PASSING THE TEST

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you stood in front of a mirror that allowed you see how well you were living as a Christian, what do you think you would see?

Maybe many people wouldn’t want to do it because they fear what would be revealed.

As we continue our study of this last chapter of 2 Corinthians, we find the Apostle Paul challenging the Christian members of the church in Corinth to test themselves for the purpose of seeing whether or not they were really “in the faith”.

What did it mean to be “in the faith”?

Simply put, it was all about the evidence that Jesus was abiding within a person. In other words, a person had Christ inside them and it was clearly apparent to themselves and others. Those who could testify this would have passed the test.

What do we learn from this?

We learn that it’s not enough for a person to say they are a Christian. They need to show it.

In other words, it takes a conscious effort from someone to be genuine and true as a Christian believer. It requires a dedication to study the scriptures, especially the Gospels so to know how Jesus lived for it’s only then that a person can shape their life to model His. One should read what He thought, said, and did, and then mimic it.

A person needs to also devote themselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor Jesus promised that God would send to guide believers after Jesus departed. The Spirit illuminates the word of God when we read it and provides direction every day as to how we can be more and more like our Savior.

Going back to our passage, we find Paul not only asking the Corinthian Christians to examine themselves to see if they passed the test but he also challenged the believers in Corinth to examine himself and the missionaries in his company to make sure that they were passing the test as well. The last thing Paul wanted to be accused of was being a hypocrite so he was very committed to practicing what he preached. To do otherwise would disempower his ministry and render his work for Christ fruitless.

It has been said that Christians should be very intentional in living their lives in concert with Christ because they might be the only Jesus a person ever sees. This doesn’t mean any person will be one in the same with Jesus. Rather, it means that the way a Christian lives will either allow others to get a glimpse of who Jesus is or not, and we can’t ever afford for the latter to happen.

Read about Jesus in the Gospels and then ask for the Holy Spirit to lead you in the ways of Christ, being fully obedient to that lead so that your life will imitate the life of Jesus.

This is how you can ensure that you are in the faith and able to pass the test.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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