1 John 1:1-2 - Are You Prepared for Eternity?

Today, Friday June 25 Are You Prepared For Eternity? 1 John 1:1-2 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.” Today we begin a new study in the New Testament Book of 1 John. This small, five chapter epistle was written by the “Beloved” disciple, John. John was in the inner circle of the Lord’s disciples along with his brother James and also Peter. He was inspired to write five books in the New Testament, The Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and the Book of Revelation. He was the only disciple to die a natural death at an old age. The rest of the disciples all died a martyr’s death. The most important question we face in our life is about our eternal salvation. How can I know that I have truly and genuinely been saved? If I died right now, do I know that I have eternal life and would go to heaven instead of hell? None of us know exactly when we are going to die. Proverbs 27:1 reminds us that we should “not boast about tomorrow because we do not know what a day may bring forth.”  James 4:14 tells us that “our life is like a vapor that appears for a little time then vanishes away.” We purchase car insurance just in case we might have an accident. And the truth is, we may never have an accident and need to collect the insurance. But for a fact, we all are going to die! It seems it should be absolutely necessary then, to have the assurance that our sins are forgiven and we are prepared for eternity. The Scripture says in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed for a man once to die and after this the judgement.” The main theme and purpose of 1 John is to help us have the assurance that we do have a genuine salvation. I’m convinced there are many religious people, who are very good people, as far as the standards of the world are concern, who think that they are saved and ready for eternity, but in reality, they are not! 1 John gives a series of three tests throughout the book that we can take, or match up to our life, to check out the reality of our salvation. John finishes the book with a very clear statement about this in 1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has life, whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” It is my prayer that this study over the next several weeks will assist you with the assurance of your salvation. God bless!