Test Yourself Waseem
G. Shahla
Our God is a wonderful God!
Our God is a merciful God!
Our God is a gracious God!
Our God is a loving God! …
…So loving that He sent His
one and only Son from the throne of heaven to earth to be humiliated, spit
upon, beaten, tortured beyond the point of recognition, and die an agonizing
death, on the cross, as punishment for the sins we committed, and continue to
commit, so that we might have an opportunity to be forgiven; to be at peace
with Him; and to be in a right relationship with Him!
…So loving that He wants to
call you child! He wants to call you His; yes, that’s right! The God that
created the universe and everything in it wants to have an intimate
relationship with you. He cares about you so much that He is willing to forgive
all your sins as far as the east is from the west!
...So loving that He wants
you to spend eternity in heaven with Him because that’s how long it will take to
show you how much He loves you!
…He only asks for one thing;
to believe in His Son.
Are you a “true” believer?
“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!”
II
Corinthians 13:5
The Lord has revealed through
His Word His utmost and loving concern for our knowledge of Him, His Son, and
the truth found authoritatively in His Word. Consequently, even as “Christians”,
it is imperative for us to constantly examine our faith and test its
authenticity to determine whether or not we believe in the Son of God.
In his concluding remarks of
the second letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul challenges the
readers to examine their faith. The reason why Paul commanded a continuous
examination of faith was the body of believers – a biblical term denoting those
who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior – at
As individuals, or as a
united body in Christ, we should take into serious consideration the spiritual
condition (and its implications) of the Corinthians and make every effort (by
the Spirit of God) to prevent duplication. Eternal dwelling with God (heaven)
or separation from Him (hell) are determined by whether our faith in the Son of
God is genuine or counterfeit. So, the way we live, according or contradictory
to Scripture, indicates whether or not we genuinely believe in the resurrected
Savior. Our lives reflect the existence of authentic faith or lack thereof.
Here are some important questions you can ask yourself to find out if your
faith in Christ is authentic.
I. Rebirth – Have you been born of the
Spirit?
“In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell
you the truth, no one can see the
of God unless he is born of water
and the Spirit.’” John 3:3, 5
In order to enter the
The phrase “born again”
literally means “born from above.” This spiritual rebirth takes place upon a
person’s confession of sins to God for forgiveness, asking Jesus Christ into
their heart, and entrusting Him as Lord with their life. As an immediate result
of salvation, a person in the faith is then given the Holy Spirit of God (Matthew
Salvation, the immediate
result of spiritual rebirth, is a gift of God, through faith in Jesus Christ,
and can not be achieved nor earned by one’s own good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Many
“Christians” are under the spiritually fatal misconception that a person’s good
works (giving to the poor, helping others, doing what’s right, etc) leads to
salvation and the forgiveness of sins earning them a ticket to God’s Kingdom;
It is not so. In reality, salvation brings forth good works as a result of an
individual’s grateful attitude and love towards God for their spiritual rebirth.
II. Authority of Scripture – Do you recognize the Holy
Bible as the
ultimate and supreme authority of your life?
“The Word became flesh and made
His dwelling among us. We have seen His
glory, the glory of the One and
Only, who came from the Father,
full of grace ad truth.” John 1:14
Jesus is the Word of God in
human flesh. He is the living truth to which a believer must submit, by faith
(Hebrews 11:6), to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. He has been
given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), Therefore, we are
not only commanded to submit to Him as Lord and Savior, but also to His
authoritative Word.
“All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,
and training in righteousness, so that the man
of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good
work.” II Timothy 3:16-17
One of the most fascinating
events in all of Scripture is the temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).
After His baptism, Jesus was led, by the Spirit, to the wilderness where He was
tempted by the devil for 40 days. What is more fascinating is that Jesus – the
Son of God (Matthew 27:54), the eternal Word (John 1:1, 14), and God very God (Colossians
III. Conviction & Repentance – Are
you convicted of the sins you commit?
Do you repent of
these sins?
