Faith, according to Scripture, produces obedience. Now, we know it's not the other way around. We're not saved by obedience. We're saved by faith. But this faith has an unavoidable result. If it does not, it is what James terms "dead faith" (James 2:17). So Paul talks about "the obedience of faith" -- the obedience that faith produces -- as fundamental to the gospel (Rom 1:5), John says that the one who is born of God does not make a practice of sin because he cannot (1 John 3:9), and Jesus says, "You will know them by their fruits." (Matt 7:16)
This is why John wrote his first epistle. He repeatedly points to "what you do" as evidence for who you are (1 John 1:6-7; 1:8-10; 2:9-11; 2:15; 2:23; 2:29; 3:4; 3:7-10; 3:14; 3:18-19; 3:24; 4:6; 4:7-8; 4:20-21; 5:1-3). Jesus said that the problem of sin was the heart (Matt 15:18-19), but regeneration brings a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek 36:26). Changed hearts make changed lives necessarily.
All this to say that "because I said so" is not a biblical reason to believe that anyone is a believer. We generally believe that we should never question the salvation of someone who claims to be a Christian -- and there is a wide range of people who make the claim. This simply isn't biblical. And, worse, it could be eternally fatal. Jesus warned about those who were completely convinced they had a relationship with God only to discover He never knew them (Matt 7:21-23). If we are to love (which, by the way, is the primary evidence of being a believer (John 13:35; 1 John 5:1-3)) we need to pursue the best for others, and ignoring the biblical evidence that someone who says they're saved with no such evidence can leave them on a path to hell -- surely not the best for them. If God's heart is that everyone should be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4), shouldn't we share the same desire? If so, applying biblical standards of evidence in the hope of bringing people to Christ is an act of love, not judgment.
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