Time for an Examination

Eastford Baptist Church

September 28, 2006

Time for an Examination

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?” 2 Corinthians 13:5

There’s a story about four men who were making a trip through New England. As they were driving down the turnpike in the state of Massachusetts, they entered a city called Worchester, Massachusetts. One of them said, “Well, this is Worchester.” One of the others said, “No, you mispronounced it. It’s not “Woor-ches-ter,” it’s, “Waa-chest-ta.” A third one said, “No, no, both of you mispronounced it, it’s supposed to be pronounced “Woss-ta.” The fourth fellow pointed out that was an absolute impossible pronunciation based on its spelling. And they argued back and forth until they pulled into a fast food restaurant and went inside. They asked the teen behind the counter, “Ma’am, perhaps you can help us. We have a disagreement here. We don’t know how to pronounce the name of this place. So, real slowly, would you please pronounce the name of this place for us?” She gave them an odd look and said, “Daaaare-eeee-queen.”

While the correct pronunciation of a few New England towns may remain strange and mysterious to some of us, there is one thing Scripture says should never be unknown in your heart – whether or not you are actually in the faith. In other words, whether or not you have actually been saved from your sins. Knowing and understanding our relationship with God is the single most important issue in any of our lives. So the Bible says “examine yourselves,” “test yourselves” to see if true saving faith is a reality in your life. Now a word of caution here – notice the verse above says, “test yourself” and “examine yourself.” There are those who seem to make it their life mission to “examine others,” but that is not the command here. This is a self-examination. The primary purpose of this exam is to make absolutely sure you know exactly where you are spiritually. If you don’t know where you are, how can you get to where you want to be? The answer is obvious. You can’t. A map is of no use if your directions originate from the wrong starting point. So we need to ask ourselves, “Is my faith a real saving faith, as revealed in God’s Word?”

There are many benefits, which come from taking this exam:
* You can avoid the danger of self-deception. Many people simply want to think of themselves as being right with God when in reality; they’ve never honestly repented of their sin. They are self-deceived in thinking they will stand justified before a Holy God.
* You can avoid the pit-falls of the unexamined life. All of us have spiritual blind-spots that for the most part remain outside of our field of vision. Periodically searching our hearts and facing reality may cause us to stop ignoring something God wants us to deal with.
* You can avoid being surprised at the end of your life. The worse surprise a person could possibly experience is facing Christ and expecting to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” but hearing instead, “Away from me, I do not know you.” (Matt. 7:21-23)
* You can avoid missing a life that enjoys God’s blessings. I’m convinced that many people live far beneath their privileges. Jesus says he came so we might, “have life and have it to the full.” (John10:10) Why miss God’s best? Self-examination doesn’t lead to condemnation – it leads to edification!

Why not take a few moments and ask the Lord to speak to your heart about your relationship with Him right now? Take the test – but one more word of caution - grade the results only against what God has revealed in His Word, not your feelings or emotions, or your own ideas. You can’t just make up an answer and expect to pass this exam. If you’re not sure what the correct answer is, you’ve got two options:

(1.) This is an open book exam. Open your Bible and read the answers. A good place to start would be John, Chapter Three.

(2.) Send me an e-mail. I’d be glad to be a study partner to help you pass the exam. I’ve taken this exam several times and have learned where to find the correct answers in the book. So sharpen your pencil and dig in.

Praying for straight “A’s” PT
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