Time for a Check-Up

Several years ago I wanted an authentic, working black candlestick phone. I wanted a phone just like Andy Griffith used, but his didn’t have a dial on it, that’s why he had to call Sarah, the operator. I wanted one I could actually use. I found new plastic replicas at lots of places, but they weren’t real, they weren’t authentic. They worked, they looked like the real thing, but they were fakes.

Finally, after almost 2 years of looking and leaving my name and contact information in antique stores in at least 2 states, I got a call from a store in Newnan, Georgia, that they had one in stock. I finally had my authentic candlestick phone!  It still sits in our den on display for all to see. 

If you claim to be a believer, are you what you claim to be? Are you authentic? Are you the real deal? Or are you just a fake? You look like the real thing, you work, but you aren’t an authentic Christian. We’ve been talking for the last few weeks about discipleship and spiritual growth, and eventually we’ll talk about some disciplines that believers need in order to grow more and more like Christ. But before we do that, let’s hit the pause button and take a spiritual check-up. 

Where are you spiritually right now?

Would you be willing to evaluate yourself to see where you are in your walk with God and to come up with an understanding of steps you could take to help you grow to be more and more like Christ?

The first question to ask yourself is, “Am I really a Christian?” It could be that, after serious self-evaluation, you realize that you are not a believer. Maybe you do all the right things, you go to church, you’ve been baptized, you’re a good person, but you’ve never truly given your life to Christ. Salvation doesn’t come by doing certain things. 

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 

Being saved, being justified (made right with God) comes by receiving God’s gracious gift, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who died to take our punishment and who lives to offer us forgiveness. We receive the gift of a relationship with God by having faith, or trust, in God’s way for us to have a relationship with Him.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) – God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Being made right with God is not about changing what we do or how we think. It can’t be earned, and there is nothing we can do to deserve it. Salvation is a gift from God, and we receive that gift by accepting that gift. 

Are you a believer?

Or maybe you’re pretty sure you’re a Christian, but you lack real assurance about that. Maybe you think you’re saved, you hope you’re saved, but you aren’t really 100% sure. 

The Bible tells us that you can know that you are God’s child. The Apostle John had this to say: 

1 John 5:13 (NIV) – I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (Italics mine)

That’s the whole reason John wrote that book in the Bible, so people could know that they have eternal life, so they wouldn’t have to go through life wondering what would happen when they die. 

Of course, sin in your life always does a good job of causing you to doubt your salvation. But salvation isn’t based on anything we do or don’t do. It’s based on us believing that we have sinned against God, believing that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin that we deserved to pay, and accepting the gift of salvation that he offers us.

John 6:47 (ESV) – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”

If you’ve accepted God’s forgiveness, you are his child forever. Period. End of story. And it isn’t about you trying desperately to be good enough and trying your best to hold onto God for dear life. It’s about God holding on to you. 

John 10:28 (ESV) – “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Depending on the way you live, you may be in and out of fellowship with God, in and out of intimacy with God, but if you’ve accepted his forgiveness, your salvation is secure.

But maybe you know that you’re a believer, it’s just that you also know that you are not living the life that God has called you to live. Check out this verse…

James 2:14 (NLT) – What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

Really, if you’re a Christian, everyone around you should be able to tell. 

Being made right with God is a matter of faith and not actions, but true faith in God’s plan will lead to good actions. If you’re a follower of Christ, evidence of that relationship should be all around you. The acid test of a Christian is a changed life.

Would you be willing to spend some time this week evaluating yourself? Maybe you’re not a believer. Maybe you’re not really sure about your salvation; you made a decision long ago, but you certainly wouldn’t say that you know you have eternal life. Or maybe you know you’re a believer, but you also know that you’re not living the way you should. 

If you truly seek God, if you truly come before God and ask him to show you where you stand, he will do that for you. Spend time this week asking him to give you an evaluation. Then be willing to lead where he follows. 

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