The person who believes ( puts their faith in ) that Jesus is the Christ ( the promised Messiah of the Bible ) is born of God.
When a person believes in Jesus Christ, they become as Jesus said, "born again"
Here John calls it, "born of God"
It's called the new birth, regeneration, being a new creature, a child of God, etc, etc.
But, through faith in Christ.....that is, believing that He is the savior, that He died for your sins, that He rose from the dead, that you are a sinner, and receiving Him, you become born of God.
The short version is, "believes" and in that believes, are the understanding of the gospel, ( in it's simplest form, and the understanding that you are a sinner, and then placing your faith in Christ ) then you are saved. It's been made simple by God, so that even a small child can understand it.
At any rate, here's what's said about the person who is born of God. He adds, that everyone who loves Him, ( God ) who begot, or saved them, also loves him who is begotten of Him, or other believers.
Put another way, Christians love other Christians. There is a love between them, and for them.
Furthermore, John says, here's how we know that we love the children of God, it's when we "keep His commandments" So, our obedience to the Lord's commandments, is also evidence of our love for other believers. All through this short 5 chapter letter, John talks about "commandments ", and it's a ref to the command to love one another, it's at least that and more.
But, you can see why our loving others is so important to our own personal assurance. If you stop and think about it, it's not uncommon to see those who do not believe express their lack of love towards believers. Ranging from out and out mockery, to ridicule, to hatred, to harassment, to persecution etc, etc. But, Jesus said that all men would know that we are His disciples, by the love that we have one for another.
Lastly, here, John says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" God's love is explained to us, in our keeping His commandments. We are to guard them, and do them. And he adds, that His commandments are not burdensome. It's not a terrible burden to keep them.
That's not to say that it's always easy to love someone, but it is to say that it's not a great burden to love people in general. In fact, it's a blessing to them, and to our souls and to our Father in heaven.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
