Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Necessity of Self-Examination (Psalm 139:23-24) | Jonathan Edwards

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The Necessity of Self-Examination (Psalm 139:23-24) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reform Thinking. Today we are taking a rigorous
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deep dive into the source material of, well, one of the
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most brilliant theological minds in American history.
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I am talking about Jonathan Edwards.
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Yes. And specifically we are looking
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at his posthumous discourses on Psalm 139 versus 23 and 24.
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We are pairing that with his incredibly detailed 76 question
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diagnostic list. The topic at hand is the
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absolute necessity of self examination.
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Our mission for this deep dive is straightforward but pretty
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challenging. We want to equip you, the
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listener, with a thorough, highly practical method for
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identifying and uprooting those hidden sins that so easily
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entangle us. The goal is that your daily walk
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actually aligns with your confession of faith.
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Let us look right at the hook Edwards uses, which centers on
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the text of Psalm 139 itself. The psalmist praise.
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Search me, O God, and know my heart.
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Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way
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in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
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You know, I've always found this phrasing and curious.
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I mean, the psalmist does not ask God to search him so that
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God can gain new information. God is omniscient.
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He already knows our down sitting and our uprising.
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He understands our thoughts are far off.
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Absolutely. Right, so the psalmist is not
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asking God to discover something for the divine intellect.
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Instead, he is asking God to shine a discovering light into
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his soul so that the psalmist himself can see his own heart.
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But wait, if God already knows my heart completely, why does He
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require me to do the grueling work of digging it up?
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Why doesn't the Holy Spirit just convict me automatically and
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save me the trouble? That distinction is absolutely
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crucial for you to grasp as we begin this deep dive.
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It strikes at the heart of how God sanctifies His people.
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As believers who hold to the theology of the Westminster
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Confession, we recognize the reality of both tool depravity
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in the unregenerate and the remaining corruption or
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indwelling sin in the justified believer.
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We often hide our sins from ourselves.
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We possess deceitful hearts, Jeremiah tells us.
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Our hearts are desperately wicked.
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Even after God has got us a new heart and regeneration, the
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flesh constantly wars against the Spirit.
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Yes, and when we ask God to search us, we are acknowledging
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our own blindness. We're confessing that we cannot
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accurately diagnose our own spiritual condition without the
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illuminating work of the Holy Spirit applying the strict rule
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of the law to our consciences. God requires us to do the
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digging because the process of self examination actively
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mortifies the flesh. It humbles us.
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If God simply removed our sin without our active, agonizing
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awareness of it, we would never comprehend the sheer weight of
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grace, nor would we develop a genuine hatred for our own
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rebellion. Precisely.
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Edwards lays out a framework for believers to stop assuming
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everything is fine simply because they are not committing
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standalone public sins. The human heart is quite adept
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at manufacturing peace where there is no pace.
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We need the discovering light of God to expose those hidden
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wicked ways, not for a condemnation, since there is no
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condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, but for our
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sanctification. The Reformed tradition has
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always viewed the moral law not as a means of earning salvation,
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but it's the perfect rule of life for the believer.
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We need that law to act as a harsh, unyielding mirror.
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This brings us to a stark warning Edwards issues right at
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the beginning of the text. He highlights the supreme danger
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of the unexamined life. He argues that every single
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person must be acutely concerned with whether they live in a
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state of sin or a particular way of sin.
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He makes a clear distinction here.
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Unregenerate men live in sin as a trade.
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It is the core business of their lives, because they are servants
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of sin. But converted men?
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True believers still have what the Apostle Paul calls a body of
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sin and death. We are prone to wander.
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We can fall into a particular way of sin and stubbornly remain
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there if we are not careful. Edwards points out that people
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are incredibly calculating and cautious in their temporal
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affairs. Think about this in a modern
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context. People will spend hours
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researching the perfect mutual fund.
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They will scrutinize the fine print of a mortgage contract.
