How Do You Know if You Are Born Again and Saved

5 Birthmarks of the Born Once again Christian

Turning Point
2021 4 Dec

5 Birthmarks of the Born Again Christian

What is a Born Again Christian?

While the entire Bible stresses certainty and balls for Christians who are born-again, there's 1 section of Scripture that stakes out this theme every bit its central focus—the letter of ane John.

As we carefully read through 1 John, nosotros notice a v-fold argument for the assurance of salvation—5 of the birthmarks of the Christian. These are characteristics and traits of someone who is built-in once more through organized religion in Jesus Christ.

"That which was from the beginning, which nosotros have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands take touched—this we proclaim apropos the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Male parent and has appeared to u.s.. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, and then that yous also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to brand our joy complete." 1 John 1:1-4

Let'due south take a look at the 5 signs of those who are born again Christians

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i. Born Over again Christian: The Birthmark of Confession

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The kickoff is the birthmark of confession, described in 1 John 5:1: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." Before y'all can have balls of salvation, you take to believe and be saved. You lot have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people presume they are saved considering they grew up in a Christian culture, or they have gone to church all their lives, or they accept been baptized, or they have tried to live a good life. Yet they've never distinctly and personally confessed Jesus Christ as 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 mode into heaven. By our own efforts or goodness, we can never be saved. That's why God became a man who lived a wholly righteous life, died on the cross, shed His claret for us, and rose from the expressionless. He paid our penalty, took our judgment upon Himself, and He offers usa the opportunity to be built-in again.

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ii. Born Again Christian: The Birthmark of Change

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If the first birthmark is our confession of Christ as our Savior and Lord, the second is a changed life, as nosotros see in 1 John 2:29: "Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." When Jesus truly saves us, information technology makes a difference in how we recall, deed, speak, and conduct ourselves. The Bible says, "If anyoneisin Christ,he isa new cosmos; onetime things have passed away; behold, all things have go new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As we begin learning to practice righteousness, our habits change. We will not exist sinlessly perfect while we're on this planet; just if we're Christians, we need to acquit like Christians. If we say we're saved merely nothing has changed near us, something is wrong. Nosotros are not savedpastpracticed works, just nosotros are savedforgood works, and the Gospel is a transforming agent in our lives.

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iii. Born Once again Christian: The Birthmark of Compassion

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Those who are truly saved also bear the birthmark of pity. How tin can you know that y'all are a Christian? By what you believe, by how y'all alive, and by whom you love. Dear is a recurring theme in 1 John, and the apostle leaves no uncertainty virtually how it permeates the lives of truthful Christians. "Beloved," he wrote, "permit us love ane another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is built-in of God and knows God. . . . We know that we have passed from death to life, because nosotros love the brethren" (1 John 4:7; 3:14).

Do you love your brothers and sisters in the family of God? Those who are truly saved are those who savour and bless the household of faith, the family of God.

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iv. Born Once again Christian: The Birthmark of Conflict

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A quaternary sign of being truly saved is conflict. Co-ordinate to i John 5:4, "Whatever is born of God overcomes the globe. 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 one John ii:14 as the wicked 1: "I have written to you, young men, because y'all are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and yous have overcome the wicked one." John went on in the side by side verses to say: "Do not dear the world or the things in the world. . . . For all thatisin the world—the animalism of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Male parent just is of the world" (1 John 2:fifteen-17).

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

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5. Born Again Christian: The Birthmark of Conduct

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That leads to the final indicate I want to brand: We tin run into evidence for the validity of salvation in our desire to conduct ourselves in a way that pleases God. According to ane 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 born of God."

If we're not conscientious, nosotros might translate this verse to teach that anyone who is born of God never sins. That would conflict with other passages in the Bible that draw us every bit fallible and oft declining.

In 1 John 3:9, the give-and-take for sin is a present agile infinitive and it describes a continuous action. John is non saying that whoever sins once is not born of God. That would disqualify all of us. It would certainly disqualify me. Simply John is proverb, in effect, "Whoever keeps on willfully sinning, violating God's law with stubborn disregard and ongoing wickedness, cannot have assurance of salvation."

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

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You can have assurance of salvation today.

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His grace is inexhaustible and His salvation is irreversible. Make sure you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then trust Him with your eternal future. He volition never leave you or forsake you. His Word was given that you might know Jesus Christ as your Savior and that you lot might know that you have eternal life.

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

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