Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
It is hard to take a long hard look at yourself. The day after an election, some political parties look back and wonder what went wrong. From their perspective, they did everything right but the voters didn’t get it. That is how we are as humans. We look at ourselves and we say, “I’m pretty good. Too bad not everyone is like me.” The Corinthians had fallen into the trap that because they were Christians and they had the Holy Spirit, everything they did must have been right. Paul wrote 28 previous chapters to them pointing out that they were way off the beam. He seemed to be telling them that if they continue in their ways, they would need to wonder if they were even saved. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow, like swallowing pride.
It may seem difficult to do a self examination of our own faith but Jesus gave us some diagnostic tools. He said we will know them by their fruit. Are you bearing fruit? Is the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 on display in your life? Are you an unforgiving servant, perfectly willing to accept forgiveness for your massive debt of sin but refusing to forgive the merest slight from an enemy? Do you love the Lord your God, one another, your neighbor, your enemy? If yes, then there is evidence that Jesus Christ is in you. If not, study first and second Corinthians and…
Pass the test!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church