In attempting to answer this question there are a number of further questions which we can ask of ourselves which should help clarify this extremely important matter.
1. HAVE I BECOME A TRUE CHRISTIAN?
Have I reached a point in my life when I have had to admit to being what the Bible calls a 'sinner'? If so, have I so desired to 'get right' with God? In order to do so have I obeyed His command to turn away from all in my life that I've known to be wrong? Seeking His forgiveness have I surrendered my future to God? And in reaching out to him in a simple prayer of faith and trust have I asked His Son, the risen Christ Jesus, to come into my life and become my Saviour and Lord? If I've responded to the message of the gospel in this way I'll have received the risen Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the His Spirit. (John 1:9 & Colossians 2:6) Do I appreciate that I am now no longer my own, I now belong to Him. My sins, past, present and future are now forgiven. I have been given a completely new start in life with the motivation and power to live a new lifestyle, pleasing to Him.
2. AM I LIVING AS A TRUE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST JESUS?
Anyone who has become a true Christian will find their life re-directed. Have I examined my life and am I deliberately making my aim to please Him in all the various facets of my daily living? Has my life been re-directed? No-one who begins to follow the Lord Jesus is ever entirely the same again and therefore I must ask myself the following. Are there things I did before becoming a Christian that I now no longer do? Are there things that I did not do before, or would not be doing now, were I not committed to the Lord Jesus? Do I know Christ Jesus to be my own Lord and Saviour?
3. DO I TESTIFY TO CHRIST JESUS?
Do I have a genuine desire to speak to others about my new found faith... to those who are already Christians for their encouragement, and to those who are not yet in order to 'win' them for Christ? We will not all have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but we are all called to be ambassadors for Him. Do I have this desire? If I have come to know and to love Him, if I appreciate all that has been done for me at the Cross of Calvary and recognise the dreadful peril facing those who are not yet Christians, do I care enough to share the message of the gospel with them?
4. AM I LEARNING MORE ABOUT CHRIST JESUS?
Am I eager to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I know and understand much more about Him than I did at the point of my conversion, or at this time last year? Do I have an increasing appetite to read the Bible and learn from Christian preaching and teaching? Do I relish opportunities to meet with fellow Believers and does it warm my heart to sing and speak with them about Him?
If I am able to answer 'yes' to these questions then this is tangible evidence of my having received
Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour and that I have embarked upon the journey of true committed Christian discipleship.
...if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
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