Proof of genuine Christianity a believer needs to believe in = the five fundamentals of the faith=The deity of Jesus, Virgin birth of Jesus, Jesus"s Blood atonement, Jesus's soon return. Or be lost and bound for hell. Do you??
To you and anyone interested..
If one really knows that the spirit of God gave you the life and spirit of Christ that is within you today, is the true hallmark of a Christian, nothing else, nothing more nothing less. These 5, 10 or 20 principles that folks list as prerequisites of a Christian are all embedded knowing you have the SPIRIT and it is active within you in your gained LIVING faith and love from God. And how do we know we have this spirit living within us? There is a self-examination or test we MUST pass it with a grade of 100 percent.
Both Paul and John speak of this test has the true test of a genuine believer.
In 2 Corinthians 13:5-6, Paul came to a ‘mixed’ congregation, of a mixture of true and false believers; typical of any congregation, then, and today. Paul tell them to examine themselves to see if they have the SPIRIT of Christ within them, now.
Paul says we must examine or test ourselves to see if we are true believers. If anyone does fail this test that person is a fake believer.
(2Co 13:5) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
(2Co 13:6) But I hope you shall know that we have not failed the test. (ALL NEV)
In John 20:29-31, he tells us why he writes his Gospel. He writes his Gospel so that men might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He’s the Christ, that they might have eternal life.
(Joh 20:29) Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed.
(Joh 20:30) Many other signs Jesus did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.
(Joh 20:31) But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in his name. (ALL NEV)
Why did John write his epistle? He tells us in 1 John 5:13: These things in this this epistle he wrote to whomever believes in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
(1Jn 5:13) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (NEV)
Read the book of 1 John, because it comprises of a series of tests.
Test 1: 1 John 1:6
(1Jn 1:6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness, we lie and not do the truth. (ALL NEV)
If we lead a life style predominantly of the world and self over living and walking in Christ, we are a faker believer. We reflect nothing of God’s character and contradict living according to his will.
Test 2: 1 John 1:8-10
(1Jn 1:8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
(1Jn 1:9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1Jn 1:10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (ALL NEV)
There is no sinless perfection state as a Christian. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The most mature Christian is still susceptible to sin.
One of the greatest evidences that a person has truly been born again, having the same spirit of Christ, a true child of God is that they will be SENSITIVE to the sin in their life and
they will be led to repentance and confession of that sin. WE do not lead ourselves to repentance just in case we carry a sin – a sure sign we do not possess the SPIRIT.
You know if we side into sin like any human, believer or non-believer. And if we see our sliding over time, further and further into the same type of sin, and if God eventually pulls us out of this same type of sin, this is a sure sign we are a genuine believer. Has this happened to you?
So. if we say we have no sin, OR not sensitive to sin OR we (and not the SPIRIT because it’s absent) lead ourselves to repentance because of sin we believe needs confession and repentance, we are fake Christians. We failed the test!
Test 3: 1 John 2:3-5
(1Jn 2:3) And hereby we truly know that we truly know him: If we keep his commandments.
(1Jn 2:4) He that says: I know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(1Jn 2:5) But who keeps his word, in him truly has the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him. (ALL NEV)
This plainly means we keep on with a life-style of obeying the commandments written in our hearts. We persevere with them ALWAYS! We do not defy them, as we are sensitive to them as sin. We do not decide the ‘bar’ to set to pass this test. It is 100 percent, and we pass this test because the SPIRIT within us knows it is 100%. It has nothing to do with sin in our lives. Our SPIRIT attests that we have a lifestyle of keeping all commandments and the two that sums them all are: if we are in love with God, and then ourselves and then others as ourselves.
If this heartfelt and mind is absent within us we fail the test and are fake Christians!
Test 4: 1 John 2:6
(1Jn 2:6) He that says he abides in him, ought also walk even as he walked. (NEV)
Do you really desire to walk in life, as Jesus, in his spirit and his life or just as any human on earth and emulate a human hero or heroine?
Do you ‘like’ to walk as the world and do the things that the world will love you for? If you don’t have it within you, you are fake Christian!
Test 5: 1 John 2:9-11
(1Jn 2:9) He that says he is in the light and hates his brother, he remains in the darkness.
(1Jn 2:10) He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him.
(1Jn 2:11) But he that hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (ALL NEV)
Now we are to love brothers and sisters in Christ, not those of the world. If we love those of the world over those in Christ, and even despise or hate the latter, we fail the test.
If we do not take care for those in Christ and take care of non-believers first, we fail the test and we are fake believers!
If we have many friends of the world over those we could have feasibly, in Christ we are fake believers. Going to a ‘church’ do not necessarily ‘cut-it’ either. We may go just to ‘fill in’ a weekly square for self, family and some friends.
If you say that you know God and yet you do not love other believers in a real and practical way and desire fellowship with them, you are a fake believer!
Take the test and know you are genuinely in Christ, as God already knows anyway.
Bless ALL,
APAK