This morning, I invite you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians 13, the last chapter of that of Paul's letter, second letter, second recorded letter, it is believed that he wrote a letter between the first and second, the last chapter, reading together the first ten verses, drawing our attention to verse 5 and especially to the first half of verse 5. Before we read together, let's bow in prayer asking for His blessing. Father, we do thank You for Your Word. We come as small children who need to be nourished and fed, who need to be prepared by Your Holy Spirit and we pray Father for that blessing. We thank You for the truth of Your Word. Though sometimes hard to understand, difficult to consider, yet so precious, such nourishment for the souls of Your people. We pray that You would nourish us even in this morning hour and illumine us by Your Holy Spirit. And again, we pray that You may be praised. In Jesus' name, Amen. 2 Corinthians 13, beginning at verse 1. This will be my third visit to you, Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent. On my return, I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong, not that people will see that we have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak, but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come, I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority, The authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. May God add His blessing to the reading and consideration of His Word this morning. Well, beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, this morning we have been reminded in a very vivid way of the power of the Gospel and of the assurance of forgiveness. And really, beloved, that reminder is a call for each and every one of us to examine the genuineness of our own relationships with the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, we have been called to self-examination and preparation for coming to the Lord's table next week, the Lord willing. Yet, Paul makes it clear that this examination, which we try to emphasize from time to time, is not just something that we do seven times a year only in preparation for coming to the Lord's table, but this examination is something that is to be a natural part of the Christian life. And therefore, Paul lays before the Corinthian believers and us the believers' task of self-examination. And he would also have us to understand that this is not just an unimportant quick inspection that we are to do. It's not just some sort of general overview. Because this examination is truly for our good. It is truly for our assurance. It is for our growth. And the believer's task of self-examination involves, first of all, a personal inspection. Paul's emphasis in this text is on the object of examination, and that is yourselves. Literally, in the original, the word order is yourselves examine, yourselves test. The emphasis is on yourselves. And he calls for this personal inspection in the context of warnings. He's coming to the end of this, his second written letter to the Corinthian church. It's even the editor's heading in my Bible says, final warnings. We know a little bit about Paul's history with the Corinthian church. There were many in the church who had struggled with sin. In his first letter, he addresses sin such as division or abuse of the sacraments or immorality. And he even highlights it a little bit at the end of chapter 12. Impurity, sexual sin, and debauchery. All for which Paul had strongly admonished them. And by the grace of God, that admonition was effective. Even as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 9, Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. And the first nine chapters of this letter indeed are very encouraging. Paul gets a little bit more strict and rough in the last four chapters, but the first nine in the second letter are very encouraging for the Corinthian church. Yet Paul still has his concerns for those who have not yet turned away from their sin. He points that out at the end of chapter 12. But also there was another problem. And that problem was false teachers questioning Paul's apostleship. Questioning whether he was a genuine apostle. Questioning his authority and his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. and these false teachers were sowing seeds of doubt among the true believers. They said, for example, that Paul did not fit the mold of apostolic authority, at least according to their definition of apostolic authority. He didn't speak with boldness and confidence or fancy speech like a credible speaker ought to have that one would want to listen to. No, Paul was unpolished. He didn't walk, he didn't live with confidence of one whom people could follow with confidence. A great leader that people find confidence in, kind of like our politicians today are trying to convince us that they are the right ones, that we ought to have confidence in. Paul, to his own admission, was meek and gentle and timid, which they translated to be weakness. And his message, you see, didn't tickle the ears of men. He didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. He didn't pat them on the back. He didn't make them feel good. His message was some foolish talk of a man who died a criminal's death and was no longer around. And to top it all off, these false teachers then demanded proof, as Paul says in the first part of chapter 13, proof that Christ was speaking through Paul. They were inspecting Him. Now prove it. Causing the church as well to question Paul. And so he turns the inspection light on them. And really, we might say, on the true believers. Because Paul knew that if they were able to discern the state of their own souls, then they would be able to discern the truth and the sincerity of Paul's relationship to Christ. Paul knew that their faith in Christ would match Paul's message of Christ. Paul knew, as we all do, that if you know the truth, then you will also know who speaks the truth. You will be able to recognize it in what they say. The signs of a true and genuine apostle were not what these false teachers thought it ought to be, but one who sacrificed for the congregation, one who had love for the churches, as Paul mentions toward the end. It's your perfections, it's your good that we care about. one who was blameless in the character of his ministry, and one through whom the lives of God's people were changed by the grace of God. Paul knew that their genuine faith would prove the genuineness of his apostleship. And Paul had confidence that they would pass the test. It's interesting the way he says that. