|
Home > Featured Articles
Am I a True Child of God?
This is a very good question that everyone should ask and be able to answer with certainty. We read in John 3:3,7 the words of Christ:
Jesus answered and said unto him, "Truly, truly, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again."
Every person that ever walked on this earth was born physically, but not everyone has had a second birth, by the Bible's definition. In John 17:3 we also read,
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent..."
Physical life had a beginning and it shall have an end. Eternal life has a beginning, but it has no end! Christ described the entry into eternal life as being "born again." So how does one enter this eternal life? It is only by faith in Christ and His work on the cross. In John 3:16,17 we read,
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on Him is not condemned; but he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
You might be thinking, "Well...I sort of believe this. Does that mean that I am born again?" Let us examine this more closely to help you answer that question. Being born again to eternal life has many similarities to being born physically. What are these similarities? The following chart points out some of them; I shall refer to the physical child as the "baby" and the one who has been born to eternal life as the "child of God."
|
|
|
|
The baby is hungry for food ("Waaa!")
|
A child of God desires the Word of God to feed his soul. He does not simply carry the Bible occasionally to church, but regularly reads it so he may come to know God and His will.
|
|
The baby breathes.
|
Just as breath is vital to a baby's health, a child of God must exercise the privilege of praying to his Father in heaven, in order to be spiritually healthy and growing. True prayer is not some memorized speech, but rather natural communication with God.
|
|
A baby does not like to remain in soiled diapers.
|
A child of God desires to not sin, and when he sins, he confesses the sin to his Father in Heaven and seeks His help in forsaking it.
|
|
A baby loves the company of the one who gave birth to him.
|
A child of God loves to grow in knowledge of his Father in heaven and to please Him.
|
|
A baby loves the company of his siblings.
|
A child of God also loves to be around those who are his brothers and sisters through the same faith in Christ. Furthermore, he desires to see more people come to enjoy this relationship with God and with other children of God.
|
Someone has summarized it in this way:
"There are marks and evidences of true faith by which you can readily test yourself.
Is Christ precious to you?
Are you obedient to Christ?
Has sin become bitter? Do you loathe it?
Do you love God's people?
Do you love His Word?
Has holiness become sweet? Can you say that if you could live entirely without sin it would be the greatest delight you could have?"
While a child of God will continue growing in these characteristics all throughout his life, they will be present in "seed form" even in brand new Christians. If you do not genuinely love God, if you still find enjoyment in sinful pleasures and have no desire to read God's Word, then I would propose to you that you may have religion, but not the eternal life described in the Bible.
|
