There are so many "Christians" who have not been born again, we know them by their fruit.
Matthew 7:15-20
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit of God:
Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.…"
Those who walk in the Spirit, are led by the Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit, they live a lifestyle of the fruit of the Spirit. They do not have to try to be these things, it is a part of their very nature, it comes as naturally as breathing. If a believer falls for a moment against their fruitful nature they hate it, agonize over it, and remain tormented until they make it right through confession.
1 John 3:9-10 "8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."
Those who cannot admit their failings, even defending them to save face, cannot have the Spirit of Christ. This is the evidence that they are pretenders.
When we confess our sin to God He will cleanse us of that sin and we will no longer live in bondage to that sin.
Those who remain in bondage to their sin of pride are not born again. As long as they have self on the throne, maintaining their perceived dignity of pretending to be sin free, will not grow emotionally but will regress as they age.
The only authentic believer walks in the Spirit, confesses to be cleansed and move forward in holiness.
There has been a lie moving through the Christian community that says only god knows the heart and we cannot judge whether someone is saved or not. We know this is a lie because God said clearly; "you shall know them by their fruit." The Holy Spirit lives in born-again believers and they can know who is their brother and sister and who belongs to God.
While it is only God who knows a persons heart we know that He lives in us and imparts to us what He knows. This is why there are so many warnings in the Word of God that we should avoid certain kinds of people as well as discerning the heart of another person through the knowledge of His Word.
1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "…13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment."
Those who say "don't judge" the loudest are those who judge the most. They use this mantra of "not judging" to control people silencing them from speaking the truth.
John 14:17
"the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."
God said this also very clearly;
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"
We cannot rightly judge others without Christ, but with Christ, we can see what He sees and know what He knows because He lives in us, He is our guide.
Isaiah 11:2
"The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD."
John 14:17
"the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."
John 14:26
"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."
Those who walk in the Spirit of God will have discernment that others cannot understand. They will notice things, evaluate them according to the Bible and be able to understand what they see.
