You Call Yourself A Christian? 1 John 2:3-6

1 John 2 NKJV The Test of Knowing Him 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. Do you call yourself a Christian because you believe in God and Jesus? Satan also believes in God and Jesus. Satan knows full well God exists and Jesus is the Messiah but I wouldn't call Satan a Christian. So being a Christian must be more then just believing in God and Jesus. What exactly is being a Christian? The verse above tells us It's one who keeps God's commandments. So let's look at God's commandments. The 10 Commandments List, Short Form You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make idols. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet. Now, most of us could probably say we have kept most of these but I doubt anyone could say they have ALWAYS kept ALL of them. And right now I'm not going to get dogmatic and break them all down and what they mean for the Christian today, but here are just a couple everyone struggles with and may not even know it. You shall not make idols. Now, you may not have carved images in your home that you worship but are you focused on making money and "getting" ahead in life? Are you obsessed with "keeping up with the Jones" or the latest fall fashions? Do you want the nicest car on the street or the best looking home? Then those are your idols. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Do you gossip? Whether true or not, talking about others when they aren't there, in any malicious way is bearing false witness. So as a Christian, what do we do? Here is a commandment Jesus gave us that covers all the commandments. Mark 12:30-31 NKJV 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” If we follow these two commandments, we will cover all the others. Do all in love and you can't go wrong. Blessings, Cecilia