…those are all good signs that you have eternal life. Those things don’t earn you eternal life; but they give evidence that you have it. Because belief in Christ leads to love for people. John has been adamant about that!

Here’s the second gut check: when you believe in Christ, you will have obedience to God. 1 John 2:3-4—We know we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 1 John 3:24—The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. Now: you could get really paranoid

about this. Especially if you have a sensitive conscience, you could look at your life and say, “Well, I don’t keep all God’s commands! I had a bad thought yesterday. Someone told an off-color joke, and I laughed at it. I must not be a real Christian!” Some of you know what that feels like, right? Highly sensitive conscience. But this is not meant to make us paranoid.

Here’s the question: do you have a desire to please God? Do you have such a reverence for him—what the Bible calls “the fear of the Lord”—mixed with a love for him, that you want more than anything else to please him? That’s what this is talking about. Not perfection. And when you do fall short, do you confess your sins? Like it says in 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If that’s your desire—if the aim of your life is to please God—that’s evidence that you have the real thing. Because belief in Christ always results in obedience to God.

So if you look at your life, and it’s obvious that you love people and obey God, you have reason to believe your faith in Christ is genuine. And John says, “Because of that faith, you can know that you have eternal life.” You don’t have to wonder. You can walk through life saying, “If this is my time—if God calls me out of this world today—I know where I’m going.” That’s not presumptuous; it’s not arrogant; it’s just taking God at his Word.

When you have that confidence, I’m not saying it makes you reckless or careless with your life. But you hold your physical life a little more loosely. I remember the first time I traveled to Colombia, you know, the US State Department says, “We don’t recommend travel” to these certain areas we were going to, because of the danger. So before I left, I wrote a hand-written note to Norma Jean, and I put it in my desk drawer at The Chapel, and I told my co-worker that if anything happens to me, to give it to Norma Jean. And it basically said, “If you’re reading this letter, it means I never made it home. But I need you to know that I am truly home. And I’ll see you there.” So far she’s never had to read that letter. But I’ve thought of that many times, as I’ve traveled to Central and South America, and Africa, and even to Paterson. When you believe in Christ, and you know he’s got you, you hold your life a little more loosely, and you become willing to take some risks for the sake of love.

So in a world with so much uncertainty, you can know you have eternal life.

Secondly, you can have Confidence of Answered Prayer. Verses 14 and 15: 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. The word that’s translated “confidence” is the Greek word parresia, and it means confidence or boldness or speaking without fear. In other words, we don’t have to worry that we’re not praying exactly the right words. We don’t have to worry that God might be too busy for us, or that he’ll be annoyed by us, or that he’ll only listen to us if we’ll clean up our lives. People can be like that; but God is different. He invites us to come any time, for any reason, and just talk to him. Like it says in Hebrews 4:16, Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. And John is saying the same thing.

Now, notice what this is not saying. It’s not saying, “Whatever you ask God for, he’s going to give it to you.” What does it say? If we ask anything….what? …according to his will. So the obvious question is: how do you know if something is God’s will?

Well, part of it is you allow the Word of God to shape the things you pray for. A few years ago, the president of Columbia Theological Seminary was a guy named Steve Hayner. And at 66 years old, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had thousands of people praying for his healing. But after a

few rounds of chemotherapy, it became clear that the treatment wasn’t working. And in a blog post, here’s what he wrote to his friends and supporters:

“I truly don't know what God has planned … I could receive ‘healing’ through whatever means, or I could continue to deteriorate. But life is about a lot more than physical health. It is measured by a lot more than medical tests and vital signs. More important…is God's overall presence with us, nourishing, equipping, transforming, empowering, and sustaining us for whatever might be God's call to my life today.”

How could you say something like that? Especially for someone who had given his life to serving God—how could he not expect or even demand that God heal him? Because his whole view of life was shaped by God’s Word. And in God’s Word it’s clear that life is so much more than physical health. It’s clear that God doesn’t promise physical healing to anyone—in fact, eventually everyone’s body is going to wear out. So of course you pray for physical healing, but you also pray for things like peace and wisdom and spiritual power and hope; you pray that the family will draw closer through the suffering, and that people will be drawn to Christ through the way you suffer. You pray for things that can’t be measured on medical charts. So allow Scripture to shape what you pray for.

And then here’s the second thing: when you pray for anything, you recognize that God is God, and you’re not—so you always submit yourself to God’s wisdom. Right before Jesus was arrested and sent to the cross, he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if it’s your will, let this cup pass from me.” Because in his humanness, he dreaded the suffering ahead of him. But then he added one more line: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” He submitted himself to the Father’s plan. And every time we ask God for something, we don’t necessarily need to say those words, but that should be our attitude: “Lord, I’m asking you for this—this is what I want.” In fact, that’s how I’m praying for the prostate cancer in my body, and I’ll be having surgery in April to deal with it: “Lord, remove all the cancer from my body.” That’s my prayer—“take this cup from me. But…nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Lord, if there’s a reason why you don’t want to physically heal me right now, help me to submit myself joyfully to your will.” That’s my prayer, and I’d love for you to join me in it.

