Genuine or Counterfeit

Q: What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

2 Corinthians 13:5 instructs believers to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul challenges believers to examine themselves to determine their standing in the faith. This self-examination is an important process for Christians, as it involves a reflective assessment of one's relationship with Christ. The purpose of this examination is not to instill doubt, but to encourage assurance of one's faith and ensure that their beliefs align with the truth of the Gospel. Self-examination cultivates spiritual growth and fosters a deeper understanding of God's grace at work in the believer's life.

Q: How do we know we are in the faith?

We know we are in the faith by believing in Christ and demonstrating spiritual growth. To ascertain that one is in the faith, believers can reflect on their conviction in Christ as their Savior and evaluate their growth in godliness. Paul encourages that genuine faith is evidenced by a life characterized by works aligned with one's beliefs, such as adding virtue, knowledge, and love to one's faith (2 Peter 1:5-8). Real faith transforms the believer and motivates them to pursue holiness and exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. Thus, a believer can have confidence in being in the faith not merely by profession but through an active, growing relationship with Christ.

Q: Why is self-examination important for Christians?

Self-examination is crucial for Christians as it encourages spiritual growth and assurance in Christ. Self-examination serves a pivotal role in the life of a Christian by providing an opportunity to reflect on one's spiritual condition. The importance lies in recognizing one's need for grace, helping to address any discrepancies in living out one's faith. As Paul articulates, Christians should 'prove yourselves' to reveal genuine belief and commitment to the teachings of Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5). This practice encourages believers to uphold their calling and strive for maturity in their faith, preventing complacency and fostering a deeper reliance on God's grace and guidance.