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They will read 100 online reviews before buying a vacuum
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cleaner. I find it staggering to consider
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how much mental energy I spend analyzing my earthly future
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compared to the casual passing glances I give to the actual
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condition of my heart. If a farmer or a merchant is so
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vigilant about his financial investments, making sure no
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pennies are lost, why are we not equally calculating and careful
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with our eternal souls? Ask yourself, listener, are you
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more vigilant about your retirement account than the
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habits forming in your own soul? Why do we compartmentalize our
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diligence this way? We compartmentalize our
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diligence because temporal losses are immediately felt,
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whereas spiritual decay is often silent and numb.
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The precise theological distinction Edwards makes
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between living in a state of sin and living in a way of sin
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requires our full attention. To live in a state of sin means
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you are unconverted. The totality of your life, even
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your best deeds, is offensive to God because it does not flow
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from faith. You are under the dominion of
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darkness. However, to live in a way of sin
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refers to a believer who allows a particular specific sin to
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persist and take root in their daily life.
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It is an unmortified sin. Edwards notes that God demands
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our utmost care and watchfulness because pleasing Him is the
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primary end of our existence. The Westminster Shorter
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Catechism teaches that man's chief end is to glorify God and
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to enjoy Him forever. Therefore, living in a way of
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sin is a direct contradiction of our created purpose.
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God requires our utmost diligence in our obedience to
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Him. If we live in a way of sin, we
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dishonor God. Furthermore, Edwards argues that
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we are exceedingly prone to walk in such ways.
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Our hearts have a natural gravity pulling us downward.
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Even with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we walk
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through a world filled with snares, facing an adversary who
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prowls like a roaring lion. If you are not actively
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examining your life, you are drifting.
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And in the Christian life, you never drift toward holiness.
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You only drift toward corruption.
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The flesh loves the path of least resistance.
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It is genuinely unsettling to realize how easily we drift.
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If the rules of Scripture are so clear, why are we so blind to
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our own failings? How do we trick ourselves so
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easily? Edwards lists several reasons
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for this phenomenon. He points to the deceitful
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nature of sin itself, Satan's direct influence, the numbing
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effect of custom, following common examples, and partial
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obedience. Let us look closely at the
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deceitful nature of sin. Edwards argues that when a lust
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gains the will, it darkens the mind.
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It biases the judgement. When you want something badly
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enough, your brain will work overtime to justify getting it.
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Edwards provides piercing examples of this internal
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mechanism. A malicious person rationalizes
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their hatred is justified, claiming the other person
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deserves it. A covetous person does not call
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their greed creed. They call it prudence or
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diligence. In business, we use self love to
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invent virtuous names for our vices.
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Think about how prevalent this is today.
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We rebrand our vicious gossip as sharing a prayer request or
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venting to seek wise counsel. We wrap our sins in a cloak of
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righteousness to make them palatable to our own
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consciences. How do we actually catch
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ourselves doing this? Because when I am in the middle
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of justifying my own bad behavior, it feels entirely
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rational and necessary to me. Catching ourselves requires
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understanding the absolute devastation that sin reeks on
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the human intellect. Sin does not stop at affecting
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our actions, it corrupts our reasoning.
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The mind is darkened. The same lust that leads someone
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into an evil way also blinds them while they are in it.
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The more a person lives in a way of malice, the more that malice
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convinces their understanding that such hatred is completely
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appropriate. The conscience is muffled.
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Satan, the Prince of darkness, acts in concert with our
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deceitful lusts to flatter us and keep the conscience blinded.
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Consider how modern corporate or social media culture amplifies
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this blindness. If an evil practice becomes
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common in society, we rapidly cease to view it as offensive to
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God. Custom superfies the mind.
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When we see a practice adopted by our peers, by people we
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respect, or even by professing Christians, our natural defense
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mechanisms lower. We assume that because everyone
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is doing it, it cannot be that bad.
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We bring our principles down to match our practices rather than
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elevating our practices to match our principles.
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We do not like to condemn ourselves, so we rewrite the
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rules of righteousness to excuse our specific behaviors.
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If everyone in your office exaggerates their expense
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reports, you will eventually convince yourself that doing the
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same is just the cost of doing business, rather than an
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egregious violation of the 8th Commandment.
