MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED - 2018)
(PowerPoints used in this sermon are available at no charge. Just e-mail me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request #226.)
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:26?31
A. I'm not thrilled about taking tests, & I'm glad my years of schooling are behind me. At my age the tests I take now are stress tests & EKGs & hearing & vision tests. And I don't have to study for those.
ILL. A friend of mine is convinced that one of his College professors really enjoyed giving tests. He didn't give just 6?week tests & final exams. He gave his students a test every single week without fail.
On one occasion he gave a very difficult test. You could tell that by the groans of the students. And as one question followed another, the groaning got louder.
Then, after the test was finished, each student was told to grade his own paper. My friend recalls, "He read us the correct answers & to my dismay, I found I had scored just 65 on the test. In other words, I failed the test. And I thought, ‘This will ruin my grade point average for the whole semester!'"
But just then the professor said, "I'm not going to record the grades of this test. I gave you this test for your benefit - not for mine."
B. You know, at times God does the same thing. In fact, all the way through the Bible you'll find God giving that kind of a test.
1. God presented Abraham & Sara with a wonderful gift in their old age, their son Isaac. But later, God tested Abraham. He said, "I want you to take Isaac, & offer him as a sacrifice."
Now, this test was for Abraham's benefit, not God's. God already knew Abraham's heart, & He knew that Abraham loved Him. But God wanted Abraham to know just how far he was willing to go in trusting God - & Abraham passed the test!
2. Perhaps one of the most dramatic tests in the O.T. involved Jonah. God gave Jonah a test & Jonah failed. Instead of going to Ninevah, as God had directed, Jonah fled in the opposite direction.
And it was not until he was caught in the storm & then in the belly of the great fish that Jonah repented & God was able to use him. The test was for Jonah's benefit, not for God's.
3. We read in the N.T. that God tested Philip the day that Jesus fed the multitudes. And that God tested Peter on the seashore after the resurrection, when Jesus asked him, "Do you love me, Simon? Do you really love me?"
APPL. Now how about you? If you were asked, "Do you love God?" how would you answer? I imagine most of us would answer, "Why, yes. I love God."
It's easy to say that we love God, as long as we don't go any deeper than that. But the Bible does go deeper, & it asks more questions than just that one.
PROP. So I've jotted down a couple of scriptures for us to consider this morning. One is 2 Corinthians 13:5, & the other is 1 Corinthians 11:27-31.
I. ARE YOU IN THE FAITH?
A. Look at 2 Corinthians 13:5. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, to people who claim to love God but who are having a lot of problems getting along with each other. He writes:
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you ? unless, of course, you fail the test?"
Do you remember ever reading that verse before? Maybe you have read it, but didn't stop to think much about what it says. So it really doesn’t sound familiar.
Now let’s look again at what Paul is saying, "Examine yourself. Give yourself a test: Are you in the faith?” As a Christian, if Jesus Christ lives in you & His Spirit affects the way you think & speak & act, then the answer is “Yes.”
But if the way you speak & act shows that Jesus Christ is not living in you, then no matter how much you may say you love God, the answer is “No,” & you have failed the test.
B. I don’t want to fail that test. I don’t want to come to the end of my life & discover that I’m not “in the faith.”
I certainly don’t want to be one of whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:21 when he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Now that is bad enough, but listen to vs’s 22-23, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, & in your name drive out demons & perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you…!’”
Folks, that passage really bothers me because Jesus is saying that on Judgment Day there will be people claiming to be Christians who will hear Him say, “I never knew you.” How can that be? Doesn’t God know everybody? Of course He does!
So that’s not what He’s saying. He’s not saying, “I don’t know who you are.” Remember, in the Bible, when the words “know” or “knew” are used regarding a relationship, it means “to be very close, to be intimate.”
So when Jesus says, “I never knew you,” He’s saying, “You never came to me. We were never close.”
C. Now, what must I do – what must we do – to make certain that we are “in the faith,” that we never hear the words, “Depart from me, for I never knew you”?
Well, the Bible is pretty clear about that. In fact, Isaiah 35:8 (KJV) prophesies that God will make the way of holiness, the way of salvation, so plain that even “wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein,” or as the English Standard Version states it, “even if they are fools they shall not go astray.”
For my sake I’m glad God has made the way of salvation simple enough for me to understand & follow - & for you to understand & follow, too. So what does the Bible say about the way of salvation, about becoming a Christian?
1. To begin with, it says that we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe in Him? You do? Then you are in the faith, right?
No, not yet. In talking about faith James 2:19 says, “Even the demons believe that - & shudder.” They are certainly not in the faith – they’re lost, & they know it.
So there is more to faith than simply believing in Jesus. And that is the point that Paul is making when he writes about Jesus living in us & His Spirit affecting the way we think & speak & act.
2. Well, does that mean that I’m in the faith? Wait, there’s more. The Bible teaches that if we believe in Jesus, then the obvious next step would be our decision to make Jesus the Lord & Master of our life.
