How to Identify a Born Again Christian

5 Birthmarks of the Built-in Again Christian

Turning Point
2021 four Dec

5 Birthmarks of the Born Again Christian

What is a Born Once again Christian?

While the entire Bible stresses certainty and assurance for Christians who are born-once again, at that place'due south i department of Scripture that stakes out this theme as its central focus—the letter of 1 John.

Equally we carefully read through 1 John, we discover a five-fold argument for the balls of salvation—five of the birthmarks of the Christian. These are characteristics and traits of someone who is born again through faith in Jesus Christ.

"That which was from the start, which we take heard, which we take seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim apropos the Give-and-take of life. The life appeared; we accept seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to y'all the eternal life, which was with the Begetter and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we accept seen and heard, so that you too may take fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy consummate." one John one:1-4

Let's have a look at the 5 signs of those who are born again Christians

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ane. Born Again Christian: The Birthmark of Confession

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The beginning is the birthmark of confession, described in 1 John 5:1: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is built-in of God." Before y'all can take assurance of salvation, you have to believe and be saved. You have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people assume they are saved because they grew upward in a Christian culture, or they have gone to church building all their lives, or they take been baptized, or they have tried to live a practiced life. Yet they've never distinctly and personally confessed Jesus Christ equally their Savior and Lord.

The Bible teaches that we are sinners, separated from God by a sinful nature. We can never earn, buy, or climb our fashion into heaven. Past our ain efforts or goodness, we tin never be saved. That's why God became a homo who lived a wholly righteous life, died on the cross, shed His blood for us, and rose from the dead. He paid our penalisation, took our judgment upon Himself, and He offers us the opportunity to exist born over again.

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two. Built-in Once again Christian: The Birthmark of Change

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If the beginning birthmark is our confession of Christ equally our Savior and Lord, the 2nd is a changed life, as we encounter in 1 John 2:29: "Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." When Jesus truly saves us, it makes a difference in how we call up, act, speak, and acquit ourselves. The Bible says, "If anyoneisin Christ,he isa new creation; old things accept passed away; behold, all things take become new" (2 Corinthians five:17).

As we begin learning to practice righteousness, our habits change. We will non be sinlessly perfect while we're on this planet; only if we're Christians, we need to behave like Christians. If we say we're saved just nothing has changed nigh usa, something is wrong. We are non savedbygood works, merely we are savedforgood works, and the Gospel is a transforming agent in our lives.

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three. Born Again Christian: The Birthmark of Compassion

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Those who are truly saved also bear the birthmark of compassion. How tin you know that you are a Christian? By what you believe, by how y'all alive, and past whom you love. Love is a recurring theme in i John, and the apostle leaves no doubtfulness virtually how information technology permeates the lives of true Christians. "Beloved," he wrote, "let us love ane another, for beloved is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. . . . We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 John four:7; 3:14).

Do y'all love your brothers and sisters in the family unit of God? Those who are truly saved are those who enjoy and bless the household of faith, the family unit of God.

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4. Built-in Again Christian: The Birthmark of Conflict

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A fourth sign of being truly saved is conflict. According to 1 John 5:4, "Any is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." The wordovercomeimplies a struggle. We're faced with an adversary whom we must overcome. Our adversary is identified in 1 John ii:fourteen as the wicked one: "I take written to yous, immature men, considering yous are strong, and the word of God abides in you lot, and yous accept overcome the wicked ane." John went on in the next verses to say: "Do not honey the world or the things in the globe. . . . For all thatisin the earth—the lust of the mankind, the animalism of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the earth" (i John 2:15-17).

When you're genuinely born of God, you'll exist growing to be an overcomer as you lot deal with the temptations around you—the earth, the flesh, and the devil. You lot may not be victorious over every temptation every time, merely y'all'll make progress in gaining more victories and losing less battles as yous grow stronger in Christ and in the power of the abiding Discussion of God.

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5. Born Once again Christian: The Birthmark of Acquit

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That leads to the final point I want to make: We can encounter testify for the validity of salvation in our desire to behave ourselves in a way that pleases God. According to 1 John 3:9, "Whoever has been born of God does non sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been built-in of God."

If we're not careful, nosotros might interpret this poesy to teach that anyone who is built-in of God never sins. That would conflict with other passages in the Bible that describe the states as fallible and often declining.

In ane John iii:9, the word for sin is a present active infinitive and information technology describes a continuous activity. John is non maxim that whoever sins once is not born of God. That would disqualify all of us. It would certainly disqualify me. But John is saying, in effect, "Whoever keeps on willfully sinning, violating God'south law with stubborn disregard and ongoing wickedness, cannot have assurance of salvation."

If we are truly saved, we will grieve over our sins, confess them, and seek God's grace to do better.

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You tin can have balls of salvation today.

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His grace is inexhaustible and His conservancy is irreversible. Make certain you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and and then trust Him with your eternal time to come. He will never exit y'all or forsake you lot. His Discussion was given that yous might know Jesus Christ as your Savior and that yous might know that yous have eternal life.

Article excerpted and edited with permission fromDr. David Jeremiah's book, X Questions Christians are Asking.

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