Thursday, June 27, 2019
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature. I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down. 2 Corinthians 13:5-10
Nobody
really likes examinations. We may grow
to appreciate the value of an examination to see where we stand, but who really
enjoys it? In the opening four sentences
of Paul’s message he uses the word “test” or “examination” five times. He could not have been very popular with the
folks at Corinth!
In high school,
I had way too many exams for a student who thought studying was cruel and
unusual punishment. And subjects like
geometry, science, and my third year taking Introduction to German…well, let’s
just say breakfast on exam day seemed like what the condemned man got as his
last meal. I once had a teacher in
eleventh grade who was pop-quiz-happy. I got so sick of it that one day when he was
walking into the class he hadn’t even put down his briefcase, and he began spouting
the hated words: take out a
half-sheet of paper, class. I obediently
grabbed a sheet and did what he said, I took it OUT…out of the class…all
the way to the General Store to drown my sorrow in a root beer float.
As much as
I’m not fond of tests, I know they’re necessary; especially in the spiritual
realm.
Paul’s
concern for the Corinthian believers led him to encourage them to self-test to
see if their faith was genuine. History
informs us the Corinth bunch were people whose belief and behavior were hardly
on speaking terms. Paul’s not-so-subtle
approach was of genuine apostolic care for their souls to remind them that saying
you’re a Christian means very little if you won’t live it.
How
painfully true. Back at Hauppauge High
School, if you check the records for 1961-65, you’ll find Russell was listed as
a student…but his performance hardly passed the test!
For You Today
If you get a
little nervous every time you read a Scripture that deals with how your
behavior ought to be consistent with your belief, it might be a good thing to
follow Paul’s admonition to check how much effect Jesus’ influence is having on
your daily walk. Write it down…that’s
right…take out a half-sheet of paper…
Go to VIDEO
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Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture
quotations are from The
New Living Translation©
