In II Corinthians 13:5 Paul counseled the members of the church at Corinth to “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.” This is a passage that I never remember being preached on in any Baptist church I’ve attended. Maybe one of the reasons is because Baptists have always held to the doctrine of eternal security, or as others describe it, ‘once saved, always saved.’ And while I also hold to that belief, with all that is going on in the world today, maybe this is something we should all be asking our church members to seriously consider. After all, if Paul told people in a congregation that he had founded to examine themselves, maybe that is something we should do also.
If you ask people here in the Bible Belt if they are saved many will say, “Oh yes, I remember when I walked the isle at so-and-so Baptist Church years ago and I prayed the sinner’s prayer with the pastor and was saved that day and baptized shortly thereafter.” If you press them on the matter, citing Paul’s admonition to examine themselves to be sure, some might fall back on his answer to the Philippian jailor in Acts 16:31 as to what he must do to be saved, saying “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…” Or, if they are well versed, they may even use Romans 10:9-10, that says, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised them Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
In both responses, those being questioned are basing their opinion on believing in Jesus, the second adding that you must also confess Him as your Savior. These are two direct quotes from the Scripture that would seem to answer the question, or do they? Let’s put it to the test.
In Mark 1:23-24 we have a case where Jesus went to a synagogue and came face to face with a man who had an unclean spirit (a demon) and it says in verse 24 that the man spoke, saying “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God.” In this case we see that the demon evidently believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be and even confessed this with his mouth. So does that mean the demon was saved? I think we all know the answer to that question. So evidently, there is a deficiency in one’s argument if they are basing their eternal destiny on believing the Biblical record of who Jesus is and all that He did while on earth. And so there is.
In Romans 10:9-10, the word translated confess and confession is translated from the Greek word ‘homologeo’ and means ‘to declare openly.’ But Paul also uses this word in Titus 1:16 that reads, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. And just like the word profess here is translated from the same Greek word ‘homologeo’, so also in II Corinthians 13:5, the word translated ‘reprobate’ comes from the Greek word that means ‘not passing the test.’ So what Titus 1:16 is saying is that if our lifestyle does not match our confession we are disqualified. We did not pass the test. But this refers to more than just our outward way of life, but our inner being as well. Jeremiah 17:10 says, “I the LORD, search the heart. I test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of His doings”. (NKJV)
Let us never forget that the same Bible that says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” also says, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
Because of the very real possibility that one might believe all the right things and profess allegiance to Christ and yet still be rejected by Him, let us all heed Paul’s admonition to test ourselves to ensure that we truly are in the faith.
For God’s glory and His alone,
Pastor Terry.