8/12/2019 1987 Issue 2 - The Marks of a True Child of God -
Counsel of Chalcedon
1/3
The
Marks of
True hild of
God
Are you a Christian? Have you had a
genuine work of grace in your life,
so
that you are a true child of God? This is
not something which is impossible to
know. The Bible is clear in showing us
the signs, the marks,
of
a true child
of
God. It is important for each of us
to
know whether or not we have the marks
of a true Christian, for we can make
no
progress if we do not know where we
stand in relation to God.
We must realize, in the first place,
that becoming a child
of
God requires a
definite step, and a special experience
which result from the specific working
of God in one's life. One does not be
come a child
of
God by being associated
with some organization, group
or
na
tion. A friend of mine once spoke with
a stranger he met
in a bus terminal.
When he asked the young man whether
he was a Christian; the man replied,
Shoot yeah I'm a Christian; I'm an
American, ain't I? Someone once asked
a man
if
he had had a definite experience
of
coming to Christ, and thus assuring
his right relation to God.
He
replied,
No; but my grandfather was a
Methodist minister. Anyone who
thinks they are right with God because
of some association with some group
or nation or person, is sadly deluded,
and the delusion is deadly, eternally
deadly
fear there are many, many people
whose names are on the rolls of our
countries' churches, and many who even
attended church regularly, who know
nothing of the regenerating work
of
the
Holy Spirit, yet who assume they
are
right with God, and feel secure,
not
realizing they are, in fact, lost in sin,
under God's wrath, and bound for an
eternity in hell. f hat sounds harsh and
judgmental, I cannot help it. I approach
this subject with the intent and desire to
be faithful to God's Word arid helpful to
the spiritual welfare
of
our readers.
by David E. Goodrum
First, let
me try
to show that there
are clear biblical grounds for raising the
question and assuming that some, even
many, who
think
they are Christians,
are in reality strangers to God's grace.
The words
of
our Lord clearly show
this. Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king
dom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied
in
thy
name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then I will
profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
(Matthew 7:21-23) Mterward came
also the other virgins, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us. But he answered, and
said, Verily I say unto you, know you
not. (Matt. 25:11-12) Strive to enter
in
at
the strait gate: for many, I say
unto you, will seek to enter in, and
shall not be able. (Luke 13:24)
It is also clear from scripture that any
one may know their state in relation to
Christ, and that God's true children may
know that they are secure in Christ.
Paul says, Examine yourselves, whe
ther ye be
in
the faith, II Cor. 13:5.)
.The ApostlePeter says, Give diligence
to make your calling and election sure.
(II Pet.
1:10
f we are
Gcrd's-Ghildren
by His grace then we can
be sure,
as
Paul was sure, when he said that no
thing shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
In the second chapter
of
the book
of
Acts we have the record
of
what hap
pened on the day of Pentecost We are
told that Peter preached to the crowds
and some three thousand were converted
in
connection with that event. Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and
be
baptized every one
of
you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission
of
The Counsel of Cbalcedon, February, 1987 ....1
sins .._ Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same
day there were added unto them about
three thousand souls. And they con
tinued stedfastly
in
the apostles' doc
trine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread,
and in prayers. (Acts 2:38-42)
Let us note the marks
of
true coo
version which
are
revealed
in
this
passage, s well as others to which we
shall refer.
As
we do so, let
us
each
compare our own lives and experiences
to this standard to see whether
we
have
evidence to believe we are true children
of
God.
The fll'st
mark
of a true child
of
God is genuille repentance
Peter preached the necessity
of
repent
ance (Acts 2:38), and they obviously re
pented before they could
be
baptized.
Repentance involves a recognition
. that one's sins are an affront to a holy
God a true sorrowing for one's sins
and a substantial turning from one's sin
ful practices, both in thought and deed
The person in whose life God the Holy
Spirit
has
worked a work
of
regenera
tion (which
is
the cause
of
one's
be
coming a child
of
God), will just
a
surely come to repentance as a new
born baby will breathe and cry and de
sire food.
If
you have never felt yourse
to
be a miserable, hell-deserving
wretch, in need
of
God's pardon, and i
you have never repented
of
your sins
then there is not the slightest possi
bility that you are a child of God.
you know nothing
of
genuine re
pentance
then
you are still in your sins
still under God's wrath, still con
demned, still subject to your natura
sinful nature which is contrary
to
Go
(Rom. 8:7-8).
. Repentance
is
something which take
place when a person fli'St comes to Go
through Christ, but it is something
which takes place continually in the lif
of the true child of God. A true
tian struggles continually, daily, with
sin in his life. One of the main aspect
of being in a saving relationship with
Christ is this matter of having th
power to deal with the sins that so
easily beset the child of God in thi
world. Our Shorter Catechism
is
100%
scriptural when it says, We sin daily
8/12/2019 1987 Issue 2 - The Marks of a True Child of God -
Counsel of Chalcedon
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in
thought, word and deed. A Christian
is a person
who
has overcome sin, in
one respect, but who struggles with sin
continually throughout
his
life
on
this
earth. But
his relationship with Christ
causes
him
to grieve over his sin and,
by the
power
of
the
Holy Spirit,
he
grows more and more
into
maturity as
he dies more and more unto sin and
lives more a nd more unto
Christ
f you do
not
regularly cry out
to
God in sorrow for your sins and feel
yourself
to
be an unworthy wretch, ex-
cept for the grace of God, then you
know nothing of what
it
means to be a
true child of God
The second
mark of a true
child
of God is an active faith.
