2 Cor. 13:5; 1 Peter 1:3-9; Examine Yourselves

At the end of 2 Corinthians Paul expresses his concern that when he comes to Corinth, “I shall not find you such as I wish.”  His concern is that they, the Church at Corinth, will be characterized by sin (2 Cor. 12:20-21).  So, among other things, he admonishes them: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.”  

The NKJV word “test” deals with the assaying of minerals.  You put it to the fire or in some other way seek to separate out the impurities.  The word “examine” is the term we wish to think about today.  It sounds like “look closely,” and I suppose you can say that.  But actually the word has to do with the endurance of difficulties and is used frequently in the New Testament.  We are told to apply hard examination to ourselves.  The fact is that we frequently have these examinations without asking for them.

·        Clarification: When we seek to deal with sin in our lives by testing ourselves we need to remember not to put God on trial (Mt. 4:7).  We are to put ourselves on trial, and to ask of ourselves the hard questions a good lawyer would ask in order to get to the truth about ourselves.

·        Illustrations: The use of this word (Greek peirazo) in the NT shows us that …

o   Mt. 4:1: Jesus was tried by Satan.

o   Heb. 2:18; 4:15: Since Jesus was tried/tempted (same word), and tried in every as we are, He is able to help us.

o   Heb. 11:17; Abraham was tried on Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22).

o   Heb. 11:37: We should recognize that all the saints of Old Covenant days were tested.

o   1 Peter 1:6-9: It is common for the saints of this age to be tried.  Did you notice as you read today: if need be?  It is necessary for us to be on trial.  These trials serve a necessary purpose.

Nothing is harder to bear than the apparent aimlessness of suffering. They say that what breaks a convict’s heart in jail is to set him to carry stones from one side of the prison to the other, and then back again!  Burt we must never look upon the trials of life as punishments because all penalty has been borne by our Lord Himself. They are intended to destroy the weeds and rubbish of our natures, as the bonfires do in the gardens. Christ regards us in the light of our eternal interests, of which He alone can judge. (F.B. Meyer, Our Daily Walk, Feb. 21)

·        Remember: Hold on to two truths as you are tried, or as you try yourself.  First, God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able (1 Cor. 10:13).  And second, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2 Peter 3:9).