Examine Yourself.

“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

One of the most important questions a person can ask himself/herself is, “Am I truly born again?” The Bible instructs us that it is good to “test yourself” to see if you are a Christian. It is not a fact that you’re lacking faith because you wonder if you’re saved. It shows that you are concerned about your standing before God. When you start prayerfully seeking answers, God will not leave you clueless. He doesn’t want you to doubt your salvation or to be deceived about a false conversion. Once you have diligently searched the Scriptures, prayed, and (if possible) have sought Biblical counsel, the answer to your question of whether or not you're a Christian should be clearly revealed to you by the Lord.

The following evaluation test is based on evidences (fruit) after salvation. While eternal salvation is not based on works, but by grace though faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). When someone is saved, he/she is a new creature with new desires (2 Corinthians 5:17). So take the 1 John test to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. Please answer each question honestly before the all-knowing God.

1 John Test

1. Do you claim to be in fellowship with God?

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth.” -1 John 1:6

2. Do you claim to be without sin?

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” -1 John 1:8

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” -1 John 1:10

3. Do you keep His commandments?

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” -1 John 2:3-4

“Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.” -1 John 3:24a

4. Do you obey His word?

“But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” -1 John 2:5

5. Are you imitating Christ?

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.” -1 John 2:6

6. Do you love your brother?

“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now …[He] is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” -1 John 2:9, 11

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” -1 John 4:20

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” -1 John 3:14

7. Do you love the world?

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” -1 John 2:15-16

8. Are you following after righteousness?

“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” -1 John 3:10

9. Do you have compassion for the needy?

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” -1 John 3:17

10. Do you show love by your actions?

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” -1 John 3:18-19

11. Does the world hear you, or God?

“They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” -1 John 4:5-6

12. Do you love as God loves?

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifest towards us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” -1 John 4:7-10

