{"id":1022,"date":"2020-12-06T15:34:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T21:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1022"},"modified":"2022-05-31T11:10:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T16:10:52","slug":"examine-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/06\/examine-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Examine Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201c8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is<\/em> the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.<\/strong>\u201d
Ephesians 2:8-9 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There was a man who was instructed in the ways of the Lord.\nHe knew the Bible. He was a great speaker when he taught things from the Bible.\nHe instructed many people of the correct ways to live according to the\nprinciples laid out in God\u2019s Word. This man spoke boldly in the synagogues. He\ntaught the people about the Lord. These were all great things. However, he only\ntaught what he knew and understood. His name was Apollos. When he arrived in Ephesus,\nteaching good things from the Bible, a couple recognized something. They\nunderstood from his teachings that he knew a great deal about God and His Word,\nbut this man did not know Jesus. Apollos had heard of the repentance preached\nby John the Baptist, but he had not learned that Jesus was the only way for one\nto receive actual forgiveness of sin. The couple who heard him preach was Aquila\nand Priscilla. They had previously worked with Paul and had learned much about\nJesus and the Salvation that only Jesus could give. They understood the\nfollowing verses: \u201c8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not\nof yourselves: it is<\/em> the gift of God: <\/strong>9. Not of works, lest any man should boast<\/strong>\u201d\n(Ephesians 2:8-9). It did not matter what one knew<\/em><\/strong> or what one did<\/em><\/strong>\n(works), it only mattered that one received the gift of God through faith<\/em><\/strong>\nin Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos\naside and taught him the way of God \u201cmore perfectly\u201d (see Acts 18:26). They explained Jesus\u2019 death for man\u2019s\nsin, His burial, and His resurrection. Apollos then had a choice to make. Would\nhe hear \u201cthe rest of the story\u201d that salvation is only through faith? Would he\nbelieve in Jesus? The next verse helps us understand that Apollos believed\nthrough grace (grace<\/em><\/strong> means \u201cthe divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.\u201d)\nThe next thing we read is that Apollos immediately began to show others (through\nGod\u2019s Word that he already knew) that Jesus was the Christ (the one promised in\nthe Old Testament Scriptures), who came to set men free from the bondage of\nsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world today is saturated with examples found in the Bible\nof good principles of living. There are many \u201cteachers\u201d sharing ways to live better\nlives. One cannot<\/em><\/strong> depend upon good living to receive eternal\nsalvation. Today we have God\u2019s Word to read for ourselves. Many have friends\nwho can share the message of salvation that is only found by grace through\nfaith in Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing one must do: Examine yourself to see if you know<\/em><\/strong> 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\u2019t really recognize you have never actually received Jesus into your heart and life by faith? \u201cExamine 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?<\/strong>\u201d (2 Corinthians 13:5). Reprobates<\/em><\/strong> means \u201cunapproved, rejected, by implication, worthless; castaway.\u201d Unless one has believed in Jesus, by faith, receiving Him into one\u2019s heart and life, they are considered a reprobate. That verse (2 Corinthians 13:5) encourages one to \u201cprove\u201d your own self. Prove<\/em><\/strong> means \u201cto test; examine; prove.\u201d Only you<\/em><\/strong> know your heart \u2013 if you have truly believed upon Jesus by faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you examined your heart to know if you are in the faith (have Jesus in your heart)?<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to be Saved<\/a><\/blockquote>