Now I want you to open your Bibles
with me to the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 13. While you're turning to the text
or the message, I'll be speaking tonight, I'll
tell you this, I'll be speaking tonight on the book of Colossians
chapter 2. I've got an ambitious undertaking
tonight. I'm going to try to tell you
what the second chapter of Colossians is all about. It's 23 verses,
and it's an ambitious undertaking, but it's going to be a profitable
one. Colossians chapter 2. Now, here is a verse of Scripture,
2 Corinthians 13. Verse 5, it's a verse with which
you're very familiar. I've used it often. Other preachers use it often.
2 Corinthians 13, 5. The title of this message is
Genuine or Counterfeit. Genuine or Counterfeit. It says
in verse 5, examine yourselves. whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be counterfeit. That's what that word reprobate
means, counterfeit. Now, when I read that, what entered
your mind? Well, I believe this might have
entered your mind. You're thinking that my message
today will be one of discouragement and doubt and criticism, but
quite the contrary, quite the contrary. This is going to be
a message of encouragement, going to be a message of assurance.
I'm going to show you, if the Holy Spirit is pleased to give
me some understanding and wisdom, what this verse is all about. This text, and another that I'm
going to read in a few moments, was written not to plant doubts
in people's minds. That's not why it's written at
all. It's written to give a reason for the hope that we have in
Christ Jesus. It's not written to plant doubts
in your minds and to discourage you and to look for some hope
within. It's to encourage you. It's to
give you a better hope. We have a good hope in Christ
Jesus. We have the Scripture say it's
a blessed hope, it's a good hope, it's a sure hope, it's a living
hope. So now let's see what this verse
is saying, and as I've taught you, I've said this many times
here. When you read a verse of scripture,
please go back and read what's written before it. Put that verse
in its context. One of the faults that we have
today is a fellow reaching to get a verse out of the Bible
and shake all the other verses off of it. Just shake them all
off, get rid of all the context, what precedes it or follows it,
just shake them all off, and then put it up there and say,
now, you see that? That doesn't mean a thing, except as it's left where
it belongs, right here. Now, I want you to watch this.
Let's go back and read the preceding verses. Help us understand. Paul
says in chapter 13, verse 1, this is the third time I'm coming
to you. This is the third time. What
does he mean by that? Well, he visited them once, only
once in person. He was there for 18 months, a
year and a half preaching the gospel to this church at Corinth.
He was there for 18 months. Well, how does he say, I'm coming
to you now the third time? Well, he wrote them, he was there
in person eighteen months, and then he wrote them an epistle.
The first epistle to the Corinthians. He wrote that letter. The Holy
Spirit inspired him to write that letter. And that was his
second visit. He visited in the letter. And he says, and this is the
third time that I'm coming to you. This is the second epistle,
or third visit. This is a fulfillment of the
scripture, and it's something we need to remember. Let every
word be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. Moses
wrote that in Deuteronomy, and then our Lord Jesus Christ emphasized
it in John chapter 5. Let every word be established
at the mouth of two or three witnesses. Back in the Old Testament
days, they wouldn't receive one man's word at all. That'd be
two or three. And Paul says, I'm coming to
you now the third time. The third time. All right, verse
2. And then he quotes this, in the mouth of two or three witnesses,
let every word be established. Now, verse 2. I told you before. I told you on my first visit.
I talked to you about it on my second visit, in the first epistle.
And I'm telling you again, as if I were present. I'm telling
you the second time. And being absent from you now,
I write to them which hithertofore have sinned. What's he talking
about? When he wrote them the first
epistle, he corrected these errors, divisions, and strife and trouble
that existed in this church. They were battling over their
preachers. One said, I'm of Paul. Another said, I'm of Apostle.
Another said, I'm of Cephas. Another said, I don't care for
any of those fellows. I'm of Christ. He said, you're
behaving like natural men. And then he rebuked them for
going to law with one another, going before unbelievers to have
their troubles settled. He rebuked them about divorce.
Some of them felt like the They were married and then converted,
and their wife was not converted, so they just put her away. He
said, no, don't do that. If you're already married, remain
married. If your wife's not converted,
it may be by your life and testimony she'll be brought to Christ.
And then their misuse of gifts, he rebuked them for that. They
were misbehaving at the Lord's table. This is what he's saying
to them, I told you before. And I foretell you now, as if
I were present the second time. And being now absent, I write
to them, who are responsible for all this division and strife
and discord and going to law and misuse of gifts and misbehaving
at the Lord's table, and all these things. I tell you now,
and to all others, if I come again, I won't spasm. I'll speak
and act as an apostle. That's what he's saying. Now
listen to the third verse. And this verse right here is
a key word in relation to my text. What was my text? Look at verse 5. Examine yourself. Examine yourself, whether you
be in the faith. Now look at verse 3. Since you seek a proof
of Christ speaking in me, which to you is not weak, but is mighty
