So That You May Know That You Have Eternal Life Text: 1 John 5:11–13

Date: October 26, 2026 Preacher: Ed Rangel Location: La Serena, Chile Sermon type: Expository Status: Not yet preached

Full Scripture Reading

Thesis God has placed eternal life in His Son and has revealed in His Word who Jesus is, what He did to save us, and how we must respond to the gospel.

Opening

Life's most serious question cannot be answered with a guess. If the Lord were to return today, would you go with Him? Some people answer based on how they feel. Others lean on being sincere, belonging to a church, or having had a religious experience at one time. None of those things can determine where we will spend eternity.

John wrote so that Christians would know they have eternal life. Their assurance did not rest on a shifting emotion, but on the testimony that God had given concerning His Son. We too can open God's word and examine our lives in the light of what He has said.

Introduction

1. First John was written to people who already believed in the name of the Son of God.
2. Throughout the letter, John identifies the signs of a true faith.
   1. The Christian walks in the light and confesses their sin.
   2. They keep God's commandments and love their brothers and sisters.
   3. They confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and remain in the teaching they received.
3. Christian assurance does not require a sinless life, because John also speaks of forgiveness and of Christ as our Advocate.
4. Nor does it permit an empty profession that contradicts God's word.
5. Verses 11–13 focus the question on the Son. Life is in Him, and apart from Him there is no life.

I. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW WHERE LIFE IS (1 John 5:11–13) > 1 John 5:11–13.

A. God has given a testimony that can be known.

1. John does not offer a personal opinion about salvation.
   1. God Himself has given testimony concerning His Son.
   2. That testimony is found in writing so that it can be read, believed, and obeyed.
2. John does not say we can know because we look inside ourselves until we feel assurance; he says we can know because God left His testimony concerning His Son in writing.
   1. Feelings change with circumstances.
   2. God's word remains and can correct even a sincere conscience.
3. Doubt is not resolved by conjuring up a stronger experience.
   1. We must return to what God has said.
   2. We must ask whether our faith and our life respond to His testimony.

B. Eternal life is a gift that God gives in His Son.

1. John says that God has given us eternal life.
   1. No one can buy it with good works.
   2. No man can claim it as payment for his own righteousness.
2. God's grace does not separate the gift from the Son.
   1. God does not offer eternal life through many religious paths.
   2. Life is in Christ because He died for our sins and rose again.
3. Verse 12 establishes a division that we cannot soften.
   1. He who has the Son has life.
   2. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
4. A person can be kind, religious, and sincere, but none of those qualities replaces the Son of God.
   1. The decisive question is not whether we consider ourselves good people.
   2. We must know whether we have received the Son according to God's testimony.

C. Biblical assurance includes a faith that remains.

1. John writes to those who believe in the name of the Son of God.
   1. Believing in His name is trusting in the Person whom God has revealed.
   2. It does not consist merely of accepting that Jesus existed.
2. The same letter unites faith with a life that walks in the light.
   1. 1 John 2:3.
   2. 1 John 3:14.
3. Obedience does not buy eternal life.
   1. It shows a faith that surrenders to the Son instead of using His grace as permission to sin.
   2. When a Christian sins, he must confess it and return to walking in the light.

II. ETERNAL LIFE DEPENDS ON WHO JESUS IS (Matthew 16:13–17) > Matthew 16:13–17.

A. Respectful opinions about Jesus can still be mistaken.

1. The people of that region did not speak of Jesus as if He were a worthless man.
   1. Some compared Him to John the Baptist.
   2. Others connected Him to Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
2. All those answers granted Him a place of honor, but none confessed His true identity.
   1. Admiring Jesus is not the same as believing in Him.
   2. Calling Him a teacher or a prophet is not enough if we reject that He is the Christ and the Son of God.
3. Jesus brought the question directly to His disciples.
   1. They could not hide behind what the crowd was saying.
   2. Every person must answer who Jesus is.

B. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God.

1. Calling Him the Christ recognizes that He is the King and Savior promised by God.
   1. He is not one among many messengers.
   2. He is the One to whom God's promises pointed.
2. Calling Him the Son of the living God recognizes a relationship that no mere prophet could claim.
   1. Colossians 2:9 says: Colossians 2:9.
   2. Jesus came in the flesh while remaining divine.
3. Jesus said that this truth had been revealed by the Father.
   1. Christ's identity is not decided by a vote.
   2. We must receive what God has revealed concerning His Son.

C. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and men. > 1 Timothy 2:5.

1. Our sin has separated us from God.
   1. We cannot reconcile ourselves to Him through a moral life, religious tradition, or the intercession of another human being.
   2. We need the Mediator that God Himself has provided.
2. Jesus can reconcile us to God because He came as a true man and gave His life for us.
   1. No saint, preacher, priest, or family member can take His place.
   2. Salvation depends on coming to God through Christ.
3. Believing who Jesus is changes our response to everything He commands.
   1. If He is the Christ, we cannot treat His words as optional advice.
   2. If He is the Son of God, true faith surrenders to His authority.

III. THE GOSPEL ANNOUNCES WHAT JESUS DID (1 Corinthians 15:1–4) > 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.

A. The gospel is a message received, not a religion designed by us.

1. Paul preached the same thing he had received.
   1. He did not improve the message to adapt it to Corinth.
   2. He did not allow each listener to define their own gospel.
2. The Corinthians had received this message and stood firm in it.
   1. The gospel enters a life when it is heard and received by faith.
   2. It must also be held fast, because an abandoned faith does not save.
3. Salvation does not rest on a vague religious idea.
   1. It rests on facts that God accomplished in history.
   2. Christ died, was buried, and rose on the third day.

