“Examine yourselves…..” – 2 Cor. 13:5
This might be the hardest thing for most people to do. They have no trouble examining others, but they find it terribly difficult to make an honest examination of ourselves. I suspect that isn’t so much a fear of what they might find, as it is knowing what they will find. Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to face it when it comes to examining ourselves. We don’t want to think about our faults and failures. Nor do we want others to know about them. So we work overtime trying to project an imagine of what we want others to think about us.
With an attitude like that we would do well to examine ourselves with regards to salvation, to see whether or not we are “in the faith”. But even after we know we are saved there is still a need to examine ourselves ( 1 Cor. 11:28). That’s a need we never out grow. We ought to do so as though we are on a mission to find anything that is contrary to the will of God. Doing so is for our own good.
Such exams should be thorough, frequent, honest, and according to the proper standard. As an inspector for the Missouri State Highway Department I was required to examine and test materials to insure quality. I couldn’t afford to error and I wasn’t at liberty to just make up the results. I had to follow the standards and record my findings. I went to great lengths to make sure it was right. Even so, we should take care in examining ourselves. And the only way to do that is by relying on the sure standard of God’s Word. What we find might be shocking, disturbing, and harmful, but its discovery is crucial. We need to know the truth about ourselves and the only way to find it is by looking to the One who knows the truth about us. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
