Submitted by Robin Martens, Kinnaird Park Community Church
Back in my single days I would make the occasional two-to three-hour drive to the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta for a day of fun. On one particular visit, as I entered the mall, an elderly bag lady approached me asking for a quarter. I told her I was sorry but I didn’t have one. I was surprised by her graciousness as she moved on.
I then asked myself how it was that I could not make the effort to do something for her. Immediately I got the bright idea to break a $20 and be real generous by giving her a loonie or two. However, in the short time I made change she seemingly vanished. It was in that moment I was cut deeply by the realization that I could have just given her a $20 bill. It was also in that moment I saw something of my own self-serving nature, even as a professing Christian.
I knew I had failed the test. I sat down, grieved that I missed this opportunity to serve another human being — maybe even an angel in disguise. I confessed my sin to God, repented, and was resolute not to miss another opportunity to generously serve another.
This experience from my own life illustrates how our actions will, sooner or later, betray our true beliefs. Needless to say, it’s not enough to say we believe (James 1:27, 2:14-17, 1 John 3:16-18, Matthew 7:12-27, 25:31-46). Yet, the good news is that the gospel was given to address such core problems in each of us.
In the next several articles I will walk through four foundational gospel truths — creation, rebellion, redemption, and consummation — in a way that we can test ourselves to see if we have believed the gospel of our Triune God. We need not fear the honest question (2 Corinthians 13:5, John 15:7-8): “Am I really a Christian? Is it showing in and through my life?” Thus, please view this four-fold test as a means of grace to bring us to true belief, and also, as believers to discover and address the remaining areas of unbelief in our lives.
Robin Martens is the pastor of Kinnaird Park Community Church.
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