B. Christ died for our sins.

1. His death was not merely the unjust end of a good man.
   1. Our sins made His sacrifice necessary.
   2. He poured out His blood so that we could receive forgiveness.
2. The gospel compels us to look at our sin with seriousness.
   1. If sin could be resolved through good intentions, the cross would not have been necessary.
   2. Every lie, immoral act, cruel word, and act of disobedience rises up against the holy God.
3. The cross also displays the love of God.
   1. Christ gave Himself up voluntarily for guilty people.
   2. His grace offers forgiveness without declaring sin to be innocent.

C. Christ was buried and rose on the third day.

1. The burial confirms that His death was real.
   1. Jesus did not merely lose consciousness only to wake up later.
   2. His body was placed in a tomb.
2. The resurrection declares His victory over death.
   1. The grave could not hold the Son of God.
   2. Our hope does not rest in a dead teacher, but in the risen Lord.
3. Paul reiterates that these events occurred in accordance with the Bible.
   1. The cross and the resurrection fulfilled the purpose announced by God.
   2. The gospel was not an explanation invented after an unexpected tragedy.
4. Believing the gospel requires trusting in the Christ who died and rose again.
   1. It is not enough to admire His sacrifice.
   2. We must receive His word and surrender to His lordship.

IV. THE GOSPEL MUST BE OBEYED (Romans 6:3–4) > 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9.

A. God describes the gospel as a message that must be obeyed.

1. Second Thessalonians warns that Jesus will return as Judge.
   1. His return will bring relief to His saints and punishment to those who reject God.
   2. Paul includes among the lost those who do not obey the gospel.
2. The gospel announces facts that we must believe, but biblical faith responds to those facts.
   1. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again.
   2. The sinner dies to sin, is buried with Christ in baptism, and begins a new life.
3. Obedience does not turn salvation into a wage.
   1. We cannot earn the blood of Christ.
   2. We obey because we trust the Savior and accept the conditions He has given.

B. Baptism unites the repentant sinner with the death of Christ. > Romans 6:3–4.

1. Paul does not place baptism after union with Christ.
   1. He says that we have been baptized into Christ Jesus.
   2. He says that we have been baptized into His death.
2. Baptism reproduces the form of the gospel.
   1. Christ died and was buried.
   2. The sinner dies to sin and is buried with Christ in water.
   3. Christ was raised, and the baptized person rises to walk in newness of life.
3. The water has no power apart from Christ.
   1. Trust rests in the work of God and in the blood of the Savior.
   2. Baptism is the response of faith that Christ commanded, not a human work that replaces His grace.
4. The new life does not begin in order to willingly return to the old slavery.
   1. The Christian has died to sin.
   2. Now he lives under the rule of Christ.

C. The first hearers of the gospel received a definitive answer. > Acts 2:37–38.

1. Those hearers had already heard that Jesus died and rose again.
   1. Peter had proven that Jesus is Lord and Christ.
   2. The message pierced their hearts and produced an urgent question.
2. Peter did not tell them they were already saved because they had felt grief.
   1. He commanded them to repent.
   2. He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.
3. Repentance changes the will regarding sin.
   1. The person stops defending his rebellion.
   2. He decides to submit to the Lord he previously disobeyed.
4. Baptism was not a ceremony to announce a forgiveness received beforehand.
   1. Peter connected it with the forgiveness of sins.
   2. Acts 2:41 states that those who received the word were baptized that very day.

D. The response to the gospel must not be delayed. > Acts 22:16.

1. Saul had already seen the risen Lord and had been praying for three days.
   1. His sincere experience did not make the response that Christ had commanded unnecessary.
   2. He still needed to rise, be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on His name.
2. Ananias did not offer him a reason to wait.
   1. The command began with a question about his delay.
   2. When a person believes the gospel and is willing to repent, there is no spiritual advantage in postponing obedience.
3. Calling on the name of the Lord was not repeating an isolated phrase.
   1. Saul called on His name by obeying the command he received.
   2. He rose to trust in Christ on the terms Christ had given.

Application Do not answer the question of your salvation with what you feel or with what others assured you of. Open the word of God. Examine who Jesus is, what He did for your sins, and what response the gospel demands. If your trust rests on a prayer that the Bible never presents as the answer for receiving forgiveness, you need to obey what the apostles actually taught. If you were baptized without faith in Jesus Christ, without repentance, or without understanding that you were coming to Him to receive forgiveness, a past ceremony cannot take the place of obedient faith. Neither should you trust in baptism while choosing to live far from Christ. John wrote to Christians who had to keep believing, walking in the light, keeping the commandments, and loving their brothers and sisters. If you have obeyed the gospel and remain in Christ, do not live as though salvation depends on producing a perfect emotion. Trust in the testimony of God, confess sin when you fall, and continue walking with the Son. God wants His people to know the assurance He has given without turning it into a license to turn away.

Conclusion

1. God did not leave salvation in the realm of supposition. John wrote so that Christians might know they have eternal life.
2. That life is found only in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God and the only Mediator between God and men.
3. The gospel announces that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day.
4. Whoever believes that message must repent, confess Christ, be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and rise to live a new life.

Invitation If you have not obeyed the gospel, listen to the word of God and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Repent of your sins, confess Him as Lord, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. Ananias’s question still demands an answer: "And now, why are you waiting?" If you are a Christian and no longer walk in the light, return to the Lord with repentance and confession. Life remains in the Son, and there is no reason to remain far from Him who died and rose again to save you.