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That brings up a terrifying thought regarding how we measure
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our own godliness. We can convince ourselves we are
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doing well just because we perform certain religious duties
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while completely ignoring how we live.
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The rest of the week. Edwards calls our attention to
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the trap of partial obedience. A person might strictly read
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their Bible every morning, pray before meals, and attend public
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worship every Sunday without fail, but at the same time, they
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might completely neglect deed, deeds of charity or fail
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miserably in their family duties.
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Because they perform those specific religious duties so
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rigorously, they feel righteous. They focus only on the tasks
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they actually perform, turning a blind eye to the vast areas of
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their life where they're living in complete rebellion against
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God's law. This partial obedience acts as a
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sedative for the conscience. This is why Edwards insists we
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need a rigorous method for discovering hidden sin.
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So how do we find these blind spots?
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Edwards provides 2 means knowing the rule, which is scripture,
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and knowing ourselves. The Bible must be used like a
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mirror or craftsman's measuring rule.
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We cannot just read it for theological trivia, we must
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actively compare our actions to it.
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One of the most striking pieces of practical advice Edwards
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gives is to listen to your enemies.
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An enemy will attack you precisely where you are weakest.
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Even if their spirit is unchristian and spiteful, their
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critique often contains a heavy dose of truth.
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But that is brutal advice. When someone who dislikes me
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criticizes me, my immediate reaction is defense, not
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introspection. Is entirely brutal, which is why
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it is so remarkably effective. This raises an intense question
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for you, the listener. How often do you dismiss a valid
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critique simply because you dislike the person delivering
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it? Our friends might flatter us or
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overlook our faults out of love, but an enemy has no such filter.
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They will zero in on your greatest flaws with absolute
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precision. This requires immense humility
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to apply. If a hostile Co worker or a
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strained family member reviles you, your natural instinct is to
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defend yourself and attack their character.
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But the reformed view of the self recognizes that we are
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probably worse than our enemies even know.
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Therefore, we should take their accusations, strip away the
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malice with which they were delivered, bring them before
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God, and ask if there is truth in this.
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Edwards also stresses that we must know the rule thoroughly.
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God has given us a perfect standard in the Scriptures.
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The sinfulness of any way consists in its disagreement
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with that rule. If you do not study the
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Scriptures to know your duty and its full extent, your ignorance
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is a willful aloud ignorance. You take pains to learn the
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skills necessary for your earthly career.
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Why would you not take pains to study the rule book for your
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eternal soul? We must actively join self
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reflection with our reading and hearing of the Word.
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We must stop reading the Bible as a textbook and start reading
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it as a diagnostic manual. Let us examine 2 specific mental
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exercises Edwards encourages to help us use that diagnostic
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manual effectively. First, the deathbed test.
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Edwards asks you to evaluate your current habits, your
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current conversations, and your current grudges from the
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perspective of your deathbed. Will you approve of your current
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behavior when you are moments away from facing eternity?
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People easily justify their petty sins when they are healthy
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and think death is decades away. But when the reality of standing
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before a holy God becomes imminent, the conscience is not
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so easily muffled. Second, there is the molten beam
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principle. When you are deeply annoyed by a
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neighbor's pride, their dishonesty, or their harsh
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words, you should immediately stop and ask yourself if you
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exhibit those exact same traits. We are incredibly quick to spot
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the deformity of sin and others, but we look at ourselves through
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a deceitful glass is like being absolutely enraged by a Co
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worker who talks over people in meetings and then going home and
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interrupting your spouse all evening without a second
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thought. We have a massive blind spot.
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When you hear someone complaining about how they were
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wronged, you should examine your own dealings to see if you have
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wronged anyone similarly. That requires A radical shift in
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perspective. Instead of being consumers of
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other people's faults, we must become investigators of our own.
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This leads us directly into how Edwards applies self examination
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to specific areas of life, starting with public worship and
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the Sabbath. As adherence to the Westminster
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Confession. We hold a high view of the
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Christian Sabbath, understanding it as a day set apart entirely
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for the worship of God and the resting of our bodies.
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Edwards warns strictly against encroaching on Sabbath time.
