A person, however, who does not know Jesus, doesn’t care about his sin. This is because he does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit to convict him of his sin. John is talking about a person who claims to know Jesus, but lives in deliberate habitual sin on a daily basis. The apostle Paul put it this way in Ephesians 5:5-6:

"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

Also in Galatians 6:7 Paul wrote, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." If a person truly knows Jesus, he is not going to be able to live in willful sin for very long. This is because he will be so miserable that he will not have peace until he repents of his sin. But a person who claims to know Jesus and yet lives in wilful sin but shoes no remorse or intent to repent of his sin, John says that that person is a liar. He does not know God.

I have presented many evidences of how we can know whether a person truly knows Jesus or not in this chapter. There are certainly many other evidences that the Bible mentions. I recommend reading through the First Epistle of John. This book focuses on what is a true believer and what is not.

In review, we are not saved by repenting of our sins, or by receiving the Holy Spirit, or by speaking in tongues, or through receiving Water Baptism. When we repent of our sins, we are saved, not by any works of ours, but through receiving by faith God’s forgiveness for those sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood on the cross alone. We personalize this by receiving Jesus into our hearts as Savior from from our sins and as Lord of our lives. When we have saving faith in the Gospel, God automatically gives us His Holy Spirit as a result. Having the Holy Spirit and Water Baptism are not the means of our salvation but evidence of the salvation that we already have.

If a person has truly come to Jesus and received Him as Savior from their sins and as Lord of their life, it will be evidenced by

• Their unashamed public confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord

• By their love for the children of God.

• By their changed life.

• By their ongoing growing relationship with God.

• By their obedience to Jesus’ commands.

• By their hunger and a thirst for righteousness.

• And finally, by their hatred toward sin.

For Further Reading on this subject, See the Following:

Unalterable Biblical Foundations for Successful Evangelism