2 Corinthians 13:5 'Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!'

The apostle Paul said this to the church of Corinth. Paul was having a lot of trouble with the Christians there who were still sinful. Look at what he says to them in the opening lines of chapter 13:

2 Corinthians 13:1-2 'This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them'

What is interesting here is that Paul was talking to Christians. They all believed, and they must have all said a prayer at some point in there lives repenting and asking Jesus to come into their heart.

But clearly, Paul is teaching that just because you believe (even satan believes!) and you said a prayer one time, it doesnt necessarily mean that you are saved! Read chapter 13 vs 5 again: 'Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves....' Paul is telling them that they must test themselves (present tense) to see if they are in the faith (i.e. saved).

Test yourselves how? How do you test yourself to see if you are saved? Ask almost any Christian how they know they are saved, and they will say something like 'I just know that I am saved'. But Proverbs 14:12 says 'There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.' Or, they might say 'I just know in my heart that I am saved', but Jeremiah 17:9 says 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?'.

We need to test ourselves against the SCRIPTURE. We need to compare ourselves to the Bible. Too many Christians compare themselves with others who call themselves Christians who compare themselves with others who call themselves Christians. It's like: 'Well so and so in my church does it so it must be right.' We need to compare ourselves with the WORD OF GOD.

Now listen to me: Jesus Christ said in Matthew 7:21 'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.'