Der Samuel's Sermon - October 8 2023
“Take a good look at yourselves to see if you are really believers. Test yourselves. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? (2 Corinthians 13.5)
I chose this verse from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, where Apostle Paul exhorts the people of Corinth to stay stable in their faith.
This statement gives all Christians a crucial perspective: to think critically about one’s own life and walk with Christ. In this passage, Paul wrote that the Corinthians sought proof that Christ was speaking through him as an apostle. Now he instructs them to examine themselves, instead. Are they truly in faith? Given that this letter was meant for a broad audience though directed to a particular church, part of the meaning here is a question of salvation. To examine oneself, spiritually, includes an honest look at whether one is truly a believer in Jesus. Along with that, it calls Christians to examine the details and results of their faith, to see if it's according to the truth. It would involve examining one's own conduct to see how or if one follows through on the will of God for their life. In short, Paul is asking them to see if Christ is truly in them. Do they still believe what they believed when Paul first introduced them to Jesus? Or will they find that their trust has been in someone or something else?
What can we understand when we read this verse? Examine yourself. Not your neighbors, not your friends or colleagues. The Corinthians had been busy in their criticisms of the apostle; he asks them for a while to turn the keen investigation upon themselves. Many are fond of testing others when it is more necessary for them to test themselves. Remember what our Lord Jesus Christ Said “You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye” (Matthew 7.3). Therefore, we must examine ourselves first, clean our souls, and be ready, so that we can strengthen our faith. Do you know what the easiest thing in this world is? To judge others. Everyone can judge his friend, neighbor, or brother, but can we judge our souls? Usually, we don’t see our mistakes, the piece of wood that is in our eyes. The key to overcoming our mistakes is to test our own mistakes. Usually, when we want to go for a meeting or just a regular meeting with friends, I’m sure before leaving the house we stand in front of the mirror and look to see if there is something it’s not looking good. In the same way, we should do with our faith, and our souls. When the Deacon or whoever reads the confession sometimes people participate with him, while you are reading think about those sins, and don’t repeat God Forgive my sins if you are not truly thinking about those sins. The challenge is to work to not do it once again. And finally, to be a good Christian we must start with ourselves, we must solve our problems, and examine our faith.
Today, Paul the Apostle asks the same question to each of us. Let us examine ourselves, have we kept our faith? Has our faith decreased or grown stronger? The answer to this question each of us must find for ourselves. If we see ourselves as weak in our faith, we should work on our faith, and that work will be spending more time with God, and learning more about God, by reading the Bible and praying. By staying in our homes, gossiping to others, and leaving church, we can do nothing to strengthen our faith. Faith does not know the age, there is a popular saying: “Better late than never”.
Dear believers, we all know that Satan will always try to distance us from our God, the Father, but Satan should not be the reason for us to despair of going to God. Let this not be a reason for us to lose our faith. On the contrary, may the love of God in us become stronger, and may it serve to strengthen our faith in going to God, Forever and ever,