Spiritual Examination

Anneta Pinto-Young 2 Minutes
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5)!

Paul gave a final warning to the church in Corinth, about staying away from sin. He sent this warning on three occasions and confirmed that every charge must be established, by the evidence of two or three witnesses. He spoke on behalf of Christ who was powerful among the saints. Christ had been crucified in weakness and now lives by the power of God. In the same way, saints are weak but live through the power of Christ. Paul warned them to examine themselves to see if they were still in the faith. He wanted them to test their belief and examine if Christ was living in and being manifested through them. If Christ was not alive in them, they would fail the test of faith. Paul wanted the saints to live right so that they would not fail the test.

Paul was also ready to test his own works and was confident that he would pass. Despite the failing of the saints, he wanted them to be restored. “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for” (2 Corinthians 13:9). He wrote these things to the church and was firm in his correction. His hope was that they would repent so that he would not need to be authoritative when he was with them. His desire was to build them up and not tear them down. His final greeting was for them to aim for restoration, to comfort and agree with one another and to live in peace. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul scolded the church about sexual immorality.

““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). What he was saying in this scripture was that, even things that are not expressly forbidden in scripture can be unhelpful for believers. For example, the bible does not warn against watching television. However, binge watching movies and shows while neglecting prayer and bible study is unhelpful. The devil uses things that seem insignificant to pull people away and to keep them distracted. Constant distractions and neglecting our fellowship with God will stunt our spiritual growth. Paul cautioned that our bodies belong to God and as such, should remain consecrated to him.

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Paul’s advice was to run away from sexual sins as this was committed against a person’s body. The main reason is that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is from God. We belong to God and he lives in us. We each have to do regular examinations of our selves to see if we are in the faith. Although I have mentioned sexual sin, there are other sins that can stand between us and God. Pride, envy, jealousy, bitterness and resentment will also separate us from God. We are not perfect and we live with daily temptations. We need God’s help to live free from sin and he is able and willing to help us as we surrender and remain connected to him.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24).

A.P.-Y.

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Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.

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19 thoughts on “Spiritual Examination”

  2. Great insight. Many believers will forget to watch their position in their faith. being that it can be easy to get comfortable in their faith, they forget about their daily walk. Thank you for the reminder.

    “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”
    Hebrews 2:1

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  3. Reading this reminded me of the verse in Hebrews, we are to shed anything that hinders and the sin that easily engages. Like you said watching tv is not a sin but it can hinder.

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  4. This is a good post Anneta, but I do disagree with you about there not being scriptures against watching Television. I have fought this battle for years and have gotten the victory and believe the Lord has shown me much on the subject. I cannot tell it all here but the best one I believe is Romans 6:13. We are to yield our members or faculties as instruments of righteousness. This can mean our arms and legs but also our eyes, ears and the most important our minds.
    When we sit in front of the TV, we are giving our minds over to whatever is coming. The TV is filled with so much compromise even the commercials teach endless ways to rely on anything but the Lord. It drains the Holy Spirit out of you leaving weakness and even sickness. That is wasted time and of the flesh which is hostile to God Romans 8:5-7. Some others are Phil. 4:8, Is. 26:3, Romans 15:3, 12:1-2. TV is sinful because it is out of God’s will. There is much mixture which is Babylon and many will suffer needless plagues because of it. Rev. 18:4.

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    1. Hi Wenda. Thanks for your feedback and scriptures on this topic. I meant explicitly speaking about TV but I understand what you mean about yielding our members and other verses that refer to protection our senses. There is Christian TV and many programmes that are edifying for believers along with some programmes that are educational. It does take time to sift and be selective of what we watch. Bless you Wenda. 🙏🏾❤️

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      1. Yes, there is Christian TV and a lot of stuff to get lost in. I know I came to the place that I had certain preachers I listened to that the Lord just took away. He wanted me to turn it all off and just be with Him. I got rid of everything and have not missed it one day. You have to follow the Lamb and not the flesh. We have all been brought up on TV. But it is not His perfect will. He wants us to learn directly from Him. It is a battle and a journey. But He has to be the final destination. TV has never made me as happy as being with My Jesus!!! Thank you for listening, Anneta! 🤗🙏

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