2 Corinthians 13:5-7

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! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong--- not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

2^nd Corinthians 13:5-7

Paul, who has now written two (existent) letters to the Corinthian Christians over the course of which has exhorted his readers to reconcile their behaviors with their new faith in Christ, now closes his second letter with a similarly forceful command. Though not the primary objective of this second letter, Paul was no less concerned with the behavior of this young church than in his first. Indeed the temptation to synchronize their new faith in Christ with their old pagan, hedonistic lifestyle was a very real one for the Corinthians who had lived their pre-Christian days in a society steeped in a culture of idols, self-gratification, and sexual immorality. We, too, live in a similar environment and must learn to identify and combat the synchronistic tendencies that seek to undermine our own walk with Christ.

Toward this end, Paul concludes his letter by encouraging the believers to examine and test themselves. He begins by exhorting them to “examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.”

First he says, “Examine.” To examine is to carefully inspect. If we are to examine ourselves we have to make a concerted effort at self-reflection. This requires both intent and time. So much of our lives are spent going through the mandatory exertions of life or entertaining ourselves so that, purposefully or not, there is little time for self-reflection. While we may not intend to structure our lives so full of activity and noise that we don’t schedule (yes, it requires scheduling) time to analyze our lives.

“Search me, O God,” the psalmist says, “and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” We need to be willing to lay our hearts bare before the Lord; to be willing even to admit that our heart, mind, and thoughts, are opposed to the Lord’s will. Make no mistake; we must schedule regular time for this self-analysis just as we schedule regular physical check-ups to ensure the health of our bodies. We may, of course, ignore these moments of reflection but we may also someday be disturbed to bitterness, unbelief, or a hundred other sins growing steadily in our unexamined heart.

Continuing from there, Paul calls the Corinthians to examine themselves to see whether they were, in fact, truly believers. If we are not inclined to introspection, we are even less inclined to even entertain the possibility that we may not be true believers. Contrary to popular understanding, it is not unhealthy at any age or level of maturity to inspect our hearts for evidences of regeneration. Prolonged periods of spiritual apathy or sinful regressions should be significant warnings for us to consider the state of our hearts. Due both to a desire to conform to the world and the danger of spiritual warfare it is common (far more common that we consider) to be deceived into believing that we are saved when we are, in fact, not. We need to soberly consider this possibility not with a morbid obsession but with a humble, contrite heart always willing to submit ourselves to Christ and cast ourselves down before Him. Willing even to admit that though we have known about Him, we have never fully surrendered our hearts to Him.

“Test yourselves,” Paul continues. To test something is to compare it against a standard. As believers, our standard is always what is presented in Scripture. As we test our hearts we must always judge ourselves based on the standards outlined in Scripture not on whatever rule we ourselves impose. To test our hearts and motives we must return to an understanding that the Bible is not only trustworthy but authoritative. We must carefully guard ourselves from making anything other than Scripture our standard. It is far easier to do that we would imagine.

We must not let our friends become our standard, for even Christian friends are a poor reflection of the image of Christ and can easily lead us astray. To compare ourselves to non-believers is to build a false sense of security and superiority. We are not called to be ‘better’ than some; we are called to be holy as God is holy.

We must also not hold ourselves to the standard of culture which is, in its best incarnation, only a rough amalgamation of groupthink. Even the best society endorses and ‘believers’ things that are antithetical to the call of God. We must also prevent ourselves from becoming self-satisfied by our own righteousness compared to the immorality of our surrounding culture. We are called to be set apart and pure to be sure, but any degree of purity we experience is a gift of God and is not a cause to rejoice over our own accomplishments or self-righteousness. We are still woefully riddled with sin and impure motives. We have no righteousness apart from Christ and thus should never revel in our comparative brightness in the darkness of our culture.

It becomes far too easy for us to judge ourselves based on what feels good. Even for “Christians” who would claim Christ as their savior it is a tantalizing proposition to cloak our hedonism in righteousness. Though we would claim to renounce the self, we still speak in terms of that belie our still-selfish hearts. We trumpet our ‘dreams’ and ‘what God wants for us’ as though they were incontrovertible truths etched in time. These matters are not our standard. Our only standard is Scripture which defines our purpose entirely differently than simply veiled self-indulgence. In a similar manner, our comfort is also not the standard against which we measure ourselves. Our maturity as believers should not be based on whether we are living ‘safe’, comfortable, or reasonable lives. These patterns are easy to fall into and only serve to justify our fears and apathy. This should not be. Our standard is only to be Scripture and Christ presented therein.

In short, our only standard for faith and Christian maturity is the Bible. Any other means of evaluating ourselves only serves as inappropriate assurance, justification of sin, or a license for judgmental attitudes. If we are to evaluate and test our faith as Paul commands we must have a true standard against which to measure ourselves lest we simply trust again in man-made rules which were our standard when we were lost and deceived.

Finally, we must test to see whether Christ is indeed in us. This is the ultimate test upon which all else is secured. Though indeed manifested through sometimes measurable means, we must never depend on outward behavior as the indicator of our faith for two reasons. First, outward behaviors are too easily manipulated and conducted for false motives. Secondly, our hearts, even with the most noble and godly of intentions are still stricken with the disease of sin. We cannot base our evaluations solely on what we have done or not done though these can, and should be weighed as evidence. Evidence of what, we might ask. Evidence of whether Christ is in us. This answer is the only one of true importance. It concerns not only our present but our future. It goes beyond false motives into the realm of the Spirit’s control. It defines our identity and establishes for us a purpose beyond any vain striving this world can offer. The question of whether Christ resides in our heart is one that should rightfully occupy the attention of any Christian. We need to carefully and prayerfully inspect our thoughts, our actions, and our motives. We must set aside time for periods of sincere self-reflection. Make no mistake, this will cost us something. We must invest our time wisely and not haphazardly or spasmodically. Let us give careful thought. Let us inspect with discerning eyes, pray with humble hearts, and always be willing to submit ourselves immediately to Christ, our Lord when we find any area of sinful stronghold. May we examine; may we test and find only the thing that matters in the end--- Christ dwelling within us.