INTRODUCTION
Today I want to talk to you about something that has been a burden on my heart for many years. I would like to speak about examining our walk with God. It is a good thing to examine our walk with God, and something that I have done on numerous occasions. As a matter of fact, the reason that it burdens me so is because I realized that I wasn’t saved after such an examination.
WHEN GOD SAVED ME
I loved my grandfather. He was 6 foot tall, nearly 200 pounds, and always seemed bigger than life to me. He was born in 1919 and grew up in a time when everything came by hard work and dedication. He had worked many jobs during his lifetime, including a tour in the navy during WWII, but when I was born he was a vegetable farmer in Florida. My grandfather taught me a lot about farming, hunting, fishing and life in general. We spent a lot of time together when I was growing up. I always looked forward to our times alone. He would start telling one of his stories (he had one for every occasion) and I would find myself listening intently, transfixed by his mannerisms and distinctive, grandfather voice. More than once I imagined myself in the story playing out the part of the lead character. I always felt comfortable in his presence. Even as a small child he made me feel special and loved. In my eyes there was never a better grandfather in the entire world.
Labor Day, September 7, 1992 found me living in Utah. I had been in the United States Air Force for 5 years and was stationed at Hill AFB. On this day my wife and I were planning to start packing for our yearly visit to Florida. We were supposed to fly out on September 9; my second child had been born in April and I was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to show off my first son. At approximately 7:00 a.m. the phone rang. It was my mother telling me that my grandfather had been rushed to the hospital. I’ll never forget her words, "If you want to see him alive you better come home now." I hung up the phone in complete shock. I was dumbfounded and useless. Donna, my wife, took control of the situation and managed to get one airline ticket changed to a 9:20 flight that morning. That was the longest flight of my entire life. All the time I was in the air I thought of nothing but my grandfather. I knew that he had been battling cancer, but the thought of his death had never become a reality to me. I didn’t think anything could defeat him. After all, he was my grandfather. When I touched down in Orlando I called Donna to let her know I had arrived safely. With a quiver in her voice and choking back tears she told me the bad news. My grandfather, my friend, my childhood hero had died in the hospital; the victim of a blood clot passing through his lungs. I was devastated. For a long time I sat in that little phone booth and cried. Immediately I started blaming God. I didn’t think about my grandmother who had just lost a faithful husband of 53 years. I didn’t think about my mother and uncle who had just lost a loving father. All I could ask was, "Why? Why didn’t God let me get there before he died?" It was beyond my comprehension. That dark day in my life started a depression that would last for seven months.
I was mad at God. I could not be consoled by anyone’s words. I tried to play it off like nothing was wrong. To my coworkers and other family members it seemed everything was back to normal. But Donna wasn’t fooled. At one point she took the initiative to make an appointment for me with our pastor. "I’m worried about you," she said, "you need some help." Reluctantly, to make her feel better, I talked to the pastor. His words did nothing to help my aching heart. I continued my life, feeling lower than ever.
I had been raised in church and still faithfully attended. One day Donna told me in an excited voice that she was rededicating her life to the Lord and wanted to get baptized as a testimony of her new commitment. "I’d really like it if we got baptized together," she said, still radiating with excitement. "What?" I scowled, raising my voice a little, "Why do I need to get baptized? I’m already saved." She tried to explain her feelings, but I wasn’t listening. I was too mad. Who was she to insinuate that my walk with God was anything less than perfect? I was a good Christian. I had walked the aisle when I was seven years old. I had been baptized and practically raised in the church. My parents made sure that we were there every Sunday morning and every Sunday evening. As a teenager I had taught Sunday school and helped with the young boys on Wednesday nights. Even now I tithed regularly and made sure my family was there whenever the doors were open. And why was she rededicating her life anyway? As far as I could tell there wasn’t anything wrong with her spiritual life. The thoughts raged inside my head and I ended the conversation abruptly.
So, she was baptized one Sunday morning while I watched from the side of the baptismal. My anger was still there, but deep down, after thinking about what was said, my mood began to change. She had made an insinuation that I wasn’t walking close to God and for the first time in months my heart was pierced with something other than anger and grief. Fear began to creep in. Fear that maybe she was right.
I picked up my Bible, blew off the dust and started reading. I claimed to be a Christian, but the only time I opened up the Word of God was to follow along with the pastor as he went through his sermon. I made a commitment to read a little every day, and slowly, verse by verse, I began to hear God talking to me through the scriptures.
