MARKS of a True Christian from 1 John

"I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13

[N.B. When John says, I have written these things, he is referring to the marks and tests he has given throughout this letter, by which a person's profession of faith must be examined. These marks do not earn salvation, but they provide the necessary biblical evidence of spiritual life.]

 

DOCTRINAL TESTS

1. Right views of SIN

1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 1:10, "If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

2. Right views of JESUS

1 John 2:22, "Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?"

1 John 2:23, "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well."

1 John 4:2, "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God."

1 John 4:3, "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist"

1 John 4:15, "If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."

1 John 5:1, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God"

 

MORAL / ETHICAL TESTS

1. Obedience to God

1 John 2:3, "By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments."

1 John 2:4, "If anyone says, 'I know Him,' but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

1 John 2:5, "But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him."

1 John 3:24, "Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him."

2. A righteous and holy life

1 John 1:6, "If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

1 John 2:6, "Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked."

1 John 2:29, "If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."

1 John 3:3, "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure."

1 John 3:6, "No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him."

1 John 3:7, "Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous."

1 John 3:8, "The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start."

1 John 3:9, "Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God's seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."

1 John 3:10, "By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

1 John 5:18, "We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning"

3. Does not love the world

1 John 2:15, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

4. Perseverance in the faith and in a holy life

1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us."

1 John 4:4, "You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

5. Has the Holy Spirit

1 John 2:20, "You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."

1 John 3:24, "And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us."

1 John 4:13, "By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit."