It often comes up in conversations at church, "How do you know someone is a Christian?" That is, how do you know whether they have really believed or not? The Apostle Paul had to answer this same question when he was writing to the churches in Galatia. His answer is something like this, 'When did you receive the Spirit?' (Galatians 3:1-9) The identifying mark of someone who has believed (converted, been born again) is the presence of the Holy Spirit. No Holy Spirit, No Salvation. But the Spirit is not something material that we can see with our eyes, so is this any help at all? Yes, because Paul goes on to say that if the Spirit is in you it will produce fruit. That is, visual works in your life that people can see and recognize. The fruits of the Spirit are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." (Galatians 5:22) Do these things identify your life? It's a good time to stop and reflect isn't it? If
Reflections on Scripture, Theology, Preaching and The Christian Life