Dr. David Jeremiah gave a sermon about nine years ago on how to be sure that you are a Christian (see here for the video and here for the transcript). He suggested, based on his understanding of First John, that there are five marks of a Christian.
I admire Dr. Jeremiah in many ways. He is very conservative and Dispensational.
In this message, however, I believe he has strayed from what he was taught at Dallas Theological Seminary, our alma mater.
Here are the five birthmarks of a Christian according to Dr. Jeremiah:
- Confession of your faith in Christ.
- Changes evident in your life.
- Compassion easily seen in your relationships.
- Conflicts in your life overcome by your vibrant walk with Christ.
- Conduct of your life showing that you do not willfully rebel against God.
There are many problems with these five points in terms of assurance of everlasting life.
- The purpose of First John is fellowship with God (1:1-4), not assurance of everlasting life.
- All five elements are subjective.
- The basis of assurance is believing Christ’s promise of everlasting life. If I believe in that promise, I am sure of my eternal destiny. If I don’t, no amount of works in my life will give me assurance. Assurance is never found through introspection.
- All these are signs that a believer is mature in the faith, not that he is a believer. A new believer has none of these five characteristics. Wouldn’t that mean that a new believer cannot be sure? It takes a year or two to grow to maturity (1 Cor 3:3-4). And since assurance of everlasting life is a key to maturing in the faith, this sort of thinking would strip the new believer of assurance and greatly hinder him from growing to maturity in his faith.
- If this were true, you would not know whether your spouse, children, friends, or even pastor were born again. You might see what you thought could be the marks of a Christian. But you’d have to admit that anyone can fall away, and hence you could not be sure of anyone’s salvation.
If you lack assurance and want to have it, I urge you to pray for this. Ask God to open your eyes (Luke 24:45). I suggest you read a chapter a day of John’s Gospel, asking God to show you whether assurance is found in simply believing Jesus’ promise of everlasting life.
Here is a link to a free online version of a booklet I wrote on assurance (“You Can Be Sure!”).
Keep grace in focus and you will remain sure that you have everlasting life that can never be lost.
