The Christianity Test – Final

This is the last lesson on 1^st John. I hope that this Bible study has helped you in some way. There have been many times that I wanted to cover every detail in this small book, but I realized that it is too time consuming. My purpose in writing this study, was to teach believers how to know for sure that they are saved. John says it like this, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of The Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” 1 John 5:13. I will not answer all your questions you may have about chapter 5 today, but I want to focus on 4 things: the purpose of John’s writing, prayer, the characteristics of a Genuine Christian and the characteristics of a Counterfeit Christian. At the end of this lesson, I will provide a printout of the completed Christianity Test

John’s Purpose for Writing “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of The Son of god, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” 1 John 5:13.

Prayer
John has taught us some conditions of answered prayer in this small book. The first condition is mentioned in 1 John 3:22.

“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” 1 John 3:22 (NKJV).

Many people believe that prayer is a waste of time, because they never receive answers to their prayers. The New Testament mentions several conditions to answered prayer. One of these conditions is keeping God’s commandments. I grew up in church, but never realized until my early 30’s how sin interferes with my prayer life. Sin not only makes you feel ashamed to pray to the Lord, but prevents God from answering when you do pray.

The next condition John gives for answered prayer is found in 1 John 5:14-15. In order to have answers to our prayers, we must ask according to God’s will. This can be difficult for many people, because they don’t know how to find God’s will for their lives. If you want to know God’s will in a matter, first begin by studying the Word of God, because God would never ask you to do anything which is contrary to the Bible. Then you must confess every known sin to the Lord to open up the prayer line. You can use the Sin List from A-Z to help you with your confession time. After doing these two steps, pray and ask the Lord His will for your life, then listen for a response. Many times in prayer we do all the talking and forget to listen. God does not always answer immediately, but He might not answer if you do not expect Him to. When I pray, I always expect an answer at some point.

In verse 16, God promises to answer those prayers offered on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living in sin. Rather than gossip about our brothers and sisters, we should pray that the Lord will restore them.

The Christianity Test

In 1 John 5, John gives us a few more verses to add to our Genuine Christian and Counterfeit Christian lists. I hope you have been keeping track of these lists, because they summarize the purpose of John’s writing. If we want to have assurance of our salvation, we must know the characteristics of a Genuine Christian and of a Counterfeit Christian.

Genuine Christian

1. “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him” 1 John 5:1 (NKJV).
2. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments” 1 John 5:2 (NKJV).
3. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith” 1 John 5:4 (NKJV).
4. “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself” 1 John 5:10 (NKJV).
5. “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him” 1 John 5:18 (NKJV).
6. “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” 1 John 5:20 (NKJV).

Counterfeit Christian

1. “He who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” 1 John 5:10 (NKJV).
2. “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” 1 John 5:19 (NKJV).

Conclusion Congratulations! We are finished with our summer long Bible study on 1^st John. I hope that you will examine your own salvation so make sure that you are in the faith. Due to the apathy, which exists in many of our churches today, my prayer is that you will share this study with your friends and family. I would hate for anyone to go to hell because they were deceived into believing they were saved.

Whether we want to think about this or not, our time on earth is short. We need to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In order for you to be able to do this, you must have knowledge and understanding of genuine salvation. You must also realize that Counterfeit Christians exist. We must not only learn to recognize those who are lost, but we need to be able to recognize a false convert.

If you would like to accept Christ now, then look at my post “Need Salvation?”.

You have studied hard for it all summer long. It is finally here, the comprehensive . . . 
Free Download The Christianity Test