{"id":22798,"date":"2026-08-21T14:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/?page_id=22798"},"modified":"2026-08-13T11:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:45:08","slug":"teken-van-niet-gered-zijn","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/studies\/teken-van-niet-gered-zijn\/","title":{"rendered":"The sign that shows you&#8217;ve never been born again"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe style=\"background: url('https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/studies\/the-one-sign-a-person-is-not-truly-saved.jpg') no-repeat center center \/ cover;\" id=\"lbry-iframe\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\" allowfullscreen frameBorder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n<style> .fallback-yt { cursor: pointer; } <\/style>\n\n<button class=\"fallback-yt tooltip\" title=\"Click to watch through a different stream\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('lbry-iframe').src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/'\">YouTube<\/button>\n<button class=\"fallback-yt tooltip\" title=\"Click to watch through a different stream\" onclick=\"document.getElementById('lbry-iframe').src='https:\/\/odysee.com\/$\/embed\/@apologeet:3\/'\">Odysee<\/button>\n\n<p clas=\"\">There are many people who think they are saved because they go to church, have once said a prayer or call themselves Christians.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But the Bible asks a much deeper question:<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>Has your heart truly been transformed?<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Because ultimately, it is not about what someone says they believe. It\u2019s about what God has done in a person. In this article, I want to look at one characteristic which, according to Scripture, shows that someone does not yet know Christ.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>And it might surprise you. Because it\u2019s not what most people think. It has nothing to do with how often someone stumbles or how many sins they still commit. Perhaps you\u2019re sitting here right now thinking: <i>\u201cBut I\u2019m struggling with sin. Does that mean I\u2019m not saved?\u201d <\/i>No. We\u2019ll come back to that in a moment.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But before we get to that, we first need to understand what salvation actually is.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The Bible teaches that a person is spiritually dead. Paul writes in <b>Ephesians 2:1<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">A dead person cannot bring themselves back to life. A dead person cannot take the first step towards God. They need life. That is why rebirth is entirely God\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>And this is incredibly important. For if salvation is entirely God\u2019s work, then that also has implications for what a saved person looks like. Bear that thought in mind for a moment.<br\/> Because shortly we\u2019ll return to the question: <i>how can you tell that God is truly at work in someone?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Jesus says in <b>John 3:3<\/b> to Nicodemus:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">So a Christian is not simply someone who has started making better choices. No. They have received new life. And where there is new life, a new desire also arises.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">This brings us to an important distinction that is often confused: justification and rebirth.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">When someone believes, God declares them righteous. We call that justification. But at the same time, God also renews their heart. We call that being born again or rebirth.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">We find that promise in <b>Ezekiel 36:26\u201327<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>Keep that new heart firmly in mind. For that is precisely where the answer to the question in the title will lie.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">We do not find that promise in a perfect way of life. Not in someone who never falls again. But in what God has changed from within. Take note of what God does not say in this passage. He does not merely say that He forgives sin. He also says that He changes the heart.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">That does not, incidentally, mean that a Christian suddenly lives a sinless life. On the contrary. Paul actually describes an ongoing struggle. In Romans 7, we see that he is still wrestling with sin.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>And this is important, because many people confuse the struggle against sin with a lack of salvation. But that is precisely where a major misunderstanding lies.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Perhaps you look at your own life and think: <i>\u201cWhy am I still struggling? Why do I keep falling?\u201d <\/i>But the fact that there is a struggle does not automatically mean that God\u2019s Spirit is absent.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Paul says in <b>Romans 7:21<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But a little later he also says in <b>Romans 7:22<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">For I delight in the law of God after the inward man<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">And that is precisely where the difference lies. It is not that Paul no longer experiences struggle. But that his deepest desire has changed. That is the work of God in a person.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Throughout history, Christians have repeatedly found themselves caught between two extremes.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The first extreme says: <i>\u2018You must add good works to be saved.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">That denies grace.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The other extreme says: <i>\u2018Once you believe, it no longer matters how you live.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">That, in turn, denies the new birth.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The Bible teaches neither of these. We are saved by faith alone. But the faith that saves is never alone. <b>James 2:17 <\/b>says:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">James is not saying that works save us. He says that living faith is evident.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>But perhaps you\u2019re now wondering: <i>\u201cWhat does that actually look like in practice?\u201d \u201cHow can I tell the difference between someone who has truly been born again and someone who hasn\u2019t?\u201d<br\/> <\/i>That is precisely the question we are working towards.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But before we answer that, we first need to look at a tricky passage from the Bible. Because you might be thinking of <b>1 John 3:6<\/b> right now. That passage makes many believers feel uncertain.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Does that mean, then, that a Christian never sins again? No. For the same John writes earlier in <b>1 John 1:8<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">So he is not contradicting himself. Chapter 3 is about a way of life. It is about someone who consciously continues to practise sin as a way of life. Not about a believer who stumbles. But about someone who feels at home in sin.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><b>And now we\u2019re getting very close to the answer.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Because the difference between someone who struggles with sin and someone who loves sin touches precisely on the point this video is about.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">It\u2019s not about the question: <i>\u2018Do you ever fall?\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">It\u2019s about the question: <i>\u2018What does your heart long for?\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"\"><b>John 16:8<\/b> says<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\"><i>And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\"><i>In other words: When the Holy Spirit dwells in someone, He convicts them of sin. <\/i>Those were the words of Jesus Himself in John 16. The Spirit brings sorrow for sin. He stirs up a longing for holiness. He teaches us to cry out, <i>\u2018Abba, Father\u2019<\/i>, as Paul writes in <b>Romans 8:15<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">And He brings forth the fruit of the Spirit, as we read in Galatians 5. That process takes time. Sometimes very slowly. Sometimes it involves trial and error. But He is at work.