IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN EXAMINING YOURSELF IN LIGHT OF THE SCRIPTURES I have compiled a list of 21 questions a person should ask themselves as they examine themselves. Failure at self-examination is one of the main reasons why so many professed Christians are deceived into thinking they are saved when they are not. The Bible commands everyone to examine themselves and judge themselves to see whether they are in the faith (1 Corinthians 11:27-32; 2 Corinthians 13:5). Do not listen to your heart, emotions, and intuitions, because they are wicked and deceitful (Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 17:9). Do not listen to your pastor, parents, or friends, because they are not a source of absolute truth upon which to test yourself. Examine your thoughts, actions, and secret life in light of the Word of God, because it is the dependable source of absolute truth provided by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Self-examination is not just a one-time action done prior to salvation, rather, self-examination is to be done routinely over the course of the Christian walk as we should seek to grow spiritually. 1.) - Do you love God more than yourself? Does God literally mean EVERYTHING to you. Are you perfectly willing to spend your whole life, time, energy, and resources into pleasing and serving God more than yourself? (Proverbs 3:5-6; Mark 12:30; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Philippians 1:21; Philippians 3:7-11). 2.) - How much time are you setting aside to commune and fellowship with God through solitude, prayer, fasting, meditation, and personal Bible study? A truly saved person sets aside a great deal of their time in order to commune and fellowship with God and fellow believers (Ephesians 5:15-21; 1 John 1:5-10). 3.) - Are you sensitive to sin and moved to repentance and confession to God in response to sinning? Do you feel a sense of guilty conscience and conviction from the Holy Spirit whenever you sin, or plan to sin? (Isaiah 66:2; 2 Corinthians 7:9, 10) Or do you sin without both a sense of guilty conscience and conviction from the Holy Spirit? 4.) - Is the fruit of repentance evident in your life? (Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20). Do you see yourself turning away from sinful practices, as you now feel hatred for sinful things you once loved and practiced in your past life? Are you loving righteousness more and sin less. Are your past sinful behaviors gradually being replaced with more and more spirituality and godliness, virtue, etc? (Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:5-10; 2 Peter 1:3-9). 5.) - Do you practice self-denial and dying to self on a daily basis for the sake of Jesus Christ, or are you more interested in constantly seeking instant gratification for yourself? Are you willing to suffer for doing what is good for Gods sake, despite the temptations? (Luke 9:23; Luke 14:26; 1 Peter 3:15-17). 6.) - Are you seeking to be a Christian for selfish reasons, to serve God only as a means to your own ends? (Serving only to get things from God for yourself?) Or are you worshiping and serving God and sacrificing for God because you truly love and reverence Him regardless of your circumstances? (Matthew 6:33; John 3:30; 1 Timothy 6:3-5). 7.) - Do you imitate or compare yourself with other people (including other Christians) around you to determine how righteous and holy you are? (2 Corinthians 10:12). Or do you compare yourself strictly to the standards of the infallible and inerrant Word of God, and seek to follow the example of Jesus Christ alone? True Christians follow and imitate Jesus Christ alone and they compare themselves to Gods Word, which is like a mirror that reveals our true self (James 1:22-25). 8.) - Are the doctrines and teachings you believe identical to the doctrines and teachings of Gods Word the Bible, or are they false and unbiblical? Believing true biblical doctrine leads to genuine salvation and conduct that is truly godly before God. False doctrine leads only to false conversion and a false assurance of salvation. All true Christians believe and teach things that are in exact agreement with the Bible, not with man-made philosophies, doctrines, customs, and superstitions (Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 4:14; Colossians 2:8; Colossians 2:20-23; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 1:9). Here are four (4) web pages that provide examples of true biblical doctrine: carm.org/basic-christian-doctrine hubpages/forum/topic/25442 beingrecreated.org/godlylifestyle.html https://reg4est.wordpress/category/sanctification/ 9.) - Are you just as willing and motivated to practice righteous and holy conduct in your secret private life as you are in your open public life where others see you? Are you trying to live good only to please other people in the open, or are you striving to practice goodness even when you are alone? True Christians live honest lives and they are not hypocritical. God sees and judges all things, open and secret, and no one can fool Him. (Matthew 6:1-18; Hebrews 4:13). 