CROSS-EXAMINATION (part two)
Last week we looked at our need to examine the cross and our decision to follow Jesus. We needed to start with examining what crucifixion was about so we could understand how degrading and torturous and gruesome it was. When we understand the level of what Jesus went through for our salvation we can gain an appreciation that will help us to realize that we don't have to be afraid of putting our lives in the hands of someone who loves us so much.
Then we saw that although salvation is a free gift, it comes with a cost-we're turning over the control of our lives to him. That means we do his will over ours; we put him first. It's important that we examine things from a Christian perspective. We hold our lives up to the cross and determine how well we're living the crucified life now that we're saved.
Although we may be apprehensive to take an investigative look at ourselves, we need to. Looking at things on a surface level won't give us all the information we need to make a valid assessment. We need to go deeper. We may find some things that don't look pretty but we need to be dealt with them if we're going to live the right way. It's time to do a cross-examination.
1) God examines us.
One thing that can help us is when we realize that God is examining us. That's a good thing, although we might not like it so much. It can seem overwhelming at times.
Job 7:17-19, “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?"
Job was an upright man but here he's venting a little. Who wouldn't after what happened to him? But have you ever felt this way? Wishing that God would just look away sometimes or maybe take a break from you and focus on someone else?
We don't like the idea of being watched. 80's song by Rockwell, "I always feel like somebody's watching me; and I have no privacy."
The idea that Big Brother is tracking us is invasive. We don't like it when someone knows too much about us. We want to keep some things private. It's our human nature to be this way. And not that we should be an open book to anyone who wants to know but we need to realize that when it comes to being examined, even by God, there can be an uneasy feeling about it.
One reason is because we might be able to keep certain things from people, but we can't keep anything from God. Job 13:9, "Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?" The answer to those two questions are 'no' and 'no'.
Knowing God is examining us can be scary; especially when we're not doing what we should be. There's nowhere to run; nowhere to hide. Heb. 4:13, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
God sees it all. "To whom we must give account". There's the scary part. Jesus covered my sins with his blood but that doesn't mean I won't have to give an account for my actions. 2 Cor. 5:10 says we will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus regarding what we have done as a Christian.
Even though that reality can make us uncomfortable, it doesn't have to. If we have the right attitude toward it God's examination of us can be a blessing; not a curse. Sure, if we're doing wrong it's going to be an uncomfortable reality. But, if we have the desire to change our ways and do right, it is something that we would welcome. We will invite it, not try to avoid it or run away from it.
Psalm 26:2, "Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind." Is David serious? Why would he invite the Lord to test him and examine him?
We have an answer in David's similar statement in Psalm 139:23, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
David wants God to show him what's in his heart. He wants God to identify his anxiety. He wants God to reveal the offensive ways that are in his heart. He is willing to have God reveal and deal with these things because they hinder him from being led down the right path.
This not only shows David's desire for spiritual growth but it also shows David's humility; he realizes there may be things going on deep in his heart that he is unaware of or not taking seriously enough. Maybe there are some things in our hearts that might not be obvious to us.
The symptoms might be seen, but the root issue may be unseen. Being an alcoholic is a problem but it's not the problem. There's an underlying cause that's fueling the reaction. Depression is a problem but I need to figure out why I'm depressed. We need God to show us what's causing the depression so we can deal with it.
We all have issues and problems. We can ignore the problem, we can treat the symptoms and think that will resolve the problem, or we can go to the Lord and ask him to examine our hearts and minds so the perfect psychologist can show us what's going on.
But then we have to do something with what he reveals. When God shows us what we need to do we can have the same responses I just mentioned: we can ignore the solution, we can take half measures thinking that will be good enough, or we can follow God's directions in order to be spiritually healthy.
When the doctor prescribes medicine you'll be instructed to 'take as directed'. Sometimes we don't do that. And we're told, 'don't expect it to work if you're not going to follow the directions'. It works the same way spiritually. Don't expect to get well if you're not going to follow God's directions.
