Examine yourself

 Examine Yourself

 

Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

MATTHEW 7.21

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

2 CORINTHIANS 13.5

 

Have you ever known someone with diabetes? Many diabetics have to prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood to test the level of sugar in their bloodstreams. It is not something they can know just by feeling. They have to test themselves.

The Bible says that we need to test ourselves. Not by pricking our fingers, but by examining ourselves for evidence of genuine faith.

One way we can examine ourselves is to ask this question. Am I trusting Christ right now to make me right with God? Or is there something else I am trusting in to save me (like doing good works or coming from a family of faith or attending church)? Trusting Christ to save you is not a one-time thing, and it’s not about reciting details about a conversion experience in your past. The work he did to save us happened one time, but he keeps saving us each day. If your testimony of saving faith is real, it should be a testimony of ongoing trust in Christ to save you and keep you faithful today and every day.

A second question to ask yourself is this. Is there evidence of the Holy Spirit making me new? Do I see growth in my life as the Holy Spirit works in me, producing love, joy, and peace? Do I have a growing love for God’s Word and an increasing desire to centre my life around God?

God doesn’t intend for us to go through life fearful of whether or not our relationship with him is real. He wants us to be confident in our relationship with him — confident that he has his grip on us and won’t let go. But Scripture also says, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.” It is a good thing to do a checkup on ourselves to see if the faith we claim is a reality in our lives.