June 16
“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” 2 Corinthians 13:5.
What people believe is a matter of the heart and soul. We cannot look into the mind of another person and see what he or she believes. On what basis then do we say that this or that person is a Christian? Our conclusion is based on what the person confesses with the mouth and how the person lives. The confession of the mouth and the person’s way of life should be in harmony.
We cannot claim to be a Christian and live like a devil! The apostle Paul wrote, “You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils,” 1 Corinthians 10:21. However, we can be wrong in our opinion about others who claim to be Christians because there are liars and deceivers who outwardly assemble with Christians!
When the Lord Jesus was criticized because He did not require His disciples to follow the man-made religious rules, He said, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,’” Matthew 15:7-9. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven,” Matthew 7:21. This is the will of the Father: “Believe on Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31.
The essence of Christianity is not just a matter of the mouth. It is a firm faith in the heart, which is confessed with the mouth and demonstrated by Christian living. “Faith without works is dead,” James 2:20.
Paul writes, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” Do you have saving faith? Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit? Do you firmly believe and trust that Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior from sin, death and the power of the devil? Do you believe that, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death and the devil, and that you will also be raised from the grave when Jesus comes again on the Last Day to take us to the heavenly mansions where He has gone on before us to prepare a place for us?
The harmony and unity between the faith that we confess with our mouths and the way we live might be summarized with the words: We don’t just talk the talk, but we also walk the walk! We show our Christian faith by our Christian love. We pray that God would increase our Christian faith and thereby also increase our Christian love.
“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed;
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.” Amen.