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Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Pacific.

In Lesson 69, we are going to study the third part of 1 John 2:28.

Let’s read the verse.

1 John 2:28…we may be confident...

Let’s define the words.

We may be (2192. echó) — means we hold as a possession, ability or condition.

Confident (3954. parrésia) — means out-spokenness, boldness, frankness, bluntness, or assurance in speech.

In Lessons 67 and Lesson 68, we learned about abiding in Christ and His promise to appear again.

Let’s read all of 1 John 2:28, so you can better understand the context of what we will be studying in this lesson.

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

When we abide in Christ, we can stand before Him at His coming with confidence, boldness, and assurance.

Think of it this way:When a child has obeyed their parents, they run to them with joy. But when they’ve disobeyed, they often shrink back in guilt and hide in shame.

We want to be confident before God.

Abiding in Christ gives us confidence not only when He appears, but also in our daily lives.

As we walk closely with Him, our confidence before the Lord grows.

Let’s go over some verses that show us why we can abide in Christ and be confident before God.

In 1 John 2:1, we read that we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. This means we don’t have to defend ourselves before God, because Jesus represents us. Our confidence is not based on our own performance, but on Christ’s righteousness.

Let this truth give you confidence in your relationship with the Lord. When you sin, don’t run away from Him, turn to Christ and trust Him to be your advocate.

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

In Ephesians 3:12, we learn that through faith in Christ we can enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence. Jesus paid the penalty on the cross so that we can stand assured before God. Put your faith in what He has done for you, and let this truth give you confidence in His presence.

Ephesians 3:12 In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.

In 1 John 4:15-19, we learn that because God’s love has been perfected in us, we can have confidence on the day of judgment. His perfect love drives out fear and gives us assurance that we belong to Him.

1 John 4:15-19