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He notes the Puritan practice of observing the Sabbath from
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evening to evening, based on the pattern in Leviticus.
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He asks if it is a frequent thing for you to encroach upon
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the Sabbath at its beginning, continuing your worldly business
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or chores after the holy time has commenced.
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He makes the brilliant comparison between moral
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necessity and natural necessity. If a farmer is working in the
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field and the sun goes down, making it perfectly dark, he
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stops working because of a natural necessity.
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He plans his work around that impending darkness.
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Edwards asked. If we can plan our work around
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the natural necessity of the setting sun, why can we not plan
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our work around the moral necessity of the beginning of
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the Sabbath? It is simply a lack of care and
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a lack of reverence for God's holy command.
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We treat God's appointed time with less respect than we treat
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the rotation of the earth. Think about what that looks like
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today. Do we hustle right up to the
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start of the Sunday service, checking emails in the church
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parking lot, completely failing to prepare our minds for
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worship? Edwards does not stop at just
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the timing of the Sabbath. He targets our behavior during
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the Lord's Day. He warns against worldly talk.
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If you should not employ your hands and worldly tasks, why
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would it be acceptable to employ your tongue in worldly affairs
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on a day set apart for God? He challenges the habit of
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arriving late to public worship, asking if that does not show you
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set light by the ordinances of God's house.
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And then he brings out this striking analogy regarding
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sleeping in church. He says sleeping during public
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worship is like falling asleep while a messenger from the King
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of Kings is delivering a royal decree directly to you.
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It is a massive affront to the majesty of God.
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He also asks if you neglect the Lord's Supper out of supposed
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scruples of conscience, which might actually just be a cloak
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for negligence and spiritual indolence.
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He even challenges those who neglect singing God's praises,
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stating that if it is a command to worship God in song, you are
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living in sin if you refuse to participate.
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Challenge yourself right now, listener.
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Consider your Sunday habits. Are you squandering the time and
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idleness, lounging on your couch watching sports?
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Or are you treating the day as a sacred space for the benefit of
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your soul? The rigor Edwards applies to the
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Sabbath demonstrates how highly he views the holiness of God.
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Public worship is not a casual gathering.
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It is a covenant renewal ceremony with the Creator of the
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universe. When we allow our minds to
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wander to worldly cares, or when we engage in vain talk before
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and after the service, we are profaning holy time.
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But Edwards knows that a person might behave impeccably in the
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Pew and still harbor wickedness in the dark.
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This brings us to the examination of secret sins and
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relational integrity. Edwards asks if you neglect the
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secret duties of piety, specifically the private reading
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of the Scriptures. The Bible was not given just for
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ministers to read from the pulpit.
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It is the daily bread for every believer.
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Beyond omission, he targets secret sins of Commission.
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Do you gratify sensual lusts in your imagination?
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You might restrain yourself from gross public indulgences out of
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a fear of losing your reputation, but do you secretly
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taste the sweets of unlawful delight in your thoughts?
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God searches the heart and a loud lust in the mind is a
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massive provocation to a pure and holy God.
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We cannot fool the Almighty by merely keeping the outside of
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the cup clean. And this internal corruption
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inevitably bleeds out into our relationships and our business
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dealings. Edwards asks you to examine your
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temper toward your neighbors. Do you indulge A passionate,
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furious disposition? Does anger rule you?
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Edwards phrases this intensely. He says a furious passion
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unmakes a person, turning a rational creature into a wild
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beast. We are warned in Proverbs to
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avoid angry men lest we learn their ways.
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He also asks if you harbor secret hatred or envy.
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Are you uneasy at your neighbor's prosperity?
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Does their advancement at work make you miserable?
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Edwards then moves to strict business ethics.
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Do you defraud those with whom you deal?
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Are you faithful to your word? Edwards views our dealings with
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intense scrutiny. Think about what it means to
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shade the truth in a bargain today.
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Selling a house and hiding the water damage.
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Selling a car and clearing the check engine light just before
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the buyer arrives. Creating a marketing campaign
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that preys on people's insecurities.
