Verify Your Spiritual Life

by Victoria Gaines
Published October 25, 2006

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves."
~ 2 Corinthians 13:5

For six years I worked as a medical records verifier for a pharmacy corporation that distributed drugs, medication records, and health care products to long term care facilities. As we handled hundreds of patient documents each month, it was my responsibility to verify medical facts, treatments, labs, medications--making appropriate changes when needed. Sometimes I would make a dozen medication corrections, only to discover the patient had died. I learned not to assume the patient records were accurate; I had to verify.

The Apostle Paul warned us not to assume we're okay with God. Many are being deceived. Just because someone shows up in the pews on Sunday morning doesn't make him a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes him a car. We can possess all kinds of bible knowledge, quote scripture, be very moral, giving, and caring---practice a seemingly Christian spirituality---but unless we have the Holy Spirit, we're nothing but dead corpses trying to imitate life.

No one has spiritual life unless he has the Spirit of God. And no one can have the Spirit of God unless he first realizes he's a sinner, repents, and puts all his faith and trust in Jesus Christ from then on. The person who hopes his good morals, charitable donations, sacraments, religious activities, or particular faith tradition will save him---is placing faith in those items, rather than in Christ. If so, the person is dangerously deceived.

"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9b, NIV).

When we know Christ intimately, we can say:

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2: 4-5, NIV).

And:

"We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true---even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).

So, in examing ourselves, let us ask:

Have we been made alive in Christ? Or are we only following a Christian brand of spirituality?

What assurance do we have that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, that we have eternal spiritual life in Him?

Do we recognize the signs of a God-given spiritual life?

Spiritual food for thought:

* God is not asking us to examine ourselves to see if we are righteous or good, but to see if we are relying on His righteousness.

* Neither is it about examing our deeds to see if we measure up, but to see if we are in the faith. Have we put aside trust in everything else, and placed our faith in Jesus alone for life and salvation?

* Our spiritual condition does not depend on who we are or what we do, but on Jesus Christ, and what He has already done.

* Maybe you say, "well, I know this stuff! I have to trust Christ!" Then may I ask you something? Is this just a teaching you agree with, or are you really trusting Christ as your life?

Consider:

* Do I only feel I'm right with God when I'm performing well? Is that the only time I experience rest? Then my faith is not fully in Christ--my faith is in my works.

* When God uses my failures to show me I'm less spiritual than I thought, do I then feel like a failure? Then my confidence wasn't in Him, but how well I thought I was doing.

* When I feel good about obeying God, do I feel like He should show me more favor? If my 'doing good works' seems to increase my faith, I need to ask myself whether or not my faith is fully in Jesus (apart from my works).

* Do I allow my faith to be shaken (or exalted) by my performance or spiritual condition? My entire faith should be upon the righteousness of God apart from anything I do (Romans 3:21-23).

* My focus must be on Christ, not myself. He is my only Hope.

I pray we'll not be as Isaiah 29:13 describes, a people who honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are far from God. They worshipped "by rules taught by men," rather than knowing God for themselves.

Verify your spirituality.

Special reading: Galatians 5:22-23, John 16: 8-10,14, and 1 John

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