“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”
John 3:19-24
A reassured heart gives us confidence that we have passed from death to life and are restored to God, which is desirable and necessary. To live with a clear conscience, free from worry concerning our continued relationship with God, we should keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. This is not to say that our hearts cannot deceive us. But since God knows our hearts, thoughts, and feelings, we can place our trust in Him.
Placing our trust in Him means we are willing to follow His commandments: To believe in His name. But how do we believe in a name? We can believe a document, a statement, or a person, but how do we believe in a name? By believing those truths that the name implies: in the present case, by believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, and the Son of God, we can have eternal life.
This leads to the second part of His commandant: to love one another, which means that we are to live a life of charity and service to others. Beginning with looking after Christ’s interest first, and then the interest of others before our own.
John says that if we keep His commandments, our heart has nothing to accuse us of. Then we can approach God with confidence that we will receive whatever we ask of Him.