Our hearts and minds can play tricks on us. We can deceive others but we can deceive ourselves too. Jer. 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it. I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
Interesting how Jeremiah talks about the Lord searching the heart and mind but then he talks about our actions. What goes on in our heart and mind can turn into actions. And some actions can be shrouded in ulterior motives so although my actions may seem good and noble, God sees where my heart is really at. I may get rewarded by society for doing good deeds but if my heart is not in the right place the Lord will repay me according to what I deserve.
But along with that, I may think something in my heart that isn't reality. We're told to follow our hearts. That's not good advice if all we're considering is how we feel about something or someone. We can train our brain to convince ourselves of things that are not true.
We feel so strongly about something and we're unwilling to be persuaded otherwise. To the other person the truth is as plain as day but to us it's hidden from our sight because we're being deceived by our heart. We need the Lord to examine our hearts and minds and show us what's going on so we can make wise choices a live a better life.
2) We need to examine ourselves.
We know that God examines us but he also gives us the ability to examine ourselves. 2 Cor. 13:5, "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?"
Paul is putting forth quite a challenge. He wants the Corinthians to examine themselves, not to see if they had messed up somewhere, but to determine if they were true Christians! Wow, that's pretty sobering. Why did he do this?
Along with various instructions and commands throughout the book, starting in chapter 10 Paul deals with having to authenticate his divine calling as an Apostle. In chapter 12 he tells them that when he visits them he's concerned they will be fighting and feuding and exhibiting divisive behavior. He's also concerned they have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality and debauchery in which they have indulged.
So, as he finishes the book, he, in essence, turns the tables back on them. As they were looking for authentication of his Apostleship, Paul asks them to examine themselves to see if they were authentic. If they were, they'd see that Paul was authentic instead of listening to the counterfeit apostles that were trying to drive a wedge between Paul and them.
Paul wants them to examine their actions and behaviors; or lack thereof. Why were they not convinced that Paul was genuine? Why were they not able to see that what he was saying and doing came from the Holy Spirit? Why had they not repented of the immorality he addressed in his first letter to them? Why was there still so much jealousy and slander going on in the church?
Paul wanted them to put themselves to the test. When Paul addressed the sexual immorality in the church in 1st Cor. 5, he told them to remove the individual from their fellowship. Paul wasn't too happy that they were actually proud of what was going on instead of being filled with grief.
He went on to tell them not to associate with those who called themselves brothers who lived in sexual immorality, drunkenness, idolatry, greed, slander and manipulation. So now, as he writes his second letter, he expresses concern that they haven't changed. Therefore, the need to examine whether or not they were really true believers was necessary.
This is good for us to consider too. We can come to the waters of baptism and make a profession of faith, but then we need to live it out. We should examine our walk to see how well we're doing in the principles of our life in the Spirit.
So much of what we find in the bible is a litmus test for us to gauge our walk. When we see a command being given to stop doing this and start doing that, we should evaluate where we're at. When we see the acts of the sinful nature and the fruit of the spirit in Gal. 5, we need to go down the items in these lists and see how we're doing.
We go to Col. 3 and see the rules for holy living and the rules for Christian households and we assess how well we're adhering to these guidelines. We need the lens of the bible to show us where we're really at since our hearts can deceive us into thinking we're doing okay when we're not.
That's where I was at one time. I made a profession of faith and was baptized as a teenager but my lifestyle didn't reflect a changed life. However, I wasn't humble; I was living in denial. You couldn't have convinced me I wasn't a Christian because I had accepted Jesus in my heart. My one time act led me to think I was good to go even though my ongoing behavior showed otherwise.
Thankfully, I came to allow the Holy Spirit to convince me, with the help of my Minister at the time, that Jesus wasn't really my Lord and therefore that meant he wasn't my Savior either-since those two titles cannot be separated from one another. That was not an easy pill to swallow, but I'm glad I was willing to take that medicine.
