It is a tradition in the Church that as the Passover approaches, the ministry gives several sermons about preparing for the Passover and examining one’s self before the Passover.

Since at the Passover we are reaffirming the commitment we made with God when we came into God’s Church, it is certainly appropriate that we examine ourselves.

Let’s look at this matter of preparing ourselves for the Passover more closely. The best known scripture in this regard is found in 2 Corinthians 13:5.

There is an old saying, that “if you don’t know what you are looking for, then you’ll never find it.” Before we can examine ourselves, we must know what we are looking for. What we are to examine in our lives. This is of utmost importance, because if we look for the wrong things, then we will reach the wrong conclusion.

For example, if we look for Sabbath keeping and Holy Day observance and the law of tithing, then we will reach a conclusion based on the presence or the absence of these things. But are these really the things we should be “examining” in the first place?

No, they are not the things we should be examining. The most important thing to understand is that we are to examine ourselves. Why? Because Sabbath keeping is not us. Holy Day observance is not us. Tithing is not us.

So what are we to look for when we examine ourselves? To examine ourselves means that we are to examine “our minds.” You see, it is the mind that is renewed at the time of conversion (Rom. 12:2).

It is the mind where the “thoughts and intents of the heart” originate. And God is able to clearly discern all of our thoughts (Heb. 4:12). To examine ourselves then is to examine our inner motivations.

Please, don’t misunderstand. Certainly, Sabbath keeping, Holy Day observance, obedience to God’s laws, and tithing should be there. And yes, there should be a good understanding of God’s ways and God’s Word. But, these things are only secondary to what we should be looking for when we examine ourselves.

When we examine ourselves, what we must be looking for is total integrity of the heart.

An analogy: suppose you wanted to know who among the peoples in this world are being blessed by God. What would you look for? Would you look for wealth as evidence of God’s blessings? And does this make wealth a clear indication of God’s blessings? No.
After all, any of the “drug lords,” the “gambling lords,” and even the so-called “praise the lord” among many professing Christians have accumulated great wealth. But, is that the basis that they are blessed by God? No.

So wealth is not the proof of God’s blessing. Even though wealth may at times be part of the blessings that God gives. But the thing to look for is the lives of people. Are they living in peace, are they happy, contented, protected—or are they in constant trouble, angry and often in a hostile disposition with many others? Notice Isaiah 57:21, “there is no peace for the wicked.” In other words, the fruits or lifestyle of people are the best evidence of God’s blessings.

A danger to avoid. The danger of examining ourselves is that we might end up looking only at the physical things instead of examining our own minds and the inner motivations of our hearts.

When we look at the physical things, it is easy to reach a wrong conclusion. Just like concluding that a crook is blessed by God because he has a lot of money.

Can we look into the Bible and then see the real “me” or “us”? Or does our deceitful heart manage to deceive us? Do we understand Jeremiah 17:9?

More than anyone else, our mind desperately wants to deceive us; it wants us to believe that the motivations for our actions are nobler than they are in many cases. Our mind wants to deceive us that our actions have nothing to do with selfishness. Our minds want to focus on the outward action of obedience so that we can say, “I’m okay, nevermind whether the motivations for those actions are right or wrong.”

Do we recognize the two tendencies of the human mind in ourselves? Does our mind have this tendency to excuse and to minimize our own weaknesses and shortcomings and to accuse others of their failure and shortcomings?

You know it really is a pretty universal way of thinking. Satan was the first one to think this way, and he sold all humanity on the same line of thinking. And so we are instructed to examine ourselves.

Are you in the faith? Let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 13:5, “We are to examine ourselves as to whether we are in the faith.” The Greek phrase used in this verse is en te pestei and it really means “within the faith”

And so the question is not whether we have faith or not. The question is whether or not we are “within the faith.” Faith refers to the whole way of life which is revealed in the Bible. It refers to thinking the way God thinks. It refers to living by God’s laws from a right motivation. It refers to doing the right things for the right reasons. It refers to a desire to always want to please God in everything we think and do.

Therefore, the question is not only: “Are we obeying all of God’s laws?” Rather, the more important question should also be: “Are we in agreement with God’s laws?” Do we obey them because we want to do so and not just because we have to do so? And if all of God’s laws really were only “suggestions” from God, would we faithfully live by all of God’s suggestions?

If we have the opportunity to create a universe and then to create human life on this universe, would we want to give exactly 100 percent of the very same laws which God Almighty has given us? Or would we modify some laws, change or drop others, as many have been doing today? How would we desire the human beings we create should live?

Do we obey God’s laws because our desire is to please God? Or do we obey God’s laws because we are afraid of the penalty? What is our motivation? To please God or just to stay out of trouble?

