The Examination
Proverbs 16:1-11 2 Corinthians 13:5-14 Text 1 Corinthians 11:1-27
Each year around this time, Christian parents can begin to rejoice that their children are now going to be more involved in prayer than they were the previous couple of months. Heaven is full of prayers, "Lord don’t let me get that teacher, Lord please let me get that teacher. Lord don’t let me get lost. Lord, don’t let there be a quiz today." There is nothing to get children to praying like going back to school and having to face the dreaded quizzes, tests, and examinations that are most certain to come. So much of what happens in school, focuses in on the examination that is to come. The grades that they will receive on those examinations will depend a lot on the preparations that they make during the coming few weeks and months.
Some students will start to apply themselves immediately to start learning the material. Some will wait until the progress reports come out, and after their parents have canceled their phone and tv privileges, they will start to prepare for the exam. Others will wait until the night before the exam to start to study, blame the teacher for giving so much to study for, and ask God for a miracle to somehow pass the exam.
We often times do not realize it, but the Christian lifestyle is a lot like going to school. You can’t be a disciple of Jesus Christ without being a student of the word of God. We are told in the Scriptures, 2 Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. The Greek word that is translated do your best can also be translated by the word study. To study means you have to put some effort in it. You can usually look at a test score and know from the grade who studied and who didn’t. It’s not enough sometimes to study. You can study diligently, but if you study the wrong thing, it’s all in vain. Have you ever been prepared for a test by studying chapter five only to get the test and discover, you were supposed to have studied chapter 6.
Like school, Christianity has pop quizzes, mid-terms, and the final examination. Unlike school though, each exam is tailored fit for each individual. Therefore nobody can cheat off of someone else. Nobody can say this test was too hard or too easy. Nobody can say, well at least I didn’t do as bad as so and so did. As we walk this walk in life, we need to realize that God is keeping watch, and God is keeping score.
Most of us think of ourselves as pretty decent people. Even people that we think are absolutely horrible, think of themselves as pretty good people. You see they have a different measure of standard than you do. The Bible goes a step further in saying how we view ourselves. In our Old Testament reading , it said in Proverbs 16:2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. We ask the question, how in the world could you do something like that, when the other person sees it as no real big deal. Why? Because in his own eyes, he’s innocent. But how we see ourselves in our own eyes is not the end of the matter. God says, you see the action, but I’m weighing the motives. In our spiritual lives, we flunk a lot of pop quizzes that come our way, simply because we did things with the wrong motive.
There’s something else about the exams. We think that we know exactly what’s come to be on the exams in our lives. The only thing is, we really don’t. Things show up on the test that we had not planned on running into. We had our lives mapped out to go in the direction of east, and for some reason or another, we find ourselves heading south. Why? Again we forget, that there is a teacher over us who sits high in the heavens. We read in Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. It doesn’t matter whether you are saved or not, your plans for the future, must always go through the plan of God for your life. Even if you think, I’m so wicked, there is nothing that God could have as a plan for me. Think again, for we read in Proverbs 16:4 The LORD works out everything for his own ends-- even the wicked for a day of disaster.
God has put certain natural laws and moral laws into the world, and we will be examined on our willingness to respect and obey those laws. The law of gravity says that if you jump off a building, it does not depend on who you are, where you’re from, or how your parents were, you will fall to the ground. That’s the consequence of breaking a natural law. There are moral laws that God has given to us such as the 10 commandments. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Christian or not, even if you’re an atheist, God still requires you to pass the examination on keeping those laws. God isn’t interested in the fact that you weren’t a Christian when you committed adultery, or when you were a liar. It’s a s in for the Christian and non Christian alike. A non Christian’s sin is no greater or no lesser than a Christian’s. The only difference is that if the Christian repents, Jesus is willing to bear the consequence for those sins on the final exam. You can’t pass the exam without Jesus anyways, because you need a perfect score. Yet the Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
In our New Testament reading, we were told to start preparing for the examination that’s coming, not by looking at others, but rather by examining ourselves. It says in 2 Cor 13:5 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? The word examine means to test, to scrutinize, or to prove. Have you been concerned with the grade you’ve been getting on your Christian progress report as of late. Is pleasing Jesus Christ, the driving factor in your life, or are you in this thing just to escape hell and make it into heaven. If you died today, would God be pleased with the way you set up the priorities in your life. We are quick to lie about our tremendous love for God, when all a person has to do is look at our check book, or listen to the way we talk to our children or our parents, and they know that God is way down on our list of favorite things.
