(Note: this is taken almost entirely from an earlier blog post: N.T. reflections-Matthew 7)
Q: How can I know if I’m truly a Christian?
A: The whole book of I John was written to answer this question, as John says in 5:13: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
First John has three tests for those who want to know whether they're saved: The doctrine test, the moral test, and the love test. Let’s take a look at each.
First test: The doctrine test. Do I believe Jesus is God and also the Messiah, the Son of God sent to die for my sin? "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." (I John 5:1) "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. If what you heard from the begining abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father, And this is the promise he has promised us-eternal life." (I John 2:22,24-25) "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (I John 4:15) What's so significant about believing Jesus is God and also the Messiah? If Jesus was not fully God, He would not have been perfect. If He had not been perfect, His death would mean nothing to us: it would have no saving power. The only reason Jesus could pay for our sins, is because he had none of his own to pay for. Had he not been God and been a sinner, his death would have been what He deserved, and He would not have been able to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins. But what's this about a Messiah? Why do we have to believe that? The Messiah or Christ was the one God had promised since Adam who would come and die in the people's place, ending the animal sacrifices which were only a symbol of Jesus. If we don't believe Jesus was truly the Messiah, the one whose death paid for our sin so we don't have to, then we end up trying to pay our own way to heaven by being good enough, and that won't work. If I do not believe Jesus is God and Jesus is the Messiah who paid the punishment I deserved for my sins, I am not a Christian.
Second test: The Moral Test. Do I see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of what I believe about who Jesus is? "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar...But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked." (I John 2:3-6) "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." (I John 3:9-10) The key word in those last two verses is 'practice'. If you are practicing volleyball and try to serve the ball, and it hits the volleyball net and doesn't go over, it would be a dumb thing for me to say, "Oh, you must be playing basketball!" I can tell what you're practicing no matter how many times you mess up. In the same way, it should be clear in your life what you are practicing: sin or righteousness, no matter how many times you mess up. Check your desires. What is your deeper desire: to sin and enjoy the fun in it, or to please God and enjoy the lasting joy we will have in heaven? Does sin bother you or make you happy? One speaker last summer used the anology of what pigs and kittens do after you clean them. A pig jumps right back into the mud. He loves mud! But a kitten tries to stay clean, and even if she does get dirty, she cleans herself as quickly as possible. Same with a Christian and someone who is not a Christian. Someone who has not trusted Jesus for Salvation loves sin and has no desire to follow God and "stay clean", while those who HAVE trusted Jesus are those who John talks about in 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He [Jesus] is pure." If I do not see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of who I believe Jesus is, I am not a Christian.
Third Test: The Love Test. Does the way I live my life show that I have real, sacrificial love for others? "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." (I John 3:14) "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (I John 4:7-8) "My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in action and in truth." (I John 3:18) These verses aren't just talking about saying we love people, according to this last verse; they're asking us to show and PROVE we love them by our actions. Love is loving people even when it hurts us or even when they're different from us. But what does that really mean? How can we do that? God gave us all these commands we're supposed to follow AND on top of that He wants us to love people? Actually, the reason God gives commands in the Bible is just to explain what it means to love Him and love others. The first four of the 10 commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love others. Jesus taught this in Matthew 22:36-40 when he said that the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second greatest is to love others, then He said that all the laws in the Old Testament and things the prophets said are summed up by those two laws. John agrees-"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (I John 5:2-3) If I do not see new love for others and love for God in my life as a result of what I believe about Jesus, I am not a Christian.
When testing ourselves by the love and moral tests, we have to make sure to look at our desires (does sin make us happy or bother us?) and what we're 'practicing', since no one can follow God perfectly. How can we even follow God at all? I certainly don't have the strength to obey Him and love others. I John has the answer again! (If you couldn't tell before now, I love this book!) "We love Him because He first loved us. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."" (I John 4:9-11, 16, 19) God's requirement for anyone to get to heaven is that they must live a perfect life. Unfortunately for us, we all mess up. But God loved us so much, He provided a way out of that mess- He sent Jesus! Jesus lived the perfect life we should've lived, then died a painful death, taking the punishment we deserved. Now if we trust His payment for our sin to be enough to get us to heaven, then turn from sin to follow Him, He will give us eternal life AND the desire and strength to follow and obey Him.
This may cause you to wonder, so how can I grow as a Christian? I trusted Jesus for Salvation this week, how can I change when I go home?
Great question! Keep reading!
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