Baaaaah or Naaaaay?, Part 2

December, 2005

by: Jay Underwood

Somewhere along in my early school career, I remember being shown a movie about the heart and the whole cardio-pulmonary system. You know how some images stick out in your mind, even ones from days gone by? Well for me, seeing an open chest with the heart beating away during a surgery is one of those images. But what I remember even more about this amazing sight was all of the disgusting looking, yellow fat that surrounded this heart. To my young mind this was truly “gnarly,” and “gross” and yet very cool as well! Well in 2 Cor 13:5 Paul exhorts the Corinthians to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” And what is this test except about the spiritual condition of our heart? Is your heart a Godly “lean, mean, fighting machine” or is it weighed down and all but covered up in greasy, gooey, yucky yellow fat?

In my previous Calvary Review I said that in the youth ministry we were wrapping up Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and were now challenging the youth to examine themselves and see if they be sheep (those who love and obey Christ) or goats (those who do not love and do not obey Christ) as Matthew 25 challenges.

But what if someone isn’t sure if they are saved or unsaved? Well thankfully the Scriptures have provided different “tests” one can take as our passage in 2 Corinthians says to do. One of these “exams” is found in 1 John, and believe me, the idea of taking one more “test” right now, in the middle of seminary, is not my idea of a good time, but this is probably the most valuable test you could ever take. Is it painless? Absolutely not. Might I fail it? Yes, you may. But that’s just the point. Sometimes we don’t want to visit the doctor because of what he may find wrong with us. So instead, we put it off until we’re at that point where the disease has gotten so bad that nothing can be done for us, and we die. It’s the same way with the testing of our faith, for some will say “Oh, I can take care of my spiritual life later, I’m having too much fun right now” or “I’m just too busy right now with life, it’ll have to wait until things calm down” or whatever the excuse may be. I mean seriously though, if you were on the path to eternal destruction, wouldn’t you want to know it!?

So here’s your test from 1 John:

1. Have you confessed your sins and do you confess your sins regularly to Christ (1:9)?
2. Is your life characterized by the keeping of His commands (2:3; 3:23)? Do you love (agape) God and love (agape) others (2:9-10; 3:14)? All of His commands can be summed up in these two (please refer to God’s Word for more of the specifics!).
3. Do you love the world or the things in the world (2:15)? This means is your life characterized by making worldly things more important than God? This could include material things like wealth or “toys” as well as non-material things like a lust for power or fame. It’s really anything that is “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life (2:16)”
4. Do you let the world hate you for Christ’s sake (3:13)? And lastly, 5) Do you love other Christians (3:11-18)? Would you rather spend time with the “saints” than the “world?” Would you lay down your life for a brother (3:16)? Would you help a brother in need (3:17)?

So go ahead, test yourselves, examine yourselves and do it today!