I often read John MacArthur's daily devotionals as a way to keep myself in the Word. (Someday, I hope to create a daily devotional feature on our site.) Although Pastor MacArthur doesn't fully see the kingdom, he is a brilliant Bible scholar (glory to God) and I always find his writing to be edifying.
Sometimes, however, I come across an explanation that gives me pause. And so it was with this passage from today. Pastor MacArthur writes:
Many who profess to love Christ seem intolerant of His Word. Often they fall into spiritual complacency and surround themselves with teachers who tell them exactly what they want to hear. If they can't find a comfortable message, they drift from church to church or simply abandon it altogether.
Such people have exchanged conviction for comfort, and need to examine themselves to see if they are genuine believers (2 Cor. 13:5).
The emphasis is mine. Pastor MacArthur seems to be inviting people to doubt their salvation. Pastor Whipple always taught the opposite, so I checked the reference to see what Paul actually wrote. Here it is, from the NASB:
I remember Pastor Whipple teaching that the epistles are always addressed to believers. That makes sense because the apostles were writing to the members of churches they had founded, aka their fellow believers in Christ. So this verse would seem to support Pastor MacArthur's interpretation.Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
I don't recall if Pastor Whipple ever taught on this specific verse. If he did and you remember what he said, or if you have an interpretation based on scripture and the kingdom truths, I invite you to join the conversation by posting a comment. Let's reason together.
Written by Jordan