It is clear from the passage in Acts 2 as
well as from many parts of scripture,
that the converted person
must
place his
faith
in
the
Lord
Jesus Christ, trusting
Him, as
He
offers Himself
in
the
Gospel.
The
Apostle Paul said,
For
by
grace
you
have
been saved
through
faith; and that
not of
yourselves,
it
is
the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8) The writer
of the book of Hebrews said, And
without faith
it
is impossible to please
him (God). (Heb. :
6)
This eleventh
chapter
of
Hebrews gives scores
of
examples of
what
people of God
accomplished because of their faith.
s
Joe
Morecraft said in a recent sermon
on
this chapter,
True
faith always leads
to
decisive action. Faith is required
to
bring you into fellowship with God
through Christ, and true faith shows
itself
in
the
way a man lives, in his
daily walk. Paul told the Colossian
Christians,
As
you therefore have re
ceived Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk
in
Him. (Col. 2:6) f a person has been
given the faith to receive Christ, so as
to become a true child of God, then that
same faith will manifest
itself
in the
way that person lives. If you are
not
living
as
a child
of
God
should live
then you have reason to question
whether you have ever
had
the faith
which leads
to salvation. A true child of
God
is a person
who
is characterized by
an active faith.
The third mark of
a true
child
of God
is
a love
for
the Word of
God.
We
are told in Acts 2:42; They
continued stfastly in the Apostles'
doctrine.
The Bible
says,
But
the
natural man receiveth not the things of
the
Spirit
of God
: for they
are
foolish
ness unto him; neither
can he
know
them, because they are spiriblally dis-
cerned
(I Cor
. 2: 14) Thus
it
is impos
sible
for an
unconverted
person to
under
stand God's Word, but the genuine born
again Christian is given understanding
by
the
Holy
Spirit and
so
will have a
great love for, as well as an under
standing of God's Word.
This love for God's Word will show
itself in the way
the
true
child of God
thinks and lives. The child of
God
makes decisions
based
on what he
learns
in
the Bible and his
conduct
is
conformed, more and more, to the teach
ing of God's Word. A true Christian
claims the promises, trembles at the
warnings, and lives
by
the instruction
which
he
fmds in the Bible.
I have found,
in
discussing politics,
ethics
or
any other matters, that
it is
rare to
find people,
even
professing
Christians, who form their views by
what
God
says in the Bible.
Most
people
seem to
base their thinking
on
what they learned as children growing
up, by what they
learned
in
public
schools,
by
what the general popula
tion, or their peers, or the media have
taught them, or
by wh
at they
deem
logical .
The
true child
of
God
will
e
characterized by a studied determination
never to hold a view inconsistent with
the revelation of
God
in Holy Scripblre.
Do you know
God's
Word? Do you
understand God's Word? Do you love
God's
Word? Do
you conform your
thinking and
your
living
to
God's
Word? f this love for, and conformity
to, God's Word does
not
characterize
your experience then there is
no way
you can
be
a true Christian.
The
fourth
mark of a
true
child
of God
is
a
strong
desire
to
be
with
God's people. Acts.
2:42 indicates they continued stedfast
ly
... in fellowship. A genuine Chris
tian will shun the world's pleasures and
desire
to
be
in
fellowship with other
Christians.
I know people
who
apparently as
sume
they are right with
God but
they
seldom or never
even go to
church.
They spend their
Sundays
in sleep, re-
creation or work,
and
have no desire to
fellowship with God's people. Their
children
go to public
schools
all week
and
then do
not
even receive the basics
of a Christian influence.
They
will
grow up
assuming
that the
worship
of
God and instruction
in
godliness are of
no importance.
Now, I realize
that
in
many
parts
of
the world and in this country as well,
there are many places where one would
be hard-put to fmd a sound group of
believers. But I believe
the
true child of
God has such a longing
and
such a need
for
fellowship
with
fellow believers
that he
will
do whatever is
necessary
to
have that fellowship. It may require
looking
very
hard for a like-minded
Christian.
It
may require leading a non-
Christian to the
Lord (by
God's grace
and
help),
or
influencing an unsound
church
member to the extent
that they
come to
a true
knowledge of
the truth
of the
Gospel.
In
such cases a sound
local church may be formed
and
true
fellowship develops. It may require go
ing some distance to a place where the
longing for true fellowship
can
be satis
fied. It may even be necessary to move
to a different location, perhaps even
across the country, to be with a group
of
sound believers. But, whatever
it
takes, the true
child
of
God
will seek
out
sound fellow believers.
If you do not
desire
and
greatly enjoy
and need
fellowship
with
God's people,
then there
is
serious doubt whether you
are a true Christian.
