Saturday, April 12 || NECESSITY OF SELF-EXAMINATION

Read : II Corinthians 13: 5-8

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. ...” - II Corinthians 13: 5

Paul says, we should examine ourselves to see whether we are in faith or not. We should be concerned to know whether we live in sin in some way or other. David was much concerned to know this about himself. He searched himself and examined his own heart and his ways. But he was not satisfied. He was still afraid that there may be some wicked way in him which had escaped his notice. Therefore, he cried to God to search him.

We see him making frequent repetitions of the same request in many psalms - “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psalm 139: 23, 24) “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. (Psalm 26: 2) He was very earnest to know whether there were some evil way in him in which he went on and did not take notice of.

Dear friends, it is of the greatest importance to examine ourselves whether we ever had any change made in our hearts from sin to holiness, or whether we are still under the power of sin. Just like a student who is questioned by his teacher to see whether he has made any progress, we too should question our heart, to see whether it has been growing in grace, or it has departed from God. But remember, the only way we can truly conform to these questions is by the enabling power of the Spirit of grace, who alone gives us the desire and power to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord.