How to Tell if a Person is a Christian
1 John 3v9-10
29th July 2022
It would be easy for all of us who follow Christ to feel a bit condemned by these words:
1 John 3v9-10
No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in
him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil
are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God nor is anyone who
does not love his brother.
We've given our lives to Christ, believed in His redeeming sacrifice, and been born again as children of God. We love Him. But the fact remains that you and I do still sin. John said as much earlier in this letter:
1 John 3v8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves.
So John cannot be saying that everybody born of God is sinless. What, then, is he saying? First, the good news:
A Christian is a person who has been "born of God", or "born again" (John 3v3, 1 Peter 1v23). When we are born of God, God plants His seed in us. He puts in us something of Himself that will grow to maturity and bear fruit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us (Romans 8v9-11, 1 Corinthians 6v19, James 4v5), and the word of God comes to abide in us (Romans 10v8, John 15v7, James 1v21). The Holy Spirit will never leave us, and He will work repentance and holiness in us, according to the word of God, so we cannot continue to live as we once did.
We Christians all sin, even after being born again, but we don't "continue" to sin. That is, we don't live the way we used to, we don't ignore God's word. We aspire to His holiness, and we're moving towards a more and more sanctified life. It takes time. Here's an illustration that I hope might help: We've applied the brakes to our sin, but it takes a while for the brakes to work completely. We've slowed down but we haven't stopped. We mustn't be complacent about the sin that remains in our lives. We must continue to apply the brakes.
If a person really doesn't care about the sin in his life, if he never changes, never repents, then he hasn't been born of God. That is, he's not a Christian.
So we see that there is a clear distinction between Christians and non-Christians. When John says "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God" you will notice there is no third category. Everybody is either a child of God or a child of the devil. Jesus said:
Matthew 7:18-20
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by
their fruit you will recognize them.
It would be understandable if some people felt outraged by this idea. We probably all know some non-Christians who are a lot nicer than some Christians. But John isn't saying that all Christians nice and all non-Christians are not; he's saying that Christians - no matter how nice or horrible they are - are improving and will one day be perfect. This is because the Holy Spirit is sanctifying them through the word of God. Non-Christians don't have that power available to them.
If your lifestyle is not a lifestyle of doing good, if you haven't dedicated yourself to doing what is right, if you haven't repented of your sin, then – of course – you're not a child of God.
Reading this, you might be thinking, "Well, I kind of have and kind of haven't repented of my sin. I kind of do and kind of don't dedicate myself to doing what is right". That may well be true, but is it really what you think Jesus is looking for? Don't you think Jesus is looking for us to take repentance seriously? If we're going to be followers of the Prince of Peace, should we not be men and women of peace? If we are the family of the God of love, should we not love everybody? Should we not live for Jesus our Saviour as seriously and as completely as possible?
I'm not talking about the number of hours we spend serving Jesus, because that should be 24 hours of every day. I'm trying to talk about how serious we are about living for God and His kingdom, hating our sin and loving our neighbours. Paul talks about this in Ephesians, Chapter 4:
Ephesians 4v1b
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Ephesians 4v17
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as
the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
Ephesians 4v22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.
Returning to John 3v10, John is not saying that Christians must be flawless. He's saying that Anyone who does not do what is right, most of the time, is not a child of God.
John also says, Nor is anyone who does not love his brother. Isn't it sad that he had to write that? The church is one family. Every Christian on the face of the earth is either your brother or your sister. You're called to love all of them. Jesus said:
John 13:34-35
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must
love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
The most fundamental sign that a person is a Christian is his sacrificial love for other Christians.
May I suggest that you examine your heart? Is there any Christian you don't love? Is there any Christian you resent, or haven't forgiven? Is there a Christian you'd like to "take down a peg or two", or wag your finger in his face and tell him how wrong he is?
Am I willing to sacrifice for my brothers and sisters, including the ones who've hurt me, and the ones I find difficult?