ch29 The Marks of a Christian (Study of 1 John) is a study of what are the marks of a Christian throughout the book of 1st John.
The Marks of a Christian according to 1 John
By David Cox
v1 ©2008 www.coxtracts.com
You may freely reproduce this tract for non-profit purposes.
The Apostle John in his first epistle presents us with the marks of a true Christian. It is important that every Christian meditates on whether he himself is a true Christian, and if he is truly saved, and a part of the body of Christ. No member of a body can exists alone, apart from the rest of the body, without having exchange with the rest of the members of the body. The Christian must base his spiritual life in identification with this body of Christ, and with the work of God that makes up the body of Christ, and to function within that body.
To understand this, we need to study Matthew 25:31-46. God is going to judge each person as being saved or not by how they have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The point of this teaching is to make us understand that our love of Christ (which is absolutely necessary to be saved) manifests itself in our relationship with the rest of our Christian brethren.
John declares in his first epistle who are our brethren with whom we must do to show our true love of God. By establishing these marks God helps us not to fail in tricks and traps with deceivers or people seeking to take advantage of our love of Christ without them loving Christ.