How do you know you're a Christian?

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him..." John 14:21

Dave spoke at a chapel at a local Christian school yesterday. He had about 15 minutes and he used this passage to answer the simple question, "How do you know you're a Christian?" So, I'm basically stealing his chapel topic to pass this along to you (I must give credit where credit is due...).

So...how do you know you're a Christian? How would you answer this?

Well, I've given you Jesus' answer and really, it's the only one that counts.

A Christian is the one who obeys Jesus' commandments out of love.

Hmmmm...let's think about what a Christian is not...

A Christian is not someone who obeys the commandments because they want a better life (even though they will have a better life if they obey Jesus).

A Christian is not someone who follows a list of rules to earn Jesus' love.

A Christian is not someone who has no evidence of obedience in their life.

A Christian is not someone who is a hearer only.

So, what is a Christian? Someone who obeys because they love Jesus.

Love causes obedience.

I'm going to keep this real simple today, can you tell?

Do you love Jesus and is there evidence of that love through the obedience of His commandments in your life?

If you answer no to either of those questions, you have some thinking to do...