The 1689 London Baptist Confession is found in the back of your hymn books, and I would ask you this morning to turn to page 686. Not hymn number, page number, 686. I'm going to read part of the first paragraph of chapter 30, and I would ask you to follow along as I do so. The supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches unto the end of the world. for the perpetual remembrance and showing forth the sacrifice of himself in his death. I pause there because I just wanted to read the first half of this chapter. The Supper of the Lord. is a phrase that we've just read. Of course, it refers to the Lord's Supper, or the Holy Supper, as our Hispanic brethren call it, and which we celebrate on the first Sunday of every month, which is today, first Sunday in February. The confession explicitly states that it is to be observed perpetually by the churches until the Lord Jesus returns at the end of the world. And so this afternoon, after we've enjoyed lunch together, we will sit down at the Lord's table in order to remember and proclaim his death in the way of his appointing. And as we do, we shall have communion with one another and with our Lord Jesus. We are celebrating the Holy Supper this afternoon. Now, countless books have been written on the significance of the sacrament, and no small contention exists among the churches even to this day. What does it really mean? What does it really signify? What are the symbolic meaning of the bread and the wine? And incidentally, that's one of the reasons why we have a confession of faith, to resolve such questions and to remove as many difficulties as possible. And so like the early New Testament church in Acts 2, we are committing ourselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Just as in our preaching, we proclaim Christ crucified, so in our celebrating of the Lord's Supper, we remember the body of our Lord Jesus that was broken and we proclaim his death by the visible signs of the bread and the wine that we take together. We proclaim his death, we remember that his body was broken for us, we take the cup in remembrance of his blood being shed for our sins. Jesus said of the cup that it, It is the new covenant in my blood. We are trafficking in holy things, brethren, as we celebrate the Lord's Supper together. However, we should not fail to see that in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the apostle urges the Corinthian believers to engage in a season of self-examination before eating the bread and drinking the cup. He says to them in verse 28, let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. What is described here then by the apostle for us to consider is a season of heart searching self-examination, and confession of sin before participating in the holy meal. Now, some of you who are sitting here this morning may be wondering, how does a preacher decide what to preach about? Well, one of the ways that he decides is upon the circumstances surrounding occasion. So when I was asked to preach this morning on this first Sunday in the month of February, my mind immediately went to the Lord's Supper. And I've been reading in recent days of some of the practices of the early Presbyterians in Scotland who had days of preparation before the Lord's Day Sabbath when they celebrated the holy meal. And I thought to myself, what a good idea that is. I wonder why we don't do that these days. Now, I'm not suggesting such a radical change at EBC, but I am suggesting that the scriptures are very clear that we should examine ourselves. Let a man examine himself. And so, after he's done so, let him eat the bread and drink the cup. So the reason why I'm preaching this morning on this subject is because it seems very appropriate to me in this morning hour for us to examine ourselves before we come to the table of the Lord this afternoon. And although the context is a little different, The Apostle Paul repeats this call to self-examination in his second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 13 and verse five. And it's to this text that I would ask you to turn this morning as we engage our minds in the subject of self-examination. Second Corinthians chapter 13. We'll begin reading at the first verse of the chapter and read through to verse six. This will be the third time I am coming to you. By the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established. I have told you before and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent, I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare. Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you, For though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the flesh. I beg your pardon. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified? But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. Let's pray together. Father, you have said in your word that it is to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path And so we pray that you would send your spirit among us this morning to enlighten our path and to direct our thoughts so that we might know the mind of God as we look at this text this morning and prepare our hearts rightly to remember the Lord Jesus in the holy meal. For it is in his name that we ask it, amen. As we look at verse five, I want you to realize as we do so that the Apostle Paul has been dealing with the Corinthian church as Christians. He speaks of them again and again as those who once were but are now. They were a very mixed bunch of Christians. Some of them had come from very sinful backgrounds. You notice in verse 21 of the 12th chapter, he says, lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced. They were a very sinful people. who had been brought into the wonderful mercy of God. But Paul recognized that