Who is a True Christian?
2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?”
Paul wrote this to the Corinthian
church that was questioning the genuineness of his apostleship. He was telling them that if he was a false
apostle, they were false Christians because he was their spiritual father. In the same way Paul exhorted the Corinthians
to examine themselves, we, too, ought to examine ourselves because many false
prophets have gone out into the world.
Many people have been convinced,
or convinced themselves, that they are true Christians because they maintain a
visible morality; have intellectual knowledge of God and His Word; are involved
in religion and/or a ministry; feel bad about their sin; have been assured they
are “saved” and/or can claim a time of “decision.” However, the above list can be true of a
person even though that person does not belong to God.
A true Christian…
·
loves God.
(Pss 42; 73:25; Lk 10:27; Ro 8:7)
·
doesn’t just feel bad about his sin, but stops
committing the sin and starts doing the opposite.
(Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13; Ro 7:14ff; 2Co 7:10; 1Jn
1:8-10)
·
sees himself as he is which results in genuine
humility.
(Ps 51:17; Mt 5:1-12; Jas 4:6, 9)
·
is more concerned with God’s glory (reputation)
than with what anyone thinks of him.
(Pss 105:3; 115:1; Is 43:7; 48:10; Jer
9:23, 24; 1Co 10:31)
·
lives in continual communication with God.
(Lk 18:1; Eph 6:18ff; Php 4:6ff; 1Ti 2:1-4;
Jas 5:16-18)
·
puts the needs of others before his own.
(1Jn 2:9ff; 3:14; 4:7ff)
·
lives as one who does not belong to this world.
(1Co 2:12; Jas 4:4ff; 1Jn 2:15-17; 5:5)
·
is growing spiritually.
(Lk 8:15; Jn 15:1-6; Eph 4:12-16)
·
lives in obedience to God’s Word.
(Mt 7:21; Jn 15:14ff; Ro 16:26; 1Pe 1:2,
22; 1Jn 2:3-5)
·
hungers for God’s Word.
(1Pe 2:1-3)
·
lives a transformed life.
(2Co 5:17)
