Word of Salvation – Vol.42 No.34 – September 1997
Looking In The Mirror
Sermon by Rev. K. Rietveld on 2 Corinthians 13:5
Scripture Readings: Luke 6:27-42.
Beloved Congregation of our Lord Jesus.
Introduction
There are times when, after church, people say something along the lines of, “Pastor, that sermon that you preached today really touched me; it was a real encouragement to me.” Or: “It really addressed my life where it needed to be addressed.”
I’m happy to hear comments like that because then I know that the Holy Spirit has been working with that Word. I’m not saying that when I don’t hear those messages that the Holy Spirit is not at work, but when I hear those comments, then it is a real confirmation. But it also happens (although people are not so inclined to speak about it) when I preach a sermon that people may well be thinking, “Now I hope brother or sister so and so hears this, this is just what they need.” “It was a wonderful sermon you preached today, pastor, everything you said applied to somebody I know.”
You see, when it comes to finding fault, something to complain about, it is easier to look at other people than it is to look at one’s self. Especially if the other person is a bit of a tall poppy – someone of importance. We blame the state of our nation on the federal politicians; we blame the state of our roads on the local council; and if things aren’t going well in the church, we blame the pastor or the elders; and if things aren’t going well at school for my children, then it must be the teacher’s fault, or the principal’s, or the board’s; and when things go wrong in the home, well, it’s got to be my wife, or my husband, or my dad and mum, or the kids…. but it’s not me!
It is painful, sometimes, to get involved in various marriage disputes, and when pastors get called in, it is often too late. And then, when people start telling you their story, then invariably it will be the other person who is at fault. They have to change, they have to do this or they have to stop doing that, before we can get things back on track.
SELF EXAMINATION STARTS AND ENDS WITH SELF
Problem solving begins with ourselves. We must learn to look in the mirror before we look anywhere else. The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church, a church which was full of problems, and he says, “examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.” Test yourselves! He does not say to them, “Go look at other people or other churches, or look at the brother or sister sitting in the opposite aisle, or whatever.” Paul says, “Look into your own hearts, begin with yourself.”
Now, when we in the church talk about self-examination, we are inclined to link that a bit to the Lord’s Supper. Usually when we have the Lord’s Supper, then the week before, we read out a form that has to do with some sort of self-examination. The week before Lord’s Supper, we really have to look into our lives to see whether we are right with God, and whether we are right with our brother and/or sister. But when the apostle Paul writes these words about examining yourself to see whether you are in the faith, he makes no link whatsoever to the Lord’s Supper. It’s something that we need to do all the time. Self-examination must be a daily process.
Every day we need to stand in the mirror of God’s Word, and stand there and look at ourselves, examine our hearts, examine our lives. That is a hard thing to do, isn’t it?
If we are really honest with ourselves, it is a hard thing to do. When I spoke to the children on this same topic, I brought along a mirror, and I put that mirror in front of each of them and asked them, “Do you like what you see?” Well, of course they all said, “Yes!”
We all think we’re pretty good. When I told these children that the Word of God was like a mirror, that it tells us what we are like, then they caught on to that reasonably well. But then when I told them that this mirror tells us we are not OK, that we are bad sinners, and really pretty awful, they found that a little hard to understand.
In a sense that is really part of our human dilemma, because we don’t want to think we are awful, we don’t want to think we are so bad, or that we haven’t got it all together. In fact, the opposite is true. We like to think that we do have it pretty well all together, in terms of our Christian faith, in terms of our relationship to God, and in terms of our relationships with others.
When somebody points out a weakness, or a fault in my life, I get pretty embarrassed about that. I don’t like having my faults exposed. I don’t like having my weaknesses exposed. And if someone happens to do that, then my immediate reaction is to look at their lives and say, “Yeah, but you can’t talk. Have a look at yourself!” And then I immediately point out something (probably far worse in my opinion) in their lives. Why do I do that? Because I don’t want my faults exposed. I really don’t like looking in the mirror. I don’t like self-examination. Because when I examine myself, it means that I have to deal with the sin, and the problems and the pain that is in my life. I don’t like doing that.
