Beloveth, have you ever worried about whether or not you really are a Christian? A Christian is anyone who has the spirit of God living in him or her. If you have sincerely trusted Christ for your salvation and acknowledged Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit lives within you and you are a Christian. You can be assured that you have the Holy Spirit because Jesus promised that He would send Him. Since you now believe that Jesus Christ is God’s son and that eternal life comes through Him, you will begin to act as Christ directs, you will find help in your daily problems and in your praying, you will be empowered to serve God and do His will, and you will become part of God’s plan to build up His church.

The Holy Spirit is God’s promise or guarantee of eternal life for those who believe in Him. The Spirit is within us now by faith, and by faith we are certain to live with Christ forever. When we turn away from sin’s appeal in the Holy Spirit’s power; we regard sin as dead and we can ignore temptation when it comes.

Paul uses adoption to illustrate the believer’s new relationship with God. In the Roman culture, the adopted person loses all rights in his old family and is granted all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family. He becomes a full heir to his new father’s estate. Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, he or she gains all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of these outstanding privileges is being led by the Holy Spirit. We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love.