The one and only authoritative book accepted by virtually all those that claim to be Christians is the Bible. Most Christians believe that the Bible, which I shall refer to here as the Scriptures, is infallible in its original writing. It is for this reason that I, as one that claims to be a Christian, am extremely troubled whenever I read a passage in the Scriptures that is inconsistent with what I observe in Christianity or among professing Christians today.

One such passage has to do with the sheer numbers of people that claim to be Christians. Tens of millions of people in the world today and throughout history claim to be Christians. However, the Scriptures say in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

If in fact the Scriptures are true, then the number of Christians in relation to the total population must be “few.” According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the Greek word translated as “few” in this passage has the literal meaning of “puny in number.” In 2015 75% of the adults polled in the United States claimed to be Christians. Obviously, there is a significant inconsistency between the Scriptures and what professing Christians in the United States are claiming.

In order to determine if what all of these professing Christians were claiming was true, I looked to the Scriptures for more information that would enable me to identify the cause of this apparent inconsistency. Do the Scriptures have some sort of standard or test that would enable any professing Christian to know for sure if they really are a Christian?

No one wants to be deceived. Everyone who claims to be a Christian should want to know with assurance whether or not they really are a genuine Christian. Is there a test, and if so, do we pass this test?

Reading in the same chapter in Matthew, Jesus continues speaking in 7:21-23 saying: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!'" (HCSB). Here we see that many of those who claim to have done all manner of great things in the name of the Lord will seek entrance into the kingdom of heaven, but Jesus will say to them in that day, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

This passage makes it clear that there are certain requirements to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. One of these requirements is that we do the will of His Father. Another is that Jesus knows us. It is also clear that doing all manner of great works for the Lord will not be sufficient to qualify us to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

What does it mean to do the will of His Father? Each of us has a choice. We can do what we want, or we can do what someone else wants. If someone of greater authority than ourselves asks us to do something, we can choose to do what they ask, that is obedience; or we can refuse to do what they ask and do what we want, that is rebellion. To do the will of His Father, then, is simply to obey Him.

In Matthew 28:18-19 Jesus met with His disciples and spoke to them just before He ascended into heaven saying: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus, the only person who had lived a life without sin, was crucified, being nailed to a cross. He died and was buried. Then on the third day God, by the power of the resurrection, raised Jesus up, never to die again. By the power of the resurrection from the dead, God placed His seal of approval on Jesus’ life and death, and gave all authority unto Him, making Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:22-40; Romans 1:4).

This is exactly what Peter preached on the day of Pentecost when this gospel was first preached. Peter said in Acts 2:32-33: “God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear” (HCSB). Peter continues in verse 36 saying: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

This is the gospel message, the message of good news that Peter, Paul, and all the apostles preached throughout the book of Acts. They preached the kingdom of God and Jesus, the Christ, as Lord. In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul tells us: “For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (HCSB). This is the Father’s will.

Paul declares in Romans 10:8-10: “This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation” (HCSB). This message of faith that Paul and the other apostles proclaimed was in total agreement with the will of God. This message is altogether about the Lordship of Jesus, about the authority that God the Father has given unto Him, and whether we will willingly, gladly submit to His authority, confessing Jesus as Lord.

The Scriptures tell us in Acts 5:29-32: “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.’” God gives His Holy Spirit to those that obey the “ruler” that He has appointed and exalted to His right hand. The Father’s will is that we totally submit to Jesus the Christ as Lord. We cannot know Him if we do not know Him as Lord.

In Matthew 10:32 Jesus says: “Everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven” (HCSB). The word translated “deny” here actually means to not confess. Paul talked in Romans 10 about the necessity of confessing with the mouth “Jesus is Lord” resulting in salvation. Here Jesus says that if we confess Him as Lord before men, He will confess us as His own to His Father in heaven.

This brings us back to the passage in Matthew 7:21-23 where people were addressing Jesus by His title of Lord, but were not submitted to Him as their Lord. Jesus refused to confess that He knew them. He denied them because even though they did all manner of great works in His name, they were not submitted to Him as Lord. If they were, Jesus would have acknowledged that He knew them. He did not. He denied knowing them.

Psalm 81:11-15 says: “My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their adversaries. Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him.”

God gives His Spirit to those that obey His authority, Jesus, the Christ. Romans 8:9 states: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” This is very clear, and it is very consistent with the passages that we have looked at. If anyone does not obey God, fully submitting to His authority, Jesus Christ the Lord, they do not belong to Him. If you obey the message of the gospel, believing that God raised Jesus from the dead, and confessing “Jesus is Lord”, you will receive the Holy Spirit. When you receive the Spirit, you belong to Christ, and He will confess you before His Father.

2 Corinthians 13:5 challenges everyone that claims to be a Christian to: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” 2 Corinthians 3:17 declares: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” If Jesus Christ, as the Spirit, does not dwell within your spirit, you are not in the faith. If you don’t pass the test, if you don’t have the Spirit of Christ in you, you are not His, you are not a genuine Christian.

I John 5:11-13 says: “And this is the testimony: That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (HCSB). God wants us to know for sure if we are genuine Christians. However, He does not want our assurance based on what some person might have told us.

You might have been raised as a Christian. You might be a member of a church. You might even be in fulltime Christian ministry. However, Scripture makes it very clear, it does not matter what you have done for the Lord, if His Spirit is not in you, you are not in the faith and you fail the test, you are not a genuine Christian.

I urge you not to rely on any assurance that any other person has ever given to you that you are a Christian. No one can know your heart, not your parents, not your pastor, not your Sunday-school teacher, or any evangelist. No other person can know for sure if you are saved. Only you and God can know for sure. And remember, God wants you to know. He has provided several ways for you to know for sure. He has even provided a simple test to see if you are indeed in the faith.

Until we all appear before the Judgment Seat, only you and God know if you are truly a Christian. How can you know for sure? Romans 8:16 assures genuine believers that: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 5:5 says: “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” I John 3:14 affirms: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death” (HCSB).

Do you pass the test? Do you have Jesus Christ as the Spirit indwelling in your spirit? Does the Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God? Has God’s love been poured out in your heart? Do you love the brothers in Christ?

No one wants to be deceived. We all want to know the truth. We want to know for sure if we really are genuine Christians. To know for sure, all we have to do is take this simple test and honestly assess the results. How confident are you that Jesus will confess you before His Father?

Hebrews 5:9, speaking of Jesus, says: “He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” (HCSB). Have you obeyed Jesus? Have you done the will of the Father? Have you bowed the knee and received Jesus as your Lord and Master? Have you confessed Jesus as Lord before men?

If you are reading this, you still have time. Right now, today, believing that God raised Jesus from the dead, you can bow the knee and receive Jesus as Lord, confessing Him before men, and know with the assurance that only God Himself can give you, that Jesus will confess you before His Father in heaven.

If you do this, as a genuine believer, you will have the opportunity to experience the Spirit Himself bearing witness with your spirit that you are indeed a child of God!

Writings By Jon von Ernst

The Lord of All Things Series - A Trilogy of Truth 
Books in this series:
Book 1 - The Gospel of the Kingdom
Book 2- The Victorious Christian
Book 3 - Walking in the Light  -  Following in His Steps

*- Audio of these books are available free of charge at thepureword.net.