Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, October 14, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister (REVIVAL TYPE MESSAGE) TOPIC: Salvation Examine Yourselves II Corinthians 13:5,6 (NKJV) Please open your Bibles to II Corinthians chapter thirteen. And let's read verses 5,6. II Corinthians 13:5,6 (NKJV) P R A Y E R 5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. ************************************************************ Introduction It is something we Christians don't like to talk about. In fact, we are ashamed to even admit it. And yet it is something probably everyone of us has struggled with from time to time. I'm talking about having doubts about your salvation. Despite the fact we made our great confession of faith in Jesus Christ and were baptized for the remission of our sins many years ago...and despite the fact we have been going to Church for years and years, many of us still have doubts from time to time as to whether or not we are truly saved. The Bible clearly teaches us that it is possible to know we are saved. I John 5:13 (NKJV) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
The LORD wants us to have the confident assurance that we are saved. And we want that assurance don't we? None of us wants to leave this world having doubts about our salvation. So how can we know for sure we are saved? Paul sums it up in two words, Examine yourselves... Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Paul's admonition is a clear warning that it is entirely possible for one to profess to be saved and yet not truly be saved. That word examine in the original Greek is the word peirazo (pare- ah-zo) which means to discover the true nature or the true quality of something by testing it. For example, the early Christians were subjected to fiery trials to test the authenticity of their faith. Now in order for our examination to be effective and valid it must be characterized by several qualities. First, it must be a PERSONAL examination. Notice Paul doesn't say, examine each other. He doesn't say ( NAME ) you examine ( NAME)...and ( NAME ) you examine ( NAME ) Paul says, Examine yourselves! The examination begins in the mirror! I am to examine myself...and you are to examine yourself. Second, it must be a REGULAR examination. That word examine is a present tense verb. In other words, Paul isn't saying, Examine yourself one time. But rather examine yourselves regularly. Remember Paul's instructions on observing the Lord's Supper in I Corinthians 11? In verse 28 Paul says, But let a man examine himself,, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. How often do we partake of the Lord's Supper? Once a week! So we should at least examine ourselves once a week, and examining ourselves daily is even better! We need to regularly examine our relationship with the Lord! We need to regularly examine our spiritual growth and progress.
And thirdly, it must be an HONEST examination. When it comes to something as critically important as your salvation you don't want to use an unreliable measuring stick. And yet sadly many are doing just that. FEELINGS are NOT a reliable measuring stick of salvation. In fact, feelings are one of the most unreliable gauges you can use to determine the genuineness of your faith. Feelings change from day to day. Sometimes feelings even change several times a day. There are times when you may not feel saved. Does that mean you aren't saved? Not at all! Salvation has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we feel saved. Remember after he sinned with Bathsheba, David prayed in Psalm 51:12a (NKJV) Restore to me the joy of your salvation. David had not lost his salvation, but he had lost the joy of God's salvation. He didn't feel saved. GOOD MORALS are NOT a reliable measuring stick of salvation. Remember the Rich Young Ruler had lived a very moral life. He had kept the commandments from the time he was a young boy. But his good morals didn't mean he was saved. Jesus told him, One thing you still lack; go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor. RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT is NOT a reliable measuring stick of salvation. Remember that sobering warning Jesus gives us in Matthew 7:21,22 (NKJV)... 21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? Do you get what Jesus is saying here? He is telling us that there will be many who were actively involved in Christian service and ministry who will not be saved.
Well if feelings aren't a good measuring stick...and good morals aren't a good measuring stick...and religious involvement is not a good measuring stick, then what is? If you and I are to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith we must use the most reliable, the most accurate, the most honest gauge of all and that is THE WORD OF GOD! Think of the word of God as a mirror. You know when you look into a mirror it reveals the truth of your outward man, doesn't it? A mirror doesn't hide our imperfections and flaws and blemishes, it reveals them. The same is true of the word of God. God's word reveals the truth about our inward man. God's word doesn't hide our spiritual imperfections and flaws, it reveals them. Since Paul admonishes us to examine ourselves let's consider five personal questions we need to ask ourselves that reveals whether or not our faith is real and genuine. Question #1: Do I Truly Love God the Father? Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 (NKJV) that the greatest of all the commandments is to Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind. A deep, abiding, passionate love for our heavenly Father is one of the greatest evidences that we possess a genuine, saving faith. On the other hand, if your heart is cold, and indifferent, and rebellious towards God, that is a warning sign that you do not possess a genuine, saving faith. Romans 8:7 (NIV) says, The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God s law, nor can it do so. If I am truly saved, GOD will be the supreme object of my affections. My greatest desire in life will be to please Him, to honor Him, to bring glory to Him, and to serve Him and to do His will. In fact, that is how we demonstrate that we truly love God...by doing His will.
I John 2:3-5 (NKJV) 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. Just saying we love God is not enough! We must demonstrate our love for Him by our obedience to His commands. It is our obedience that proves we truly love God! It is our obedience to God's commands that validates that our faith is real and genuine! If I am truly saved I will hunger and thirst for God like a deer panting for water. If I am truly saved I will diligently seek God's face and desire to know Him more and more each day. If I am truly saved I will cultivate my relationship with God by spending time in His word and in prayer each day. And so as I examine myself to see if I am truly in the faith the very first question I need to ask myself is, Do I truly love God the Father? Now here's... Question #2: Do I Truly Love The Lord Jesus Christ? It is absolutely impossible to love God the Father without loving God the Son! I John 5:1 (NIV) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. In John 8 Jesus strongly rebuked the scribes and Pharisees. He said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. (John 8:42 NKJV) Earlier in John's gospel, Jesus had rebuked those same scribes and Pharisees when He said, But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. (John 5:42,43 NKJV) Remember after Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked him three times, Simon, son of Jonah, DO YOU LOVE ME?... DO YOU LOVE ME?... DO YOU LOVE ME?
