PROLOGUE

On a number of occasions over the years during my role as pastor and Bible teacher,  I have been asked the question, “How do I know that I am a Christian?” This is what I want to address today in this little piece. Firstly, I would rephrase the question to say, “How can I know that I am a disciple of Christ?” Anyone can call themselves a “Christian” without any real change happening. Or it can just be a title that one has ‘inherited’ from birth. In fact, the word “Christian” was originally a disparaging expression and not one which disciples of Christ called themselves. As stated in Ellicott’s commentary on 1 Peter 4:16:

“Peter purposely uses the name “Christian” which was a name of derision among the heathen. It is not, as yet, one by which the believers would usually describe themselves. It only occurs twice besides in the New Testament—in Acts 11:26, where we are told of the invention of the nickname, and in Acts 26:28, where Agrippa catches it up with insolent scorn… So contemptible was the name that, as M. Renan says, ‘Well-bred people avoided pronouncing the name, or, when forced to do so, made a kind of apology’”.

So disciples of Christ never called themselves “Christians” in the early church. They called themselves the “brethren” (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:10), the “saints”, i.e., holy, sanctified or consecrated people (1 Corinthians 16:1), and “those of the Way”, (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 24:22). But none is more descriptive of true spirituality than being a ‘disciple of Christ’. To be a genuine ‘disciple of Christ’ is the real deal. One cannot fake that easily as it is far more demanding than merely calling oneself a “Christian”.

Someone once said to me, “How dare you be so presumptuous as to call yourself a disciple of Christ!”, to which I replied, “I certainly can presume it because the word ‘disciple’ means follower and learner and that is what I am, a ‘follower and learner’ of and from the Christ”. As He said Himself to a crowd of people along with His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me [i.e., to be My disciple], let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow Me” (Mark 8:34). And I did.

So, how can I know that I am a disciple of Christ? I have isolated seven foundations for that knowledge, of which the first three are related:

Foundation #1: Well, first, you can also know that you are a disciple of Christ because Jesus says so. He plainly says that if you are truly His disciple, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (see John 8:32 in its context). You will KNOW the truth. Not just be aware of the truth or know about the truth but that you will absolutely know it in the core of your being, and you will know it to such an extent that you will have an inner assurance of a spiritual freedom that you have never known before. That is a first reason that you can know that you are a disciple of Christ.

Foundation #2: You can also know that you are a disciple of Christ because Paul said so: “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard my deposit entrusted for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). That is knowledge and assurance of salvation and of future eternal life in one neat package.

Foundation #3: You can also know that you are a disciple of Christ because John said so. John’s entire first letter was written to give us the assurance that we have been saved and are true disciples of Christ. “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” (1 John 5:13). You should read his first letter to check out what he says, some of which I will go into below.

Foundation #4: Furthermore, you will know that you are a disciple of Christ if you abide in the teaching of Christ (and, by dint of logic, in the teaching of the apostles who were commissioned by Him). “So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples’” (John 8:31). John said a very similar thing in his first letter: “By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, ‘I know Him’, but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). We absolutely know that we are Christ’s disciples if we abide in the teaching of Christ and keep His commandments, which “are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith” (1 John 5:3). Our faith goes hand-in-hand with being disciples of Christ. Disciples of Christ, in faith, keep the commandments of Christ through the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Foundation #5: You will know that you are a disciple of  Christ if you have a total aversion to sinning. “No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning” (1 John 3:6). That does not mean that you will never sin at all. For John also says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But it is a question of that aversion to sin which is set up in the hearts of all genuine disciples of Christ. It means that you will not deliberately sin, that you will not repeat the same sins again and again. The genuine disciple of Christ does not go round sinning — is not a habitual sinner but maybe an occasional one who messes up from time to time but who will become immediately aware of what he or she has done and will be horrified and thoroughly penitent for it. As John also goes on to say right in that context, in the very next verse, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). You will know that you are a disciple of Christ if you despise sin (especially one’s own sin) and loath anything ‘dark’, refusing to be a partaker in it, for you have become a conduit of good conscience. It is as if purity in all its beauty has taken up residence in your soul as a buttress against anything which can pollute your mind or body. You will not be able tolerate anything which messes up that purity. The desire for purity may be so strong that you will most likely no longer even want to fill your belly with rubbish foodstuffs but you will feel the need to eat pure foods for “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body”, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It is not only sexual immorality which pollutes the body but everything which you take into it has the potential to do so if it has not been filtered carefully.

That desire for purity will be most powerful in relation to sin, the breaking of God’s law, the transgression of the commandments of Christ. John said, “We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; God protects the one who was born of Him, and the evil one [Satan] cannot touch him” (1 John 5:18). We have all the protection possible at our disposal. As His true disciples, we only have to ask. The one who is a genuine disciple of Christ is never too proud or unhumble to cry out to God for help. In fact, he or she loves to do so. That is another hallmark of genuine discipleship. His true disciples love to cry out for help when they need it. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Foundation #6: The genuine disciple of Christ is also very aware of there being two distinct groups of people in this world: Those who have been set free from the power of Satan and those who are completely under his power. So genuine disciples can say with confidence: “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Do you know that? Are you aware of being part of a precious grouping which is NOT under the power of Satan and therefore free from his evil? For that is the beauty of being a disciple of Christ. You are no longer part of the satanic world-system but part of the body of Christ.

Foundation #7: Genuine disciples of Christ know that their discipleship is genuine because they have a deep love for fellow-disciples of Christ and love to be around them and with them. “We know that we have passed from death to life [i.e., have become Christ’s disciples], because we love our brothers” (1 John 3:14; see also John 13:34-35). There is a fellowship born of the Spirit which is common to all genuine disciples of Christ. This is why they love to share in the community of God in whatever ways possible (preferably in person but online fills a gap).

EPILOGUE

If, after reading all the above, you are saying to yourself, “Oh well, that’s that. I am definitely not a disciple of Christ as I often sin and I just do not have that assurance”, that is the wrong attitude. The door is not closed to you. I say to you, “Do you WANT to be a disciple of Christ?” and if you reply, “Oh yes, with all my heart! But I am so useless that He would not want me”, I would reply, “There is NO ONE who truly wants to be Christ’s who He will refuse. Maybe you have not yet taken that vital final step to full discipleship whereby you cast your whole self at His feet in humility, which I urge you now to do”. Sometimes, people have been so screwed-up in life by parents, teachers or other significant people who made them feel so worthless and useless that they make the deduction that if they were not good enough for humans therefore they cannot be good enough for God. But none of us is good enough for anything in and of ourselves! We do not have to be “good enough” in order to be saved. Jesus did not come for those who are already “good enough” but for those who can never be good enough until God has made them good and who desire to be in His kingdom. That is precisely the point!

So, the truth is that if you genuinely want to be Christ’s disciple, then all you have to do is ask to be saved with all your heart, with a mindset of penitence and humility, and to be brought into His kingdom. No one who truly asks from the heart is ever turned away. You should do it right now, then you will know the truth which will set you free. You will also know that you are His disciple and you will relish it. From then on, when someone says to you, “Are you a disciple of Christ?” you will immediately reply with much delight and gusto, “Yes, absolutely I am!” For when you know, you know. And what a joyful privilege it is!

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© Copyright, Alan Morrison, 2025
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]

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