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Let that sink in for a moment.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">A true Christian is not someone who never faces struggles again. A true Christian is someone in whom God is at work.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">And that is why the Bible speaks so seriously about an unrepentant heart. Not because someone has sinned too much. But because they feel no sorrow towards God. No desire for repentance. No desire to follow Christ. That is why Hebrews speaks of a heart that becomes hardened. And that is why John says that anyone who loves sin does not know God.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But perhaps you don\u2019t recognise yourself in that at all. Perhaps you\u2019re actually on the other side. Perhaps you look at your own life and think: <i>\u201cWhy haven\u2019t I made more progress yet?\u201d \u201cWhy am I still struggling with the same things?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">You still see so much sin. You\u2019re fed up with it. You pray against it. You fall. And you get back up again. That\u2019s exactly why I want to encourage you. Because it\u2019s precisely that struggle that shows that something has changed.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">An unbeliever can sometimes feel regret too. But often that regret is about the consequences of sin.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">A believer feels sorrow because their sin grieves God. That is a fundamental difference.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Perhaps you are now taking another look at yourself and asking: <i>\u201cAm I really saved?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Let me tell you this. Ultimately, your security does not lie in the extent to which you have changed. Your assurance lies in Christ. The foundation of your salvation is not your sanctification, but His finished work on the cross. That does not mean that sanctification is unimportant. On the contrary. Anyone who is truly born again will change. But that change is not the cause of your salvation. It is the fruit of it. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in a heart that God has made new.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Therefore, do not try to live righteously in order to be declared righteous by God. Let that sink in properly. You do not need to improve yourself first before you are allowed to come to Christ. You do not need to have changed enough first for God to accept you. Come to Him just as you are. Realise, rather, that everyone who has placed their trust in Christ has already been declared righteous by God. Not because they are righteous in their own right. But because Christ\u2019s perfect righteousness has been imputed to them.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">And it is precisely as you come to understand more and more deeply what Jesus has done for you that you will love Him more and more. Not out of fear of punishment. But out of gratitude. Not to earn God\u2019s love. But because you have already received it. That is the miracle of sanctification.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The Holy Spirit shapes you, step by step, more and more into the image of Christ. Sometimes slowly. Sometimes with great struggle. Sometimes through trial and error. But God does not abandon the work He has begun.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">So what, then, is the defining characteristic that Scripture mentions time and again?<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Not that someone is still struggling with sin. Not that someone sometimes stumbles. Not that someone is going through a deep valley.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">No.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The serious sign is that someone shows no repentance. Has no desire to be freed from sin. And has no desire to follow God. A heart that feels at home in sin, without struggle, without conviction and without repentance, shows that the work of the Holy Spirit is lacking.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But if you, on the other hand, long for Christ\u2026 If you grieve over your sin\u2026 If you long to love Him more and follow Him, even though you so often fall short\u2026 Then do not constantly look at yourself.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Perhaps you\u2019re asking yourself: <i>\u201cDo I really belong?\u201d \u201cAm I perhaps not one of the chosen ones?\u201d <\/i>Perhaps that is the deepest fear some believers experience.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Not: <i>\u201cDo I want to follow Christ?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But: <i>\u201cDoes Christ even want me?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">But think for a moment about what is happening in your heart right now. Where does that longing come from? Where does that sorrow over sin come from? Where does that longing to know Christ come from?<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The Bible says that, by nature, people do not seek God. And yet, there is a longing for Christ in your heart. How is that possible? Not because you have brought about spiritual life of your own accord. Not because you have drawn yourself towards God. But because God Himself is at work within you.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Paul says in <b>Philippians 2:13<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">And in Romans 8 we have already read that it is the Spirit who causes us to cry out:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\"> <i>\u2018Abba, Father\u2019.<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">So if you long for Christ, do not sit there poring over God\u2019s hidden counsel. Do not keep searching endlessly within yourself for proof that you are chosen. God has not called us to delve into His hidden decrees in order to find certainty. He has called us to turn to Christ.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The question in the Bible is not: <i>\u2018Can I find out whether I am chosen?\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">The question is: <i>\u201cAm I coming to Christ?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Look to His revealed promise. Christ has said in <b>John 6:37<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"cite\">and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Therefore, do not fix your eyes on the question of whether you are chosen. Focus them on Christ. He invites sinners to come to Him. And no one who comes to Him is rejected by Him. So look to Christ.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Perhaps you still see so much sin in your own life that you think: <i>\u201cHow can God still accept me?\u201d <\/i>Then you should know that your hope does not lie in the extent to which you have already changed.<\/p>\n\n<p clas=\"\">Your hope lies in the complete sufficiency of Christ. No matter how deep your sin may be, God\u2019s grace in Christ is even greater. That is why you do not need to sort yourself out first before coming to Him. Come to Him precisely with your sin. He justifies the ungodly who trust in Him. And He then renews them through His Spirit. He is not merely a Saviour of people who have almost put their lives right.<\/p>\n\n<h3>He is a complete Saviour for sinners who place their trust in Him.<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"\"><br><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many people wonder whether they are truly saved. The Bible shows that the evidence of being born again lies not in a sinless life, but in a changed heart: a longing for Christ, a struggle against sin, and the work of the Holy Spirit.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22824,"parent":1147,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[225,307],"tags":[354,320,258,259,269,240],"folder":[305,102],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22798"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22827,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22798\/revisions\/22827"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22798"},{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apologeet.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=22798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}