That You May Know

That You May Know

Bible: 1 John 5:6-13

Reading

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 (V.13).

One day, while Wim was in a marketplace in the Netherlands, he started up a conversation with a woman who said that anyone can get to heaven by doing good things.

His explanation that it is by God’s grace that we are “saved, through faith” (EPHESIANS 2:8) brought a smile as the woman repeated: “and by doing good works.” Then another woman joined in with, “You can hope you’ll go to heaven, but you can’t be sure.” Wim’s statement that he did know for sure was met with a muttered, “Nobody knows for sure.”

Wim then showed the woman what 1 John 5:11-13 says. He explained: “See, it doesn’t say hope there, it says know.” Unsure, she said, “Like you, my pastor says that we have to have faith, but you really never know whether you’ve been good enough. You may think you have, but who can be sure?”

To some, Wim’s confidence may seem incredible. But he based his words on this statement: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (EPHESIANS 2:8-9).

It’s true. We can’t be good enough. We can never do enough good things. But we can be sure of heaven if we simply trust Jesus for ourselves (ACTS 16:31).

WE ARE SAVED BY GOD’S MERCY, NOT BY OUR GOODNESS—BY JESUS’ WORK, NOT OUR OWN.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries