I hate tests.
No, really. I hate them. Especially pop quizzes. In high school I was a poor test taker. They made me so nervous that I often failed them simply because I froze and for the life of me couldn’t remember what I ate for breakfast, let alone the material being asked about.
Now, I do realize that these tests were important. Designed to gauge where I was at in my learning process, and to help me fill in the necessary gaps, but that didn’t mean I liked them.
Did you know that as Christians we are supposed to be testing ourselves on a regular basis? The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5…
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith. Test yourselves! Don’t you recognize that you are people in whom Jesus Christ lives? Could it be that you’re failing the test?”
This scripture raises some important questions that every self-proclaimed follower of Christ needs to ask themselves. Let’s break it down.
1) “Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith. Test yourselves!”
Wait, what? What do you mean, “to see whether you are STILL in the Christian faith”? I thought “once saved was always saved”?
Unfortunately, there are many who believe that all it takes to receive eternal life is a one-time profession of faith, and then we can live however we want afterward, regardless if how we are living is full of deliberate sin. There should be a noticeable, continuing, change in our life after salvation.
Ask yourself: Is my life honoring God? Am I deliberately choosing to sin? Am I following God’s rules, or the world’s? Does pleasing God come first in my life?
Scriptures to Ponder: 1 Timothy 4:1 / 2 Peter 2:20-22 / Matthew 7:21-23 / Revelation 2:1-29 / Hebrews 10:26 / Hebrews 6:4-6 / Romans 2:6-8 / Ezekial 18:24 / Titus 1:16 / Galatians 5:1
2) “Don’t you recognize that you are people in whom Jesus Christ lives?”
We all live somewhere. We all have a place to call home, where we can take off our shoes and relax at the end of the day. A place of refuge from the storms of life. But we don’t just live there. Our homes become a reflection of who we are.
“Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16
Just as we have a home, so does Jesus.
Ask yourself: Is my life inviting? Would Jesus find my life pleasing? Would Jesus feel comfortable doing the things I do, or going to the places I go, watching the things I watch? Can other people see Jesus living in me? Have I filled my life with things that are pleasing to God, or is there so much clutter in my life that Jesus can’t even get in through the door? Does my life reflect Christ?
Scriptures to ponder: 1 John 2:6 / Colossians 3:1-25 / Titus 3:1-15 / Romans 12:1-2 / Galatians 5:22-23 / Ephesians 4:1-32 / Psalm 1:1-6 / Revelation 3:20
3) “Could it be that you’re failing the test?”
This is the final, and most important question, a Christian must ask themselves. I don’t know about you, but I definitely do not want to get to the end of my life and find out that I failed the most important test of all…my life in Christ. Because it can happen. Just listen to Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23…
“Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do. When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God’s message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!’ Then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!’
Wow. Heartbreaking, and terrifying, isn’t it?
Ask yourself: Am I really serving God? Are my motives pure, or selfish? Where do my loyalties lie…to the world, or to God? Is my faith just lip service, or does it really matter in how I live my life? If I died today, would I spend eternity in heaven, or hell? Would God be pleased with my choices, or would He turn His back in shame?
Scriptures to ponder: Mark 1:15 / 2 Timothy 2:15 / Galatians 1:10 / 1 Thessalonians 2:4 / Psalm 19:14 / Galatians 5:22-23 / Exodus 20:1-17 /
CONCLUSION
If, like me, you’ve come to the conclusion that your life is not quite up to Christ’s standards then you must take action to correct it. How?
Learn about how God wants you to live by reading the Bible. Spend time talking to Him in prayer. Be open to changing your life to allow Christ to be the Lord of your life. When you sin, repent, ask God’s forgiveness, and actively work to not repeat it.
The outcome of our lives is up to each individual. The choices we make today will determine our future, whether good or bad. This is one test I do not want to fail! Let me leave you with this final scripture, Colossians 1:9-11…
“For this reason we have not stopped praying for you since the day we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through every kind of spiritual wisdom and insight. We ask this so that you will live the kind of lives that prove you belong to the Lord. Then you will want to please him in every way as you grow in producing every kind of good work by this knowledge about God. We ask him to strengthen you by his glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy.”