AN EXAMINATION AND PROOF REQUIRED

Text: "EXAMINE YOURSELVES, whether ye be in the faith; PROVE YOUR OWN SELVES Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobate?" –II Corinthians 13:5

It was the testimony of David Brainerd that prior to his salvation, he read through his Bible twice in less than a year; that he fasted and prayed; that he even entertained extremely sobering thoughts, often reflecting late into the night on sermons he had heard. Yet, he himself confesses, his heart was still unconverted.

Likewise, George Whitefield declares that before he was a converted man, he was conscientious of his time; that he sought to eat and to drink for the glory of God; that he fasted every Wednesday and Friday; that every morning and evening he read the Scriptures and prayed; and that he set aside one hour each day for acts of charity during which times he visited the sick and those in prison, or read to the poor. Yet, he too, confesses he was without Christ.

Since "everyone of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12), it is wise for everyone of us to examine (himself) whether (he) be in the faith." And as salvation is a matter in which we may be easily deceived, it would behoove us to "Prove (our own selves)."

"Examine yourselves," that is, "try yourselves" and try yourself thoroughly because God will. Therefore pierce your heart, or as a geologist will take a core sample to analyze the earth beneath, so bore your heart throughout that it may be examined in light of the Word of God to see "whether ye be in the faith."

"Prove your own selves." Double your diligence in this matter of salvation because an error here is easy and exceeding dangerous. Therefore, put yourself to the test as a numismatist would test a gold or silver coin he suspects as fraudulent. As you would test drive an automobile, go out into the world and see what kind of Christianity you have. Many a ship will stand an examination, but cannot pass a test cruise.

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." It is not enough to be acquainted with many who are "in the faith," because this is to stand on the periphery of salvation; instead, the command before us acts as an investigator: "Are YOU in the faith?" "Are you IN the faith, being a partaker of the blessings involved?"

"Know ye not your own selves?" Do you stand questioning the spiritual state of your own heart? It is often as easy to tell a counterfeit faith as a counterfeit coin. Can you swear? Is your mouth commonly found guzzling like a duck in the gutter of obscene talk? Can you steal? Can you be content to be a constant stranger to God? Can you live without prayer? Are you comfortable in the presence of the people of God? Do you frequent the church? This is where Christ has chosen to set His name "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." –Ephesians 4:13,14. Have you in fact ever wept over your sins with any Godly sorrow?

If you profess to be a Christian, then "prove your own selves Know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Is Christ truly "in you", that is, is He beloved, trusted, and communed with? If Christ be not formed in your heart, then as you profess to know Him, you are a pretender, a counterfeit, a "Fictus" --a living, breathing Fiction.

If Christ is in you, then His Spirit will bear witness you are a child of God, Then, His power has freed you from the slavery of sin. Then, His mind has become your purpose, your desire, and your holiness. No mongrel saints will pass this test. Many claim themselves to be the children of God, and you wonder how they dare do it.

Now, who but the bankrupt are shy at looking into their bank accounts? And who but they who fear they are spiritually bankrupt will hesitate to examine themselves whether they be in the faith?

Reader, Are you afraid to examine the spiritual state of your heart? Then either tremble, because God will search it out! Or else, fall before the Saviour and cry,

Prostrate, dear Jesus, at Thy feet

A guilty rebel lies,

And upward to Thy Mercy Seat

Presumes to lift his eyes.

If tears of sorrow would suffice,

To pay the debt I owe,

Tears should from both my weeping eyes

In ceaseless torrents flow.

But no such Sacrifice I plead

To expiate my guilt;

No tears but those which Thou hast shed,

No blood but Thou hast spilt.

Think of Thy sorrows, dearest Lord!

And all my sins forgive;

Justice will well approve the word

That bids the sinner live.

-Samuel Stennett

April 17, 1788 --Adam Clarke marries Miss Mary Cooke, the eldest daughter of a clothier. He has asked her, "As I am at the disposal of Mr. Wesley and the conference, and they can send me whither they please, will you go with me whithersoever I am sent?"

"Yes," she has responded, "If I take you, I take you as a minister of Christ and shall go with you to the ends of the earth." They will be married 42 years.

April 18, 1587 --John Foxe is so fully persuaded his death is near, he has sent his two sons from home to avoid causing them grief. As he has been assured, he will enter his eternal home before they return. He is the renowned chronicler of the Book of Martyrs which has taken him 11 years to complete. To assure accuracy, he has written each line Himself. "His death," writes his chronicler, "occasioned great lamentations throughout the city, and his funeral was honored with a great concourse of people each of whom appeared to bewail the loss of a father or a brother."

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"One kind of man I dislike intensely --that is the man of wise and pious appearance who enjoys great success in word and writing and tries to improve himself and others, yet carefully sidesteps everything offensive. If Paul had taught only that men should lead an upright life, the princes of this world and false apostles would have received him with open arms. But when he condemned the works of unrighteousness, and the shallow moral views of the great world, Pharisees and whole nations rose up against him. In just the same way, Luther would be regarded as one of the wisest and holiest of men if he would write a lot of pious stuff but avoid assailing what is offensive.... " --Philip Melancthon.