Confidence

Here's 1 John 3:18-23 NASB:

18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
19 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him,
20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

How do we know that we are of the truth? (verse 18)
What's one of the benefits of doing that? How will our heart be affected?
Why is it good to have an assurance of our hearts?
What are some ways in which your heart might condemn you?

What does verse 20 say about God?

So, if we actively love the brethren, but still have a condemning heart, what do we know?

If we know that God sees us actively showing our righteousness through love for the brethren, then our condemning heart can be silenced. When that happens, what does verse 21 tell us we have before God?

Look up "confidence" for 1 John 3:21 in Strong's and Vine's. If you don't have these two books, do the study online. www.tgm.org/bible.htm If you've forgotten the steps in how to do that, look back at the directions in the blog titled "Word Study of 'Manifested'" from February 3, 2010.

What do you learn about "confidence"?



What happens because we have this confidence? (verse 22)

John uses "confidence" three times in this letter. The first time he used it is in verse 2:28. If we abide in Him, we can be confident at His coming. This second time we can be confident in our asking of Him. Let's look ahead at the third time because it will help us understand what John is saying this second time.

Read 1John 5:14.
What do we learn about that which we ask?
Why do we receive what we ask from Him?
What does 1 John 3:23 say is His commandment?
How does verse 23 relate to verse 18? What is the deed? What is the truth?

How is your confidence before God? If your heart is condemning you, what do you know? How will that make a difference in your walk?