there was a need for them to constantly examine themselves. And so in verse five he says, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. I want to handle this verse this morning with you like David facing Goliath. You remember how he took five smooth stones from the brook as he prepared to challenge the Philistine giant. I've selected five smooth portions of this text, like smooth stones, to help us remember them. And the first smooth stone that I ask you to consider in verse 5 of chapter 13 is the word examine. Examine yourselves. Now, the word examine has a number of meanings. It's used in different ways. It's used, for example, in the classroom. At the end of the semester, exams are held to see how well the student has learned the material. The word exams is a shortened form of examinations. And if you've learned well at school, you do well in your exams. Similarly, we are to examine ourselves as to our progress. in grace and our understanding of the Christian faith. I have a special friend among you who comes to me every week to be examined as to how well he's learned his text. And usually he does very well. But we should be asking ourselves all the time by way of examination, how well am I doing? Am I learning more of my Bible? Am I making progress in holiness? Am I learning more and more what it is to walk with Christ? Is my understanding of the book of Romans significantly deepened as a result of the sermons I've heard recently? Or am I continuing to sin that grace may abound? Do I love God's word? And is it my delight to sit down and read it? Examine yourselves this morning with me, brethren. Ask yourself, do I love the gospel? And is it my delight to share it with others? It would be well for us to examine ourselves as to what the gospel is even. As I come to the table, Let me be sure to examine myself this afternoon as to my spiritual state. Do you need to go to the spiritual doctor before you come to the table? Jesus is a ready physician. He's the great physician to whom we must come as we examine ourselves. Do I hate my sins more today than I did a year ago? Am I learning to be less and less comfortable with sin? So that's one way of thinking about examination, examining yourselves by way of how well you've learned your lessons. Another use of this word examine is in the military application. Whenever our president visits a foreign country like India or Saudi Arabia, Air Force One touches down and the red carpet is run out. And what happens? He, the president, examines the military guard. They're dressed immaculately under his examination. and then the soldiers return to their barracks and each morning their commanding officer will call them to stand by their beds and their kit is examined to ensure that everything is in order and that their beds are smartly dressed. Here in our text, God calls us to examine ourselves from the biggest issues to the smallest detail. God calls us to examine ourselves and that will lead us to repentance and will better prepare us for the Lord's Supper. King David's words are appropriate for us as we prepare to eat the supper. Turn with me to Psalm 139. Familiar words, Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24. As the Psalm concludes, we find David saying, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting. Examination involves looking at the big things as well as the small things of our lives to see if there'd be any wicked way there. There's another use of the word and it's the use that is used in the courtroom. Picture in your imagination the scene. There's a man in the witness box who saw the crime. He saw exactly what went on. He saw the crime committed and the lawyer is carefully examining his testimony because he is a prime witness. He's being cross-examined and every detail of his testimony is being examined for its accuracy and truthfulness. Now God is saying through the apostle, you be the lawyer. Examine yourselves as if you were looking for any inaccuracy in the details of your testimony. Mr. Spurgeon said it well when he observed Never was there a rogue less trustworthy or more deceitful than your own heart. He was right. Never was there a rogue less trustworthy or more deceitful than your own heart. My dear brethren, we need to search our hearts carefully as though we were cross-examining a dishonest person. Examine your heart carefully. Question it up and down. Be aware that your heart is deceitful. Your heart will try to twist and turn and look for loopholes and excuses. Know your own heart. Examine it carefully. Do not trust it because our hearts traffic in pretense and self-deception, especially where sin is concerned. Now those may seem like harsh words. I don't mean them to be. But I speak for myself that they are true for me. And I hope you begin to see why the apostle says, but let a man examine himself. and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Self-examination, brethren, is a requirement before we gather to the table. But we're not only to examine ourselves. Our text calls us to the task of testing ourselves. So I have a second smooth stone for you. The first one was examine yourselves. The text in verse five calls us to test ourselves. This has the sense of diligently checking out the product. Just like a salesman might invite you to test the many mattresses in his showroom to see which one you're most comfortable sleeping on. Or the car salesman who invites you to take it for a spin to see how well she goes, how fast she flies. Testing is involved with actually getting in the car and driving it. You see, it's not enough to examine the mattress in the showroom or the car on the lot, you need to have a test run, you need to prove it on the highway, so that it really does do what they say