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“Is Your Heart Right with God?”
By Sheldon Smith
When we look at the Lord's Supper in the book of 1 Corinthians, the concept of self-examination comes to mind.
1 Corinthians 11:23-29 reads:
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself."
To further examine the concept of self-examination, let’s read Galatians 6:4:
"But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load."
Let us examine ourselves by testing our own works against the scriptures:
- Are we sewing from the Spirit?
- Are we harboring ill feelings for a brother?
- Are we talking to people about Jesus?
- Are we engaging in unfruitful conversations about others?
- Are you doing good works to Christians and neighbors?
- Are we hiding sin?
- Have we even put on Jesus in baptism in the first place?
- Are we worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for us?
Of course, none of this matters if we are outside the Body of Christ. Through a comprehensive study of the scriptures, we will find that there are five things we must do to be saved:
- Hear the Gospel (Rom 10:17)
- Believe it (Mark 16:16)
- Repent of your sins (Acts 2:38)
- Confess that Jesus is the Christ...the son of God raised from the dead (Rom 10:9, 1 John 4:15)
- Baptism into Christ to wash away your sins (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 18:8, Rom 6:3) and add you to His church (Acts 2:47)
In baptism, we are buried with Christ putting the old person to death. The bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2:11, "If we have died with him, we will also live with him..."
Is your heart right with God? If not, and if we can help you in any way, feel free to pay us a visit. You can also message us on Facebook or send us an email to blackstonecoc256@gmail.com.
