How Do I Know If YOU'RE Born Again?

[Teflon93]

This question has come up in several contexts recently.

Given that God alone knows precisely who has been granted His grace and will persevere, how can we tell if someone else has been born again?

Are there any telltale signs?

Must we simply take someone’s word for it?

 

[Church_Militant]

Matthew 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?..20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

 

[Teflon93]

Matthew 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?..20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

So what are these fruits? How will we know them?

How do we know the fruits we can see aren’t merely covering up rotten patches we can’t?

 

[djrakowski]

So what are these fruits? How will we know them?

Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB) - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

How do we know the fruits we can see aren’t merely covering up rotten patches we can’t?

Can we know? We can only see what’s on the outside. God, however, does know what’s on the inside, as indicated here:

Luke 16:15 (NASB) - And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

 

[misslollipops]

This question has come up in several contexts recently.

Given that God alone knows precisely who has been granted His grace and will persevere, how can we tell if someone else has been born again?

Are there any telltale signs?

Must we simply take someone’s word for it?

When someone is born again there is a drastic change of life.
They go from living in the flesh to living in the Spirit.
Afterwards there is a constant battle between flesh and Spirit.
Ask a person for their testimony, it will be clear when they describe the old person and the new person.
They probably will testify to their sin and their repentence and how God continues to Sanctify their lives.
Also look for spiritual gifts, another clear sign of those that are born in the Spirit.
Look for fruits of the Spirit.
Often when someone becomes born again they can no longer use God’s name in vain(such as saying OMG)
Their tongues are tamed. No more foul language and such.
They get convicted over little things they used to do such as watching violence on TV.
They also usually have a hunger for God’s word.

 

[Teflon93]

When someone is born again there is a drastic change of life.
They go from living in the flesh to living in the Spirit.
Afterwards there is a constant battle between flesh and Spirit.
Ask a person for their testimony, it will be clear when they describe the old person and the new person.
They probably will testify to their sin and their repentence and how God continues to Sanctify their lives.
Also look for spiritual gifts, another clear sign of those that are born in the Spirit.
Look for fruits of the Spirit.
Often when someone becomes born again they can no longer use God’s name in vain(such as saying OMG)
Their tongues are tamed. No more foul language and such.
They get convicted over little things they used to do such as watching violence on TV.
They also usually have a hunger for God’s word.

So let’s mine this vein a bit further.

There are a lot of “oftens” and “sometimes” in the above.

Are there any sure signs?

 

[misslollipops]

So let’s mine this vein a bit further.

There are a lot of “oftens” and “sometimes” in the above.

Are there any sure signs?

Everyone’s conversion is different.
But there MUST be a change of some sort.
If there is no change you are not born again.

 

[djrakowski]

When someone is born again there is a drastic change of life.
They go from living in the flesh to living in the Spirit.
Afterwards there is a constant battle between flesh and Spirit.
Ask a person for their testimony, it will be clear when they describe the old person and the new person.
They probably will testify to their sin and their repentence and how God continues to Sanctify their lives.
Also look for spiritual gifts, another clear sign of those that are born in the Spirit.
Look for fruits of the Spirit.
Often when someone becomes born again they can no longer use God’s name in vain(such as saying OMG)
Their tongues are tamed. No more foul language and such.
They get convicted over little things they used to do such as watching violence on TV.
They also usually have a hunger for God’s word.

I agree wholeheartedly.

However, do these convictions hit the newly born-again person all at once, or does such a person grow in sanctity over time?

I would also add that a person who’s experienced such a conversion, if it was indeed genuine, would be called to continual repentance, not just once at the moment of conversion.

 

[djrakowski]

So let’s mine this vein a bit further.

There are a lot of “oftens” and “sometimes” in the above.

Are there any sure signs?

Good points…

What of people who don’t have these habits before ‘being saved’ (or converted)? What sign(s) will make it evident that there’s been a change of orientation away from self and toward God?

 

[misslollipops]

I agree wholeheartedly.

However, do these convictions hit the newly born-again person all at once, or does such a person grow in sanctity over time?

I would also add that a person who’s experienced such a conversion, if it was indeed genuine, would be called to continual repentance, not just once at the moment of conversion.

Sanctifying process lasts till God takes us home.
However justifying takes just a moment.
A born again Christian will continue to ask for forgiveness for weeknesses encountered after the point of salvation.

 

[misslollipops]

Good points…

What of people who don’t have these habits before ‘being saved’ (or converted)? What sign(s) will make it evident that there’s been a change of orientation away from self and toward God?

Everyone has some form of ungodliness.
For those brought up in the church. It could be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, dissensions, envy, selfish ambitions, and the like.
When they become born again they will see a marked change in any fleshly tendency of their former self.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

I agree wholeheartedly.

However, do these convictions hit the newly born-again person all at once, or does such a person grow in sanctity over time?

I would also add that a person who’s experienced such a conversion, if it was indeed genuine, would be called to continual repentance, not just once at the moment of conversion.

