The Mark of a Christian

I've been pondering, lately, something Jim mentioned recently in a couple of messages.  

It goes something like this:  Say I were to announce that I was Chinese.  You'd promptly disagree.  But...but, I protest - I like Chinese food, I hang out with Chinese people, I've visited China, and I can even say a few Chinese words.  So, I'm Chinese!  Still you would say, you are not Chinese.  Why not?  Here's why not:  Because I do not possess any of the inherent distinguishing characteristics that would make me Chinese.  So...no matter how many times, or in how many ways, I pronounce myself Chinese, I am simply NOT Chinese.

The same applies to being a Christian.  The Bible tells us that a true Christian has certain characteristics that mark him as such.  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor 5:17).  The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and never fails to do His job of transforming that believer into the image of Christ.  Among the many traits of a true Christian, he will have a love for and an obedience to the truth, as well as a love for other believers (2 Thess 2:10, 1 Pet 1:22, 1 John 4:11).  He will naturally love God and keep His commandments (1 John 5:2, 3).  By the power of the Holy Spirit his life will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22,23).  I could go on and on, but this isn't an exhaustive article on the subject.  The point is that there are determinate and recognizable traits that identify a Christian as a Christian.  Simply declaring oneself a Christian doesn't make it so.  

Take heed if you assume the name Christian and you have never come to faith in Christ by trusting in Him alone and His finished work on the cross for your salvation.  If you give absolutely no thought to Christ - much less hold Him preeminent in your life by loving, revering and serving Him - you are not Christian.  If you live a life that is in direct opposition to what God has ordered the life of one of His own to look like, you are not Christian.  If your life is 'characterized' by willful, unrepenant sin, over which you have no grief or shame, you are not Christian.   

Do not be lulled into a false sense of security that because at one time you repeated a prayer you believe you have escaped God's wrath and judgment on you.  This is patently false.  The more I study and learn (and because it's part of my own testimony), the more I'm convinced that this "easy believe-ism/sinner's prayer" nonsense is the biggest lie ever perpetrated on humanity, and in its wake has left a damning legacy.