Marsha's Musings: Examine Yourself to See if You are in the Faith

2 Cor. 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.

This is a serious warning.  So often you hear of preachers or other Christian workers telling those who have come forward for salvation to write the date down, or put a stake in the ground with the date that you accepted Christ as your Saviour. Then when doubts come, just go back and look at the date or the stake in the ground and be assured that you are saved.  

I'm not so sure about this method.  Is this Biblical?  In light of this command to examine and test ourselves as to whether we are in the faith, I'm not so sure about this other advice.  This seems to me to be encouraging people to not examine themselves to see if they are in the faith and growing. Instead it encourages them to look at a date, a stake in the ground or some other trinket to commemorate the date they prayed the prayer and walk off feeling satisfied that they are saved. 

Examining and testing ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith involves evaluating our walk with God.  Are we growing in our faith?  Are we able to look back and see where the fruit of the Spirit is being developed in our lives?  Are we grieved by sin our lives?  Are we telling others about our faith and living it in front of others?  Do we desire to please God in all that we do privately and in public?  This involves far more than just going back to be reminded of a date and place when we prayed the prayer or walked the aisle