Let me give you an example. Say there is a wife who has been at home working all day, while her husband is out working in his job or whatever. He is expected home at 6.30, and by 6.15 she has everything ready to go for when her husband walks in. She has the coffee brewing, she has spent a little bit of time making herself look pretty for him, the table is set, the house is tidy, and half past six comes… and goes; and so does 6.45 and then 7 o’clock. At half past seven, still no hubby, and by this time she is beginning to get a little steamed up inside. The dinner is spoiled through over-cooking; her anticipation for his homecoming has begun to turn to anger. “Why isn’t he home? Where is he?”
You see, whatever has happened, it has to be hubby’s fault. She had everything ready, but he is late. He has not been in touch to explain. Whatever has happened, she will not be at fault – and just wait till he walks in the door, “I’ll tell him what for!”
We always think that the other person is at fault. But what does the Bible say? It says, “Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith.” Self-examination must have a purpose.
We don’t stand in front of the mirror and just look at how beautiful we are. That is not really what self-examination is all about. You stand in front of the mirror to check that your hair is combed nicely, that your tie is straight, whether your teeth look clean, and, if you are a woman, you check your lipstick and mascara and all those other things women do in front of the mirror. Teenagers look for pimples and other blemishes, and that sort of thing. You are looking for the imperfections that somehow you want to cover up or correct, to deal with them.
When you examine yourself spiritually, you do so with a purpose. You expect to find something. “Examine yourself to see whether or not you are in the faith.” There are two applications to this “being in the faith.” The first is the aspect of “being in the faith” and the second is one of “living in the faith,” and that has to do with our daily walk. Let me elaborate briefly on each.
BEING IN THE FAITH
“Being in the faith” – having a right relationship with God through trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Is Jesus real in your life? Does he live in your heart? That is what our text says, “Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you unless you fail the test?”
Christ Jesus ‘IN’ you. The reverse of that is also true. You in Christ Jesus. That’s what it means to be in the faith: it means to be ‘in Christ,’ and it means for Christ to dwell in us, through the Holy Spirit…. Emmanuel….. God with us.
Of course, that only comes through repentance, and through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It comes when we put our trust and faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. It comes when we trust in that blood that cleanses me, and washes me whiter than the snow.
EVIDENCES FOR BEING IN THE FAITH
Are you in the faith? Do you have that living relationship with God through Jesus Christ? You might ask, “How do I know that; how can I tell about those things… if it is so intangible?” One cannot say, “I have a certificate from God that says: I’m in the faith – it just doesn’t work that way. But I think we can know whether we are in the faith or not. The Bible talks about three evidences about whether or not we are in the faith.
The first one of those, and they are not necessarily in any given order, is that we “do the things of the faith” “By their fruit you shall know them.” “A good tree does not bear bad fruit.” If you are doing the things of the faith, then that is evidence that your faith lives. James had something to say about that, about faith and works. “Faith without works is dead,” but if you do the works of the faith, then that is the evidence that you are in the faith.
Then there is the evidence of the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are sons of God (Romans 8:16). The assurance that we have through the Holy Spirit working in us, that we really are the children of the most high God.
We also have that by feeling at home in the body of Christ. People have been known to say from time to time, “I don’t really feel at home in the church,” and one of the first things that goes through my mind when people say that is: “Do you feel at home with God?” When you feel at home in the body of Christ, then you know that that is where you belong, in God’s family.