And remember in His letter to the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, the one thing Jesus had against that Church was that she had lost her first love for Christ. In other words, they had lost that passionate, affectionate love for Christ they once had for Him when they first received Him as their Lord and Savior. One way you and I can be absolutely certain we are saved is if we passionately love the One who died to save our soul! When one is truly saved he or she loves Christ more than life itself! Jesus says in Matthew 10:37 (NKJV) He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. When we truly love the LORD JESUS CHRIST we won't allow anything or anyone to come between us. When we truly love JESUS we will follow Him wherever He leads...we will obey Him whatever He asks...and we will trust Him no matter how difficult the trial. I John 2:6 (NKJV) By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. In other words when we are truly saved we are to walk so closely to Christ that when others see us they see Jesus. And so as I examine myself to see if I am truly in the faith one of the most important questions I need to ask myself is this: Do I Truly Love The Lord Jesus Christ? This brings us to the third question we need to ask ourselves and that is... Question #3: Do I Truly Love Others? Remember in Matthew 22, after Jesus stated that the first and greatest commandment is to Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, He said, and the second greatest commandment is like unto it and that is that You love your neighbor as yourself. One of the greatest litmus test of whether or not our faith is real and genuine comes down to this matter of loving others.
Jesus tells us in John 13:35 (NKJV) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. I John 3:14 (NKJV) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. I John 4:20 (NKJV) If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? James 2:14-17 (NKJV) 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. As I examine myself to see if I am truly in the faith this is one of the most critical questions I need to ask myself: Do I truly love others? Do I care for others? Do I forgive others? Do I pray for others? Do I serve others? Do I seek to lighten the burdens of others? Do I make sacrifices for the good of others? Do I put the needs of others ahead of my own needs? This brings us to a fourth question I need to ask myself and that is... Question #4: Do I Truly Hate Sin? If I truly want to discern whether my faith is real or not I need to examine my attitude towards sin, do I love it or do I loathe it? The apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:1-4 (NKJV)... What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
If I am truly saved shouldn't others see a new me... a better me...a more holy and righteous me...instead of the old person I used to be? Another passage that addresses this matter of sin and the child of God is I John 3:4-10 (NKJV)... 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. Now what is John saying? He is saying that an unbroken pattern of sin in one's life is characteristic of someone who is NOT saved, rather than someone who is saved. If a person professes to be a Christian and yet persists in an on-going, unbroken pattern of sinful living then his/her profession of faith is NOT true! To practice sin as a way of life is totally incompatible with salvation. I mean stop and think about it! If one is truly saved he/she has been saved from something...and that something is sin! If a person could continue living in sin after being saved from sin that would mean that salvation is absolutely worthless and that Christ died in vain. Now let me clarify something! A true child of GOD is NOT sinless, but a true child of God sins less! John writes in I John 1:8-10, 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Perhaps you have doubts about your salvation because you have a sinful habit you can't seem to break. The Hebrew writer refers to this as the sin that so easily entangles us. Everyone of us has a particular area of vulnerability and weakness when it comes to sin. And perhaps you have tried and tried and tried to overcome that sinful habit but have failed miserably time and time again. Does your failure to overcome that sinful habit mean that you aren't saved...or does your failure mean that you have tried to overcome your sinful habit by your own power rather than trusting in the power of God's Holy Spirit to give you the victory? I suggest to you it is the latter! John is NOT saying that if one has a sinful habit he or she can't conquer they are lost. What he is saying is that a true believer cannot and will not live his/her life as though there is NO law! A true believer will not willfully and continuously defy the authority of GOD and keep on sinning regardless of what God thinks of their sin. A true believer will not go on LOVING THE SIN that Christ died to save them from. Ideally, as we grow in Christ we should see a decreasing pattern of sin in our lives. We should find ourselves sinning less and less. We should find ourselves desiring to be more holy and righteous. Now here is our fifth and final question we need to ask ourselves and that is... Question #5: Am I Bearing Spiritual Fruit? Jesus tells us in John 15:1-8 (NKJV)... John 15:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV) The True Vine 15 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (VERSES 6-8 ON NEXT PAGE)
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. What is the fruit we are to bear? The fruit of the Holy Spirit. Think of the fruit of the Holy Spirit as the characteristics of Christ. A true believer will bear the fruit of Christ-like love... Christ-like joy...christ-like peace...christ-like patience...christ-like kindness...christ-like goodness...christ-like faithfulness...christ-like gentleness...and Christ-like self-control. And that fruit will manifest itself in our deeds of humble service to others. ********************************************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N One day I looked at myself, at the self that Christ can see; I saw the person I am today and the person I ought to be. I saw how little I really pray and how little I really do; I saw the influence of my life, and how little of it was true. I saw the bundle of my faults and fears I ought to lay on the shelf. I had given a little bit of me to God, but I hadn't really given Him myself. I came from seeing myself, with my mind made up to be----- The kind of person I should have been, that others may see Christ in me.
As we bring this message to a close I want you to understand that it has not been my intent tonight to cast doubts on anyone's salvation but rather to give us a clear picture of what it truly means to be saved. Perhaps tonight after examining yourself you still have lingering doubts about your salvation. Many times those doubts arise from trusting more in our own spiritual performance to save us than trusting in Christ. As long as there is breath in your body it is never too late to get a fresh start! Tonight you can get rid of your doubts! Tonight you can let go of your hope so or think so salvation and take hold of a know so salvation. It all begins by putting all of your faith, all of your trust and all of your hope in the LORD JESUS CHRIST! The LORD invites you to come now, as we stand and as we sing our hymn of decision.