How to Know You are a Christian

Have you ever doubted that you would go to Heaven when you die?  To me, the doubts are fewer and occur less seldom as the years roll along.  I ran across the following thoughts while cleaning out some files.  It is in my handwriting but that does not mean that I didn't plagiarize some of the thoughts and phrases from someone else's teaching.  I prefer abiding by the laws of the government especially after the last few sermons by our pastor on Romans, chapter 13.  Keep in mind that this is from a sinner saved by grace alone.  There are two lists: the first is a list of traits and actions that, in and of themselves, prove nothing.

List I - No confirmation of anything.

1. Visible morality - go to Matthew 19 and read about the rich young ruler.  Outwardly he was very moral and claimed to have never broken the law yet he wasn't willing to give up his riches to follow Christ.  Was any group more outwardly moral than the Pharisees in the New Testament?  Probably not but Jesus rebuked them over and over for their outward appearance without have an inward (spiritual) change.
2. Intellectual or Biblical knowledge - Knowledge puffs up according to the scripture.
3. Religious involvement - I think again of the Pharisees.  They were very involved with the teachings of the Jewish law.  Jesus speaks of saying to such as these:  Depart from me, I never knew you.  You can read about this towards the end of the 7th chapter of Matthew.
4. Active ministry - How many "church leaders" have fallen into the snare of adultery, etc.
5. Conviction of sin - if you have not repented and turned from your sin, there is no comfort for you in God's word, the Bible.
6. Assurance - If you are not a believer but think that you are, you are deceived.
7. Time of decision - If you base your salvation on something you did or an event that happened, this proves nothing.  You may say:  I walked the aisle and was baptised or I signed the card, prayed the sinner's prayer, joined the church, etc but without a changed life, none of this matters.

Now on to the next list.  These traits and actions tend to confirm from scripture the fact that one has indeed passed from darkness into the light of Jesus Christ.  Each of these will have one or more scriptures attached but the list is by no means comprehensive.

List II - From scripture.  Positive test of salvation.

1. Love for God (He must be your first love.)  Matt 10:37-39  "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Ps 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but You?  And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.  My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Ps 2:1-2  As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;  When shall I come and appear before God?
2. Repentance from sin - Ps 51:2  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.  Ps 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;  Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.   2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
3. Genuine humility - I often heard that this trait disappears once you acknowledge that you have it.  Ps 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;  A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Prov 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,
   And before honor comes humility.  Eph 4:1-2 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love
4. Devotion to God's glory (as opposed to our own glory) - Matt 5:16  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  Phil 1:20-21 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.   For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 
5. Continual prayer - 2 Thess 1:3  We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; 1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
6. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 3:14-15  We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 
7. Separation from the world - James 4:3-4  You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  1 Cor 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
8. Spiritual growth - Matt 7:16-20  "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  "So then, you will know them by their fruits. Eph 4:22-24 in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
9. Obedient living - Keep his commandments.  Ps 119:1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the Lord.  Ps 119:15-16 I will meditate on Your precepts
   And regard Your ways.  I shall delight in Your statutes;  I shall not forget Your word. Ps 119:33-35  Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,  And I shall observe it to the end.  Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart.  Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,  For I delight in it.  Matt 22:37-39  And He said to him, " 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and will all your mind.'  "This is the great and foremost commandment.  "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
10. Longing for Christ's return - not just to end your misery here below but because of your love for him.  2 Tim 4:7-8  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.  

As you examine the second list, keep it mind that each of these should be a part of the sanctification process and we should be moving along the continuum of each of these.  We will never 100% attain any of these but we should be progressing to become more Christ-like.  If you have a prolonged absence of any of the traits in the second list, you should repent from your sin and focus on your walk with Christ.  A Christian will not be comfortable for long if these traits are missing. The Holy Spirit will convict and convince if you only pray and seek wisdom from God.