Are you in the faith? Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith, whether Christ is in you and you are in Christ. If not, you need to call on God, you need to turn to Christ in faith. You need to trust in God alone for your salvation, you need to trust in God alone and pray that he will renew your heart and lead you to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
LIVING IN THE FAITH
Now, the second aspect of testing yourself to see whether you are in the faith is whether you are living in the faith – whether you are doing the things of the faith. When we consider the Corinthian church, particularly when we read the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, we see a church that had heaps of problems: there was immorality of a gross nature, there was division, there was abuse at the Lord’s Supper, there were people who thought they were more important than others, more spiritual than others because they had more spiritual gifts. The worship was a bit of a rabble. Christians were marrying non-Christians.
Paul has some things to say to the Corinthians which might well make us wonder whether these people really had a living relationship with God, because look at the way they are living. That is what Paul also addresses in this verse.
“Test yourselves to see whether you are doing the things of the faith, whether you are living in obedience to God.” Paul says in verse 7, “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong.” Paul wants them to live in the faith! Not in the ways of the world but in the way of Jesus. That always starts with self.
When the Apostle Paul was giving his farewell to the Ephesian elders, which you can read about in Acts, chapter 20, he says to them, “Guard yourselves and all the flock.” In other words he is saying, “Elders, if you are going to be serious about leadership in the church, then look at your own life first. Make sure that you are safe in the things of the faith, and only then are you in a position to begin looking after the rest of the flock.”
In Matthew 16 Jesus is talking about discipleship. He says there, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Note what Jesus does not say. He does not say, “Let other people deny themselves,” or “you deny others.” He doesn’t say, “Go and deny the world.” No, he says, “Deny yourself!” It begins here, in my own human heart, in my own life.
In 2Thessalonians 3, Paul talks about making himself a model for others to follow. What he is really saying there in effect is, “Don’t just do as I say, but do as I do, because I am applying the things that I say to my own life first.” That’s what we are called to do also. We are to model Christ to others. We are to model Christ to our children, to our parents, to our wives and our husbands, and to our fellow Christians, and to all people that we meet. But it begins with me. It is what I must do!
Often that is very hard. That’s a tough call. Let me pick up on the example that I started with earlier on. The husband finally arrives home at 8 o’clock, and walks in. Now, does the wife have the right to be angry, does she have the right to ‘let him have it’? Of course not. She had no idea why he is late. There may be a perfectly acceptable explanation for his being late. He may have had a car accident. He may have got stuck in traffic. His mobile phone may have malfunctioned. Any number of things could have happened to make him late. What should the wife do?
Well, first of all she should calmly ask why he was late. Do you think that would happen? You see, it is hard to begin to apply the words of God to ourselves. That really ought to be the right response, to give her husband time to explain why he was late.
Each of us must look to ourselves first, and ask: what have I done to this or that situation? How can I order my life, to live it in such a way that Christ’s Name is going to be honoured? And that means serious self-examination – a serious look into the mirror of God’s Word and applying that to our own lives. It means not looking at the other person, or trying to highlight their problems in order to minimise our own.
Looking for planks in the eyes off others is out, looking for specks of sawdust in our own eyes is in. We are called to examine our own lives to see whether we are in the faith; to see whether our walk and our talk is in keeping with God’s will for us; to see whether we are truly following the example of Christ.
That’s hard isn’t it? It’s so easy to look at others and to see their faults. But we are commanded to look at ourselves, to look in the mirror. Tough call? Sure it is, because if we are serious about looking at our own lives, undoubtedly we will not like what we see: our pain, our raw edges, our sinfulness will be exposed; the stuff that we try to keep hidden, the things that we try to keep secret in our lives, they are going to come out.
But friends, we have in Jesus Christ a gracious Saviour who forgives. We must never forget that.
We have in Jesus Christ one who gives us a new beginning.
We have in Christ one whose blood is sufficient for all our sins, no matter how big our sin, how bad we are, however severe the blemishes may be, how huge the secret sins. No matter how much we have contributed to the broken relationships within our churches or families or wherever. The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover all those sins.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
We have in Jesus, a Saviour who empties himself for us, and so enables us by His grace to empty ourselves for him and for one another. What a wonderful Saviour we have.
Amen.