I can’t give an exact time or date, but some time in the month of April, 1993, God showed me that I wasn’t saved. I realized that it isn’t baptism, regular church attendance, teaching a Sunday school class, or the act of tithing that saves a person from the clutches of hell. It is a broken spirit, a truly repentant heart, and a one on one relationship with Jesus Christ. I had heard about Jesus Christ my entire life and had never repented of one sin or been willing to change one part of my life for him. Twenty-two years after I had walked the aisle in a little country church, I finally surrendered my life to the Lord. It’s sad that some of us are so hard-headed that God has to go to extremes to get our attention.
I still miss my grandfather, but now his death holds a different meaning for me. When I think back to that traumatic event I’m filled with bittersweet feelings. Oh how I long to go fishing with him again or hear one of his stories. But I know now that sometimes God takes away our loved ones for our own good. I can’t help but smile when I think of my grandfather up in heaven telling his own story about how God saved him. I can just imagine the hosts of heaven surrounding him and I can hear his voice lifting in praise to Jesus Christ. And now, as his distinctive, grandfather voice filters back into my memory I sit here transfixed, knowing that for once in my life I really am playing the part of the lead character. Jesus Christ died for me. Thank you Papa for making that abundantly clear.
2 Corinthians 13:5 - Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
When someone brings forth a message about examining our walk with God it evokes a lot of different feelings. Some are excited because it reassures them of their faith. Others get angry because someone has had the audacity to question their salvation. Whatever emotion it was that swelled within you when I mentioned the subject of this study, please, lay it aside and listen with an open heart.
I would like to examine this passage of scripture by breaking it into four parts so that we can glean a better understanding of its meaning. The four parts will be: 1) Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith 2) Prove your own selves 3) Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you 4) Except ye be reprobates
1) EXAMINE YOURSELVES WHETHER YE BE IN THE FAITH
In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we have an exhortation from Paul to examine our walk with God. This isn’t a message to be applied to someone else. The text doesn’t say examine others to see if they are in the faith; it says to examine yourselves. It is one that I need to apply to myself, and one that you need to apply to yourself. But why would we want to examine ourselves? Charles Haddon Spurgeon gave this reason in a sermon preached on October 10, 1858:
Examine yourselves because many have been mistaken. That is a matter, which each one of you can confirm by your own observation. How many in this world think themselves to be godly when they are not? You have in the circle of your own friends, persons making a profession, of whom you often stand in astonishment, and wonder how they dare to do it. Friend, if others have been mistaken, may not you be? If some here and there fall into an error, may not you also do the same? Are you better than they? No, in nowise. You may be mistaken also. Methinks I see the rocks on which many souls have been lost, the rocks of presumption, and the siren song of self-confidence entices you on to those rocks this morning. Stay, mariner, stay, I beseech thee! Let your bleached bones keep thee back. Many have been lost, many are lost now, and are wailing at this present hour their everlasting ruin, and their loss is to be traced to nothing more than this, that they never examined themselves whether they were in the faith.
And here let me appeal to each person now present. Do not tell me that you are an old church member; I am glad to hear it. But still, I beseech you, examine yourself; for a man may be a professor of religion thirty or forty years, and yet there may come a trial-day, when his religion shall snap after all and prove to be a rotten bough of the forest. Tell me not you are a deacon; that you may be, and yet you may be damnably deceived. Ay, and whisper not to me that you are a minister. My brethren in the ministry, we may lay aside our cassocks to wear belts of flame in hell; we may go from our pulpit, having preached to others what we never knew ourselves, and have to join the everlasting wailings of souls we have helped to delude. May God save us from such a doom as that! But let no man fold his arms, and say, "I need not examine myself", for there is not a man here, or anywhere, who has not good cause to test and try himself today.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon saw the need for every Christian to examine himself. He said that it doesn’t matter if you are a church member, a deacon, or the pastor himself. Anyone is capable of being deceived and no one should think themselves above examination.
So what does the scripture say that we are to look for when examining ourselves? It says to examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. Here we have to ask another question. What does it mean to be in the faith? Allow me to go back to Charles Haddon Spurgeon and use an illustration that sums it up beautifully.
There is the ark; and a number of men around it. Ah! says one, I believe that ark will swim. Oh! says another, I believe that ark is made of gopher-wood, and is strong from stem to stern; I am quite sure that ark will float, come what may; I am a firm believer in that ark. Ay, but when the rain descended, and the flood came, it was not believing the ark as a matter of fact, it was being in the ark that saved men, and only those that were in it escaped in that dread day of deluge. So, there may be some of you that say of the gospel of Christ, I believe it to be of a particular character, and you may be quite correct in your judgment. You may say, I think it to be that which honors God, and casts down the pride of man. Herein too you may think quite right, but mark, it is not having an orthodox faith, but it is being in the faith, being in Christ, taking refuge in Him as in the ark. He that only has the faith without being in the faith, shall perish in the day of God’s anger; but he that lives by faith, he who feels that faith operates upon him, and is to him a living principle; he who realizes that faith is his dwelling place, that there he can abide, that it is the very atmosphere he breathes and the very girdle of his loins to strengthen him, such a man is in the faith.