And that decision is called repentance. It simply means that we turn around & start going in God's direction. We were going our own way & now we turn our lives over to Him & we begin trying to live the way God wants us to live.
We don't hear much about that today, do we? And the result is that there are lots of people who were immoral before they accepted Christ & they're just as immoral afterwards.
There are people who were dishonest before they accepted Christ, & they're just as dishonest afterwards. They were greedy before, & they're still greedy even though they call themselves Christians.
If you can't point to some definite changes that God has made in your life, then you’re failing the test - because faith always brings about definite & sometimes dramatic changes in our lives.
And these changes are occurring because we have repented, we've turned & gone God's way. Our lives will be a testimony that Jesus is our Savior & our Lord.
I confess Him with my lips. I confess Him with my work. I confess Him with my lifestyle. In everything I do, I will be giving a testimony that Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life.
3. The Bible also teaches that if we have a living, dynamic faith that we will be obedient to the commands of the Lord. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15).
The Apostle John wrote, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)
For instance, we will obey Him in baptism. Because He has commanded it, we will be baptized in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit.
Paul writes in Romans 6, "In baptism we die with Him, & are buried with Him, & raised with Him to walk in a new life."
SUM. So have you passed this test? Are you in the faith? Can you say that Jesus Christ is living in you & that He has made a definite & positive change in your life?
II. AM I RECOGNIZING THE BODY OF THE LORD?
A. If so, then I have a second question for you. It is found in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians. It is in a passage of scripture that we don't hear too often.
The verses preceding it are often read as a Communion meditation, & we often end our meditation with vs. 26 where it says, “For whenever you eat this bread & drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.” That's a good place to end. So we don't often read the rest of the passage.
But vs. 27 goes on to say, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body & blood of the Lord.” Those are pretty heavy words, aren't they?
Continuing on, in vs's 28?29, “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread & drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats & drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats & drinks judgment on himself.
Have you ever stopped to think about that passage? The Bible says that the church met together regularly in a time of Communion.
Now here is what Paul is saying. "Every time you gather around this table you ought to look deep inside & examine yourself. You ought to give yourself a test. And here is the test question, ‘Am I recognizing the Lord's body?'"
"As I partake of this communion, am I thinking about Jesus hanging on the cross? Do I realize that He is hanging there for my sin – that my sin put Him there, my sin drove the nails?"
Are you recognizing the body, or are you just taking the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary for granted?
B. Paul ends this passage about examining ourselves by saying, "That is why many among you are weak & sick, & a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment." (1Corinthians 11:30-31)
You see, final exam time is coming. And Paul says, "If you have passed the pop quizzes; if you have been answering the questions correctly; then when the final exam day comes, you won't have to worry about the judgment. Because all along you have been examining yourself."
ILL. There is an urban legend that has been around for a few years that I want to mention to you this morning. It goes like this…
In a supermarket a number of years ago, Kurtis the stock boy was busily working when a new voice came over the intercom asking for a carry out at register #4. Wanting some fresh air, Kurtis answered the call.
That was his first glimpse of the new check-out girl, & Kurtis fell in love. She was beautiful! She was also older (maybe 26, & he was only 22). But he didn’t care.
Later, after his shift was over, he waited by the time clock to find out her name. She came into the break room & smiled as she took her card, punched out, & left. He looked at her card, “BRENDA.” He went out & saw her walking up the road.
The next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket & offered her a ride home. She thought he looked harmless enough, so she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work.
She simply said it wasn't possible, explaining that she had 2 children & couldn't afford a baby-sitter. So he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Finally she accepted his offer of a date next Saturday.
That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go. The baby-sitter had called & canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let’s take the kids with us."
She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again refusing to take “No” for an answer, he insisted. Finally Brenda brought him inside to meet her children.
She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought. Then Brenda brought out her son in a wheelchair. He was blind with other medical problems resulting from her ex-husband accidentally dropping him as a baby.
Kurtis told her, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us." Brenda was amazed. Most men would have run away from a woman with 2 kids, especially if one had disabilities, just like her ex-husband had done.
They loaded up the kids & went to dinner & the movies. When her son needed anything, Kurtis took care of him. When he needed to use the rest room, Kurtis picked him up, took him & brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. And by the end of the evening, Brenda knew that this was the man for her.
Now folks, I realize that this story about how Kurtis first met Brenda may not be complete. But its description of his love for Brenda & how he reacted to her children is absolutely correct. Four years later they were married, & Kurtis adopted both of her children.
So whatever happened to Kurt & Brenda? Well, years later now, Kurt & Brenda are still happily married & they have 5 more children.
Kurt Warner is now famous & greatly admired as the former star quarterback of the St. Louis Rams & the Arizona Cardinals. And last year, 2017, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In fact, he is now the only football player to have ever been inducted into both the Arena Football & the Pro Football Halls of Fame!
INVITATION