it will do. It's one thing to examine a car in the showroom, but quite another thing to test it out in practice on the road. It's one thing to talk to your brother in church, it's another thing to see him at his workplace. and how does he do there? And so, my brethren, I call you to consider how well you do in your walk of faith where it really matters. Test yourselves in the arena of your daily life. Are you for real? When you are in the world, are you the same as when you are in church? Do men know whose you are and to whom you belong? Are you a man known for your walk of holiness? Test yourselves as to your faithfulness in conducting family worship, having private devotions, keeping a pure mind and a holy tongue. Test yourself before you come to the table, brethren, before you take the bread and drink the cup. Am I for real? Do I meet the test? I have a third smooth stone for you. It's a call to introspection. Let's turn again to our text, 2 Corinthians. 13.5, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Test yourselves whether you are in the faith. Ask yourself, whether I am in the faith. What does the apostle mean by that? The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the visible church. It's perfectly correct to say the Lord's Supper is a sacrament of the church. It was instituted of Christ, which makes it a sacrament. It is for believers who are savingly joined to Christ and are members of the visible church of Christ, or to use Paul's words, it is for those who are in the faith. Our text calls us to honestly ask, how is it with your soul when I'm alone with God and his all-searching eye? How can I stand before his holy gaze? What is my hope of acceptance with God? And where am I in my faith? Are my sins covered? Am I washed in the blood of the Lamb? You see, many a man can say that he believes in the Reformed Baptist Church. That doesn't really mean much. Many a man could say he believes in the 1689 Confession of Faith. that he believes the five points, that he holds to the doctrines of grace. This is all fine and good, but our text does not ask whether you believe them. Our text asks whether you are in the faith. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. And brethren, this is an all-searching question for every one of us here this morning, whether we're going to sit down at the table or not. But certainly for those who are sitting down at the table, it's a vital question, a searching question. And it demands an answer as we approach the table. What exactly is Paul getting at when he urges us to be in the faith. An illustration may help here. In 1859, a man by the name of Blondin crossed the Niagara Falls on a tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow. He then asked the crowd if they thought he could do it with someone actually in the wheelbarrow. And with great excitement, they urged him on saying, yes, yes, you can do it. Yes, you can. He asked for volunteers. And there was a stony silence. As they considered the implications of volunteering, the result was no one stepped forward to be the individual in the barrow. You see, brethren, to be in the faith is to be in Christ. It's not enough to believe that Jesus is the Savior. It's not enough to believe in the ability of Jesus to save sinners. That indeed is good, but it's not enough. As a sinner, you must go to Jesus for salvation. Just as Noah and his family found refuge in the ark, So you must get into Christ as your sin bearer, as your substitute who died in your place, who died on the cross for sinners and now lives in the hearts of all his people by the indwelling Holy Spirit. To be in the faith is to live by faith. To be in the faith is to have a living principle within which is centered upon Christ. To be in the faith is to be someone who talks with Christ, who lives for Christ, who abides in Christ. Christ is his arc of safety from the wrath of God that his sins deserve. He can say, For me to live is Christ. Jesus is my all in all. I desire nothing more than to be in Christ now and forever. Can you say that? Ask yourself, am I in the faith? Are you in Christ? Are you trusting him to bring you safely to heaven? Then, my friend, you have grounds for saying that it is well with your soul. Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. So far, we've considered three stones, three, I hope, smooth stones. taken from our text. That's considered a fourth stone. It's a rhetorical question with an answer supplied. Here it is. Turning again to our text in verse five. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Do you not know yourselves? Don't you realize that Jesus Christ is in you? Paul is talking to Christians. If we neglect to study ourselves with regard to the state of our soul as Christians, we make a serious mistake in life. We may have studied hard academically. We may have excelled in our chosen profession, fine professional status, we might have gained the applause of the world while being in the eyes of God a fool. For what shall it profit us if we gain the whole world and lose our soul? Jesus Christ must be in our hearts. He must be in your heart. That's the main point. That is what really matters. not our education, not our family connections, Jesus Christ dwelling in your heart by the Holy Spirit's presence. Without him, you're lost and your religion, vain and worthless, a mere show. But if you have Christ in the heart, you are in the faith and you meet the test of God's searching eye. So what does it mean to have Christ in you, in your heart? Are you ready for the test? Here's a few questions. Can I live without prayer? Can you? Do I love God's word? Do you really love God's word? Is it your meditation day and night? Do I love His people? Yes. Do you love the people