"Test yourselves."

"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!" (2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV)

As we conclude Paul’s letter to the believers in Corinth, we see that he tells them in verse 5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!”  As with all passages of scripture, to properly interpret what God intended to communicate to us, we have to read this verse in context. Context of the current passage, context of the overall message of the letter or book, context of the rest of the Bible, will allow us to understand God’s message to us properly.  I know over the years I’ve heard several incorrect messages saying that believers need to examine their lives and how they are "living for the Lord” in order to see if they are really a “true Christian”. But in reality, examining our lives really isn’t the “test to see if we are in the faith.”

So, what is Paul really saying here to these Christians? We need to understand how we are saved to start with, how we became “in the faith”. Was it by our works, deeds, and adherence to the church constitution? Or was it by God’s grace? Yes, by God’s grace, totally and completely. Paul is commanding these believers to go back and remember what they were taught about the saving Grace of Jesus. To examine themselves to see if they in fact believed that they were “Saved alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone”. If they go back and think they have to earn their salvation, then they are lost. God has no other plan for eternal life with Him, except that we come to Him by faith in the completed work of Jesus as our Savior. 

If you read the chapter, you will see that Paul is telling them to live their lives with the truth that “Jesus Christ is in you - unless you fail the test?” So, what is the test? It is simple: do you believe that Jesus Christ is indeed the promised Messiah, and the only way anyone can be acceptable to the Father? Paul isn’t telling the Corinthians to check out their works, but to check out their faith. Is the object of their faith in Jesus, or is it their own works? This is a pass/fail test. There is no grading on the curve; there is only one right answer to pass this test. That answer is “my confidence, my faith, my trust is only in my Savior, the Lord Jesus”.

If you pass this test of faith, then “Jesus Christ is in you”, and you are in Him. So, Paul concludes that we should continue living our lives to reflect the truth that Jesus Christ indwells each and every believer, because of their faith, not because of their good works.

Believers are attacked on a regular basis by the evil one, telling them that they are not good enough to be saved. Honestly, Satan is right about that; none of us is good enough on our own to be saved. The whole book of Romans tells us this truth. But many of us, when the evil one comes with this accusation, fold up like a deck of cards. We just don’t know what to say to him. When all along, all we have to say is that “my acceptance by God is not based on me and my work, but on Jesus and His finished work”. Notice Paul’s conclusion to his examination of himself. In verse 6, he states, “But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.”

We all need to go back and “examine ourselves” to see if “we are in the faith”. Doing this is actually healthy for us; to remember we don’t impress God with our works is healthy for us. God doesn’t love us more or less based on what we do. God loves us, accepts us, and wants us with Him based on what His son has already done, and because we have accepted His free gift of eternal life by faith, not by our works.

So, believers, go ahead, “examine yourself” to see if you have accepted by faith Jesus’ finished work. If so, you do indeed have “Jesus Christ living in you”. However, if you go back to test yourself based on your salvation and find that you are trying to be good enough to please God, then you need to speak to someone who can show you that salvation is simply by God’s grace, not by your good deeds.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"