It’s amazing that we will do all kinds of things to live longer according to what the world tell us to do and ignore what God tells us to do if we want to live longer. The world says give up the fried food, stop smoking, exercise, try this machine, and eat these vitamins. Some of us will take our tithe money and join the health spa or club met or some other thing in order to live longer, not realizing we may be dying ahead of our time. We often say it was the will of God for the person to die. You’re right in that no person can die, unless God wills it, but God’s will for a person does not always include them dying when God wanted them to die.
We can change the will of God when it come to dying. For example, when the children of God left Egypt, it was God’s will to bring them into the promise land. Their rejection of God’s commandments led to most of them dying in the desert. God allowed for them to die when they did, but that was not God’s will for them. The Scriptures teach that we have the power to increase and decrease the number of days we are on the earth, especially us Christians. Now that does not mean that God plans for all of us to live to be a hundred. But sometimes the way we live our lives before Christ, will prompt Jesus to bring us home sooner than we intended, because we are hindering more than helping the kingdom of God. Sometimes the only way God can get some e churches moving is to get rid of some of the grumblers and complainers. Since they have determined, I’ll be in that church until I die, God lets them go ahead and die to move them out.
Let’s look at a passage of Scriptures which specifically shows how we can cause sickness and death to come upon us all because we failed to do what God told us to do. I’m not talking about some kind of voodoo or spells, but the natural result of breaking God’s moral law.
One of the sacred acts that we are involved in the church is communion. Communion should only be taken, by those who are serious about following God. I don’t quite understand it, but when Jesus took the bread, he said, this is my body which is broken for you, and when he took the cup he said, this cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood. He said, whenever you eat this bread drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
One of the periodic exams that we have in the school of life come each time that we share in communion. It’s not a pop quiz because you can be pretty sure, that it’s going to take place on the first Sunday here at Glenville. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 11:271 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. The word unworthy is used only twice in the bible. The second time is in verse 29, and it’s translated as without recognizing. If we accept communion, without recognizing and submitting to the lord ship of Jesus Christ, we are scorning the work of Christ. It’s like spitting in the face of Christ, saying I really don’t need the work that you have done, but just in case I’ll go along. It’s as though we are joining in with those who crucified and ridiculed Jesus. Many of the Corinthians, were guilty of being self-centered and just plain greedy. This attitude within them made unworthy to partake of Communion.
Now Jesus expected us as Christians to partake of communion. That’s why He told us to do it in remembrance of him. So not taking communion does not solve the problem of being obedient as a Christian. There is a way for us as believers to not sin against the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Look at the next verse. 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. Here is the key to taking communion. It’s called self-examination. It has nothing to do with whether or not the preacher or elder who is serving communion is living right and holy or if the church members are living right. The only issue involved in communion is, how am I living? How do I measure up to the examination God has given for my life? The word examine here is translated test and prove in other parts of the Scriptures.
Are you testing and proving yourself in light of God’s word or in accordance with what’s the going standard in the world. There are a lot of things that are fine with those around you, that may be evil in the eyes of God. If you are living in compromise with sin, you need to confess it, repent of it, and let it go and come to the communion table. God is not impressed that you didn’t take communion because you’re not living right. God says, get to living right so that I can bless you in the communion. I want to join you in the most intimate of fellowship.