in you." What's going on here? Paul says, you seek proof that
I'm in the moment, that I'm speaking for Christ. You're examining
me, Paul said. You're examining me. You're seeking
proof that I'm God's servant, proof that God is speaking through
me, proof that God sent me. You see, he's rebuked them again
and again about their and so forth, and some of them say,
well, he's not an apostle, you don't have to listen to him.
Turn back to 2 Corinthians 10. 2 Corinthians 10. You see, some of the members
of this church, and they were prompted by false apostles and
false preachers, had called into question Paul's authority. They
had called into question Paul's apostleship. That's what they're
doing. And these folks were examining
Paul. Examining Paul. In 2 Corinthians
10, verse 10, look. For his letters, his epistles,
say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak. He's a weak man. His speech is
contemptible. They're talking about Paul. His
bodily presence is weak and his speech is contemptible. Look
at 2 Corinthians 11.6. He says, Though I be rude in
speech, acknowledge that, yet not in knowledge. We've been
throughly, throughly made manifest among you in all things. Turn
back to 2 Corinthians 10.1. This was something that was going
on there. They were finding fault with
Paul. Now I, Paul, myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness
of Christ, who in presence I am base among you. You consider,
look at all these words, weak, base, contemptible. That was a feeling that some
of them had for this apostle. Now, back to that text, 2 Corinthians
13, verse 3. You seek proof of Christ speaking
in me. You're examining me. You're examining
me. Now, he admits this. He says
this, which to you it is not weak. I may be weak, I may be
base, I may be contemptible, but not towards you. But Christ speaking in me is mighty
in you. I taught you the gospel, Paul
said. Turn back to 1 Corinthians 15. He said, I taught you the
gospel. I taught you the gospel. I may
be weak, I may be base, but my gospel's not weak. My gospel's
mighty. I may be weak, I may be base,
but my gospel is mighty. The gospel I preached to you
has been the power of God to salvation to you. 1 Corinthians
15.1. Listen, moreover brethren, I
declare unto you the gospel which I preached to you. And which
also you received, and wherein you stand, by which you saved. This gospel is a power of God
to your salvation, if you keep in memory what I preached to
you. Base and weak and contemptible, but I preached the gospel to
you. Unless you believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried, he rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures. Go back to 1 Corinthians
2. He admits to being weak. Paul admits to being base. 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse
26. He admits to being nothing. He
says so often, he says, He says, I labor more abundantly than
you all, yet not I but Christ in me. He said, I'm not one whit
behind the chief apostle, but I'm nothing. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas? Just ministers by whom you believe.
We're nothing. God is all things. One plants
and one plows and other waters. God gives the increase. He kept
saying that. Look at 1 Corinthians 1.26. You
see your calling, brethren? Not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called. God has chosen the
foolish things of the world. God has chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty. God
has chosen the base things of the world. What do they say about
Paul? He's weak, he's base, his speech is contemptible. He said
that's whom God chooses. He chooses the weak and the base
and things that are despised, contemptible. Has God chosen
things which are not? to bring to naught things that
are that know flesh and glory in his presence." Over here,
verse chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, look across the page. Brethren,
when I came to you, when I came to you, I came not with excellence
of speech or wisdom, human wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony
of God. I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus
Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness.
Who is weak that I'm not weak? And in fear, and in much trembling,
my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. That's not
where it belongs. It belongs in the power of God.
Now back to the text, let's see what this leads up to. Verse 3, he said, you're examining
me. You're seeking proof of Christ
speaking in me. But I can tell you this, I am
weak, I am base, unworthy, I am nothing. But my ministry to you
has not been weak, it's been mighty in God. But he gives this
illustration, look at verse 4. Christ speaking to me, for though
he was crucified through weakness, wait a minute, when our Lord
Jesus Christ was here on this earth, look at him, weak, weak. Though he was crucified through
weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. Look at our, that
sight deceived many people. That sight deceived many people. They said, well, he's a carpenter.
Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Behold, a gluttonous man, a winebibber. Paul said, you say I'm weak?
You say I'm base, I'm contemptible? That's what they said about my
Lord. There's no beauty about Him that we should desire Him.
We hear it as it were our faces from him. He's despised and rejected
of men. He's a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. Everybody who was anybody turned
thumbs down on that Nazarene. He was crucified through weakness. Yet he lived by the power of
God. They looked on the outside, and they saw nothing but a carpenter.
Even when he was on the cross, the centurion said, sure as this
man was the son of God, but the rest of them said, he sure is
the son of God, let's see God ahead of him. That centurion
