Am I a Christian?

By Warren Mueller –

This is the continuation of my previous article titled Do I Pass The Test?  In this article further tests will be discussed that can be used to answer the question: Am I really born again spiritually?

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that we are to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.  Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test?”  From this we see that we must examine ourselves about whether there has been a genuine spiritual birth through faith in Jesus.  Nobody can do this for you or assure you that it has happened within you.  Only you can answer this question.  What are the questions we should be asking to evaluate this important change?  I will list the questions discussed in the previous article and then discuss the others.  These questions are not listed in any order of importance.

Do I have a hunger or spiritual craving for the Word of God?

Do you pray regularly?

Do you desire to spend time with other believers and love them?

Do you have spiritual fruit and is it increasing in your life?

Do you desire to share your faith in Jesus with others?

If you have been born again, you will be filled with the love, joy and peace of the presence of the Holy Spirit within.  This experience is so wonderful that you will desire to share it with others.  You will want to tell others about how this change happened to you both to see if others have also been born again and in the hope that others may also experience this birth.  Jesus commands his disciples to go and bear witness to who he is and his teachings (Mt 28:18-20).  The light and life of God within his children will shine forth if there has been a genuine birth.  (Mt 5:14-16)

Are you becoming more dependent upon God?

As time passes the presence of the Holy Spirit within transforms the mind so that priorities, thoughts and actions are increasingly centered on Jesus.  (Rom 12:1-2)  This results in a growing dependency upon God and the realization that he is the essence of life.  Everything else seems secondary to his love (sensing the closeness of his presence), his purpose (pleasing him) and his power (sovereignty) and the revelation of truth (knowledge).   (Phil 3:8-9)

Are you pursuing holiness?

As children of God, we are commanded to be holy as God is holy (1 Pet 1:14-16)  This does not mean that holiness can be achieved through human effort but rather that holiness grows inside true believers and manifests itself in good works as the mind is transformed (Rom 8:6-8).  Are you doing good works to show you are a Christian (do to be) or do your good works flow from who you are (be to do)?

Is God disciplining you?  Do you feel the unrest of sin in your life?

There should be a growing awareness of sin within and around the true believer.  This results in a sense of the greatness of our sinful condition and a desire to be rid of sinful habits.   Paul describes the tension of true believers who experience conflict between the desires of the Holy Spirit and human nature (Rom 7:21-25).  This unrest is part of the conviction of the Holy Spirit who is working to overcome the evil nature.  True believers are more miserable than others because choosing sin breaks fellowship with God and results his displeasure and discipline (Prov 3:12).

These are some of the questions that each person should use to see if there has been a spiritual birth into the kingdom of God.  Jesus said that no man can enter the kingdom of God unless the Holy Spirit causes him to be born in a spiritual sense as a new creation. (Jn 3:3).  Do you pass these tests?