It is easy to look at the life of others.  What is more difficult is taking an honest look at ourselves.  One of the best ways to stay on track spiritually is to engage in a consistent examination of ourselves.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)
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!

Man tends to think that he is better than he really is.  This is why Paul said, “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3).  Self-examination can help us avoid this mistake.  We should all examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith.  Remember, Paul was writing to Christians; thus, when he referred to being in the faith, he was not referring to whether they were Christians or not.  Instead, he was telling them to make sure that their lives were in harmony with the faith.

The gospel promotes a specific pattern of living.  We read in Ephesians 4:1 that we should “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  In another place, Paul said, “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27).  A life worthy of the gospel is one that is pure and undefiled before God (James 1:27).  It involves self-control, righteousness, and godliness (Titus 2:12).  Do your lives consist of these kinds of characteristics?  Do not just say yes, examine yourselves.

When you test yourselves by self-examination, make sure that you are being honest.  A failure to do this can be seen in the parable of our Lord concerning the Pharisee and the publican.  What did the Pharisee find when he examined himself?

Luke 18:11-12 (KJV)
¹¹  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. ¹²  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

These were the words of a self-righteous man.  It is not bad for one to be aware of sins that he does not commit, but this man thought he was better than others because of certain sins he avoided.  What he failed to see, because his examination of himself was not honest and thorough, was that he was guilty of other sins like being prideful.  It is worse to examine ourselves dishonestly than to not engage in self-examination at all.  A dishonest examination leads to self-deception, causing a person to be deeper entrenched in his sinful shortcomings.  Jesus tells us that this kind of self-righteous man will not receive justification.

The publican in the parable is an example worthy of following.  He recognized himself as a sinner (ver. 13).  This put him in a position to ask for mercy and receive it.  Jesus said he went down to his house justified rather than the other (ver. 14).

None of us are perfect (1 John 1:8-10).  If we are not careful, we can drift from God’s Word and begin living a life that is not in harmony with the faith.  Let us avoid that by constantly examining ourselves, using God’s Word as the standard (John 12:48).  This is a good thing to do with ourselves.    

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.