“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?….Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” 2 Corinthians 13:5, 7-8 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.13.5-8.NIV

Personal assessment is normative. We are assessed at work, in school, and in sports. Assessment tells us where we are and helps us know what to do next to move forward in whatever we are assessing ourselves toward. God is making us in the image of His First Born Son. The goal of our salvation is our conformity to the likeness of Jesus. God our Father is creating a family of children whose character and conduct are similar to His own in all holiness and righteousness. Paul’s question is, where are we in the continuum toward being just like Jesus? What did Jesus look like? He was perfect and holy in all He did by obeying every word that came from the mouth of God as recorded in the Scripture. His mission was to reconcile the world to Himself by giving His life for the sins of humanity on the cross. We are like Jesus when we obey everything He has commanded us as recorded in the Scripture and are engaged in seeking and saving the lost as faithful fishers of men who have been commanded to go into the world and make disciples. Are we daily in the Scriptures asking God to lead us in greater obedience to His will? Are we with God’s people weekly, hearing from Him and praising Him even as we build up one another in our most holy faith so that we obey God better the rest of the week? Are we friends of sinners by speaking to them God’s truth in love, continually praying for and sharing God’s love with them through Jesus the Savior so that they, too, might escape the fires of hell and live forever as children of God? We are growing in our faith, passing the assessments when these things increase in our lives.