IT’S TIME FOR A CHECKUP

Have you ever ignored a warning light on your car, thinking it was nothing, only to end up stranded later? That little light was trying to save you from something bigger. In many ways, your spiritual life has warning lights too. The question is: are you paying attention?

The best chance of catching a problem within your body is by getting regular checkups. As you age, the importance of this becomes increasingly significant. Many people have caught life-threatening illnesses early just by going in for a routine exam. A small visit to the doctor saved their life.

This same idea applies to the things we buy, like homes, cars, and lawn mowers. If we follow the recommended maintenance schedules, we’ll often catch problems before they become disasters. A roof leak, if left unattended, can lead to the growth of mold. A missing oil change, and you’re looking at engine failure.

Similarly, we are to make regular checkups on how we are doing spiritually:

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified.

Even Paul, a powerful servant of the Lord, knew the danger of coasting spiritually. He didn’t just preach; he examined himself. He said:

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I should become disqualified.

And he wasn’t alone in this. King David, after falling into sin, cried out in heartfelt self-examination:

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; 24 and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Whether we realize it or not, it is easy to become complacent in our Christian faith, which is why it’s so important that we test ourselves regularly.

One thing that comes to my mind is what Paul taught about the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

In this context, Paul is talking about partaking in a worthy manner. But there’s a broader lesson here. The Lord’s Supper, observed every Sunday (Acts 20:7), becomes a weekly “heart check.” When we focus on Christ’s suffering, His death, and the cross He bore for us, it humbles us. It sobers us. It reminds us to keep sin far from our hearts.

James uses another helpful image. He says looking into the Word without changing is like seeing yourself in a mirror and walking away, forgetting what you saw (James 1:23-25). That mirror is meant to expose what needs fixing.

When Jesus is our focus, we strive to walk in His footsteps, but when we neglect regular spiritual checkups, we begin to break down inside. Sin doesn’t always roar in; it creeps.

Have you ever been in a boat and felt it drift without you noticing? One minute, you're near the shore, then, without an anchor, you're far off and didn’t even feel it happening. That’s what spiritual drifting looks like. It’s subtle. It’s slow. And it’s dangerous.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

And what happens if we don’t stop the drift?

Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,  ⁶ if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.  ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?  ³⁰ For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."  ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

That’s serious and sobering, but necessary.

Yes, our God is a loving God who is merciful, but He is also a God of justice. He’s not fooled by surface-level religion. He sees the heart. If we fall away from Him because we stopped examining ourselves, and we die in that condition, heaven will not be our home:

2 Thessalonians 1:7–10 …when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God…

There’s an old saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That’s true for health. It’s even truer for the soul.

The soul needs regular inspection. Don’t wait for a breakdown. Don’t let sin rot your faith from the inside out. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your heart in check. Keep your life aligned with God’s will.

Make it a habit: examine yourself regularly, pray sincerely, study intensely, and repent quickly. Your eternal home is worth it.