NEWS & THOUGHTS ARCHIVE

The Certainty of the Christian Life 

Evangelist Bob Sanders
May1, 2008

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II Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” 

Ending his second Epistle to the Corinthian Church, Paul issues a challenge of personal examination, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” Paul uses two words that reveal this challenge; “examine” and “prove.” The word “examine” means to test objectively, to scrutinize, to prove or try. The word “prove” means to test, discern, to try by implication to approve. What is to be the subject of this challenge; “whether ye be in the faith.” Paul does not speak of faith in general terms. It is not just some faith; it is “the” faith that Paul calls into question. The same subject surfaces in Jude’s epistle, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). Jude also speaks of “the” faith! The word “faith” means conviction of religious truth or the truthfulness of God especially reliance upon Christ for salvation, the system of religious truth or the Gospel. From the wording of the text, we can see the strength of this challenge. It is not a challenge of the temporal; it is a challenge that has eternal consequences. The challenge will reveal the eternal destiny of the soul. 

Because of the eternal significance of this challenge, it is necessary to have sufficient guidelines to distinguish “the” faith from just religious superstition or self-righteous presumption. There are three areas that help us make a clear distinction between the real and the counterfeit. 

(I) Scriptural Faith – Romans 10:17

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

If it is a faith that will change the creature’s nature and translate the sinner out of darkness into the marvelous light; it is a faith that has the Word of God as its foundation. Speaking of the right kind of faith, Miles Stanford said, “Unless our faith is established upon facts, it is no more that conjecture, superstition, speculation, or presumption.” Our faith can rise no higher and last no longer than that upon which it is founded! The right kind of faith is to be built on an Eternal Word because it was delivered by an Eternal God. Faith is built on an Established Word, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Faith is built upon an Effectual Word, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). For the right kind of faith, it must have the right kind of foundation; it must be scriptural faith. 

(II) Satisfying Faith – Hebrews 11:6

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” 

Speaking of faith, the writer of Hebrews makes reference to a faith “to please him.” The word “please” means to gratify entirely, to be well pleasing. There are two thoughts that I glean from this passage. There is the person to satisfy, “him.” The “him” has reference to God. It is not the sinner or the saint, but the Sovereign that must be satisfied! It is not a question of our satisfaction; but is God satisfied? There is the principles to satisfy, “believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” There is the principle of faith in the person, “that he is.” Faith seeks out the One and Only, True and Living God. There is the principle of faith in the profit, “that he is a rewarder.” True faith rests confidently in the fact that God will reward all those that will search out carefully or crave diligently after Him. 

(III) Sustaining Faith

This faith is not some kind of static, onetime occurrence, but that which is sustaining in the life of the believer. There are three thoughts concerning this sustaining faith. There is the position of faith, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith” (I Corinthians 16:13). “Stand fast” means to be stationary or to persevere. There is the path of faith, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7). The word “walk” means to tread all around, to walk at large especially as proof of ability. There is the persistence of faith, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The word “live” means to live, lifetime, to be alive. True faith establishes the believer in the way of God, where he progresses in a steady walk giving evidence that he is a true believer. 

The challenge that Paul issued to those at Corinth is one worthy of consideration by all men. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” II Corinthians 13:5 While there are numerous faiths, there is one and only one when it comes to “the faith.” It is recognized by the fact that it is scriptural, satisfying, and sustaining. It is the only kind that God is looking for! Is it the kind of faith that you possess? 

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