If we obey God for the wrong reasons, if we do not really have a desire to seek to understand the mind of God so that we may obey God more fully, if our motivation for obedience is nothing more than a desire to stay out of trouble—then we are not really “in the faith.”

So when we examine ourselves, the question must be: “Am I obeying God in the total integrity of my heart?” Or: “Is there any area in which I am holding back, where I want my will?”

We are all tested. Now is the time to carefully examine our minds. Recognize that our mind wants to be thought of as “good” even when we really desire to do things that are not good. Recognize our mind in the description God has given us in His Word, the Bible.

Obedience to God because “we have to” is fine as a starting point as far as God is concerned. But, God will never accept “forced obedience” as the end product in the process of character development.

Before that process is completed, the motivation for obedience must have changed from a fear of penalties to a desire to please God in every possible way. Each one of us must come to the point where we unconditionally say: “Not my will be done in every aspect of my life, but your will be done, Father.”

Earlier, I already referred to Hebrews 4:12 that God can read our inner motivations. He can see our thoughts and our attitudes. He knows exactly why we do the things we do. He also knows those areas of our character that are as yet uncommitted and which need to be exposed to testing.

For example, in the area of tithing, do we faithfully and honestly give God what belongs to Him? He is pleased if we do. But if not, God will expose that through circumstances of chastening or correction. His purpose in doing that is to wake us up.

When God knows our innermost thoughts, then He brings about circumstances to bring those thoughts out into the open. And that is what “testing by God” is all about—bringing out into the open our convictions and commitment or our lack of convictions and commitment. This is the principle that God through the apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 11:31-32. Do we understand what Paul was telling us in these verses?

If we just honestly examine and face our innermost thoughts, including our weaknesses and our shortcomings, and openly present them to God with the request for His help to assist us in changing, then God would not have to bring about circumstances that force our hidden weaknesses out into the open.

If we face and confront our “secret faults,” then God does not need to expose them (Psalm 19:12). On the other hand, if we ignore our secret faults then God has to bring them out into the open in a way which will result in us being “chastened.” God’s motive for doing this is to lead us to repentance. And so chastening is for our own good.

Therefore, the more we are willing to examine ourselves and honestly face the truth about ourselves, the less chastening God has to expose us to.

An example of testing. Let’s look at an example of testing which Mr. Herbert Armstrong recorded in his autobiography, in chapter 19 of volume 1, on page 338.

Mr. Armstrong had proven that Jesus Christ’s resurrection was not on a Sunday morning. He wrote this up and presented to the man who had earlier prayed for Mrs. Armstrong’s healing. With Mr. Armstrong next to him, the man said that he had gone over the article together with his pastor. He admitted that they had not found any error in what Mr. Armstrong had written. The man said, “Well brother, we could not find anything wrong with it. It does seem to be according to the Scriptures. But brother, we feel that studying into that kind of subject is likely dangerous. It might get you all mixed up. We feel, it would be better for you to just forget all about that. There are more important things for you to think about and study into. It’s best to just keep your mind on Christ.”

Mr. Armstrong was very discouraged by the man’s lack of willingness to acknowledge the truth he had been shown.

A week or so later, when Mr. Armstrong again saw this man, the man said, “Brother, something terrible has come over me. God has left me. He doesn’t answer my prayers anymore. I don’t understand what has happened.”

In summing up this experience, Mr. Armstrong wrote: “The servant of God cannot stand still. Either he advances and grows spiritually against opposition and obstacles, or he falls by the wayside to be rejected.”

Understand something. We ourselves do not select what test we will face. We do not decide how we are going to be tested. God decides when, how and where to test us. At times we face the test, it may seem like a very minor issue indeed, like eating or not eating one single piece of fruit (Adam and Eve), or just a bowl of soup for which Esau sold his birthright. But the consequences can be absolutely staggering and seemingly out of proportion for such “minor issues.”

As far as God is concerned, integrity has nothing to do with whether an issue is “major or just minor.” Integrity simply does not differentiate between major and minor. If anything, our total integrity on minor issues is indicative that we will be acting in integrity on major issues. That’s what Jesus Christ said in Luke 16:10.

Ways in which we are tested. There are several ways in which we are tested by God.

God tests us by showing us where we are wrong. How do we respond? Are we really honest and willing to acknowledge the truth? Or are we like the man which was mentioned by Mr. Armstrong?

God tests us by giving us the things we want because we insist on having them even though it is not good for us, like a member who won the sweepstakes.

The time will come when we will give account for the things we believe and do. So, as the Passover is once again approaching and as we go about planning to physically deleaven our homes and premises, we need to also spend time examining ourselves. Let us examine our own mind and the relationship we are developing with God. Let us prove to ourselves that in the sight of God, we are indeed living in the full integrity of our hearts. If our examinations reveal problematic areas, then we need to be determined to make changes, to please our loving God.

© 2009 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas