When you were saved, you became a child of God, and He gave you permanent birthmarks to show you are His. I call them “birthmarks of the believer.” If you don’t have them, you should ask, “Have I ever really been saved?” It’s one thing to talk religion; it’s another to actually be a child of God. 


God doesn’t mince words. The Apostle John said, “If you claim to be a Jesus-follower and don’t keep His commandments—you’re a liar” (1 John 2:4).


John didn’t sugar-coat it. He targeted phonies who talk a good game but had little to back it up. 


So how can you know you’re not one of them?


Three “birthmarks” of someone who’s really saved:


1. You submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  


No one can be saved without first receiving Christ as Lord. You don’t say “I’ll take Jesus as my Savior—forget the Lord part.” If you say He’s your Lord but don’t live by His Word, your life is a sham. 


If He is your Lord, you keep His commandments


That doesn’t mean we’re saved by our works. You can’t do everything perfectly. No one but Jesus could. It doesn’t mean you’ll never get blown off course. When you treasure God’s commands and steer your life by them, you can say, “Yes, I know the Lord.”  


If He is not your Lord, then you are not on your way to Heaven.


That’s not legalism; it’s love. You keep His commandments because you love Him.  If you don’t really love Him, put a big question mark over that thing you call “salvation.” 


2. You want to live as Jesus lived.


  • Honestly

Honest with God, yourself, and others (1:6-7). If not, don’t call yourself a child of God.


  • Purely

“Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (3:3). 

If you love pornography, if you’re full of lust, you need to get saved. I’m not saying you can’t slip into sin, but if this is your way of life, you’re not living like Jesus.


  • Righteously

Righteousness isn’t passive (“I’ll just sit here and be sure I’m not doing anything wrong.”) Righteousness is actively doing good, just as Jesus did. 


Sounds like a tall order. How will you do this?


Jesus said, “I am the vine, you’re the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 


Supernatural reliance on Jesus.


Rely on Jesus the same way He relied on His Father. Jesus said, “What the Father says, I say. What I see the Father do, I do.” You can walk as He walked only when you rely fully on Him.


3. You show and share His love.


When Jesus knelt and washed His disciples’ feet that included Judas. He said, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another” (John 1:34-35). Jesus loves each one, not because we’re lovely; He just loves us. 


RECAP— the birthmarks you’re looking for:

You submit to His Lordship. 

You seek His lifestyle. 

You share His love. 


If you’re saved, it’s going to show through a life controlled by the Lord Jesus.


If your religion hasn’t changed your life, you need to change your religion. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17).


Full article originally published by Love Worth Finding.