6                                                                                              Am I Truly A Christian?  A Test!

To answer this question we must look to the Scriptures, and not to the teachings of man. The things written here are not the teachings of a denomination, but strictly the word and will of God.. Please read all of the Scripture References.

               Test questions

       1  Do you deny yourself at all times?

       2  Do you always do what the Lord Jesus Christ tells you to do?

  3  Are you walking with a pure con­science right this minute?

  4  Are you in bondage to sin? In other words, does sin control you?

  5  Do you have enmity, or un-forgiveness against anyone?

  6  Do you profess to know God, but live your life denying Him?

  7  Do you strive to be perfect before God in all of your ways?

  8  If all Christians were currently as fruitful as you are, would the world ever be converted?

  9  Are you persecuted for your faith?

10  Do you pray without ceasing?

 

Read the warning from Jesus Christ, the one whom our Heavenly Father sent to save us. Matthew 7:15-23 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. "Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.

To take this test you must be honest, you may cheat on this test, but you will only be cheating yourself. Jesus said "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!" Set truth before your mind now and realize that God's Holy Spirit is watching you. He can and does know what you are thinking, He can see into your heart, as surely as you can see this paper you are reading!

To check the Bible for the Biblical answer to these questions read on.

Question 1  Do you deny yourself at all times? The Scriptural answer is Yes.

Scripture - Luke 9:23  And He was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Comment - T</big></big>his doctrine of "denying ourselves and picking up our cross" is the very heart of Christianity, without this being true as the practice of our lives, we are but hypocrites! This very attitude was the central theme in the life of Jesus, and He has instructed us to follow Him in this example. If we don't practice self-denial, we aren't His disciples. It's useless to try to follow the One who was crucified without taking up our own cross daily.

Question 2  Do you always do what the Lord Jesus Christ tells you to do? The Scriptural answer is Yes.

Scripture - Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;  for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Read also Matthew 22:37-39  - Luke 6:27-30  -  Matthew 19:17 Matthew 7:13-14

Comment - The Sermon on the Mount is God's will for our lives, Listen to Jesus in Luke 6:46-49 "And why do you call Me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Not obeying  the One who was sent to save us is not bright! And again Jesus said, "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Listen to what John has to say about obeying the Lord, 1 John 2:4  The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;  Pretty strong, but so very true!

Question 3  Are you walking with a pure conscience right this minute? The Scriptural answer is Yes.

Scripture - Acts 23:1 And Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day." Acts 24:16  "In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.  

1 Timothy 1:5  But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have reject­ed and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

Comment - All of true religion consists in having a pure conscience both before man and God. Having the "old man" or "old nature" put off. With what does the "old man" or "old nature" consist? It is this, and no more; the very spirit of selfishness, the great "me", "mine", "my" and " I ". It is self-esteem, self-seeking, and living wholly to self, and this is all that possibly can come from "our flesh" or "old nature", in other words, the real you without God! And mark me well, these things must be "put off", so that the new man (Christ Jesus) can be put on. One of the benefits of being born again, is a good, blameless, and clear conscience!

Question 4 Are you in bondage to sin? In other words, does any sin have control of you? Another way of asking this question is this, do you practice any form of sin? The Scriptural answer  is No.

Scripture - Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:12-15 Therefore Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.  What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!  1 John 3: 8-10  The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righ­teousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. John 8:34-36 Jesus an­swered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. . . . . . "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

Comment - This question is very simple, but in light of what is preached in almost every Church; it has become a difficult question to understand. Remember Jesus came to save us from sin, if you are still in bondage to sin, you still need to be saved!  Matthew 1:21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." When the Bible speaks of Christians and a practice of sin, it is always in the "past-tense"  Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Here are a few more Bible references to this question about sin being in the "past-tense", 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 Ephesians 2:1-10   Colossians 1:21-23  Colossians 3:5-11   Titus 3:3-5

Question 5  Do you have enmity, or un-forgiveness against anyone? The Scriptural answer is No.

Scripture - Mark 11:25. "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions."  Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."  "But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgres­sions.”

Comment - If we harbor un-forgiveness in our hearts, we are simply proving that selfishness is still ruling in our lives, and we do not have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. God has emphati­cally stated that He will not forgive us of our sins if we refuse to forgive others. Learning this and still refusing to forgive others only proves that we have really not repented at all!

Question 6  Do you profess to know God, but live your life denying Him? The Scriptural answer is No.

Scripture - Titus 1:16  They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed.  Matthew 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and  honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  Luke 6:46  "And why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  1 John 3  “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His command­ments.”

Comment  - Our lives show what is truly living and reigning on the throne of our hearts, if self is alive we might profess to be Christians, but our actions will constantly contradict us. We sometimes fool our­selves, and we certainly won't be able to fool God!