Continually Confessing (2 Corinthians 13:5)

We can fall into a trap and think that once we believe the gospel we know the gospel. However, this is not what we find in the Corinthian church. When Paul writes his second letter to the Corinthian church they forgot the gospel. Paul exhorts them to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. This is pretty strong that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. How do we know if we are in the faith? Can we have assurance that we are in Christ? What is Paul's point and what is this standard?

Maintaining our Profession (Hebrews 10:25)

Hebrews warns us, "that if we go on sinning deliberately…. there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Heb. 10:26). This is a pretty severe warning because it sounds as if we consciously sin then there is no redemption. Further, you combine this warning given to us in Hebrews 6 and we might be temped to give up on our Christian walk. Where is our hope? How do we know that we can attain the substance of our profession? What does it mean to maintain our profession?

Examine Yourself (2 Corinthians 13:1-9)

When we make a profession of faith we might think that we are in the church and we have arrived at the last step in our Christian walk.  We hear the Apostle Paul exhort us through the Corinthian church to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.  Does Paul mean that when people make a profession that they are not in the faith?  Is the Apostle Paul saying that we just randomly loose our faith?  How do we live out this faith in Christ?

Choose Whom You Will Serve (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua gives the exhortation for Israel to choose whom they will serve.  The Lord is the one who has assured Israel that He chose them to dwell in the land that was promised to Abraham.  So, if the Lord has chosen this people then why must this people choose the Lord? This is a rather strange declaration, and what does this have to do with profession of faith?

Why Do Professions of Faith? (1 Timothy 6:12)

Paul exhorts Timothy to fight the good fight.  The motivation for this fight is that Timothy will then be able to take hold of eternal life.  So, does this mean that Timothy needs to work really hard to get to the goal of heaven or to receive the blessings of heaven? What does Timothy standing in the midst of the witnesses have to do with this this good fight?  What implications can we draw from this public testimony as well?