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mm, I may be one of those guilty of being confused about the purpose of this thread and series. I say that because I have been studying 1 Corinthians and found some very interesting information that may pertain to this very subject of the evidence of salvation.

It certainly cannot be denied that even the most spiritual of believers today fall short of God's standards, nor is there a true lack of spirituality among today's Christians. BUt the question is: How do we measure our spirituality? And how can we know that we are doing what God wants us to do and are approved workman for Him? How do others (believers and non-believers) perceive us? Look at the Corinthians for example.

Paul called them UNspiritual babes (1 Cor. 3:1) and rebuked them for their carnality, for their "envying, and strife, and divisions" (1 Cor.3 :3), for their immorality (1 Cor. 5:1), for their dishonesty and oppression of each other (1 Cor. 6:7,8), for their unfaithfulness in giving (1 Cor. 9:11-14), for their selfishness and pride (1 Cor. 11:21,22), and told them: "And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned!" (1 Cor. 5:2, 4:18).

Yet this SAME Corinthian church, at this SAME time, ABOUNDED in miraculous gifts (1 Cor. 1:7, 12:8-11, 14:12, 18,26).

If these Corinthians had received an "11 Biblical Tests of Genuine Salvation", how would they have scored? They were saved believers, don't forget. And how would others have scored them? Would they believe these Corinthians were saved?

There is more to the subject, but I'll leave it at this for a moment..:)

I noticed the same thing about the Corinthians church.

There was also the issue of the sin in their midst. Paul seemed to consider the man who was having relations with his father’s wive as a believer, and he had to rebuke the church for bragging about it.

It’s almost like God put 1 Corinthians in the Bible just almost as an enigma.

As I read through the comments one line kept coming up in my mind and I didn’t understand why. It’s a line by John Milton who wrote in his poem entitled “ON His Blindness” about those who are blind: “They also serve who only stand and wait.” I couldn’t put that into context. Why would that line keep coming into my mind? Then it came to me.

Not all are given the same gifts or talents. Paul said in Romans 12:4 For we have many parts in one body, but these parts do not all have the same function.

I’m sensing a danger when we try to analyze either ourselves or others. God has given each of us different talents, different gifts and different functions within His church. Not only that but I find in my own life that God has used me differently in periods of my life. If we take a standard and try to apply it to ourselves or others we risk demanding things from either ourselves or others that perhaps God doesn’t have for us.

Satan is the accuser. If we either look at ourselves as failures or look at others to judge their “works” are we risking going against God’s will for our lives and theirs at that particular point in time? We may be feeling inadequate or accusing others of “not living up” to a standard when God is really saying something different. He may be saying like Milton “They also serve who only stand and wait”. He may be doing something in our life that isn’t contained in that “standard” that’s been listed. He may be saying “you are learning and growing my child, I have something bigger for you, your time will come”.

Let’s not get ahead of God. I believe He tells us to do all we can at any particular time. To compare that to someone else, what we would like to be, or even some “standard” that has been developed could cause us to fall under the accusing of Satan.

If these Corinthians had received an "11 Biblical Tests of Genuine Salvation", how would they have scored? They were saved believers, don't forget. And how would others have scored them?

I'm not sure all the Corinthians in the church were saved nor do I belive Paul thought so as well given his many rebukes to them. Especially this:

2Co 13:2 I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—

2Co 13:3 since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

2Co 13:4 For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

2Co 13:6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

One has to stop and take an honest appraisal of their situation. I would say that if a person is WILLING to take an honest appraisal (test themselves) of whether they love God and are in the faith, then that is a sure sign that they are a child of God. Many of us fall like Peter but in the end, when ask if we love Him, we always end up saying "Lord, you know I do." I'm not so sure many of the Corinthians were willing to make the same claim.

Put another way, if Christ came to us and said, ""Do you want to go away as well?" would we answer, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

That is the test.