A Christian because....

Saying you're a Christian because you go to church is like saying you're a car because you're standing in a garage.

So often do we find ourselves content with the idea, "Hey! He goes to church, so he's saved, right?" So we just continue with our lives. We should see each person as unsaved. In truth, the only way we can tell if someone is saved is by the fruits of their work.

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1 John Chapter 1
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1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

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These days, faith is becoming such a "watered down" topic. Nowadays, people just say, "Accept. That's it. Then continue with your life." But how do we know if we are saved? In order for us to truly be saved, we must be willing to live a life for God. I have been told my whole life that in order to be a Christian, we change whenever we are saved. I got saved at a young age- 6 or 7- and so, in the past few months, I was facing the fear that I wasn't saved. Why is that? Whenever I was first saved, I was so young, so now, at age 16, I was wondering.... was I truly saved? Had I changed whenever I was first saved? I was so worried about that. I asked different people about their view, and they were able to reassure me, but I never felt.... completely assured. Finally, I asked my dad since he is a pastor. I had been hesitant because I was worried of what he would say. He was the one I should have gone to in the first place, however.

How do we know when we are saved? When we confess with our mouths Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God had raised him from the grave.

I was so worried on if I was saved I hadn't thought of that verse. Dad reassured me of it, however.
When we are saved, we change, yes, but on the inside. We begin to try to grow in God. We have our focus on material things, but our goal should be to make Jesus be the center of our lives.