Many of us wrestle from time to time with maintaining assurance that we are true believers in Christ. This may stem from a continually besetting sin in our lives, or from our recognition of our lack of passion for God, or any host of other reasons.
In the following video, Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham and senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in FL, answers the question, "How do we know, as believers, that we truly know God?" His answers are clear, helpful, and biblical.
There's a lot of important truth packed into these 5 minutes, but here's just one "money quote":
[In addition to the mental dimension of knowing God], there's also an emotional dimension. One thing we see in the Bible is that when someone is saved by God, they begin to love the things of God; they begin to love what God loves and hate what God hates.So when my kids ask me, "Dad, what's a Christian?" I always answer them by saying, "A Christian is one who can say with the psalmist in Psalm 42, "As a deer pants after the waterbrooks, so my soul pants after you, O God."If there is no panting for God, hungering for God, thirsting for God, a real love for God, then it doesn't matter if you give mental assent to what the Bible might say. If there's no inward emotional dimension of love for God, then you're not saved.
And his closing summary:
The Gospel should mold us and shape us at every point and in every way. It changes the way that we think, it changes the way that we feel, and it changes the way that we live.
Watch and listen for much more, and take time to consider for yourself: Do you truly know God?
