The Marks of Regeneration

But how can you identify a Christian? In the passage before us, John lists half a dozen characteristics. Any one of these is sufficient to make you a Christian — but none of them is believable without all of them. In fact, none of them is real without all of them. If you love God as your Father, you are a Christian. But you can't do that without loving His children, overcoming the world, and believing in His Son. And so on. John is at pains not only to list these marks of the Christian, but to tell us that they go together. You have to have them all. They're not works that save; they are the works of the saved. Someone God has rescued from sin does all six of these things. If you haven't been rescued from sin, you can't do a single one of them. If you have been rescued, you'll do them all. So let's talk about these marks of a Christian.