33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
People argue that you cannot tell who is saved and who is not and, for the most part, that is true. God alone really knows. But Jesus said there ways to detect if a person is saved or not. By our love one for another we proclaim to the world that we belong to Him. Why did He use love as the marker of our salvation. For two reasons—first, God is love and therefore those who are born of Him would love, too. Second, love is the one thing the devil cannot counterfeit.
In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus explains how we can tell a genuine Christian from a pretender (and trust me, there are pretenders). He said we will know them by their fruit. To tell if a person is saved, we can look at their lifestyle. Does it reflect Christ? Is it marked by holy and righteous living? Do they love their neighbor (fellow man)? Do they love God? Is their love for God evident?
If we pull a piece of fruit from a tree, bite it, and discover that it is an apple, we’ll know that the tree is an apple tree. Likewise, if a person regularly studies the Word, attends church, fellowship with other believers, lives according to the Word, prays, gives, and love other Christians, then he or she is likely a Christian. If those fruit are absent from the life of a so-called Christian, it is likely that he or she is a not a Christian and does not belong to God (1 John 4:7).
But that was not the only sign Jesus gave of how we can tell who belongs to Him. On the night He was betrayed, He set aside His garment, filled a basin with water and washed the disciples’ feet. Later He told them, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Why did Jesus give this as a sign? There are several reasons. First, it cannot be counterfeited by Satan. An unsaved person can perform a selfless deed. It could be home training. It could be their nature—some people are natural givers. It could be motivated by the flesh [i.e. pride, hero complex, desire for recognition] or God. Second, God is love and this characteristic would be exemplified by those who are born again. If God is love and He lives in us, then His love cannot help but radiate from us.
Third, it is a characteristic that would separate the church from the world since the world cannot love like Christians. Christians are called to love unconditionally and sacrificially because this is how Jesus loved. We are not to love people based on how they look and what they can do for us. Nor are we to love only those we chose or when it is convenient for us. God loved us even when we did not love Him. Loving people is costly. Just ask God. It cost Him a Son.
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