“Godly sorrow brings repentance
that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,
but worldly sorrow brings
death.” II Corinthians 7:10
Conviction of sins, or in
other terms, an awareness of one’s offenses toward God (godly sorrow), can not
be produced apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s heart. This
type of sorrow leads to true repentance whereby the Holy Spirit progressively
sanctifies (purifies) the heart of the believer. The verb “repent” means to turn
from sin. It is a military term used to instruct cadets to turn towards the
opposite direction from which they march. This illustrates how genuine
believers should live; by turning away from a sinful lifestyle and heading
towards a direction that is pleasing to God. Repentance (turning from sin) and
sanctification (purification from sin) are lifelong processes that take place
only when a person is convicted by the Spirit of God (which dwells only in
genuine believers. Ref. I). Those who repent are constantly aware
the sins they commit offend God. They strive with much effort and discipline to
take the necessary measures, by prayer, confession, and applying the truth and
commands of God’s Word to prevent a continuous sinful lifestyle. Repentance is evidence
of genuine faith and leads to eternal life with God.
On the other hand, worldly
sorrow is nothing short of guilt and self-pity and can lead to depression and
despair; it is the core of regret. Since the Holy Spirit does not reside within
unbelievers – meaning salvation has not occurred, they experience this type of
sorrow and are unaware, for the most part, the sins (or by their understanding,
wrong doings) they commit ultimately offend God and not just other people. This
kind of guilt does not lead to repentance, and therefore, does not lead to the
cleansing from sin necessary to enter the
“The fear of the LORD is
a fountain of life, turning a man
from the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:27
Demonstrating a proper fear
of God causes a person to turn from sin and avoid eternal separation from God. The
presence of the fear of the Lord separates those who believe in the physical death
and resurrection of Christ from those that don’t. The fear of the Lord is a
fountain, of which the Lord is the source, providing living water for physical
and spiritual life.
IV. Application of the Word of God – Are
you a doer of the Word or only a
listener?
“Do not merely listen to the
Word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it
says.” James 1:22
Action speaks louder than
words. What is obvious from Jesus’ temptation is that He put God’s Word into
practice. Christ exemplified how a believer should live; by applying the Word
of God.
In Luke 6:46-48, Christ begins
the parable of the wise and the foolish builders with this question: “Why do
you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” This opening verse
implies that some people proclaim Jesus as Lord and yet disregard God’s
authoritative Word. They simply reject living according to God’s written commands!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) Jesus instructs the
multitudes that only those that do the will of God will enter the kingdom of
heaven (Matthew 7:21). The frightening reality is that Jesus rejects all who call
Him Lord and yet do not do the will the God, and casts them out of His Kingdom as
“evildoers!” (Matthew 7:22). Furthermore, ‘good deeds’ are evidence that a
person is applying the Word of God, and they also demonstrate that presence of
a faith that is ‘alive,’ not ‘dead’ (James
Therefore, faith in Jesus
Christ is proven genuine when a person that calls Jesus, ‘Lord,’ does the will
of God and puts His Word into practice. Those who proclaim Christ as Lord and
yet consciously continue to do what contradicts the Word of God have no place
in His Kingdom.
V. Aim to grow spiritually – Do you
strive to become like Christ?
“…Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of
one mind, live in peace. And the
God of love and peace will be
with you.” II Corinthians 13:11
The Greek word for “sin”
literally means to miss the mark. It is a word that archers used when they
missed their target. Our target as believers in the Son of God is to become
Christ-like (perfect) in everything we do (Romans
Final Remarks…
The Corinthians obviously struggled
with living according to the Word of God. Thus, their actions serve as an
example of what must be avoided in a relationship with the Lord. Some members
of the Corinthian church genuinely believed in Christ, others most likely did
not. In the many problematic cases in the book of I Corinthians, the evidence
of genuine faith was almost nonexistent (I Corinthians 3:1, 3).
God is concerned about our
spiritual position (Ezekiel
May grace, peace, and love be
yours in abundance from God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
“And this is my prayer: that your
love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you
may be able to discern what is best and may be pure
and blameless until the day of
Christ” Philippians 1:9-10
Praise, glory, and honor are God’s,
alone.