No one likes to be called a liar. We can get rather upset when someone makes that accusation against us, especially if we are telling the truth. Our integrity and reputation becomes impugned when so challenged. Most of us, though, at one time or another have probably been called a liar, and also called others one, too. But have you ever called God a liar? We might not hesitate to call someone else one if we felt they weren’t telling the truth, or we’d act as if we didn’t believe them, but we might draw the line at calling God a liar! In our Scripture passage for today from the Apostle John’s first epistle, we will read about just such actions.
When someone tells us something, we have the choice to either believe what he is saying, or to reject it as false. It is one or the other. We either believe he is telling the truth, or don’t believe it. This is the case whether they are talking about a current event, the weather, or anything, including spiritual matters. The Apostle John begins our passage by saying that if we are going to believe what some common man tells us about a spiritual matter, all the more we should believe the message if it comes from God (vs. 9). Whatever God has said should definitely carry more weight than what some human has said! He has given us His Word, the Bible, and has also spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. To deny the Biblical witness of Jesus Christ is to reject God Himself (vs. 10). To refuse the testimony of God about His Son, Jesus Christ is the ultimate form of blasphemy, calling God a liar.
What does God’s Word say about those who do not believe God’s testimony about Jesus, those who have essentially called Him a liar? It is very clear. The Bible says that those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior have eternal life, and those who have not accepted Him do not have eternal life (vs. 11-12). The one has an eternal place in heaven with God, the other will have eternal damnation. The Bible describes people who do not have a personal relationship with God as lost. They are off track, deluded, disconnected, and out of touch with the Lord. They may go through life thinking they are right, but the result is eternal doom (Proverbs 14:12).
If you have asked the Lord Jesus to come into your heart by faith as your Savior, to forgive you of your sins, you have eternal life. If you haven’t, you do not have eternal life. We don’t have to just hope we have eternal life. We can know we have it (vs. 13). It is based on God’s promise given to all who accept Jesus. It is not based on feelings, but based on fact, on the truth of His Word. Once we are saved, we remain saved forever. There is no on-off salvation - saved today, lost tomorrow. That is not the case. We can trust God’s hold on us more than our hold on Him. His faithfulness doesn’t depend on ours.
Assurance of salvation leads to our being able to have confidence in prayer (vs. 14-15). The confidence we have in prayer is not because of how earnestly we pray, or how much passion we put into our prayers. Our confidence in prayer is because of our relationship with Jesus. If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, when we pray we can have assurance of His power, wisdom, and love. Jesus has promised us the victory when we follow and obey Him.
Effectual prayer is one that is prayed according to Jesus’ will. When believers yield themselves to God, they will find their way to the right requests, one’s that are according to God’s will, and those will bring the best possible answers. God has promised that a prayer that is in accordance with His will, will be effective (James 5:16-18).
We should never give up in prayer. Christians need to remember that we have an adversary, one who is fighting against us when we pray, and the answer to our prayers may have to withstand a battle before it comes through (Daniel 10:12-13). Too often we stop praying just as our answer is ready to be delivered. Persevere and be confident God hears. Our Father is a good father who delights in giving His children good gifts (James 1:17). He is listening when we cry out to Him.
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