The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Examine

  • Lesson 6: Growing in Christ: 2 Corinthians 6-13

    Key Verse

    Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

    —2 Corinthians 7:1

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s Key Verse. After reading it, understand it better with the following definitions:

    • Cleanse means “to purify from the pollution and guilt of sin – in a spiritual sense.”
    • Filthiness means “anything that defiles (to make unclean or impure).”
    • Holiness means “exhortation to believers to perfect holiness – to live a virtuous life in the fear of God.”

    In this lesson, we will learn as Paul wrote to the Corinthians helping them understand that God wanted them to remove sin and live a life pleasing Him.

    Emphasis: In this lesson, we are to understand the importance of putting away sin, choosing Christian friends, and to grow more Christ-like in our lives. It is imperative that we examine our hearts and lives to be sure we are becoming more like Christ.

    Lesson Summary: After reading the letter of Romans as Paul taught the foundational doctrine (doctrine means “a principle or position laid down as true by an instructor or master”), and instruction for the church, we learned that there were faults in the church at Corinth. Paul then wrote two letters to the Corinthians convincing them of the faults and teaching them how to correct them. As we continue in this lesson, Paul gives further instruction as they were learning how to live and function as the body of Christ. These words were preserved through the years so that Christians today could continue to learn.

    Paul called them to work together, not forgetting they were saved by grace, and to grow in their Christian lives, producing fruit. He also taught them to understand the difference between one who lived a Christ-like life, and one who lived like the world. Christians are to recognize and separate from the unrighteous. God was their father, and they were his children, so Christians were to cleanse their lives from sin, becoming more like Christ.

    When the Corinthian church heard Paul’s words of correction, they received them, growing and abounding in their faith. Paul taught specific ways to walk in that Christian life: in their giving and in the warfare (“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh” 2 Corinthians 10:3). He continued with a warning to not be deceived by false teaching, and to know that God would help them: for Paul learned “for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Finally, Paul encouraged them to consistently examine their own heart and lives – making sure that they were living a Christ-like life.

    Y3Q3 – Lesson 6 Questions

    Y3Q3 – Lesson 6 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this lesson to younger children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember this lesson:

    We laced a frame for the verse from 2 Corinthians 6:1. We then added stickers to complete it.

    The complete lesson is now available in The Biblical Path of Life – Year Three, Quarter Three through Amazon.

  • Examine Yourself

    “8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
    Ephesians 2:8-9

    There was a man who was instructed in the ways of the Lord. He knew the Bible. He was a great speaker when he taught things from the Bible. He instructed many people of the correct ways to live according to the principles laid out in God’s Word. This man spoke boldly in the synagogues. He taught the people about the Lord. These were all great things. However, he only taught what he knew and understood. His name was Apollos. When he arrived in Ephesus, teaching good things from the Bible, a couple recognized something. They understood from his teachings that he knew a great deal about God and His Word, but this man did not know Jesus. Apollos had heard of the repentance preached by John the Baptist, but he had not learned that Jesus was the only way for one to receive actual forgiveness of sin. The couple who heard him preach was Aquila and Priscilla. They had previously worked with Paul and had learned much about Jesus and the Salvation that only Jesus could give. They understood the following verses: “8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It did not matter what one knew or what one did (works), it only mattered that one received the gift of God through faith in Jesus.

    Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and taught him the way of God “more perfectly” (see Acts 18:26). They explained Jesus’ death for man’s sin, His burial, and His resurrection. Apollos then had a choice to make. Would he hear “the rest of the story” that salvation is only through faith? Would he believe in Jesus? The next verse helps us understand that Apollos believed through grace (grace means “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.”) The next thing we read is that Apollos immediately began to show others (through God’s Word that he already knew) that Jesus was the Christ (the one promised in the Old Testament Scriptures), who came to set men free from the bondage of sin.

    The world today is saturated with examples found in the Bible of good principles of living. There are many “teachers” sharing ways to live better lives. One cannot depend upon good living to receive eternal salvation. Today we have God’s Word to read for ourselves. Many have friends who can share the message of salvation that is only found by grace through faith in Jesus.

    The most important thing one must do: Examine yourself to see if you know Jesus. Have you ever come to the place where you recognized that you need a Saviour? Or, are you one who has gone to church, lived a pretty good life, and don’t really recognize you have never actually received Jesus into your heart and life by faith? “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Reprobates means “unapproved, rejected, by implication, worthless; castaway.” Unless one has believed in Jesus, by faith, receiving Him into one’s heart and life, they are considered a reprobate. That verse (2 Corinthians 13:5) encourages one to “prove” your own self. Prove means “to test; examine; prove.” Only you know your heart – if you have truly believed upon Jesus by faith.

    Have you examined your heart to know if you are in the faith (have Jesus in your heart)?

    How to be Saved