Am I a Christian?

Growing up, we always had to come up with the right question. "Are you a believer?" "Are you saved?" "Are you born again?" Each new version had a new nuance that was intended to emphasize the difference between an actual Christian and a nominal Christian -- a Christian in name only. Almost all of what we had to help determine this was "What do you believe?" So we would ask, "Do you believe that Jesus is God? or "Have you repented of your sin?" or "Are you trusting God to forgive your sins?" All well and good, but it's all subjective, you see? Just like a person that doesn't actually trust Christ could consider himself a "believer" simply because he believes there was a man named Jesus (or the like), all this stuff is primarily based on your thinking. Are there other means of telling? Do we have any other hints to discover whether or not I am or am not a Christian?

The Bible doesn't leave us ignorant on the subject. There are more tangible considerations. For instance, Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Do you? Peter wrote,

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

This, he said, was the way to "confirm your calling and election" (2 Peter 1:10). Are you making efforts like that? Paul wrote about the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Do you see any such fruit? On the negative side, Jesus warned that you can recognize false teachers by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20). Do your fruits look like the Spirit or the flesh (Gal 5:19-21)? Paul warned that "another gospel" was no gospel at all and was "anathema" -- cursed (Gal 1:6-9). Are you following the true gospel? The author of Hebrews said that God disciplined and chastised His children and warned, "If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (Heb 12:8). Are you aware of God's discipline in your life?

That was just a sampling. There are lots of tests. First John is filled with various tests. Paul urged us to "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves" (2 Cor 13:5). Because Jesus warned that "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matt 7:21). And wouldn't it be horrible to go through life thinking, "I'm okay" only to find out you're among those whom Jesus never knew (Matt 7:23)?