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” -1 John 4: 12-13

The Gospel, Plainly

In today’s society, just about anything goes. Tolerance is revered and Truth is denied. It is o.k. for you to have your own beliefs, “just as long as you don’t push your beliefs on me.” In a culture where there is said to be no absolute Truth, there is absolute chaos. This chaotic and absurd notion that “it may be truth to you but it’s not truth to me” has progressively eased its way into the “church” (I put church into quotes because most post-modern churches are so far from the Bible I would dare to even say they are true churches). This corrupt belief system has perverted the pure gospel of God. Consequently, the modern church is producing a mass number of false converts. If the gospel is not completely ignored, it is presented in an unbiblical manner. We are told that all we need to do is invite Jesus into our heart and He will come live with us and fix all of our problems. Life is great… Jesus will just make it better. And who doesn’t want life to be better, right? So the church has filled its pews with a myriad of people who have raised a hand, said a prayer, or walked down an isle to ask Jesus to “come into my heart.” There are no prerequisites for coming to Jesus. All you are told is to simply “accept” Him. Remember, the only reason you really need Jesus is to make your life better (happiness is a universal desire). Any other reason to accept Him may be true to me, but not true to you. So I’ll just leave out a few very important facts about the gospel because frankly, I don’t want to offend you. In fact, it’s o.k. if you don’t believe the Bible…. Just believe in Jesus! My dear friends, is this right? And if it’s not, how would we ever know since there is no absolute Truth about right and wrong? Something is desperately wrong here. To believe that everything is relative is a devastating lie. Therefore I will now inform you that the Bible says that Satan is the father of lies. You might now accuse me of presupposing that the Bible is true. Did you ever stop to think that you might be presupposing it’s not? Have you searched the Scriptures for errors recently, or are you just assuming you have all the answers? Maybe you have never stopped to think about what has shaped your belief system. You see, your worldview has been developing ever since you were a little child. You’ve been carefully watching and listening to all kinds of voices since you were born. You’ve observed your family, mimicked your friends, and you have studied the television and radio over all these years and you don’t think any of that has had anything to do with the way you think? Who you are and what you believe has been shaped by everything around you! Even the idea that there is no absolute Truth is something you had to learn from another person who believed it before you did. And by the way, how can you believe the statement “there is no absolute Truth” if nothing is absolute? Wouldn’t accepting the statement be calling it true? Or is that the only thing that’s true to you? Now let me give you something else to think about. How do you know that murder is wrong? Is it something you had to figure out for yourself by killing someone and being punished, or do you already know that it is a very wicked thing to take another’s life? Have you ever stopped to think for a moment and wonder where your sense of morality came from? You see, you’re not just some collection of tissues, organs, and blood vessels. You are a creation far more significant than just some animal. You have been created in the image of the Creator… You are an intelligent being! But you say you do not believe in a Creator. What if, at the end of this post, I tell you that I am not the author and that all these words just happened to appear on my computer screen in the right order to make this a readable and comprehendible piece of writing? You would say I am mad! That is because you know that things don’t “just happen.” Everything has an author or it would not exist. Whether it’s the clothes you are wearing, the chair you are sitting in, or the computer you are reading this on now. To say any of these things randomly designed and put itself together is absurd. You are no exception… you too have an Author. One way God has revealed His existence to you is through your conscience. You ability to know right and wrong (e.g. murder is wrong) testifies that you were created in the image of God. What about the world around you? It’s staggering in its complexity! Only a Being greater than man could ever design something so confounding. And you, O mortal man, would be so arrogant to think you have all the answers. You are without excuse. You know there is a Designer. God gave you the ability to reason but you have used it in vain. Since you did not glorify Him, neither were you thankful, your foolish heart was darkened. You professed to be wise, but you became a fool. Since you did not want to retain God in your knowledge, God gave you over to a reprobate mind. Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, hatred; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful (just to name a few). I can hear it now, “But God is a loving God! He will forgive me!” Ah, so you’ve been convicted. Yes, God is love. But He is also a righteous God. He loves righteousness. Would it be o.k. for God to just forgive someone like Adolf Hitler because He is a loving God? Of course not! That’s one thing about man. We do enjoy seeing someone get their just deserts. The reason why you think someone like Hitler should go to hell but not you yourself is because you do not yet understand how serious it is to have an offense against a holy God. To sin against Him is the gravest crime you will ever commit. God will render to every man according to his deeds… He does not take your sin lightly like you might. Indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish are promised upon every soul of man that does evil. Do you know how holy God is? There is a passage in Isaiah chapter six that talks about angelic creatures who had to cover their faces and feet when worshipping the Lord because of His holiness. “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Because of His great holiness, He can have no part with you. There is none who is righteous, no, not one. No one is worthy of God’s presence. Are you yet aware of the seriousness of your sin? God’s standard of righteousness, you have not kept. Your first offence was that you did not wish to retain Him in your mind. You did not love Him. You chose to worship the creature rather than the Creator. It has been all downhill from there. You have broken all of God’s commandments. Forever you should be separated from Him... Your evil deeds deserve eternal punishment. And not only your evil deeds, but also every “good” deed you have ever done is compared to a filthy rag because of your evil heart. Is there any hope for you, O vile sinner? The Bible says that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. What must you do to get right with the God of the universe? You are headed for destruction! And God’s wrath against you is just. Either you will pay for your evil deeds in hell, where the worm never dies, or someone else will take your place. But who would take the place of a sinner? And who is without a fine to pay himself to where he could pay for mine? You must repent of your wickedness and put your hope of salvation in Someone Who could and Who has paid your fine. For while you were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God commended His love toward you, in that, while you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you. Christ came in the form of a man and He lived a perfect life devoid of sin. Because He was without sin and was willing to die for sinners, His death upon the cross satisfied God’s wrath. Being justified freely by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness. Because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life is only on the basis of what Christ has done for you: satisfy God’s holy wrath against your offences towards Him by giving His life for you on Calvary. This gift can only be received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel, plainly.

Beautiful Words

Update!

Well, here I am posting after... how many months now? So many things have happened since April 3rd. I just thought I'd give a brief update on my life... since I have nothing better to do right now (or I would be doing it!).
Let me start with this exciting announcement: I graduated from high school! God has been so good to me throughout my schooling years. I was very blessed to have been home schooled for all twelve years. Let me tell you though, if you think home schoolers have it easy you are mistaken! There were times when I had to push myself to get through the school day. And it seemed almost every year I would get somewhat behind in my studies and had to work until the end of June. It's never fun to do school when it's beautiful outside and you're itching to finish up. God helped me get through it all though.... eventually! I have so much to be thankful for. I'm just so appreciative that government school (that's what they should be called) was never an option for me or any of my siblings. Honestly, my parents wanted to raise me. They wanted to instil in me morals and truths I wouldn't have learned in a public school. All I can say is it's been a huge blessing to have been taught at home by my loving parents.
As of now, I plan on going to college in the fall. There is a school nearby I am looking into attending... I'm praying about it. I'm just excited to be out of school and looking forward to seeing what the Lord will have me do with these next few years of life.

"Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee: and let such as love Thy salvation say continually, 'Let God be magnified.'" Psalm 70:4