Many Americans claim to have a personal relationship with God, but how do we know whether they actually do? First John offers two tests of belonging to God: behaving and believing. How we behave is an ethical test. First John 1:5-2:2, which we will begin studying today, is an example of such a test. How we believe is a theological test, and 1 John 2:20-23 and 4:1-3, which we will study later, are examples of it. These tests of relationship with God are not only biblical, they are also common sense. Consider your own relationships. If you belong to an … Continue reading Belonging, Behaving, and Believing (1 John 1:6-7)