10.) - How do you respond when someone corrects or rebukes you with the Word of God? Are you stubborn and unwilling to listen when Christians counsel you, or do you feel compelled to listen and consider the wise counsel? True Christians are moved by the Holy Spirit to listen to rebukes and correction from other Christians (Proverbs 1:5-7; Proverbs 9:8-9). 11.) - Are you more sensitive to advice from ungodly people or are you sensitive to advice from real people of God? Do you seek guidance from unbelievers more than you do from true Christians? (Psalm 1:1; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Colossians 2:8). 12.) - Do you habitually indulge in practices that the Bible specifically and unambiguously says are sinful, displeasing to God, and keeps you out of Gods kingdom? (Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-6; Revelation 21:8). Is your lifestyle marked by a keen interest in keeping Gods commandments. He who knows and loves God obeys His commandments, and God, in turn, knows and loves them (Matthew 7:21-23; John 10:26-28; John 14:23-24; John 15:14; 1 John 5:3). 13.) - How do you respond to God under trials, sorrows, losses, and confusion? Do you pursue God more and seek comfort and guidance from Him, or do you become disinterested and back away from God out of disappointment? (Psalm 34:19; Proverbs 24:16; Mark 4:17; Hebrews 10:38-39). 14.) - Do you notice Gods working in your life, through divine discipline, to turn you evermore away from sinful practices, fleshly instant gratification and worldliness? Or is Gods divine discipline completely absent from your life? Please keep in mind that ALL truly born again Christians are disciplined by God as His spiritual children (Job 5:18, 18; Proverbs 3:11, 12; Hebrews 12:5-11). 15.) - Do you have an ongoing and intense desire to please and glorify God by seeking Him and conforming to His will? Or do you have little or no interest? Do you love what God loves and hate what God hates? (Psalm 15:1-5; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 8:13; Matthew 5:6; Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 11:6). 16.) - Do you have an insatiable hunger and thirst for the Word of God, and for learning more about God and His will? (Psalm 119:9-11; Psalm 119:72; Psalm 119:72; Psalm 119:102-105). 17.) - How devoted are you to preaching the Gospel, the Word of God, to others who may be unsaved? Truly saved people have an intense desire to help others to learn about Jesus Christ and become saved from sin and Hell, just as they became saved (1 Corinthians 9:22). 18.) - Do you enjoy associating with people who practice sinful things, and join them in practicing them? (Proverbs 1:10-19; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13). Or do you enjoy constantly associating and networking with people who are consistently practicing godliness, prayer, fasting, Bible-based discussion, Bible-based encouragement, etc? A true Christian has great love for other Christians; they enjoy the company of Christian believers more than all other kinds people (Proverbs 13:20; Matthew 25:34-40; John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 3:10). 19.) - Are you controlled by negative emotions (like fear, anger, and lust), the tendencies of carnality, and a lack of self-control? Or are you controlled by the Fruit of the Spirit? (Galatians 5:22, 23) Are you walking in the flesh (natural self) or are you walking in the Holy Spirit? (Romans 8:5-14; Galatians 5:16, 25). 20.) - Do you always keep the righteousness and holiness of God in mind and strive to conform to His holiness, or does it mean little or nothing to you? Are you striving to conform to the sinful world and its shifting trends, or are you keeping yourself unconformed to the world and pursuing holiness? Christians love holiness, and they aspire to be partakers of Gods holiness, and they pursue a lifestyle of holiness. (Matthew 5:48; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15, 16). 21.) - Do you aspire to be like Jesus and acquire the mind of Christ? Do you have an earnest and ongoing desire to walk the same way Jesus walked, to follow His example? A Christian strives to be like Christ. (Philippians 2:1-9; 1 Peter 2:21-23; 1 John 2:3-6; 3:1-3). Examine Yourself - Paul Washer https://youtube/watch?v=Ky8dTyPpiAo Paul Washer - Do you see God working on your life? youtube/watch?v=AXzRXb0fHik Examine Yourself: Are You Under Gods Grace? https://youtube/watch?v=j3-5Xf1B8j8
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 00:51:13 +0000
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