Sep19 Written by:Nathan Williams
Friday, September 19, 2008
There is a great principle of self-examination found in 2 Cor. 13:5: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?"
1. We should Personally test ourselves. Each of us should constantly be comparing our speech, thoughts, and actions with the pattern given by our Lord. A good driver constantly checks his rear-view mirror, side-mirrors, and the road straight ahead. He does not tie the wheel down with bungee cords, press the gas peddle down, and then lay back for a nap! He probably wouldn't last 30 seconds that way. The car tends to drift to one side or the other and the driver must correct it's course over and over again to "keep it between the lines." The same is true in our lives. In the Old Testament, the phrase "turning to the right hand or the left" was used to talk about people who went astray from their correct course (examples: 2 Sam. 14:19; 2 Kings 22:2). We need to keep our lives on the straight and narrow path. It's much easier to get back on course after drifting a few feet than after drifting a couple of miles off course!
2. We should Collectively test ourselves. I believe Paul's encouragement here in 2 Corinthians 13 is toward the entire church at Corinth. They had men among them who were creating conflict and partisanship. They were intentionally trying to persuade the brethren to turn against Paul. They needed to look among themselves to find these troublesome meddlers and get rid of them! They needed to discipline themselves so Paul wouldn't have to wield his apostolic authority when he came (2 Cor. 13:10: "For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down."). As a church, we are responsible for detecting false teaching, false brethren, and encouragement in the wrong directions. We must look to the Scriptures and compare the attitudes and convictions of our members with the pure word of God.
Notice: I am not trying to stir up brethren against each other. When we truly have "false apostles" in our midst, I believe they will become apparent. I am NOT encouraging us to suddenly become suspicious of every one of our brothers and sisters - that would not be loving. I am encouraging us to keep our eyes on the Scriptures so we will KNOW when false teaching and false attitudes infiltrate our ranks.
Hold fast to the faith,
Nathan
Tags: