Have you ever really judge yourself. In the bible there is a series of tests in 1 John that we can use to examine ourselves and our faith. As we look at them, remember that no one will perfectly fulfill all of them all the time, but they should reveal a consistent trend that characterizes our lives as we grow in grace. 1. Do you enjoy having fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people? (1 John 1:3) 2. Would people say you walk in the light, or walk in the darkness? (1 John 1:6-7) 3. Do you admit and confess your sin? (1 John 1:8) 4. Are you obedient to Gods Word? (1 John 2:3-5) 5. Does your life indicate you love God rather than the world? (1 John 2:15) 6. Is your life characterized by doing what is right? (1 John 2:29) 7. Do you seek to maintain a pure life? (1 John 3:3) 8. Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life? (1 John 3:5-6) [Note: this refers to not continuing in sin as a way of life, not a total absence of sin.] 9. Do you demonstrate love for other Christians? (1 John 3:14) 10. Do you walk the walk, versus just talking the talk? (1 John 3:18-19) 11. Do you maintain a clear conscience? (1 John 3:21) 12. Do you experience victory in your Christian walk? (1 John 5:4) 1 Cor. 11:31 states that If we judge ourselves, we should not be judged. Trying to understand passages like 1 Cor 11:31 is what caused me to begin deep Bible study on my own. I heard pastors saying yield, give your heart to Jesus, repent, Let go and let God, etc, and I asked them after the service, just what are the mechanics of HOW TO DO what you said to do?, I never found one pastor who could tell me HOW to do what he had just told me to do, There are two different Greek words for judging in this verse. The Greek states that when we judge (Greek diakrino, to examine, to determine right from wrong) our OWN SELF, then we dont have to BE judged (Greek krino, our actions judged FOR us and discipline measured out to correct us). The context is 1 Cor. 11:17-34, which starts out saying that the Corinthians were committing more sins at church than they were at home! In verse 17, Paul says ye come together not for the better, but for the worse! In verse 18 Paul cites divisions or arguments among them, in verse 19 heresies, or false teachings, verse 21 & 22 not even sharing the food they brought and getting drunk at the Lords Supper, verse 27 partaking of the Lords Supper unworthily, or with unconfessed sin in their life (out of fellowship), and verse 30 is 3 stages of divine discipline that had come upon the Corinthian Christians because of these sins. Major New Testament teachings that are addressed: 1. Unconfessed sin in the Christian life, 1 John Chapter one addresses this problem. 2. Divine discipline for unconfessed sin, 1 Peter 4:17 and Hebrews 12:4-11. I believe 1 Cor 11:31 is stating that we must continually examine our own self to see if we have sin in our life, and if we do, then confession of that sin according to 1 John chap 1 brings Gods forgiveness and the Holy Spirits power back into our life to live ABOVE sin. If we do not examine ourselves and honestly confess our known sin to God, then God must do it FOR us, which brings us under divine discipline. This self examination, I believe, is the KEY to the Christian walk. Instant confession of every known sin, even an evil thought, maintains our fellowship with God, and the power and leading of the Spirit of God, and keeps us growing, productive, and out from under discipline from God. I would encourage each and everyone of us to do this. Study the 12 passages of 1John that I list on the top. Now pray asking God to reveal to you the truth about yourself. While you still have eyes close meditate on God as if you where just placed before God at the judgement set. There is no one else to blame and there is no excuses for your actions. Now look at you at the life you are living. Jesus is walking side by side you. He see everything you say, everything do and everything think. What would be his response of what just came to your mind? Paul advises in Galatians 6:3-4: For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. The Greek word for examine here is dokîmázô, which means, according to Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, to test, prove, with the expectation of approving. It can also indicate to discern or to distinguish, suggesting proving whether a thing is worthy or not. The Living Bible adds clarity to Galatians 6:4: Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and wont need to compare himself with someone else. We realize it is unwise to compare ourselves with others (II Corinthians 10:12), but there is no need to compare ourselves with anyone else if we seek Gods help in making the inner secrets of our hearts plain to us through His Spirit! Then, we can work on changing what God reveals that He is concerned about in us. In other words, if we sincerely, with our whole hearts, ask Almighty God to make us understand the depths of our beings, He is faithful to do it. It is then our responsibility to be prepared to repent fully of what God makes plain to us. This is an easy process to describe, but often hard to follow through on. Nevertheless, it is part of a continuing process in the life of any Christian who wishes to draw closer to God; it is our work. We are required to exert effort—sometimes a great deal of effort, even painful effort—to assure our entrance into Gods Kingdom (see, for instance, Philippians 2:12; Colossians 1:23; II Peter 1:10-11). We cannot leave this labor undone! Remember even when we lie to ourselves God knows the truth even down the littlest secrets. The greatest thing is, Jesus is always willing to forgive when we confess to him and repent.. God knew us and had a plan for our lives before we were born. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Matthew 10:30 tells us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. No matter how carefully we keep secrets from others, we have no secrets from God.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 15:37:46 +0000
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