“He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John
2:4). How plain and pointed is that language! How awful its clear intimation! Do you not see, dear reader, this
verse plainly implies that there are those who claim to know Christ, and yet are liars? The father of lies has
deceived them, and he is doing everything in his power to keep them from being undeceived. That is why the
unregenerate reader finds this article so unpalatable, and wishes to turn from it. O resist this inclination, we
beseech you. God has given us this very verse by which we may measure ourselves, and discover whether or not
our “assurance of salvation” will stand the test of His Holy Word. Then act not like the silly ostrich, which buries
his head in the sand, rather than face his danger.
Let us quote one more verse from this first “we know” passage in John’s Epistle: “But whoso keepeth His
Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5). This stands
in sharp contrast from the preceding verse. The Apostle was here moved to set before us some clear Scriptural
evidences of spiritual faith and love, within constitute the vital difference between sheep and goats. In verse 4 it
is the empty professor who says, “I know Christ as my personal Saviour.” He has a theoretical, but not a vital
knowledge of Him.
He boasts that he is resting on Christ’s finished work, and is confident that he is saved: but
keeps not His commandments. He is still a self-pleaser. Like Solomon’s sluggard, he is “wiser in his own conceits
than seven men that can render a reason” (Prov. 26:16). He talks boldly, but walks carelessly.
In verse 5 it is the genuine Christian who is in view. He does not say, “I know Him,” instead, he proves it. The
Apostle is not here presenting Christ as the immediate Object of faith, but is describing him who has savingly
fled to the Lord for refuge, and this, by the effects produced. In him Christ’s Word is everything: his food, his
constant meditation, his chart. He “keeps” it in memory, in heart, in action. Christ’s “commandments” occupy his
thoughts and prayers as much as do His promises. That Word working in him subdues his carnal desires, feeds
his graces, and draws them into real exercise and action. That Word has such a place in his heart and mind that he
cannot but give proof of the same in his talk and walk. In this way the “love of God is perfected”: the Family
likeness is plainly stamped upon him. All can see to which “father” he belongs—contrast John 8:44.
“Whoso keepeth His Word . . . hereby (in this way) know we that we are in Him.” Keep His Word perfectly?
No. But actually, characteristically, in deep desire and honest effort to do so? Yes. Regeneration is that miracle of
Divine grace wrought in the soul which enlists the affections Godwards—which brings the human will into
subjection to the Divine—and which produces a real and radical change in the life. That change is from
worldliness to godliness, from disobedience to obedience. At the new birth the love of God is shed abroad in the
heart by the Holy Spirit, and that love is manifested in a dominating longing and sincere purpose to please in all
things the One who has plucked me as a brand from the burning. There is a greater difference between the
genuine Christian and the deceived professing Christian than there is between a living man and a corpse. None
need remain in doubt if they will honestly measure themselves by the Holy Word of God.
Pink.
2:4). How plain and pointed is that language! How awful its clear intimation! Do you not see, dear reader, this
verse plainly implies that there are those who claim to know Christ, and yet are liars? The father of lies has
deceived them, and he is doing everything in his power to keep them from being undeceived. That is why the
unregenerate reader finds this article so unpalatable, and wishes to turn from it. O resist this inclination, we
beseech you. God has given us this very verse by which we may measure ourselves, and discover whether or not
our “assurance of salvation” will stand the test of His Holy Word. Then act not like the silly ostrich, which buries
his head in the sand, rather than face his danger.
Let us quote one more verse from this first “we know” passage in John’s Epistle: “But whoso keepeth His
Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5). This stands
in sharp contrast from the preceding verse. The Apostle was here moved to set before us some clear Scriptural
evidences of spiritual faith and love, within constitute the vital difference between sheep and goats. In verse 4 it
is the empty professor who says, “I know Christ as my personal Saviour.” He has a theoretical, but not a vital
knowledge of Him.
He boasts that he is resting on Christ’s finished work, and is confident that he is saved: but
keeps not His commandments. He is still a self-pleaser. Like Solomon’s sluggard, he is “wiser in his own conceits
than seven men that can render a reason” (Prov. 26:16). He talks boldly, but walks carelessly.
In verse 5 it is the genuine Christian who is in view. He does not say, “I know Him,” instead, he proves it. The
Apostle is not here presenting Christ as the immediate Object of faith, but is describing him who has savingly
fled to the Lord for refuge, and this, by the effects produced. In him Christ’s Word is everything: his food, his
constant meditation, his chart. He “keeps” it in memory, in heart, in action. Christ’s “commandments” occupy his
thoughts and prayers as much as do His promises. That Word working in him subdues his carnal desires, feeds
his graces, and draws them into real exercise and action. That Word has such a place in his heart and mind that he
cannot but give proof of the same in his talk and walk. In this way the “love of God is perfected”: the Family
likeness is plainly stamped upon him. All can see to which “father” he belongs—contrast John 8:44.
“Whoso keepeth His Word . . . hereby (in this way) know we that we are in Him.” Keep His Word perfectly?
No. But actually, characteristically, in deep desire and honest effort to do so? Yes. Regeneration is that miracle of
Divine grace wrought in the soul which enlists the affections Godwards—which brings the human will into
subjection to the Divine—and which produces a real and radical change in the life. That change is from
worldliness to godliness, from disobedience to obedience. At the new birth the love of God is shed abroad in the
heart by the Holy Spirit, and that love is manifested in a dominating longing and sincere purpose to please in all
things the One who has plucked me as a brand from the burning. There is a greater difference between the
genuine Christian and the deceived professing Christian than there is between a living man and a corpse. None
need remain in doubt if they will honestly measure themselves by the Holy Word of God.
Pink.