2) PROVE YOUR OWN SELVES
When I was a senior in high school I owned a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. I loved that car. It was metallic gray with red, orange and yellow pin stripes down the side. I went everywhere in that car. I even used it to carry a carload of kids to school every day, despite its size. There was only one problem, the engine was just about shot. No matter how far on the gas pedal I would push, it would never go over 55 mph (at least I never had to worry about breaking the speed limit). I spent a lot of money trying to get the engine fixed, but I finally came to the heartbreaking conclusion that it was time to get a different vehicle.
My mother and I rode to Cecil Clark Chevrolet in Leesburg to see what was on the used car lot. I saw it as soon as we turned the corner, a white 1979 Chevrolet Camaro. Suddenly, parting with my beloved Bug didn’t seem like such a big deal. The salesman approached us and, of course, I immediately asked to look at the Camaro. I’m not the most mechanically minded person, but I gave what I thought was a careful assessment of the car. I looked at the tires, the seats, and the paint job. Even though I didn’t know what I was looking at, I popped the hood and looked at the engine. The point being made is that I EXAMINED the car. But just examining it wasn’t enough. I asked for the keys so that I could give it a test drive. I got in and started it up (what a difference between a Chevrolet engine and a Volkswagen engine). I stomped on the gas to see how much power it had. I fell in love with the power steering immediately. I tried out the brakes to see how well they were reacting. I went around sharp curves to see how well it handled. You see, it wasn’t enough to just examine the car, I had to PROVE it by using it for the purpose it was built: driving.
That is exactly what God is saying to us here about our Christian walk. Examination is good, we need to do that, but that ís not enough. We need to take our Christianity out for a test drive. Is our engine revved up and full of power? How does the steering wheel react when the rubber meets the road? Are the brakes working properly? Does the car stay on the highway during the sharp curves? We need to take the time to prove our Christianity and see if we are being used for the purpose we were built: spreading the gospel.
The only way that we can prove our Christianity is to check our actions and make sure they are lining up with how the Bible says that we should be living. There are a number of scriptures that give us direction in this area, but I would like to focus on a few and use them to make the next point of this message.
3) KNOW YE NOT YOUR OWN SELVES HOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU
If you remember, the first part of this passage of scripture said to examine yourself and see if you were in the faith. Now it is asking us if we are sure Jesus Christ is in us. Is there a difference between being in the faith and Christ being in us? I believe the two are interrelated, but they aren’t one and the same. The difference is that being in the faith comes as a result of Jesus Christ being in us. If Jesus Christ has never entered the into the life of a person, then they will never be able to walk in the faith.
If you are a child of God, did you know that he chose you before the foundation of the world?
Ephesians 1:4.5 - According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
If you can really grasp on to the fact that God chose you before the foundation of the world it will change the way you think about your walk with him. Long before any of us ever drew our first breath, before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, before Adam and Eve lived in the garden, before the foundation of the world was even laid out, God chose you to be one of his children. Think about that and try to comprehend it. You did not choose to be a Christian, he chose you. As an old pastor used to say, "You didn’t sign up for God’s army,you were drafted!"
That kind of thinking makes my head start swimming because, quite honestly, I can’t understand it. The idea that God knew his Son was dying on the cross for my sins is one that is almost unbearable, but, at the same time, it excites me to know that God chose me to be one of his children. The sad thing is that not everyone is chosen. If God chose everyone then no one would go to hell. We know that people go to hell because of the scripture evidence we have in Luke about the rich man that called to Lazarus as the flames of hell raged about him.
But that doesn’t seem fair. How can God possibly choose some over others? I can’t answer that question, but I can say that as mere humans we don’t know whom it is that God has chosen. We have a responsibility to carry the gospel to everyone.
So, how does someone know that Jesus Christ is in him or her? I believe we can answer that question by looking at some scriptures in 1 John.
1 John 2:3-5 - And hereby we know we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that are in him.
1 John 3:14 - We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1 John 3:17-19 - But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dewlleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us love not in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1 John 3:24 - And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1 John 5:1-3 - Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.
There are 2 recurring themes for the Christian found in the scriptures above. First, a child of God will love his brothers. Second, a child of God will keep his commandments. So, what commandments is he talking about? Let’s read a couple more scriptures before we try to answer that question.
