Podcast: 1 John: Listening to Your Heart

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By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
-1 John 3:19-24

If you ask people, “Are you a good person,” you’ll probably go a long time before finding someone who would say no. I would have answered “Yes” for most of my life. There were two reasons for that. First, I acted better than a lot of people I know, and certainly better than people I saw on daytime talk shows and the news. If you watch either daytime talk or the news, you’ll quickly come away with the impression that you are a very good person. You’ll see a bunch of people committing terrible sexual sins, murdering people, being cruel to others, selfishly suing anyone they can. You sit there and think, well, at least I’m not like THAT!

The other reason I thought I was a good person is because I didn’t actually do all the terrible stuff I wanted to do. My heart was filled with lust, hatred, and pride, but I didn’t act on it. I tried to be good. And that’s really all society asks of us. Just don’t do everything you would want to do. As long as you aren’t killing people or talking in the theater, the world says you’re okay.

But all these two things prove is that I wasn’t as bad as I could have been. If you showed people what was in my heart, everyone would recognize how evil I was.

Some people have gone so astray that they have seared their consciences. Most of us have not, thankfully, and your conscience will tell you the truth – we’re not good people. Just because our evil is restrained a bit by society and the laws does not mean we’re good. It only means we’re not letting our true selves out. The thoughts of your heart – that is the true you. We think and do things and our hearts testify against us.

Do not be fooled – God knows what is in your heart. He will judge you by what you think and say, not just what you do. We can all make up a quick list of things we’ve done that prove that we’re good people, but it’s your heart that will testify against you. What will its testimony be?

This part of John’s letter cannot be understood properly without the Gospel. Please remember that he is writing to Christians, and that he has reassured those same Christians that Jesus will be our advocate if we sin. There is an undercurrent of the Gospel here, and we will go drastically off course if we forget that.

All of our hearts will testify that we are not good enough for a holy and just God. The truth is that we do not deserve eternal life, but instead we deserve death. We are filled with all sorts of terrible desires and thoughts, and those things bear witness against our claims to be good. They tell the truth – if we were not restrained by the law and by society, we would act in atrocious and horrible ways. We hold ourselves back, but that is not the real us.

The question is not whether we are good enough for heaven. We’re not. The question is whether we can be forgiven. God is just, and so He requires a just punishment for sin. But in the death of Jesus, we have that punishment. He took our place in death so that we can live.

If we repent and believe in Him, we will be forgiven. That guilt that is proven by your heart will be lifted and replaced with the Holy Spirit.

So what does your heart say? Has that guilt been taken away, or are you still trying to hide things from God and the world. It won’t work. God created you. He knows your every thought.

If, instead, your heart testifies to the presence of the Holy Spirit, then you can have confidence in your standing with Him. Not by your own doing, but by His. Has your heart been turned away from that evil and toward God? Has your repentance shown up in the way you act and think? Has your heart been changed?

I’m not asking if you are perfect. You are not. I’m asking what is in your heart. Is the Spirit moving you toward obedience and away from rebellion? Is He moving you toward repentance for those sins you do commit and away from trying to justify yourself?

I’m also not suggesting that we are saved by our works. We are not. But it is the testimony of the Scriptures that a faith that saves manifests itself in us.

Please note what John says about the commandment: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” This is a COMMANDMENT, not COMMANDMENTS. There is only one, and these two aspects are tied together. If you believe in Jesus, then your heart will be changed, and you will love. If you still only love yourself, if your heart is still filled with the same degree of wickedness, if you have no repentance for what you have done, then you do not truly believe.

It is that Spirit that brings both of these things about – faith and love. These things are spiritual, so without God they are ultimately impossible. Oh, the world may say that it loves, but the people of the world do not know love as God has revealed it – the love that put Jesus on the Cross for a bunch of rebellious, selfish, wicked, greedy, lustful, and prideful brats that have turned away from Him and toward our own petty concerns. That is the way we were, and He died for us anyway. By His Spirit He changes us into something more like Him, and we will begin to reflect that same love.

Look at your heart. Is the Spirit there, working in your life to form you into something better than you were? If so, then have confidence in your faith! If not, then fall upon your knees and seek repentance with everything you have. There is no more important question to have answered in this life.

Finally, if the Spirit is working in you, then have some confidence in your prayers. If your heart reflects God’s own heart, then what concerns Him will concern you also, and you will be of one mind in seeking His will. Pray with passion and confidence for His kingdom, for His will, for forgiveness, for provision, knowing that your Father in Heaven loves you and will provide for you. Let your requests be made from faith, not from selfishness or fear. We are His children, and we will be heard.