Believers have a relationship with Christ, and seek Christian fellowship.
John 15:1-7 ... uses the phrase “remain in me” or
equivalent, seven times.
John 17:20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also
who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the
world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given me, I
have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and
you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that
you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.
Hebrews 10:24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to
love and good works, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the
custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see
the Day approaching.
There are about 20 occurrences of groups of Christians being
together in Acts. (See here.)
Sometimes they met to worship, sometimes as a prayer meeting, sometimes to
consider policy or doctrine. It was Paul’s practice to establish churches
wherever he went as a missionary. Christ refers to seven churches in
Revelation.
To summarize the evidences given above for being a
Christian, a Christian becomes more and more like Christ. The Holy Spirit works
in the life of a believer to bring this about.
My conclusion is that as long as we remain in good
relationship with God, we will keep Christ’s commandments, we won’t habitually
sin, and our lives will bear fruit. Unfortunately,
some people, who don’t follow Christ’s commandments, who do not have a
relationship with Christ, who are persistent and unrepentant sinners, and whose
lives show the wrong kind of fruit, are deluded by Satan into thinking that
they are saved when they are not.
The above material is an excerpt from my self-published e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which may be obtained free of charge, or purchased from Amazon for $0.99, which is the lowest price Amazon lets an author set. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
The previous post in this series, on the characteristics of a true Christian, is here. God willing, the next post in this series will consider a new topic. Thanks for reading.
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