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you now realize that Christ Jesus is in you? unless, of course, you fail the test. And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. But when he says, test yourselves, the idea there is testing toward approval as if Paul was saying, as you test yourselves and as you see the evidence of true faith, be assured that by the grace of God you are in the faith, that Christ is in you. See, Paul had confidence of the faith of the true believers in Corinth. So much so that he said, In chapter 3 already, beginning at verse 2, you yourselves are our letter written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Paul had already said that they give evidence through their faith. Of the truth and the genuineness of His ministry. But they were to see that evidence in themselves. And in order to see that evidence in themselves, they were to conduct a personal inspection. Examine yourself or yourselves. Now that's significant, isn't it? Because our habit, because of sin, when it comes to spiritual things, our habit is to do whatever we can to deflect the spotlight on us, isn't it? Our habit because of sin is to inspect others. It's to dissect their lives and to make judgments about the genuineness of the faith of others based on this or that sin, based on what they do or what they don't do or all kinds of standards that we make up. Indeed, Jesus said, when it comes to men, you shall know them. By their fruit, you shall know them. And as the preparatory form reminds us, Those who continue to live in unrepentant and gross sin are to be warned, admonished. But the assurance that we also receive from that beautiful form is that those who look outside themselves to Jesus Christ for salvation, even though we struggle with sin, even though we do fall, we have the comfort of His restoring love. Our God is a God who loves His people, who forgives His people, who remembers no more. and Paul also knew that one can only know the truth of oneself and what I mean by that is you can't read my heart I can't read your heart indeed we are to accept as credible each other's professions of faith but you can't truly read my heart and I can't read yours we can only know the truth of ourselves and therefore I am to place my heart and my life, my profession, and my practice under a spiritual microscope. And why is that so hard to do? Why do we drag our feet in doing that? Well, I think because we know the truth. We know what we will find about ourselves. Yet nonetheless, Paul calls me to scrutinize myself. It's easy to be lenient with myself. It's easy to justify all kinds of actions in my life. It's easy to overlook a number of things. But Paul says, in essence, that you and I are to be the toughest on ourselves. To give ourselves no slack. Remembering that we stand wide open before an all-knowing God who, as the psalmist said in Psalm 139, he begins that psalm, O Lord, You have searched me, and You know me. And he goes on to talk about those attributes of God. God is omnipresent, present everywhere, omniscient. He's all-knowing. He's omnipotent. All power is His. And therefore, the psalmist knows that God knows him down to the last breath. He knows him down to the most secret of his thoughts. The believer's task of self-examination is a personal inspection, but also a specific inspection. Looking for something specific. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. You see, Paul is not calling again for some sort of general inspection as if to kick the tires on the car or to check to see if there are a few dents or to check to see how nice the paint job is, what we would do if we rent a car. But he is saying, get deep into the engine of that car. Check the mechanical condition. Paul doesn't say, well, just make sure that your church membership is in order. He doesn't say, well, just make sure that the good that you do outweighs the bad. That you're nice to people. He doesn't say, just make sure that you're involved in lots of Christian activities. as important as all of those things very well may be as results of what we are called to look for. But a very specific inspection for true faith. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. In the realm of faith. Are you living inside the sphere of faith? Does that faith govern your entire life? And I believe we are to understand Paul talking about that subjective trust in Jesus Christ. Knowing the truth. Believing the truth. And trusting that the truth of Christ's atoning work that results in the forgiveness of sins and being made forever right with God and being granted salvation. Trusting that that truth of Christ's atoning work and all that it involves is for me too. It is my very own possession. My personal, very own possession. Examine yourselves. As to whether you are in the faith, do you indeed trust only in the blood and in the righteousness of Jesus Christ? And are you then living in that realm of faith? You see, true faith is then a living faith by which the believer, enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, faithfully walks in the footsteps of the Lord and communes with Him in prayer. True faith is active. Yesterday, a title of a book, I've never read it, of course, but the title of a book caught my attention. The title is The Christian Atheist. The Christian Atheist. And the subtitle said, believing in God but living as if He doesn't exist. Now, I don't know where the writer is going to go. I hope I know where he's going to go and I suspect he's going to say there is no such thing as a Christian atheist. True faith, beloved, is active. Actively filling one with the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of righteousness in the sight of God for Jesus' sake. actively filling one with the joy of belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what situation of life you and I might be called upon to face. True faith is actively, by the power of the Holy Spirit, transforming one's life into a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. A life growing in sanctification. Now remember, our Lord not only merited justification for us. Indeed, He did praise God. He merited a new standing for us before God. But He also merited for us sanctification. It's not just a possibility. It's a guarantee. Growing in sanctification. A transformed life. Along then with evidence. evidence that is noticed and experienced by others as they notice and experience the evidence in you and me of the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, self-control and other godly virtues that Paul teaches of including humility and contentment. True faith is active, actively hating sin and all that grieves God and actively striving to fight against sin and active in that true faith and actively