I think that is my main issue with born-again Christians. They believe that because they are born-again, they are golden. What about born-agains who fall away? Are they still saved, or did they negate their salvation?
Don’t even get me started on “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”

 

[Sean_Boyle]

Everyone has some form of ungodliness.
For those brought up in the church. It could be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, dissensions, envy, selfish ambitions, and the like.
When they become born again they will see a marked change in any fleshly tendency of their former self.

I was raised in the Faith. I didn’t know any different. No teenage rebellion, none of the things you’ve described. Probably because I was baptised shortly after birth, I recieved the grace that God grants at baptism early in life before I could remember differently. I lived how I was raised because that’s what was pleasing God.

The only “born again” experience as you have describe would be when I attend confession.

Now am I any less “saved” than you claim to be? I know the answer, what is yours?

 

[misslollipops]

I think that is my main issue with born-again Christians. They believe that because they are born-again, they are golden. What about born-agains who fall away? Are they still saved, or did they negate their salvation?
Don’t even get me started on “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”

Some say that if a born again believer falls into sin, God will prompt him into repentance. If he will not listen God will take out a rod. If he still resists, a bigger rod and eventually God will take him home. Or hand over his flesh to be destroyed by Satan.1cor5:5. This is the concept of osas.

However, there is another school of thought called armenianism, which maintains that a believer can lose their salvation if they turn their back on God.

The debate rages on

 

[rpp]

I have known some people who were never bad or unfaithful to the Church; they never even committed serious sins. They were raised by wonderful parents who loved them and taught them well. They never seriously strayed.

As I write this, I am thinking about both Catholic and non-Catholic evangelicals I know. So I am not putting this in a Catholic vs. Protestant context.

Such cases, which, while not common, are hardly rare. There is no moment of conversion, MissLollypops. It was simply the process of growing up.

 

[djrakowski]

Some say that if a born again believer falls into sin, God will prompt him into repentance. If he will not listen God will take out a rod. If he still resists, a bigger rod and eventually God will take him home. Or hand over his flesh to be destroyed by Satan.1cor5:5. This is the concept of osas.

This is accurate, so far as it was preached in my old church. But, there’s something I’ve never understood: if such a believer persisted in sin after having had a ‘born again’ experience, and was finally turned over to Satan as in your citation of 1 Cor. 5:5, is it possible that he died unrepentant? Or, is the person whom God turned over to Satan giving evidence that he was never really saved in the first place?

That’s the typical out-clause for evangelicals, who claim that once you’re saved, all past, present and future sins are wiped clean. If a person gives evidence of persistent sin after this point, it’s often claimed that he wasn’t really sincere in the first place.

However, there is another school of thought called armenianism, which maintains that a believer can lose their salvation if they turn their back on God.

The debate rages on

Forgive my nit-pick, but I suspect you meant to type ‘Arminianism.’ Armenia is a small country in central Asia - but that’s not important right now

Seriously, thanks for reminding us that there are different schools of thought within evangelicalism.

 

[Teflon93]

What I find interesting is that we have issue identifying “true” fruits.

Is it simply that ANY good fruit is a sign of God’s sufficient grace, and that the tree dries up while we persist in unrepentant sin?

 

[misslollipops]

This is accurate, so far as it was preached in my old church. But, there’s something I’ve never understood: if such a believer persisted in sin after having had a ‘born again’ experience, and was finally turned over to Satan as in your citation of 1 Cor. 5:5, is it possible that he died unrepentant? Or, is the person whom God turned over to Satan giving evidence that he was never really saved in the first place?

That’s the typical out-clause for evangelicals, who claim that once you’re saved, all past, present and future sins are wiped clean. If a person gives evidence of persistent sin after this point, it’s often claimed that he wasn’t really sincere in the first place.
Forgive my nit-pick, but I suspect you meant to type ‘Arminianism.’ Armenia is a small country in central Asia - but that’s not important right now

Seriously, thanks for reminding us that there are different schools of thought within evangelicalism.

It seems like you already know the answers for the questions.
What is your point?
The thread is about being born again which every Christian should be, not only evangelicals.
Please excuse all spelling and punctuation errors. I thought we were beyond that.

 

[djrakowski]

It seems like you already know the answers for the questions.
What is your point?
The thread is about being born again which every Christian should be, not only evangelicals.

I know it’s about being born again, which is for every Christian and not just evangelicals. The discussion works this way: people make statements and ask questions, and other people make correcting statements and ask further questions. That’s why I posed the question about evangelicals, the born-again experience, and the case of a supposedly born-again individual falling into serious sin. It’s a question to which I’ve never received a satisfactory answer.

Please excuse all spelling and punctuation errors. I thought we were beyond that.

Sorry, I honestly meant no offense. I just corrected for the sake of accuracy, since these are important topics.

 

[djrakowski]

What I find interesting is that we have issue identifying “true” fruits.

Is it simply that ANY good fruit is a sign of God’s sufficient grace, and that the tree dries up while we persist in unrepentant sin?

I don’t know - I’ve known some awfully charitable atheists and agnostics, and some Christians who barely show evidence of such.