Examining Yourself - Part 3
This started From reading a blog entry at Mike Boldea's website (http://mikeboldea.blogspot.com/2010/08/personal-examinations.html), which gives a number of verses related to self examination.
Ephesians 5:8-10 (NASB) [8] for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light[9] (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), [10] *trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
This passage reiterates the idea of a spiritual renewal in our selves. The "trying to learn" is actually our word dokimazo again; which means to try, prove, discern, distinguish, approve. It has the idea of proving a thing to see whether it is worthy or not. This falls back to what we do on a daily basis. Is what we are doing at any one moment pleasing to the Lord? We could only know that if we are in close communion with Him and that requires a deeper knowledge and understanding of Him. Again, we get back to our prayer life and our study time in the Word of God. That is how we are "... diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed." (2 Tim 2:15) We are not to lose heart in the process because we are changing inside as it says in the following verses:
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NASB) [16] Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. [17] For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
This process of spiritual renewal that takes place involves a lot of things, not the least of which are "light afflictions." This is happening on a day to day basis, yet it would seem that we strive to inhibit the process by trying to avoid some of the things on the path that the Lord sets for us. These are the times that try us, a testing as it were to prove us. Testing is vital, it shows us where we are and provides proof that things are changing for the better:
James 1:2-4 (NASB) [2] Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various *trials, [3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces *endurance. [4] And let *endurance have its perfect *result, so that you may be *perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
So when we see things happening around us. When we hear messages that tell us what to do. We need to test these things and keep the ones that prove useful:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
By no means are we to believe everything that we hear or see. We are to test to the view of approving that what we hear and/or see is true and correct:
1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
This verse in 1 John is a warning about what is going to happen. It is also a command for us to do something. How many times have we sat listening to a message from the pulpit and just accepted it verbatim? That is not right, we should be as the Bereans were and check it out to see if what was being said was true:
Acts 17:11 (NASB) [11] Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, *for they received the word with *great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Our examination of the scriptures to prove out what has been said to us serves a number of purposes. One, it allows us to test the Word of God, something that the Lord has directed us to do. Second, we are to test everything, especially teaching that we hear. This is again something that we have been commanded to do. Thirdly, it allows us to connect what was said with the rest of scripture so that we don't go off down some false doctrine trail that will lead to spiritual failure. If we keep doing this we exercise the Word of God and in the end we learn to discern good and evil, like it says in Hebrews. Nuff said, I think that I need to be more in the scriptures on a daily if not moment to moment basis. I am learning to follow the Lord's lead.
Ephesians 5:8-10 (NASB) [8] for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light[9] (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), [10] *trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
This passage reiterates the idea of a spiritual renewal in our selves. The "trying to learn" is actually our word dokimazo again; which means to try, prove, discern, distinguish, approve. It has the idea of proving a thing to see whether it is worthy or not. This falls back to what we do on a daily basis. Is what we are doing at any one moment pleasing to the Lord? We could only know that if we are in close communion with Him and that requires a deeper knowledge and understanding of Him. Again, we get back to our prayer life and our study time in the Word of God. That is how we are "... diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed." (2 Tim 2:15) We are not to lose heart in the process because we are changing inside as it says in the following verses:
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NASB) [16] Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. [17] For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
This process of spiritual renewal that takes place involves a lot of things, not the least of which are "light afflictions." This is happening on a day to day basis, yet it would seem that we strive to inhibit the process by trying to avoid some of the things on the path that the Lord sets for us. These are the times that try us, a testing as it were to prove us. Testing is vital, it shows us where we are and provides proof that things are changing for the better:
James 1:2-4 (NASB) [2] Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various *trials, [3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces *endurance. [4] And let *endurance have its perfect *result, so that you may be *perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
So when we see things happening around us. When we hear messages that tell us what to do. We need to test these things and keep the ones that prove useful:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
By no means are we to believe everything that we hear or see. We are to test to the view of approving that what we hear and/or see is true and correct:
1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
This verse in 1 John is a warning about what is going to happen. It is also a command for us to do something. How many times have we sat listening to a message from the pulpit and just accepted it verbatim? That is not right, we should be as the Bereans were and check it out to see if what was being said was true:
Acts 17:11 (NASB) [11] Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, *for they received the word with *great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Our examination of the scriptures to prove out what has been said to us serves a number of purposes. One, it allows us to test the Word of God, something that the Lord has directed us to do. Second, we are to test everything, especially teaching that we hear. This is again something that we have been commanded to do. Thirdly, it allows us to connect what was said with the rest of scripture so that we don't go off down some false doctrine trail that will lead to spiritual failure. If we keep doing this we exercise the Word of God and in the end we learn to discern good and evil, like it says in Hebrews. Nuff said, I think that I need to be more in the scriptures on a daily if not moment to moment basis. I am learning to follow the Lord's lead.