The Marks of a

True Child 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.
I 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. If that 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, I 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 Apostle Peter says, "Give diligence
to make your calling and election sure."
(II Pet. 1:10) If 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, as 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 as
surely come to repentance as a new
born baby will breathe and cry and de-
sire food. If you have never felt yourself
to be a miserable, hell-deserving
wretch, in need of God's pardon, and if
you have never repented of your sins,
then there is not the slightest possi-
bility that you are a child of God. If
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 natural
sinful nature which is contrary to God
(Rom. 8:7-8).
. Repentance is something which takes
place when a person fli'St comes to God
through Christ, but it is something
which takes place continually in the life
of the true child of God. A true h r i s ~
tian struggles continually, daily, with
sin in his life. One of the main aspects
of being in a saving relationship with
Christ is this matter of having the
power to deal with the sins that so
easily beset the child of God in this
world. Our Shorter Catechism is 100%
scriptural when it says, "We sin daily,
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 and more unto Christ
If 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. 11:6) This eleventh
chapter of Hebrews gives scores of
examples of what people of God
accomplished because of their faith. As
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) If 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 what they deem
"logical". The true child of God will be
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? If 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? If 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
you commune with God, regularly, in
prayer? If 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. In 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. to 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 Him 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?
Do 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. If this 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. H all this
does happen, then you will have reason
to believe you are, indeed, a true child
of God. Until this does happen you are
deluding yourself if you think you are
. one of God's true children in right rela-
tionship to Him. Until this happens
you are 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 am 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, 1987 -------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 m ~
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