[Darris McNeely] In all my years of pastoring and counseling, I have sought to help people to come to understand the deep love that God has for us and has called us in that to a purpose, to a plan. To be able to help people understand that through a pastoral ministry in their life has brought a great amount of satisfaction and joy to me.

Every year when we begin to take the New Testament Passover and the days leading up to it, we go through a time of examination before we take that bread and the wine, the symbols of Christ's sacrifice. We're told in Scripture to examine ourselves, to not take it lightly, to come prepared because of that examination.

The commitment that we make to follow and obey God is a very serious matter. And the Passover every year is a reminder to us of the seriousness of the sacrifice of Christ, but of also the relationship that we have as a result of that and what we are to do.

I've been going through a series here, anchoring a discussion in 2 Corinthians 13:5, where Paul there says to examine yourselves whether you are in the faith, test yourselves. Know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified. I'd like to talk about that third step of knowing yourself as a result of examination and testing.

We are to know ourselves. I think what that should tell us is after a period of reflection, we come to a solid confidence that shows that we are Christ and that He is in us through the spirit and through that power. And that's very important knowledge. That's the test of faith, which Paul is pointing us to here that can be affirmed each year through this Passover process to settle our hearts, to settle our minds as we come to that point that Christ is in us.

Ultimately, Scriptures tell us that's the test of a Christian, being possessed of the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, and being led by that. And if we come to that confidence here, then we don't have to worry and be overly concerned. Even when we do sin and see through an examination that there are areas of our life that we still need to work on, we still don't have to be overwhelmed. We don't have to be worried because Christ in us is the answer.

It is the power to help us to overcome the sin and to put in his righteousness as we understand that entire process. In that living and in that life that we're called to, there is no condemnation. In light of this, there's a very encouraging scripture in Romans 8:1, it says, here again, Paul's words, "There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit."

If we walk according to the spirit, then there is no condemnation. We don't have to worry about a mistake, a sin ripping apart that relationship that we have with God. We acknowledge our sin, we confess it, we repent, but we continue on in a relationship with God without fear of losing it or even condemnation.

And so each year when we go through this process of examining ourselves and testing ourselves, we come to a knowledge that we indeed are walking in the spirit, that we're being led by the Spirit of God. And we come to a firmer conviction of Christ in us, which is exactly what the examination should bring us to and the ultimate conclusion of the whole situation.

We'll find that we're not perfect when we take that exam. We will find that we will miss the mark on some things that we do. But we will find that fewer tests have been failed perhaps as we look back over a period of time. And we look at each test as a learning opportunity. I work with students and teaching them the Bible every year. And when I give them a test, I am concerned with helping them to learn, even while they're taking the test. So that regardless of the final score, they will have learned something.

And if the preparation on my part and theirs is done right, they can pass the exam. They can pass the test, but their knowledge will also be increased as a result of going through that experience. I'm not in the business of flunking out my students. I want them to learn. And that's where God is. God's not in the business of wanting to see us flunk out, to fail the exam, to fail the test. He wants us to come to understand that He is working within us to perfect us in that faith in this life that we have.

And so the examination leading up to Passover should help to settle us as we examine ourselves, test ourselves, and come to know that indeed Christ is in us and we have that help. And then that fear is removed and we can proceed forward with confidence and courage because what Paul does ultimately conclude in 2 Corinthians 13:6 after he tells us to do these things is, "But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified."

If we can come to a proper examination and testing and knowing we can have a confidence that we are not disqualified, we're not flunking out in God's sight, but He is with us and walking with us, and as a result, we can have a settled approach with very important service of the Passover.

That's "BT Daily." Join us next time.