deals with sin as God calls us to do. You see, the child of God understands the suffering and the blood of Jesus for sin. And therefore, led by the Holy Spirit, the child of God does not minimize his sin. He does not ignore it or sweep it under the rug. He does not treat it as no big deal. He doesn't compare it with others, saying, well, yes, I may do this from time to time, but that person over there, you know, they are really the bad ones. No. The child of God sees himself or herself as the chief, as the worst of sinners. True faith actively deals with sin, knowing that the believer is not perfect. But that's no excuse, is it? Yet the child of God is honest by the grace of God. Honest like Paul in Romans 7 when he said, the good that I want to do, I don't do it. But the evil that I don't want to do, that's what I do. Yet the child of God knows that because he belongs both now and forever to Jesus Christ, he is able to follow that path of confession and repentance to that never-ending well of God's forgiving grace. Knowing all along that he is in the love of God for Jesus' sake. Paul challenges the Corinthian believers to examine themselves knowing that those who are not truly in the faith will not even desire to. They will not even think it's necessary to test and examine themselves. And they fail the test because they won't even participate. But those with true faith by the grace of God will take that call seriously and they will be found to have Christ in them. Paul makes that clear. They will enjoy the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that beautiful testimony to their hearts that says that they have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer they who live, but Christ lives in them. And the life which they now live in the flesh, they live by faith in the Son of God who loved them and gave Himself for them. The believer's task of self-examination, a personal inspection, a specific inspection. But also, finally, theirs will be a constant inspection. Examine yourselves. Now, it may seem simple to us, and it really is. As Paul lays before the believers of that day and us, a present ongoing activity. Simple as that. A present ongoing activity. something that is to be never-ending, daily, moment by moment if need be, as if to say, never let your guard down. Jesus told the story in Luke chapter 11 of the evil spirit coming out of a man and then sometime later returning to his house, meaning that man, to find it swept clean and put in order. In other words, nothing filled the man's heart. Nothing had taken the evil spirit's place. Beloved, true faith with self-examination includes desiring to grow in that faith and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It includes a desire to be filled with the truth of God's Word that directs the lives of those who are in Him. It includes a desire to be strengthened and equipped by the Holy Spirit to stand firm against the attacks of the devil. a constant inspection, a present ongoing activity of scrutinizing my thoughts and my words and my actions. For example, asking, am I thinking God's thoughts after Him? Do my words build others up or tear them down? Do I keep my word? Asking, for example, is this what God would have me to do? Would it be pleasing to Him? Would it glorify Him? Or does this fit with the name Christian and set me apart from those who don't know Jesus Christ? Will it point others to Him? Asking, for example, is the joy of the Lord and the knowledge and assurance of His forgiving grace, is that my strength? Asking myself, is my confidence and trust for this life and the life to come, is it in myself or is it in the God of my salvation? A constant inspection. And this constant inspection, beloved, it includes a request, the very same request that the psalmist going back to Psalm 139 made. If you know that psalm well, you know the request at the very end. He begins the psalm, O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. And again, after being reminded of God's sovereignty, His power and presence and all that God is, he closes with this request. Search me, O God. You who knows all things. You who can see all things. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Search me and show me myself. Show me what I'm overlooking. That I might present it to you. That I might confess it. Repent of it. That I might enjoy your assurance of forgiveness. Beloved, we know that there is only hope in Christ Jesus. Those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are lost. How else do you put it? They will suffer eternal torment in hell. Paul made it clear in this life when he came, he was not going to go easy on them. He was going to discipline them. in a strong way. Our hope is only in Christ alone. In the blood of Jesus Christ to save us from all of our sins. And those who know Jesus Christ by faith, by the grace of God, delight in Him, desiring that God would always hold before them the cross of Jesus. In essence, that's what the psalmist is requesting. Search me. Know me. Reveal myself to me. Hold before my eyes the cross of Jesus and your forgiving grace. That cross which is a constant reminder of the powerful and effective and saving work of Christ alone. That cross which is a reminder of our need for and our dependence upon Jesus Christ, indeed for salvation, but also for this life. For His guidance and protection and strength and preserving care. A beloved thanks be to God for the nourishment of His table. Thanks be to God for the nourishment of the power of the gospel, for the nourishment of His assurance of forgiveness, promised to those found to be in the faith by the grace of God. And may He keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ as He leaves us in His righteousness all the way to the glory that He has prepared for those who love Him. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we do praise You for Your Word, for Your call to examine ourselves, to see whether we are in the faith. Indeed, O Lord, not to scare Your people, but that You might reveal to us by Your Spirit our sin, the shortcomings of our lives, that You might bring them by Your Spirit to our minds that we would be brought to confess them and repent of them knowing that you alone are the God of forgiveness and that you will forgive us because of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Father, we thank you for your love which holds us safe in the palm of your hand. That love from which your people will never ever be separated. And therefore, Father, continue to lead us by your Holy Spirit in lives of gratitude to you. To God be the glory, great things He has done. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.