Are you
a church
member,
but
you seldom
or never or
only occasionally join with other Chris
tians in fellowship and worship? f so,
you ought
to
question your spiritual
condition.
The fifth mark of a true
child
of God
is
the practice of real
prayer.
They continued stedfast
ly ... .in prayers. (Acts 2:42)
The
child
of God soon learns that
prayer
is a
wonderful
and
necessary thing.
He
learns
to talk to
God, bringing all his
cares and needs to God,
and
thanking
and
praising
God
for
His
continued
blessings (Phil. 4:78).
Are you
a per
son who knows what real prayer is? Do
.1 Thc Counsel of Chalccdon, February, 1987
8/12/2019 1987 Issue 2 - The Marks of a True Child of God -
Counsel of Chalcedon
3/3
you
commune
with
God, regularly,
in
prayer?
f
not you may well question
whether you know the converting pow
er of God which brings men
to
become
His true children.
Finally,
a characteristic of
the true child of God is a new
heart
and
a definite
change
of
character. n
verse
46-47
of Acts
two
we
see that these converts gave atten
tion to their faith
with
gladness and
singleness of heart , and their
new way
of life
was evident.
o
all.
A true child of God is one who not
only knows Christ as his Savior but be
is committed to Christ as his Lord
as
well.
The true Christian, in whom God
has
worked a genuine work
of
grace,
knows that God created all things for
His own purposes, for His
own
glory.
He knows that all
of
God's creation
owes allegience to
im
and must please
Him in all things. Anything which
does not conform to God's will, God's
law, and which
does
not please Him
is
an
abnormality, and deserves and invites
only God's curse, condemnation and
judgment. The child of God
knows he
has been delivered from
the
power
of
this world and of Satan, and has come
into actual and real communion with
almighty God, through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the Christian lives entirely
for God. His job,
his
family, his re
creation, his thoughts,
his
behaviour,
his
goals, his motives,
his
whole life
is
for God. He knows that
to
whatever
degree he lives for himself, without re
gard for God and
His
will, then he
sins
against a holy God and subverts
the
whole
purpose for
his
existence.
Do you have a
new
heart? Do
you
have a genuinely different character
from people who are not Christians?
o
you
have
different interests, different
tastes, and a different
way of
life? Are
you living,
to
a substantial degree, for
God alone? Is
it
your desire
to
serve and
please and glorify Him above all else,
both in this life and in
the
life
which
is
to
come?
If
not,
you
are no child
of
God
If you have read
this
far, and
you
realize, after examining yourself honest
ly by God's standard, that you are not a
true child
of
God, would you like
to
be?
You may,
if
you acknowledge the awful
ness of
your
sin and your hopelessness
apart from Christ
and
His
death,
and
repent
of your
sin
and
receive Christ,
by faith,
as
your only
hope
for salva
tion.
f
his truly happens the.n
you
will
come
to
a
new
understanding and love
for God's Word,
the
Bible.
You
will
want
to be
with God's people.
You
will
become a person of prayer. You will
have a new character which will show
iiself in the way you think and live.
You will see every aspect of your life
in relation to Christ and His
Kingdom,
and seek
to
live accordingly,
by the
power
of
His Holy Spirit. all this
does happen, then
you
will have reason
to believe
you are, indeed, a
true child
of God. Until this
does
happen
you
re
deluding yourself
i f you
think
you
re
.one
of
God's true children in right rela
tionship
to
Him. Until this
happens
you
re
hopeless. Your life is
meaning
less and you have nothing for which
to
look forward except a Christless, God
less eternity
of
misery and pain
and
suf
fering.
For
my
part
I
feel
as
Paul did
when
he said, For
I m
not ashamed
of the
gospel, for
it
is
the
power of God for
salvation
to
every ooe who believes
.
(Romans 1:16) 0
The Counsel of Cbalcedon, February, 987 J
Sound Words from
Bishop Ryle
There are
two points
in religion on
which
the
teaching of
the Bible is
very
plain
and
distinct.
One
of
these
poiniS
is the fearful danger
of the ungodly;
the
other
is
the perfect safety of
the
righ
teous.
One
is
the
happiness of those
who are converted;
the
other
is the mis-
ery
of those who are unconverted One
is
the blessedness
of being
in
the way
to
heaven;
the other is the wretchedness
of
being
in
the
way to
hell.
I
hold it to be
of the
utmost
portance that these
two points
should
be constantly impressed
on the minds
of professing Christians.
I believe
that
the
exceeding privileges of
the
children
of
God, and the deadly peril of the
children of
the
world,
should
be
con
tinually set forth in
the
clearest colours
before the Church of Christ. I believe
that
the
difference between
the
man in
Christ, and the man not in Christ, can
never be stated too
strongly
and
too
fully. Reserve on this
subject
is a posi
tive injury
to the souls of men.
Wherever such reserve is
practised,
the
careless will not be aroused, believers
will not be established,
.and the
cause
of
God
will
receive much
damage.
-J. C.
Ryle
