Today we should ponder over a very serious question. What does it really mean to be a true Christian? What are the signs of a true Christian to look out for and know if someone is a real Christian or not?
This is exactly what this post addresses today. There are many different ways in which you can tell if you are on the right path or not. At times, it can be quite difficult to figure out but more often than not, the fruits you bear will show you whether or not you are of God. By the end of this article, you will be familiar with all the ways in which someone is a true Christian.
As the Bible reveals to us, a true Christian or true believer is someone who lives a life that deeply reflects that of our Lord Jesus Christ which is also what true Christianity is all about, anyway.
Implying that if you are a real Christian who has experienced true conversion, you might live a holy life that’s in full obedience to Christ and also reflect His holy character, hating and staying away from evil. These are the signs:
Filled with God’s love
One of the most important signs that will show whether or not you are a true Christian is that you will be filled with Divine love, which will allow you to selflessly love others without other motives (Romans 12:9).
This special agape love you will earn only comes from God. As you know, we tend to easily fall into selfishness and be self-centered, which is exactly why we can’t selflessly love others unless they benefit us in some way.
If you are a real Christian, you probably have this selfless agape love given to you by Christ Jesus, which enables you to selflessly love others without expecting anything in return.
The love is the exact one Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, that’s not self-centered or self-seeking as natural human love. The latter often slips into what we can get from someone, and it’s not as pure as the spiritual one.
Genuine salvation
Having genuine salvation which also comes with eternal life is probably one of the most important signs of a true Christian, that every single professing Christian needs to have. Without it, you won’t be able to make it to Heaven.
This salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 beautifully sums it up that there is really no other name under heaven other than Jesus Christ, by which we need to be saved from sin and its horrific consequences: eternal damnation in hellfire.
If you truly believe and you’ve been truly saved, you will possess this feeling of salvation that brings eternal life and forgiveness of our sins. This can only happen to those of you who truly repent and forsake your sins (Proverbs 28:13). Fake Christians can be spotted in the sinful unregenerated lifestyles they have.
Love Jesus Christ
If you are a true Christian or you claim to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, you must love Him with all your heart by keeping His commandments, as he beautifully says in John 14:15: if you love Him, you will keep His commandments.
This also implies that you won’t really desire to do the things He dislikes or that are against His world. It doesn’t matter how big is the temptation; don’t let your sinful flesh disobey.
So it’s impossible to say that you love Jesus Christ with your heart and soul if you are not interested whatsoever in obeying and keeping His commandments found in God’s word in the Bible or giving your life completely to Him.
If you are the kind of fake Christian Paul talks about in Titus 1:16, you will only claim to love Christ with your mouth but deny Him in your words and actions which is a trend most fake Christians do nowadays.
Hate sin
Another important sign that will show you you’re a real Christian is that you will try to avoid sin and lean into righteousness due to the nature of Christ that will be continuously active in you.
This can be made possible because you will receive a new heart at salvation, the one your Lord promises in Ezekiel 36:26, which will also make you love the Lord with all your heart and abhor all that which is evil. If you are a true Christian and you continuously try to profess Christ in your life, you will hate evil and adopt a righteous approach to life.
However, if you are false, you will love sin because of the ungenerated sinful heart that you might still have as a sinner, which makes you love sin and hate righteousness. That’s also why sin is so attractive and appealing to you: our human condition can’t help but sin.
Romans 12: 2 says that if you are a true Christian, you shouldn’t be conformed to this evil world. You need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Jesus Christ. If you are a fake Christian, you won’t integrate a transformed life.
What does a transformed life mean?
Well, having genuine faith in your Christian walk with Jesus Christ is yet another sign that will show you are a genuine Christian, filled with God’s grace in your life.
This genuine faith of which without you can’t really please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6) represents the faith that will be able to withstand trials of faith, persecutions, and even hardships that every true Christian will experience here on the earth.
Your faith won’t be real unless it’s shown during trials. Faith unproven and unshown is not really faith. No wonder Abraham in the Old Testament is known as the father of faith: his faith was tested and passed all trials.
If your obedience is counterfeit, your faith won’t be any different. It will only work when things are good in your life, but when the storms of life come, it will crumble like a house built on sand.
Possess real faith
Having true faith in your Christian walk with the Lord Jesus is yet another sign that will show how much of a Christian you really are. This genuine faith of which without you can’t really please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6) is basically the one that will be able to withstand any trials, persecutions, and hardships that you might experience on earth.
Overcome sin
Overcoming sin will be yet another sign that will show if you are a true Christian due to all the new grace that person has been granted by Jesus Christ after being saved. In Titus 2:11, Paul explains there that the grace of God that brings salvation has been made available to everyone.
It is the same grace that enables true believers who have been saved to overcome sin and deny other forms of ungodliness and worldly lusts in this present evil we seem to be soaked in.
If you are not a true believer, you won’t have the grace to enable you to overcome the sinful desires of your sinful flesh that also made you sin in the first place. Sadly, most people who profess to be Christians nowadays are still living in sin, even if they claim to be born again merely deceiving themselves.
If they were, sin wouldn’t have had dominion over their lives.
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