I'm sure Paul's words were a jarring blow to the Corinthians, too, but it was a necessary challenge to propose to them. Their eternal state may have depended on it. Denial is a sad place to live. It deprives us of seeing the truth about ourselves. But even if we're not in denial, we still need to examine ourselves.
We may be in the faith, but if we want to improve we will be willing to take a look at where we're at and how we're doing. Our faith needs to be tested so we know how strong it is. If we're humble, we will allow God, his word and others who are in the faith to address any issues they see in us. That's how we become sharper, according to Prov. 27:17.
Paul had to address a different issue with the Corinthians in 1st Cor. 11:26-28, "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself."
Communion was a sacred celebration of the Lord's sacrifice but the Corinthians weren't treating it as such. They were treating it like it was just another feast where they were chowing down and getting drunk.
1st Cor. 11:20-22, "When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!"
They came together as a church with sinful behaviors. People selfishly grabbing food without any concern about the next guy. Using the cup of thanksgiving as a means to get drunk. They were despising the church of God and looking down on those who were poor among them.
It seems like they thought there wasn't anything wrong with what they were doing since Paul says, "shall I give you praise for what you're doing? Absolutely not!" He warns them that if they didn't come to respect the Lord's Supper they would eat and drink judgment on themselves.
What about us? Since we take communion every Sunday, it's a good time to evaluate how well we've done at honoring the Lord's sacrifice that set us free. How did we do this past week? Did we have any arguments with a brother or sister in Christ? Did we gossip, did we look down on, did we neglect the needs of others? What about the secret sins that we know the Lord sees?
When we don't show the Lord the respect he's due by living according to his ways we will pay the consequences. Whether we're at home, at church or wherever we are, it's in our best interest to examine ourselves to see if we're doing things appropriately to avoid the Lord's judgment. And when we have fallen short, we need to repent.
Lam. 3:39-42, "Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: “We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven."
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations during the time the Israelites were in captivity after the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. Jeremiah wants his people to examine why they were suffering and humble themselves and repent.
It's interesting that Jeremiah starts out by saying, "why should anyone complain when God punishes them for their sin?" If we're not humble, we will complain that we're being punished for our sin. We'll say it wasn't that bad, we don't deserve this, it's not fair; things like that.
But, if we're humble, we'll take responsibility for our rebellion. If we're willing to examine our ways and see the need for repentance and change, we'll lift our hearts and hands up to God and seek his forgiveness and restoration. If we're not willing to do that, then we may well continue to suffer for our actions until we reach the point of contrition. May we see the need to examine ourselves.
Andrew Murray, whose devotional books are still popular nearly a century after his death, said, "It is when we face ourselves and face Christ, that we are lost in wonder, love and praise. We need to rediscover the almost lost discipline of self-examination; and then a re-awakened sense of sin will beget a reawakened sense of wonder."
Mr. Murray compiled a list of daily self-examination questions to ask ourselves. 1. Did I awake spiritual, and was I watchful in keeping my mind from wandering this morning when I was rising? 2. Have I this day got nearer to God in times of prayer, or have I given way to a lazy, idle spirit? 3. Has my faith been weakened by unwatchfulness, or quickened by diligence?
4. Have I walked by faith and eyed God in all things? 5. Have I denied myself in all unkind words and thoughts? Have I delighted in seeing others preferred before me? 6. Have I made the most of my precious time, as far as I had light, strength, and opportunity? 7. Have I kept the issues of my heart in the means of grace, so as to profit by them?
8. What have I done this day for the souls and bodies of God’s dear saints? 9. Have I laid out anything to please myself when I might have saved the money for the cause of God? 10. Have I governed well my tongue this day, remembering that in a multitude of words there wanteth not sin? 11. In how many instances have I denied myself? 12. Do my life and conversation adorn the Gospel of Jesus Christ?"
That's quite the daily checklist. Do we need to recapture the almost lost discipline of self-examination? Perhaps it's time we did some cross-examining.
