When this Editorial is published on Thursday evening, March 13, it will be one month until Passover evening on Sunday, April 13. During this remaining time, true Christians ought to make an extra and diligent effort to examine themselves to determine whether and how Jesus is living in them (2 Corinthians 13:5), so that they do not partake of the Passover symbols in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
This self-examination should show us how we lived throughout the year—and if we are honest enough, we WILL find fault with ourselves. This realization must prompt us to repent, change, and make amends PRIOR to Passover eve.
If we suffer from self-delusion, thinking that we are doing pretty well and have already reached perfection, we are making one of the most grievous mistakes. We must realize that we are still sinning today, from time to time, and that we need God’s forgiveness of our sins on a continuous basis (1 John 1:8-10).
Paul warns us not to look at sin casually. We need to partake of the Passover in a worthy manner, because we understand the meaning of what Christ did for us and what we did to Him; that we murdered Christ through our sins—our transgressions of God’s spiritual Law; and that He died willingly for us when we were still His enemies, to free us from the penalty of sin—eternal death in the lake of fire.
At the same time, our self-examination should reveal that overall, we have been conducting ourselves throughout the year in a worthy manner, and if we have not, it is high time for a change in our lives. There are many passages in the Bible which address the need to be counted worthy in God’s eyes and to live worthy of our calling. Just note the following few examples:
Ephesians 4:1-3 tells us that we are “to walk worthy of the calling,” by showing lowliness, gentleness and longsuffering; bearing with one another in love; and pursuing peace and unity amongst ourselves. Holding grudges and the unwillingness to forgive others would show that one is NOT walking worthy of our calling.
Philippians 1:27-28 tells us that we are to conduct ourselves “worthy of the gospel,” by standing fast in one spirit and in one mind; by striving together for the faith of the gospel; and by not becoming terrified by our adversaries, KNOWING that GOD will take care of our situation.
Colossians 1:9-12 tells us to “walk worthy of the Lord,” by fully pleasing Him; showing godly patience and rejoicing in trials, thanking the Father and increasing in the knowledge and spiritual understanding of God and His Will, and by being fruitful in every good work.
Revelation 3:4-5 tells us that some in the church in Sardis were “worthy” to walk with Christ and be clothed with white linen, symbolizing God’s righteousness. They were given the assurance that their names would not be blotted out from the Book of Life, because they OVERCAME or conquered Satan, this evil society and self—their carnal human nature.
Romans 16:1-2 tells us that we live “worthy of the saints,” if we assist and HELP them in times of need.
Matthew 10:37-39 tells us that we are “not worthy” of Christ when we compromise with God’s Word because we don’t love Him enough. If we love ourselves, our relatives and our friends more than Him, we will not be given eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
The Bible includes many more passages which address the requirement of becoming worthy in God’s eyes and of conducting ourselves in a worthy manner, but the examples given in this Editorial should suffice. They should convince us that we must examine ourselves continuously as to whether we are living worthy of our calling—knowing that we are to be “holy in all [our] conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). If we are still behaving like the world behaves, and living and thinking like it does, then we show God that we don’t really care that much about Him and His righteousness (1 Peter 4:1-3).
Paul tells us to examine ourselves, as to how we are doing, and to TAKE the Passover. But before partaking of the Passover symbols, we must repent of wrong conduct and wrong thinking, and we must understand and appreciate what the Sacrifice of Christ really means for us. Christ died for us to free us from sin. He did not die for us to give us license to sin. We must be willing to live our lives worthy of God and our holy calling, and obey God in everything.
