THE REAL DEAL – Am I really a Christian? Part 3

How can you tell if a person is a true Christian? That has been our theme for the last couple of articles. We are saying that there are definitive character traits that mark the life of a Christian. We said first that a Christian spends time with God. Do you like to pray? Do you love to read His word? Secondly we said that a Christian does not practice sin. God’s nature is in us and we have the power given through the Spirit to say no to sin. Do you practice sin? Are you remorseful when you sin? We now come to our third question:

3. Do you love the World? When we say “world” we are talking about the world system. It says in 1st John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The Bible clearly says that this world system is under Satan’s domain. The devil tempted Jesus by saying: “And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Luke 4:6.

There are two parts to this “loving the world” deal: one is external and mainly evident by the people we hang around with, the places like we like, the activities we enjoy. Questions like: do you enjoy more spending time with unbelievers than believers? Do you like hanging out in the wrong places and doing activities that don’t please God? The other part is the internal because it begins in our hearts and is evident by our attitudes. They are basically 3 cravings, desires, or lusts: Physical gratification (all kinds of sensual activities are included in this category), eye gratification (coveting everything our eyes see, desiring to have more and more - materialism) and the pride of our possessions and achievements. The apostle John puts it this way “For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1^st John 2:16

So how are you doing so far? Making sure that you are truly saved will bring joy to your life. On the contrary, if these questions make you uncomfortable, make it right by truly repenting of your sins, and turning to Jesus. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19