By this we know

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. – 1 John 3.23-24

Knowing whether or not we are truly saved can be a problem. If we don’t know about our salvation how can we keep on going and serving?  

The basis is pretty simple – we believe in Christ and we love each other. True belief is going to be manifested by true love for each other. That is the first test of obedience. Those who obey Christ, starting with the commandment that we love each other, abide in Christ and Christ abides in us.

We don’t have to face that alone. God is greater than our heart that condemns us. We may not feel it, but we know our salvation is secure because of God’s spirit which remains in us. We are reminded of the same great truth when we read in Romans 8.16 that the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God.

Thank God for His spirit in me that produces love I can’t produce and gives me the confidence that I can’t find in myself.