1 John 3:23 - And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment.
1 John 4:21 - And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Matthew 22:36-40 - Master which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
1 John 2:23 says that one commandment is to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. I have spoken the next statement for the past two Sundays, but I am going to say it one more time because I know that repetition is the best teacher.
I’ve had people tell me how they live a good life. They provide for and spend time with their family. They contribute money to various charities. They are nice to the homeless and always help when someone needs a hand. They tell me all the good things that they do, then ask me if God would allow such a good person to go to hell. My response is an emphatic, YES!
What makes someone good? Is it performing all those good deeds? Is that how someone gets to heaven? If that is true then there was no reason for Jesus Christ to die for our sins. If we could do it ourselves then he was a fool to suffer on the cross. Jesus Christ himself said in Matthew 19:17, There is none good but one, that is God.
You can’t get to heaven by performing a million good deeds, but you can get to hell by refusing to do one thing, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. Speaking of Jesus Christ, Acts 4:12 says -
Neither is there salvation found in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, and his shed blood on the cross is the only way that you can wash and be made clean from sin.
Matthew 22:36-40 gives us two more commandments. Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Then, love your neighbor as yourself. If we can focus on just those two things then we would be able to live a successful Christian life.
Matthew says to hang all the law on these two commandments. Jesus was able to wrap up the 10 commandments handed down by Moses in just commandments . The first four (have no other gods before me, make no graven images , don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the Sabbath holy) would never be broken if someone were to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. Likewise, the remaining 6 commandments (honor your father and mother, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet) would never be broken if we would love our neighbor as ourselves.
So, if we want to know if Jesus Christ is in us we need to ask ourselves three questions. First, do we believe in the name of Jesus Christ? Second, do we love God with all our heart, soul and mind? Third, do we love our neighbors as ourselves?
4) EXCEPT YE BE REPROBATES
In the first part of 2 Corinthians 13:5 we saw the need to examine ourselves. In the second part we saw the need to prove ourselves. Thirdly, we saw that we need to know that Jesus Christ is in us. Now, we see that if Jesus Christ isn’t in us then we are reprobates. In the Greek the word reprobate is translated Adokimos. It means unapproved, unworthy, worthless, disapproved, rejected, a castaway.
CONCLUSION
The only way into heaven is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Anyone who doesn’t have Jesus Christ in them is a castaway and unworthy of entry into heaven. If we claim to be a Christian then we have a responsibility to examine and prove our walk with God. We can also have the assurance that we know him if we love God and love those around us.
Do you have assurance that you are indeed a child of God? Have you have examined your walk with God and proved yourself lately? Is your engine revved up and full of power? How does the steering wheel react when the rubber meets the road? Are the brakes working properly? Do you stay on the highway during the sharp curves? Can you look at your life and prove that you are on solid ground in your Christianity?
If you aren’t sure today, then ask God to show you the truth. He wants you to be sure of your salvation. It isn’t a trick of the devil for someone to tell you to examine your walk with God. Satan would never cause someone to doubt because he is happy keeping the deceived right where they are. Examine yourself today whether you are in the faith, prove yourself. Know that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are a reprobate.
I Am...
Redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy (Psalms 107:2)
Justified (Romans 5:1)
Sanctified (1 Corinthians 5:17)
Healed by His Stripes (1 Peter 2:24)
Saved by Grace Through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)
Delivered from the Powers of Darkness (Colossians 1:13)
Redeemed from the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)
Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings (Ephesians 1:3)
Forgiven (Colossians 1:13, 14)
Partaker of His Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4)
Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
Kept in Safety Wherever I Go (Psalms 91:11)
Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might (Ephesians 6:10)
Doing All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me (Philippians 4:13)
Observing and Doing the Lord’s Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:12)
Getting All My Needs Met by Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
Casting All My Cares upon Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)
Exercising My Authority Over the Enemy (Luke 10:19)
Establishing God’s Word Here on Earth (Matthew 16:19)
Walking by Faith and not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Casting Down Vain Imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:4,5)
Bringing Every Thought into Captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Blessing the Lord at All Times and Continually Praising the Lord with My Mouth (Psalm 34:1)
Being Transformed by the Renewing of My Mind (Romans 12:1,2)
Daily Overcoming the Devil (1 John 4:4)
Not Moved by What I See (2 Corinthians 4:18)
The Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Light of the World (Matthew 5:14)
A Child of God (Romans 8:16)
A Son of God (Romans 8:14)
A New Creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)
A Laborer Together with God (1 Corinthians 5:21)
More than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37)
An Overcomer by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of my Testimony (Revelation 12:11)
An Heir of Eternal Life (1 John 5:11,12)
An Heir of God and a Joint Heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)
Heir to the Blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:13,14)
An Imitator of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:1)