I appreciate the way Tim Keller said it: “God will either give us what we ask, or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knows.” I do not know everything God knows…so I choose to submit myself to his wisdom and his goodness.

Now: in verses 16 and 17, John says, “If you see someone committing a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray for them,” and then he says there’s also a sin that does lead to death—and I’m not talking about praying for them. What’s that about? Well, it’s a very debated passage, and frankly, we don’t have time to get into it right now. But since it’s so unclear, here’s my advice: pray for people who are sinning. Pray that they will repent and turn to God and find life in Christ.

So here’s the point: knowing that God is good and wise, and that he loves me as his son, I have confidence to come to him any time, about any issue, and pour my heart out to him. And I do that. A lot. You should, too.

Years ago, Billy Graham was invited to be interviewed by the Today show on NBC. So he got to the studio on New York, and one of the producers told Billy Graham’s assistant that they had set aside a private room for Reverend Graham to pray before the broadcast. And the assistant said, “Thank you—but he won’t need that room.” The producer was surprised—like, why wouldn’t this world-famous Christian leader want to pray before coming on national TV? And Billy Graham’s assistant said, “Mr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning, he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on

the way over n the car, and he’ll probably be praying all the way through the interview.” I love that answer. Because he was a man who was so confident in his Father.

So in closing his letter, John says we can know we have eternal life; we can know God answers prayer. And then one more thing:

We can know we have Spiritual Protection. Look at verses 18 and 19: 18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. Notice how he keeps saying, “We know”? So here’s what he’s saying: as believers in Christ, we are living in a world that, in many ways, is hostile to our faith. In fact, John says, the whole world is under the control of the evil one. What does he mean by that? Well, Jesus frequently referred to Satan as “the prince of this world.” The Bible promises that one day he will be destroyed, but for now, he’s been given temporary influence over the world. Ephesians 6 says the real battle we face isn’t against flesh and blood; it’s against the spiritual powers of this world.

This is heavy stuff! But it explains so much. It explains how the world system can look at things that are clearly wrong, and say they’re good. For example, at the Grammy awards two weeks ago, the musical artist Sam Smith performed his song, “Unholy,” literally dressed as Satan, with worshipers dancing around him. I’m not making this up. And the crowd went wild—because the world is under the control of the evil one. Millions of teenagers spend all day on social media, comparing themselves with everyone else, and it’s just making them sad—unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression, linked directly to Instagram. And advertisers keep pumping billions of advertising dollars into it. Because the world is under the control of the evil one. Guys—you know me—I’m not a whiny curmudgeon. But there’s so much evidence of this: there’s rampant sexual confusion, alcohol abuse and pornography use are at all-time highs. Because the world is under the control of the evil one. For now. That’s just reality.

But here’s the good news—look at verse 18 again: We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin—in other words, if you’re a child of God, you have the power to live different from how the world says you should live. In fact, if it’s real, you will be different. You won’t be perfect, but you’ll be different. You’ll stand out. Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do that. The pressure is too much.” But it’s not about your strength—look at the rest of the verse: the One who was born of God—who’s that talking about? Jesus! …the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. Listen: if you belong to Jesus Christ, Satan cannot touch you. He can tempt you; he can influence you; but your heart belongs to Jesus, and there is nothing Satan can do about that. Just like we read in 1 John 4:4—he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. You have the greater power of the resurrected Jesus Christ, protecting you and empowering you to shine your light in a dark world. To be different. To be a little rebellious against this world system.

The world we’re living in has become so confused in so many ways, and if you take your eyes off Jesus, it’s easy to lose your confidence. So turn your eyes to Jesus.

Because of him, we can know we have eternal life. So hold this life loosely. Take some risks for him.

Because of him, we can know that God answers our prayers. So pray constantly—don’t hold back.

And because of him, we can know that we are protected from evil. So stop being intimidated by the world, and shine your light for Christ.

A couple of times now I’ve mentioned this precious woman that I visited in her home—so close to death, yet so radiant with eternal life. So when I told the story in last week’s sermon, she and her husband were watching online. They knew I was talking about her, and her husband said she really enjoyed the message. And then on Monday—the very next day—I got a message that she had passed out of this life into the presence of God. Can you even imagine the light in Jesus’ eyes, and the smile on his face, as he welcomed his daughter home?

Guys, this life is so fragile. You never know when your time will be up. So choose today to walk in the light, as he is in the light.