How Can I Tell if I Have Been Born Again?

Alright, I understand, I am not in charge. So how do I know if I have been born again?

Thankfully, the Lord blessed us with an abundance of scriptures to teach us how to discover what He has done for us and how we should live in His kingdom. Here are just a few. I John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”

This scripture teaches two excellent principles. One, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Then, there is your evidence that you have been born again. Two, do you have a benevolent love for fellow believers? Then, you have evidence that the benevolent love that God has for you was passed onto you from your Heavenly Father in the new birth. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14).

I John 2:3: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” How do we know that it is God that has changed us and not just a whim of our own? If we are keeping His commandments, we know Him personally because we have been born again. We have been “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2:10). If we are doing good works, then we are acting out our new nature. Finally Peter teaches us that we need to be vigilant to remind ourselves of who we are. In II Peter 1:10 he tells us to make our calling and election sure. He says that we do this by adding things to the faith that God has given us. Verses five through seven show a wonderful progression of living that we should work to follow. To faith we should add virtue; to virtue knowledge; to knowledge temperance; to temperance patience; to patience brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

If we are not actively involved in living our new lives, Peter says that we will forget that we are saved (verse 9). However, if we are active in our new lives then we will have a strong assurance of our heavenly destination which assures us that we have been born again.