The Great Exam

By /

The Great Exam

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Speaker: Pastor
Series:

The Great Exam: Why Self-Examination Matters

Have you ever been completely unprepared for something you thought you were ready for? I went off to college in 1982 as the first one in my family to attend and graduate from college. “I thought I was prepared for college, but I was not.” In high school, I rarely brought books home and no one taught me how to study, yet I made decent grades. Then college hit like a brick wall.

My first semester grades tell the story: “In English Composition, my first midterm as a freshman in college, your pastor received a D plus. Impressive, right?” In history of civilization, I got an F. “On a three point scale, it was an impressive 0.89.” I kept those transcripts for over 40 years as a reminder. “I never learned how to study until I got married. My wife graduated with honors, summa cum laude. I got like some come lucky.”

But here’s the point: “In undergraduate folks, I did study and I studied hard. But I didn’t study the right things, obviously, right?” Sometimes we think we’re prepared when we’re really not. And that brings us to what I call “the great exam.”

The Biblical Foundation for Self-Examination

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11:28, where Paul writes: “Let a person examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” This passage in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 deals with the Lord’s Supper and reveals a critical truth about preparation.

“The great exam or the great examination is not something where I’m going to give you a physical test or something on paper, but it’s an examination of our own hearts and our motives that the word of God tells us that we are to examine.” This isn’t optional. “This verb when we are to be examining ourselves. It’s a verb, it’s an imperative mode. It’s that we don’t have a choice. We are to examine ourselves.”

Why Self-Examination Matters

“What does examination do when we examine our own hearts? When there’s a self examination, really, it exposes the true condition of our own hearts.” Like David prayed in Psalm 139, we say to the Lord, “Lord, search me and try me and know if there’s any wicked thing.”

Self-examination accomplishes three important things:

First, “our failures ought to lead us to Christ. And as we examine ourselves, we really know what we’re really made of. Jesus said that the truth will make us free. When we’re honest about our sin, we’ll be honest about our need. And our need is Christ.”

Second, “Self examination also keeps us from judging other people. If we’re always going around and looking for a little splinter in someone else’s eye, we’ve got a big log sticking out of our own eye, then that’s a problem.”

Third, “it really allows us to remove the garbage out of our lives and our hearts so that we can have a right relationship with the Lord and we can have a right relationship with other people.”

Examining Our Hearts in Relationship to Others

Paul emphasizes something crucial in this passage. “During the passage of Scripture, as I read First Corinthians, chapter 11, I emphasize the words, when you come together. When you come together. When you come together. When you come together. I believe it’s mentioned five different times in this particular passage.”

The problem in Corinth was clear: “They were together physically, but in unity and heart they were not together. There were problems in the church.”

THREE CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS

Am I allowing or causing division in the body? Paul says in verse 18: “For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions.” That word “division means splits, gaps, schisms. There are cliques among you.”

“Quite frankly, folks, whether it’s the church back in the New Testament days or the church today, relationships and churches are messy. Sometimes someone says something and gets their feelings hurt. Sometimes people are forgotten. Sometimes things are done or said and things go sideways.”

Am I acting selfishly? Verse 21 reveals the problem: “For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, and another gets drunk.” The wealthy arrived early and consumed everything before the working poor could arrive.

“Our motto is not you first after me. Our motto is you first serving others, thinking of others, loving others.”

Am I showing consideration for other people? Paul asks pointedly in verse 22: “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?”

“Do your attitudes or do your actions. Does it make people feel less seen? Do your actions and words make people feel less welcomed? Do your actions and words make people feel less valued?”

Examining Our Relationship with God

The second area of examination focuses on our relationship with the Lord himself.

REMEMBERING CHRIST’S SACRIFICE

Paul reminds us in verses 23-24: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

“This was by divine Revelation. This is not something that we do because of tradition.” When Jesus says “this is my body,” he’s “speaking in a matter of representation, not materially. The bread does not become his body. The bread signifies his body given in substitution for us.”

The blood represents something profound: “It really is something legal and redemptive that a life was given, blood was shed. Christ gave his life for you and for me. We call that he substituted his life for our life.”

PROCLAIMING CHRIST’S DEATH UNTIL HE COMES

Verse 26 tells us: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

“Communion is a proclamation. The verb here is to proclaim, to announce, to declare. It’s to give an active testimony about who Christ is and what he has done.” As R.C. Sproul says, “the Lord’s Supper is a pulpit without words. Every time you partake, you are preaching a sermon to yourself, to the church, and to God.”

The Consequences of Improper Participation

Paul warns in verse 27: “Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord.”

“This is not saying those who are worthy can partake. The point is, is we are. There’s no one worthy to partake of the Lord’s table. We are to make sure that we’re not doing it in an unworthy manner, that we’re not doing it lightly.”

“This is not about your perfection, folks. This is not about whether or not you’re worthy to partake. We’re not worthy, but we confess our sins, we humble ourselves, we acknowledge our sins, we take ownership of our sins.”

Putting It Into Practice

As we approach the Lord’s table, “we should ask, number one, am I right with God? Number two, am I right with the church, its leadership, and am I right with my other brothers and sisters in Christ?”

Here are practical steps for self-examination:

Before Communion:

  • Confess any known sin to God
  • Forgive those who have wronged you
  • Seek reconciliation where relationships are broken
  • Focus your heart on Christ’s sacrifice

In Your Daily Walk:

  • Ask yourself: “How are things at home? Are you thinking about other people? How are things at work? Are you thinking about other people?”
  • “When you come to church on Sunday morning, is it about you or is it about, okay, Lord, I just want to be a blessing to other people?”

Remember the Purpose: “Folks, it is a solemn time, but it’s a time of celebration as well. We ought to examine our hearts, and it’s very solemn. But Jesus paid it all. That’s where we get to.”

The great exam isn’t about achieving perfection—it’s about honest self-reflection that leads us to Christ. When we examine our hearts properly, we discover our need for grace and celebrate the One who provided it through His broken body and shed blood.

We hope you enjoyed the sermon and would love to see you in person. Plan your visit to Community Baptist Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee today!

Plan A Visit
Scroll to Top