Christian Assurance II

Having a Godly conscience is a great source of joy and assurance. Our conscience can be likened to the deputy of the Holy Spirit, there to alert us to any thought or activity that leads to sin. God has given us all consciences so that we may look back on our lifestyle and be convicted of any and all sins that are hindering our walk with the Lord.

John shows us in his epistle the results of a properly functioning conscience and tells of the joy we will have by knowing for sure that we are children of God. During the time this epistle was written, there were many erroneous views of Christianity, much like there is today. Satan always seeks to attack and minimize Biblical teaching by the insertion of error. One of Satan's favourite tactics is to cripple or disable the conscience of a Christian through erroneous beliefs.

There is much confusion in the broader evangelical community as to who and what Christians are, but there really is no just cause for this. There is no accommodation for error in the belief of Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear as to who Jesus is, what He taught, and what me must believe about Him. We must be aware that just because someone calls themselves a Christian, does not make them a Christian. John will tell us in his epistle what a Christian actually is.

When John says “we will know this” he's inviting us to currently and constantly look at our past actions for evidence that we are in the family of God. John points out there are only 2 families, children of God, and children of the devil and we can know them by what they believe and practice. A properly trained conscience will allow us to do this.