I wrote to a BBN (Bible Broadcasting Network) Biblical adviser, and I received a response.
I liked it very much, and I decided to post it on my blog. They will say "this verse". They are referring to the one I sent to them 1 John 2:4-"He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Here is the reply:
Hannah,
We'll be glad to help you. It is very true that we can only know God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, who has perfectly kept all of God's commands for us, and died in our place on the cross so we can have a relationship with God. We who are sinners can only be right with a holy God through personal trust in His Son and the perfect sacrifice He made for us on the cross. This verse, then is telling us, when taken in the context of the rest of Scripture as well as the whole of this epistle, that since we cannot keep His commandments, as you have rightly confessed, there is no other way to know God except through Christ. James and Paul both say much the same thing, Hannah. James in chapter 2 verse 10 says that if we were to keep every single commandment except one small part, we would then be guilty of the entire Law since to break just one law makes one a lawbreaker. Paul says in Galatians 3:10 that a person is actually cursed from God if they do not continue to keep every law of God perfectly. But of course, even though this is true, the wonderful truth is that God has in love to us, sent His Son Jesus Christ to do for us what we could not do! So, once you place your faith in Jesus Christ to save you, then you know that you know God and are then assured of this through His Word, like John later says in this same epistle, chapter 5, verse 13. " These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life..." We hope this helps, Hannah. If you'd like to speak with someone at BBN about this further, you may call 800-888-7077. May the Lord bless you!
