“Examine
yourselves…”
“Examine yourselves to see if your faith
is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is
among you, it means you have failed the test” (II Corinthians 13:5, New Living
Translation)
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the
Corinthian church, urging the believers there to put their faith to the
test. Why? Because the Christian faith isn’t something
that’s rooted in some past event (baptism, altar call, church membership,
etc.), it’s a living, growing faith; it’s a faith that works (James
OK, how do we examine ourselves? Are there some foolproof tests that
Christians can conduct to ensure that they are “in the faith?” Yes!
The New Testament is full of criteria that we can use to determine if
our faith is true. One prime example is
the Christian’s “fruit.” Jesus told His
disciples, “Yes, the way to identify a
tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced” (Matthew
The fruit of the Spirit is a good indicator of a
true, living faith in Jesus Christ, but I want to explore with you a
comprehensive list of traits that should mark the life of every Christian. These traits all come from John’s first
epistle. John offers several tests of
true discipleship centered around some basic themes of the Christian
faith. Some of the themes tend to repeat
themselves as John takes the basic themes and spirals them outward. Let’s look at each test in turn!
1.
Recognizing and confessing one’s sins
If we
say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the
truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us
and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are
calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (1
John 1:8-10)
The first test we
must pass is having the proper view of sin in our lives. The proper view of sin is first acknowledging
the fact that we are sinners. If we deny
that fact of sin in our lives, we are not only acting foolish, but we are
calling God a liar. A Christian will
acknowledge the sin in their life and confess that sin to God in order to
receive forgiveness and cleansing.
Remember, it was Jesus Himself who said that He came to save sinners, so
if we deny our sin, then we cannot be saved.
It’s that simple.
2.
Obedience to God’s commands
And
how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If
someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that
person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really
do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who
say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did. (1 John 2:3-6)
The second test we
must be able to pass is the obedience test.
Simply put, Christians obey Jesus Christ and the word of God. There’s no two ways about it. You can’t call yourself a Christian if your
life displays an unbroken pattern of disobedience. Some think that this obedience has to be
perfect and unbroken, but that is clearly false. It is false based on Scripture (see the first
test above) and experience (Christians do indeed fall into spells of sin and
disobedience). The Apostle Paul was
completely unsatisfied with his level of obedience when in Romans chapter 7 he
laments, “Oh, what a miserable person I
am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” Notice he says “what a miserable person I
am,” not “what a miserable person I was.”
Paul was no more sinless in his Christian life than anyone else.
3.
Loving other Christians
If
anyone says, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or
sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves other
Christians is living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble. Anyone
who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in darkness. Such
a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness. (1 John 2:9-11)
You cannot claim to
be a Christian and fail to treat a fellow Christian with love. Jesus gave this teaching to His disciples, “So now I am giving you a new commandment:
Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your
love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Our love for fellow Christians is one of our
strongest witnesses; if we don’t show love to fellow Christians, then
unbelievers aren’t going to be inclined to believe Christianity changes lives.
4.
“Hating” the world
Stop
loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world,
you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world
offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and
pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil
world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if
you do the will of God, you will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
A true Christian
will see an increasing “hatred” for the things of the world. The “world” in this context is the world system; i.e., the
social/political/economic system that controls world opinion. The “world” is always contrary to God; it
doesn’t like the things of God, and tries to discredit God and His followers. Why is the world against God? Because the world is under Satan’s dominion
(1 John
5.
Remaining faithful (Persevering)
Dear
children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming,
and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the end
of the world has come. These people left our churches because they never really
belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left us,
it proved that they do not belong with us. But you are not like that, for the
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing
to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference
between truth and falsehood. (1 John 2:18-21)
Another test of
being a true Christian is remaining in the faith. There are many people who were raised as
Christians and even made seemingly genuine confessions, yet at some point in
their lives they leave the faith. John
says such people were never really members of the true faith because if they
were, they would persevere. Paul
comments on the perseverance of true Christians when he says, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and
the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the
powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or
in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us
from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
8:38-39).
6.
Not denying the true faith
And
who is the great liar? The one who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Such
people are antichrists, for they have denied the Father and the Son. Anyone who
denies the Son doesn’t have the Father either. But anyone who confesses the Son
has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23)
Closely related to
the previous test is not denying the faith.
This differs from remaining faithful in that those who fail this test
actively seek to discredit Christianity and turn others away from the true
faith. They do this by denying the
reality of Jesus Christ—either denying His deity or humanity. There are some who teach that one can be
saved and yet do this very thing—deny Christ.
They say this because they think one can profess faith in Jesus Christ
at one point in their life, and then later on reject that profession, but
because of the previous profession of faith, God is obligated to honor that
prior profession. This is documented in
a fine book by Dr. John MacArthur (The Gospel According to Jesus). Needless to say, John disagrees. Anyone who denies Christ shows their true
colors.
7.
Keeping pure and looking forward to Christ’s return
See
how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children,
and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so
they don’t understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are
already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when
Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we
will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves
pure, just as Christ is pure. (1 John 3:1-3)
The true child of
God strives to keep himself pure.
Why? Because we eagerly await
Christ’s return. This test somewhat
incorporates the previous ones. Keeping
oneself pure entails shunning sin and the world and cultivating a love for God
and righteousness. Notice what the verse
says, “the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so they don’t
understand that [Christians] are His children.”
Those who belong to this world don’t bother with purity, nor do they
look forward to Christ’s return. As Paul
said, “But people who aren’t Christians
can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them
because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means” (1
Corinthians
8.
Acknowledging the humanity of Jesus Christ
Dear
friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must
test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many
false prophets in the world. This is the way to find out if they have the
Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human
being, that person has the Spirit of God. If a prophet does not acknowledge
Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the
Antichrist. You have heard that he is going to come into the world, and he is
already here. (1 John 4:1-3)
The true Christian is going to acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in
the flesh; that He was a real person who walked this earth. This may seem like a “no-brainer,” but it is
a crucial doctrine. John uses very clear
language in this test: if anyone does not
acknowledge Jesus Christ, that person is not from God. Christianity must affirm the human nature of
Jesus Christ, or we’re preaching a false gospel; and anyone who preaches a
false gospel is cursed (Galatians 1:8).
9.
Gaining victory in the Christian life
Everyone
who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves
the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love
God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and
really, that isn’t difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by
trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against
the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:1-5)
The final test is
Christian victory. Not only does the
Christian shun sin and embrace righteousness, but the Christian will experience
victory in his battle with sin. We obey
God’s commands (which is the ultimate demonstration of our love for God), and
by doing so we can live victoriously. We
do this by “trusting Christ to give the victory.” Winning this battle against the world gives
us assurance that we are true children of God.
The Apostle John wanted his readers to make sure
their faith was real and to experience the blessedness of assurance: “I write this to you who believe in the Son
of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John