saw what they didn't see. That thief saw what they didn't
see. He was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the
power of God. For we also are weak like him. See that word, in him, look in
your reference, with him. We're weak with him, like him. We apostles are weak like he
was. We bear reproaches and persecution
and affliction as he did in the day of his humiliation. But listen
to the next line. For we shall, but we shall live
with him by the power of God toward you." We're strong in
our gospel. We're strong in Christ. Turn
to Philippians 4. Listen to this. Paul said, you're examining me?
Well, you won't find anything but weakness. You say I'm base
and weak and my speech is contemptible. Oh, that's so, but not in the
gospel. Don't judge the gospel by the vessel. Don't ever do
that. Don't be that foolish. Philippians 4 verse 12, listen,
I know how to be abased. I know how to abound. Everywhere
in all things I'm instructed to be full and to be hungry.
I've been both. Both to abound and suffer need.
But I tell you this, I can do all things through Christ who
strengthened me. Now verse 5, examine yourselves,
whether you be in the faith. Oh, that's where that comes from,
you see. Paul said, you've been examining
me. You've been examining the vessel.
Examine yourselves. Examine yourself. Don't spend
your time examining the messenger. You'll only be disappointed. You'll never be disappointed
in the message, but the messenger, yes. You say I'm weak and base
and contemptible. You're right. My Lord was weak.
They said the same thing about Him. He was weak in the flesh. And like Him, with Him, we're
weak in the flesh. But we're strong in faith and
strong in the gospel. Now, to illustrate what I'm talking
about, I want to share a letter with you. And I'm not being I'm
not being hard, I'm not being critical of this person that
wrote the letter. This comes from Clearover in
South Carolina. This is today's discussion or
questions or whatever. It's a very respectful letter. Dear Mr. Mahan, please send me
some tapes. I'm sending two dollars for the
tapes. I wish I could get We'll also
get the one I'm altering, so forth and so on. I'd like to
talk with you some day. I'd like to ask you some questions.
Now here are the questions. Who taught you the Bible? What persuasion or profession
do you belong to? Do you have an experience of
grace? How do you judge other people, by their talk or by their
walk? These are the questions. Now,
this is what Paul is saying, and the same thing is done here.
They're examining him as seeking proof that he speaks for God,
as seeking proof that he's in Christ. Paul turns around, he
says, here's what you need to do, examine yourselves. You see
that? Examine yourselves. Don't spend
your time proving others, examining others, even the messenger. It's
not the messenger, it's the message. Now, in a few moments, Paul says
this to them, even if I ever counterfeit, that's not the issue. The issue is your relationship
with God. That's right. You don't stand or fall with
me, you stand or fall with Christ. Your acceptance with God is not
what you think of Paul or Apollos or Cephas, but what think ye
of Christ? Whose son is he? All right, let's
look at this, examine yourselves. There are three words here that
need a careful look. He says, verse 5, examine yourselves. Same verse, prove yourselves. Same verse, know yourself, examine
yourself, prove yourself, know yourself. All right, what does
it mean to examine oneself? Well, turn back to 1 Corinthians
11. What does it mean to examine yourself? 1 Corinthians 11, verse
28. Now here Paul is talking to the
church about the Lord's table, how to conduct the Lord's table.
come together to remember the broken body and shed blood of
Christ. And as the church gathers about the table to take that
bread, which is his body, and that wine, which is his blood,
he assigns them a task in verse 28. But let a man examine himself,
and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Now, what's
examining? He's looking for a feeling? Feelings come and feelings go
and feelings are deceiving, said Martin Luther. I trust the word
of God. Nothing else is worth believing.
Don't examine for a feeling. Don't examine yourself for perfection. You won't find it. You'll find
it in him. But examine yourself what? About what? Do you discern
the Lord's broken body and shed blood? That's the question. whether
you be in the, examine yourself whether you be in the faith. When I was writing this message
and studying it, when I came to that, about to examine yourself,
all right, I thought, I'll examine myself. Number one, I know I'm
a sinner. I know I'm a sinner by birth,
a sinner by practice, a sinner by nature, I'm a sinner. Every
man in his best state is vanity. I'm a sinner. All right, secondly,
I know this. God is merciful to sinners and
sent his Son into this world to save sinners. Isn't that what
Scripture says? Christ himself said, I didn't
come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners. The Son of Man
has come to seek and to save the lost. Paul said, this is
a faithful saying, Christ came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I'm cheating. He died for the ungodly. I'm
a sinner, but Christ came to save sinners. And I believe that. Do you believe that? Examine
yourself. I believe that. I believe God's
covenant of mercy. I believe Christ is God's only
begotten son, that he came into this world to save sinners, I
believe he obeyed the law perfectly as he walked through this world,
and that he died on that cross for sinners. I believe that.
I believe that in my heart. Do you? I believe he was buried
and rose again, he ascended to heaven where he sits at the right
hand of God. Do you believe that? I believe
that. Well, our God says, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. I believe that. So I'm in the