The alternative to not getting right with the Lord is not a good one. Look at the next verse.
1 Corinthians 11:29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. If we can have unforgiveness in our hearts, Know we’re not speaking to so and so, know we need to ask for forgiveness and won’t, know that Jesus is not Lord of our finances, know that he’s not in charge of our relationships, and know that He’s not in charge of our attitudes, and then know that we don’t intend to allow Him to make any changes, yet sit in church and take communion. Then we bring judgment upon ourselves. Unfortunately, we think becoming a Christian removes us from judgment completely. That isn’t so. You see not only is their the big examination in which we appear before the judgment of God when we die, there are also these other exams that have consequences along the way. Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is to be a secret backslider.
Look is what happens when we try to walk with one foot in Jesus Christ and the other foot where we want to put it. It says 1 Corinthians 11:30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. Here are some Christians that got sick that God didn’t intend to be sick. But if they had not become ill, they probably would not have found themselves getting back on track for God. Here are some that died ahead of their time. They had become such a bad influence by their lifestyles that God took them on out. Does that mean that everybody that died early or prematurely died because of some sin. No it doesn’t mean that at all. Jesus and James both died early. Jeroboam’s son died as an infant, because God said, "He’s the only one in the entire family that I can find anything good in it."
What this passage is teaching is that there are consequences to our lifestyles that sometimes we don’t understand. We think we’re getting away with something because we haven’t got caught or even if have, nobody can do anything about it. But God has the record book and good is willing to grade us and determine what the consequences will be. A parent doesn’t allow his child to get F, after F, after F, without intervening and saying, look if you bring home one more F, something has got to change. There comes a point in time which God says, enough is enough, it’s time to move you on one way or the other. But God would rather not be put in that place. God would rather us experience His love and His good and perfect plan for our lives.
God is willing to give us the exam in advance, have us take the exam home and grade it ourselves. See where we need to study, and then show up the next day before Him, ready to take the exact same exam all over again. You can’t lose when you want to follow the rules. Look at verse 1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. God is begging with us, please go ahead and make the necessary adjustments God isn’t requiring that we become perfect, he’s requiring that we be honest about the condition that we are in. One day Jesus asked a man did he believe that he could heal his son. The man replied, "Lord I believe, but help me with my unbelief." Jesus then went ahead and healed the man’s son.
When we do our self examination, it’s not to be done to lead us to despair. "Oh I’m the worst Christian in the whole world." It’s done to lead us to repentance which always leads back to restoration. It allows us to say create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Our God is a God of mercy, a God of healing, a God of cleansing and a God of restoration. God is saying, let me put back into your life, the joy that sin had drained out of you. Let me help you get back on course. Together we can pass this examination in your life. It’s too big for you to handle by yourself.
My friends God wants to be intimate with us, as a parent is to a child. That’s why Jesus used the term Father, so that we would understand that God is not some nebulous force out there who does not care what happens to us. Look at verse 1 Corinthians 11:32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. How often have we told our children, I’m doing this for you now, so that some policeman won’t be doing something a lot worse to you down the road? God is willing to go the distance with us to keep us from being lost. If God let us get away with doing our own thing, God knows that in the end not only would we regret it, but that He would regret it even more. It says in Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
Hebrews 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as children. For what child is not disciplined by his parent? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons and daughters. Moreover, we have all had human parents who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our parents disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in God’s holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. There is something about pain that will sharpen our focus and force us to deal with what’s truly important in life.
Examinations are going to be with us throughout our Christian lives. We are told to study, to examine, to test and to prove various aspects of our lives so that we might bring them into conformity with God’s will and plan for us. Each time we have communion, we are given the opportunity to grade ourselves, and to find out what our own individual spiritual average is. Each time we take the bread and the cup, let’s ask if we’re doing it in an unworthy manner, or are we recognizing the right of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over every area of our lives.
