What Will You Find if You Examine Yourself?

© 2017 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)

Have you ever attended an evangelistic meeting in which folks who profess faith in Christ are urged to never doubt their salvation? Such a prohibition may actually immunize false professors against realizing that their faith is not genuine.

Much evangelistic activity places great emphasis on praying what is often called “the sinner’s prayer.” A sinner, awakened to the need for mercy, must seek forgiveness from Christ, the crucified and risen Son of God. However, not all who verbalize “the sinner’s prayer” necessarily do so from a heart that has been enlightened by God. Sometimes children may pray “the sinner’s prayer” because other children around them are doing so. Even adults may do so while thinking that they just need a little help from God to augment their own righteousness. A true conversion, however, is accompanied by behavior which gives evidence of its reality. Scripture says,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Many evangelists encourage new converts to mark their conversion date in the front of their Bibles for future reference. Then, if those claiming to have been converted begin to doubt their salvation, they are to quench those doubts by looking at that mark. It’s certainly true that those whom Christ has genuinely saved will never be lost. Jesus said,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

However, Jesus never recommended the marking of a date in your Bible to remove doubts of salvation. Instead, Scripture encourages an ongoing self-examination.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Those who are truly Christ’s sheep follow Him. An unsaved person who quenches legitimate fears by looking at a date marked in a Bible is in great danger. That person is bypassing God’s prescribed remedy of self-examination as a means of discovering a false profession.

Do you examine yourself in the light of God’s Word? Do you love Him? Are you really following Him?

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