faith. There's only one faith, it's
the faith of Christ. It's faith in Christ. It's faith
from Christ. And I'm in the faith. All right,
that next verse says, prove yourself. I want you to turn to this other
scripture over in 2 Peter 1. Prove yourself. Prove. How do
you prove yourself? You prove yourself by the Word
of God. In other words, we talk about proving ourselves, we turn
to the Scripture. And I turn to 2 Peter chapter
1. Listen to this. 2 Peter chapter 1, beginning
with verse 2. 2 Peter 1 verse 2. Prove yourself. 2 Peter 1, verse 2. All right. Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain to life and godliness. That's what we believe.
Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue, whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious
promises. That by these you might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's
in the world through lust. Now, besides this, give diligence. Now, in other words, anything
that's alive grows. Anything that's alive grows.
This pulpit doesn't make any progress. It doesn't grow. It's
been, this pulpit's been here for 36, 37 years. And it's no change. No change. At all. Got some watermarks on
it, but it hasn't changed. Because it's not alive. That
plant hasn't changed in all these years, but I've changed. You've
changed. These children are growing. They're
growing. And everything that lives grows.
The trees grow, the plants. Everything that's got life grows.
Now, he said, examine yourself, whether you're in the faith.
I believe Christ is the only Savior. Now, prove it. Prove it. Prove it how, by the
way? Prove it how? By growth. Prove it how? By maturity. Prove it how? By activity in Christ. And that's
what he's saying here in verse 5. He talked about the promises
and he said, and besides this, prove it. Give all diligence
to add to your faith. Virtue. What's virtue? Excellence,
manliness, character. Add to your faith. Virtue. And to your virtue, knowledge. Growing grace in the knowledge
of Christ. And to knowledge, temperance.
That's self-control. Put the wraps on. Put the brakes
on. Say what? Self-control. Get in
charge. That's what your children do
as they grow. When they're born, they're your children. But as
they grow a little older, they get a little more independence
and a little more, you can depend on them more. They exercise some
self-controls. They exercise some Patience and
understanding. See that? They're growing. You're
proud of them. They do something on their own.
Listen. And to your knowledge, self-control. And to self-control,
patience. And to patience, just plain godliness. Honesty, integrity. And to godliness,
brotherly kindness. Kindness. And to brotherly kindness,
love. Now, if you do these things and
abound, they make you, you'll not be barren or unfruitful in
the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't give you knowledge
of Christ. They make you fruitful in the
knowledge of Christ. You see what I'm saying, C.C.? Paul said, you fellows have been
working me over, examining me, and that's not the issue. I'm
not the issue. The vessel's not the issue. The
message is not the issue. He may be weak and base and contemptible
in his speech and so forth, but that's not the issue. Like, this
dear person here wants to know about me. It doesn't matter where
I buy my groceries. It doesn't matter when Doris
and I met one another. It doesn't matter. The matter is the message. Paul
said, if you want to find some fault in me, come over to the
house and I'll fill you in. But that doesn't change the message. This message has been mighty
in power to you, and to you, and to you, and to you. Isn't
that what he's saying? It's been mighty in power. Even
Christ was crucified in weakness, and we're weak like him and with
him. But the message is not weak, and blessed is the man who can
see the message, not the messenger. That's what's given rise to these
glorified preachers on television. They've popularized themselves.
They're presenting themselves, they're naming everything after
themselves, they're projecting themselves. And then one of them
takes a nosedive. Well, he's got no message and
he's got no character, so you're just lost. You see that? The message. Now he says, examine yourself.
Not me, yourself. Whether you be in the faith.
Where do you be in the faith? In Christ. Do you believe on
Christ? Now prove yourselves. Are you growing? Now stay at
2 Peter 1. Let's see something else. Verse
8 said, Now if you do these things, add to your faith manliness,
character, excellence. Add to your faith temperance,
self-control, temperance, patience, and godliness, and kindness,
and love. You do these things. You won't
be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But
now look at verse 9. But he that lacks these things,
he's blind. He can't see afar off. He's forgotten
that he was purged from his old sins. Now watch this verse. Wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence to make your calling and election sure. It's all tied
in with this right here. Your calling's tied in with your
life. Your election is tied in with your life. Your faith is
tied in with your conduct. Your believing is tied in with
your obedience. If you do these things, you'll
never fail. For so an infant shall be ministered
unto you abundantly unto the kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord
and Savior. Now, I've got to hurry back to
my text, 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5. I've got a couple of other
things I want to show you. Verse 5, examine yourselves.
Are you in the faith? Are you in Christ? Prove yourself. Are you growing in Christ? Know
you're not yourself? Don't you know yourself? I believe
we do. I just believe we do. Paul then,
he said, I know whom I have believed. I know. David said, the Lord