of God? Do you love God's house? Do you love God's day? Do you long for heaven as a man watches for the dawning of the day? Now if these things are true of us, They are healthy indicators that Christ is in us. But if they're not true, we have some repenting to do as God searches our hearts and as we come to the table. There's a fifth stone to consider in our text. "'Unless indeed you fail to meet the test,' Paul says. "'Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. "'Test yourselves. "'Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, "'unless indeed you are disqualified?' Paul recognizes that most of the Corinthians pass the test, that their self-examination only confirms the reality of their attachment to Christ. However, for those who obtained a failing grade, who failed to meet the test, it does not mean that they are lost and under wrath. Matthew Henry says, they are not disowned by Christ. But it does mean that they are unapproved and need to return to their first love. Remember therefore, from where you have fallen, says our Lord in Revelation 2. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Here then are the five smooth stones that we have considered in the verses before us. Examine yourselves, test yourselves, ask yourselves whether you're in the faith. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail to meet the test? It's a wake up call. So there's our text, opened up with five smooth stones. I have some concluding applications of self-examination to leave with you this morning. One of the many blessings of preaching is that you get to preach to yourself. I want you to know brethren that what I've been saying to you this morning is very much to my own heart. I hope it's to your hearts too. And that as we come to the table this morning, this afternoon, as we come to the table for the Holy Supper, we will have a spirit of willing confession of our sins, repentance for them, and faith in the only Savior for sinners, our Lord Jesus. As I examine my heart this morning, I need to ask myself, am I repentant? Do you think of repentance as something you did when you were converted, or do you think of it as something which you constantly are in need of doing? This verse of our text teaches us that repentance should be part of our self-examination daily, and certainly on every occasion as we prepare ourselves for the table of the Lord. John Owen puts it this way, do I call myself to account as to whether I have truly a mourning frame of spirit over my sins? Would I be comforted by the sweet grace of God? Then let me examine my heart and mourn over its coldness toward God and the cross of my dear Savior. He goes on to say that worldly security and worldly joys can so easily devour true sorrow for sin. And what of my repentance for actual sins? Am I willing to call myself to account for those things which I have done of which I am ashamed? As we sit here this morning, am I ready to be called out and to recognize my sins? Let me run to the cross then and confess them there. to him who said, come to me and you shall find rest for your souls. Those are the words of my savior to every burdened sinner this morning. Am I consciously dealing with little sins as well as the more weighty issues of blasphemy, pornography, fornication? Run. Run, my friend, to the cross before you run to the table. It is at the cross that your burden of sin will roll away. Our prayer must surely be, O Lord, help me to be honest about my sins, to keep my heart for you alone. with a determination not to compromise with sin, even in my thought life. Jesus died for my sins. How can I live comfortably with them? Secondly, am I testing myself as to faithfulness in my walk as a Christian? We need to ask ourselves how well we score on that particular account. Am I resting content with a substandard level of Christianity When Jesus calls me to take up my cross, to deny myself, take up my cross and follow him. When Jesus calls me to pluck out right eyes and cut off right hands rather than be cast into hell for my sins. Thirdly, am I really in the faith? Let's examine our faith, brethren. As I approach the table of the Lord, am I playing the hypocrite? Or am I really doing what I profess to believe? Which is that I place all my faith and hope in Jesus Christ for life, for mercy, for salvation, and for peace with God. All my hope is in him. I take the bread, I drink the cup. Jesus is everything to me. If this is true, then let us together in faith meet Christ in his ordinance. And let us abide in Christ and trust in Christ now and for eternity. As I prepare to come to the table, let me rest in a wonderful promise, full of comfort to a repentant sinner. I wonder if you can guess what it is. if we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Every period of self-examination will point to your sins. What do you do with them? You take them to the cross, you leave them there. Confess them, forsake them, and Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are our living Savior. And with your all-seeing eye, you know the secrets of our hearts, you know all of our actions of our bodies. Nothing is hidden from you. You know all things. You know everything about us. We bow to confess that we have achieved So often we must confess we've achieved a failing grade. We've not loved you as we ought. We've not served you as we ought. We've not hated sin as we ought. We ask for your pardoning grace. We pray that you would open our eyes to the truth of your pardoning grace and of your keeping grace. And as we gather to the table this afternoon, we pray that we might do so knowing that you are a gracious, pardoning Savior. If we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all this day and forevermore. Amen.