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Examine Yourself
by A.J. Wilson

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified” 2 Corinthians 13:5

Carlee went to the doctor this week for a checkup and some immunizations, and it has got me thinking about checkups.  We have a responsibility to ourselves to look at our own relationship with Jesus/God from time to time.  Though others may be able to see symptoms of a bad relationship, we are the only ones who can accurately judge the state of our relationship with Jesus, except for God.  This underlies the admonition by Paul to ‘examine yourselves.’

Perhaps another voluntary compliance system will provide a good illustration.  The United States tax code was established as largely a voluntary compliance system.  Though W-2’s for employees and 1099’s for contractors provide the IRS with some information about income, it provides little information about expenses, and still many pieces of income do not generate a 1099 form.  The taxpayer is required to voluntarily report their taxable income, or suffer penalties if caught.  While many taxpayers do file their taxes accurately, there is an estimated tax gap in the U.S. of 345 billion unpaid taxes.  Obviously many people do not comply with voluntary rules. 

In our Christian life there are ways that faith in Jesus will show itself within our voluntary participation.  John outlines many manifestations in the lives of faithful believers in 1st John chapters one and two (1:6,8 - 2:3,6,9,15,23.)  A question often asked by believers is: “How can I know if I have received salvation?”  These verses can be very helpful in evaluating that question.  No other human can tell if you have been saved or not.  Yet if you are sure of your salvation, it is still essential to examine yourself so that you keep Satan from gaining a foothold in your life, and ensuring that you are doing the good work for God’s glory. 

It is well said that every system is exactly customized to produce the output it is currently producing.  If your Christian life isn’t producing the way you would like, read next week for some activities to strengthen your walk.

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