I John 3:17-18

I John 3:17: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

This goes back to what John has been saying all along: our actions reveal who we really are. If we say that we love others but we do nothing to help them then our love is not real. If we say that we love God but we do not obey Him then our love is not real. If we say that we are saved but we continue in sin then our salvation was not real. It is not because our actions save us, but because our actions reveal the truth. If our love was real then we would help those who needed it. If we were truly saved then we would obey God. If we were genuine believers then we would hate sin and pursue righteousness. These things come as a result of being saved, and having these things is evidence of salvation.

Do you love other believers? Do you obey God? Do you hate sin and pursue righteousness? Those are all signs that your conversion was genuine, and if you have those things then you can have confidence that you really are saved. That is what John is talking about. The way we know if we are actually saved is not by trying to remember an experience (for experiences can be deceitful); it is by looking at the fruits of our lives and seeing if they correspond to the fruits that come from salvation. If they do not then the conversion experience was not real, no matter how great it may have felt.

As John says in the very next verses:

I John 3:19: “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”

This is how we can know if we are really saved. This is how we can tell if our conversion was genuine. Even if our heart condemns us, we can know the truth. It is the truth that will drive the doubts away.