is my shepherd. I know that. John said, I know
I pass from death unto life. I love the brethren. Don't you
know yourself? A believer knows he's a believer. Peter knew he was a believer.
You know what he said to our Lord? All those people walked
off and he said, will you go with us? He said, Lord, to whom
shall we go? We believe and are sure that
the art of Christ, the Son of the living God, And thou hast
the words of eternal life. Where are we going? Judas knew
he was a hypocrite. Now watch it. The others didn't,
but he did. When they were sitting around
the table and the Lord said, one of you is going to betray
me, they all began to ask, is it I? Is it I? They didn't know
he was a hypocrite. They made him the treasurer.
They trusted him. Hear it. The Lord knew it, and
he knew it. He wasn't deceived. All his life,
during his whole, you watch him throughout the scriptures, he
manifests certain signs of hypocrisy. Different things he would say.
The Lord knew it. He said he's a reprobate from
the beginning, counterfeit. Well, some of them may ask, and
I thought about this, what about those people in Matthew 7? They
said, Lord, we preached in your name and cast out devils and
did many wonderful works in your name. And he said, depart from
me, I'll never leave you. Weren't they surprised? Yes,
they were. By what? They were surprised that their
works wouldn't get them in heaven. They weren't surprised to find
out that they were depending on works. They knew they were
depending on works. They were surprised that their
works wouldn't admit them into heaven. Now look at the next line in
verse 5. Except you be reprobates. That's
counterfeits. Weak, yes, we're weak. But we're
not counterfeits. We're not hypocrites. I know
that and you know that. Imperfect, yes, we're imperfect. Paul said, I'm not perfect. But
counterfeit? No. Too much flesh in us? Yes. O
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? But hypocrite? No. Counterfeit? No. Am I troubled? Yes. Perplexed? Yes. Cast down? Yes. Not destroyed? But I'm not a counterfeit. Can
you say that? That's what he's saying here.
He says, don't waste your time examining. I hear people discussing
when Peter was saved. It's not important. It's when
were you saved. You know, you can settle a lot
of issues about other people, but Paul said, don't be seeking
proof in me. Examine yourself. Prove yourself,
don't you know yourself. Verse 6, let me move out quickly
through here. I trust you shall know we're
not counterfeits. We're not hypocrites. Now this
is verse 7. Now pray to God that you shall
do no evil. I pray to God that you'll believe
the word and believe on Christ and love Christ and do not oppose
his gospel. Don't depart from God. Don't
keep stirring up these things. Don't do that. And listen to
what he's saying. I pray that you're doing it,
not that we should appear approved. In other words, Paul is saying
this, I'm not praying to God that you'll continue in the faith
and love Christ and do what's right to vindicate me. That's
not my desire, to be vindicated. I don't have to be vindicated.
The message doesn't have to be vindicated. People say, well, the preacher
wants me to be faithful to church, so he'll look good. The preacher
wants a big crowd so that folks will think he's a great preacher.
Or the preacher wants conversion so folks think he's doing the
job. But I'll say that's not my motive at all. I pray God, verse 7, I pray God
that you will not do evil. Not that we should appear approved,
not that I should be vindicated, and not that I should look good,
and not to vindicate my message. Listen. But that you should do
that which is honest, even if I am a reprobate. Remember what
that says? Verse 7? That you should do that
which is honest, though we be as reprobates. Now look at verse 8. We can do
nothing against the truth. The gospel's true. God is true. God is sovereign. Christ is the
only savior. He's the only atonement. He's
the only high priest. He will be victorious. Neither
you, nor I, nor you men, nor all men are going to change that. We're not going to do anything
against the truth. You can't destroy the truth. You can't
thwart the purpose of God. I hear people say, well, when
this happened, that was a great blow against the truth. Nah,
nah. God and his kingdom and his glory
and his truth are so far above any individual or any person
or any power or any accumulation of power, they can't even dent
his purpose. He's going to do what he will
do. Christ is going to be victorious. We can't do anything against
the truth, but for the truth, in other words, we'll serve the
truth and purpose of God whether we're genuine or counterfeit. That's right. We'll serve the truth, we'll
serve the glory of Christ and the purpose of Christ whether
we're true or whether we're counterfeit. But I trust he said we're not
counterfeit. But you do this, you do this, you examine yourself,
whether you be in the faith. That's the issue, that's the
main issue, whether you be in the faith. And we are in the
faith. And God has manifested His grace in some growth. And we know, I know whom I have
believed. I know whom I have believed.
And I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed
to him. We're not trying to vindicate one another. We vindicate our
Lord. He's true. Aren't you thankful that his
purposes will all be fulfilled? They will be accomplished.

Genuine or Counterfeit

What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

How do we know we are in the faith?

Why is self-examination important for Christians?

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Genuine or Counterfeit

What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

How do we know we are in the faith?

Why is self-examination important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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