Have you ever found yourself in situation where you encountered someone in real need and where you thought that you should do something to help? But soon you found yourself wrestling with that thought. And then you found yourself thinking of many reasons why you shouldn’t help out in this circumstance. So you do much less than what you originally were prompted to do, or perhaps you do nothing at all, and once the opportunity has passed, a question haunts you, “Was that what Jesus would have done?” But you silence that troubling thought with yet more rationalizations for why your decision was a reasonable, wise, maybe even loving one after all.
It is exactly this kind of scenario that the Apostle John has in mind when he writes…
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
There have been many ways in which this passage has been interpreted. Much of the difference stems from the way these verses are translated…
- NKJV: And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
- NASB: We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him...
- ESV: By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him...
- NIV: This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence...
- NLT: Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
What is the major difference in these translations? Primarily, the difference is in the way in which one word is rendered. It is the word the NKJV and NASB translates “to assure”, the ESV “to reassure”, the NIV “to set our hearts at rest”, and the NLT “to be confident”. What is this word? The Greek word behind these translations is the word peithō. What is the problem? It is a verb used 52 times in the NT but which never quite carries the idea of “assure” or “reassure” or “to be confident”. The NIV translation is completely surprising as “to set our hearts at rest” is a very novel approach.
Peithō in Greek means “to persuade” or “to convince” with the related meanings of “to trust” or “to obey” (cp. Matt. 27:20; Luke 16:31; 18:9; Acts 14:19; 18:4; 26:28; Rom. 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:12):
- Matt. 27:20: But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
- Luke 16:31: “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
- Luke 18:9: Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted (read “had convinced themselves”) in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others…
- Acts 14:19: Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
- Acts 18:4: And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
- Acts 26:28: Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
- Rom. 8:38: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come…
- 2 Tim. 1:12: For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
The other reason why we shouldn’t take this word as “assure” or “reassure” here is because John already has a word that he uses to convey that concept. It is the Greek word parresian:
- And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. (2:28)
- Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. (3:21)
- Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (4:17)
- Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (5:14)
So, in keeping with the way this verb is consistently translated, let’s re-read the verse with this meaning:
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and persuade our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
What John is talking about here is convincing your “heart” to follow through on the prompting we have in verses 17-18. When we do this – when we follow through and our love finds practical expression by helping those in need – it is one of the great sources of assurance that we are who God says we are. Our “hearts” will often object to calls to be sacrificially generous and will seek to “shut down” on others in need (s.v. 17). This barrier of insufficient action must be overcome. We must face our inclinations otherwise and our hard-heartedness and persuade our hearts to love like Christ.
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