This week we are focusing on confession, forgiveness, and fasting and all that entails. But before we get to confession, we need to back up a step to examination. Is there anything we need to confess, and if so, what is it?
Examination. Ask any student of any age if they like exams, tests, or quizzes, and you’ll probably get a resounding no! After all, who wants to be tested on their knowledge or their motives?! Physical examinations are even more distasteful the older we get. But in the Old Testament David prays over and over that God will examine his heart because he wants to be right before the Lord.
I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and
rejoice when you find integrity there.
You know I have done all this with good motives, and
I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
I Chronicles 29:17, NLT
No one is exempt. In Psalm 11:4-5, David knows that the Lord watches everyone and I believe he is comforted by the fact that God examines both the righteous and the wicked. God does not single out anyone, but watches everyone. In Psalm 17:3 David acknowledges that God even examined him in the night, and takes comfort that his heart was found pure. God sees the path we are on be it good or bad (Proverbs 5:21).
Nothing is hidden. Jeremiah went to the Lord when he was being plotted against (Jeremiah 11:20, 17:10) and acknowledged that He examines the deepest thoughts, motives, and secrets of the heart. Even in the midst of the destruction of Jerusalem (Lamentations 3:40), Jeremiah prayed that the people would examine themselves and turn back to the Lord. When you find sin lurking inside, is that your desire?
The examiner. I love Paul’s admission in I Corinthians 4:4, “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord Himself who will examine me and decide.” The examination can start with us, but we need the searchlight of the Holy Spirit to go deeper to get to the root of any sin that needs confessing. It’s too easy for us to tell ourselves that a particular sin isn’t that bad or won’t hurt anybody. We need total and complete honesty which only comes when the Holy Spirit reaches behind closed doors, in nooks and crannies, and hidden places. He sees things others don’t see and that we don’t want to acknowledge.
Self-examination. I Corinthians 11:17-34 is the passage often read on Communion Sundays as we prepare to take part in the Lord’s Supper. “That is why you should examine yourself…” As we go through the season leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we need to once again take stock of what’s going on in our lives before coming to share in the Lord’s Supper. Why? If we eat and drink with sin in our lives, we are incurring God’s judgment on us, but if we examine ourselves and confess our sins, we won’t be condemned like those who are in the world and do not care what they do and say.
Final analysis. “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.” (II Corinthians 13:5) The grade you get on a written test shows how well you did committing the study materials to memory and your understanding of it. So it is with examining your heart. It shows how well you are doing spiritually and if your faith is coherent and vibrant.
Grading time. I have no idea what God’s grading system might look like for examination and confession of sins, but here’s my guess. You might have a different idea. This is just to get you thinking about where you might be on the grading scale. This grading may have a bearing on where you will be in eternity.
- A – All known sins confessed to date
- B – Confessed but no resolution or restitution
- C – Confessed some but not all sins
- D – Examined self but struggling to confess
- E – Confessed general sins but didn’t examine self
- F – Unwilling to examine and confess sins
Examination conclusion. Who doesn’t want to get an A on a test? The grade depends on how much time and effort you’ve put into preparing for the test, studying, memorizing, and doing homework. Where we spend eternity and our rewards when we arrive are dependent first of all on whether or not we’ve accepted the Lord as our Savior, and then how we’ve lived our lives based on that relationship.
PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, help me to live fully for You, keep short first of all accounts of sin and failures, and keep moving forward and upward until I at last get my final grade for this life.
- Week 1 – temptation
- Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
- Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
- Week 4 – God’s love for us
- Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
- Week 6 – suffering, pain, and struggles
- Easter – resurrection and salvation