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All of these are categorized firmly as living in a way of
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sin. Look at question 43 from his
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diagnostic list. Do you take advantage of
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another's necessity for selfish gain?
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Or question 53 do you allow yourself to shade the truth or
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exaggerate to secure a deal? What is so piercing about
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Edwards's analysis of business dealings is that it completely
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obliterates the modern division between the secular and the
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sacred. You cannot be a pious Christian
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on Sunday and a cutthroat deceptive negotiator on Monday.
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If you would hold the debt or if you use deceptive words to blind
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the eyes of a buyer, you are living in a way of sin that
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threatens your soul. And Edwards goes further,
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stating that if you have wronged your neighbor in the past and
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have never repaired the injury, you are currently living in sin.
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The passage of time does not erase the guilt of an unrepaired
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wrong. This level of integrity is
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demanding. It forces us to view every
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financial transaction, every contract and every negotiation
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as an event witnessed by the all seeing eye of God.
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The Westminster Larger Catechism, when expounding on
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the 8th Commandment against stealing, lists a multitude of
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sins, including unjust weights, extortion, and making our gains
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out of the ignorance or necessity of others.
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Edwards is applying this reformed understanding directly
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to the conscience of the believer.
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The Christian who justifies sharp business practices by
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calling it capitalism or free enterprise is deceiving their
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own heart. The law of God governs the
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marketplace just as strictly as it governs the sanctuary.
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It is relatively easy to hide our inner thoughts, but where
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Edwards really traps us is when he forces us to look outward.
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How does this internal rot actually show up in how we treat
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the vulnerable? This section covers charity,
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conversation and the tongue. Edwards brings up the sin of
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withholding from the poor. He points out that giving to
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those in need is not an optional extra for Christians.
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It is a strict requirement. Seeing a neighbor pinched with
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want and hardening your heart against them is a direct
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provocation to God. He asks if you purposefully
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avoid finding out about the needs of others so that you will
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not have to give. That is a terrifying thought,
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willfully hiding your eyes from the poor so you can keep your
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money without feeling guilty. Then he moves to the duty of
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reproving a neighbor. If you see someone going on in a
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way of sin, you are commanded to rebuke them in a Christian
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manner. Staying silent because you fear
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it will not have a good effect or because you fear losing their
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favor, is a failure of love. We often excuse our silence by
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saying we do not want to be judgmental.
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Is that really love or is it cowardice?
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It is entirely cowardice masquerading as tolerance.
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That failure of love is rampant in the modern church.
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We excuse our silence is minding our own business.
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But in the covenant community, your brother's spiritual health
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is your business. Edwards notes that if Christians
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generally perform this duty of her proof, it would prevent an
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abundance of wickedness. When people sin and no one says
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anything to them, they assume their ways are approved.
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But the tongue is not only guilty of silence, it is often
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guilty of active malice. Edwards warns against keeping
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lewd company and engaging in evil speaking.
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How common is it for people to sit around and spend their time
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judging others, spreading uncertain reports and ridiculing
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infirmities? Edwards points out that men
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eagerly take up I'll reports, glad to have juicy news to
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share. We pass judgement without ever
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talking to the person involved. This violates the very basic,
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basic rules of Christian charity and justice.
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The 9th Commandment forbids bearing false witness, which the
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Catechism expands to include receiving false reports,
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stopping our ears against a just defense, and speaking the truth
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unseasonably or maliciously to a wrong end.
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And then he highlights the double tongued individual.
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This is the person who agrees with one party to their face,
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and then turns around and agrees with the opposing party behind
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their back. Edwards identifies this as a
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vile, deceitful practice meant only to please the immediate
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company you're keeping at that moment.
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Have you ever stayed silent while a group tore down
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someone's character, or worse, added a seemingly innocent
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comment that fueled the fire? Have you ever played both sides
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of a conflict at work or in your extended family just to maintain
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your own popularity? Edwards also challenges are
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strict adherence to truth in daily conversation.
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He asks if you vary circumstances, add details to
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make a story more entertaining, or use guileful ways of speaking
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to make false representations. Even if you use mental
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gymnastics to justify your words, you do not save yourself
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from the guilt of lying in the sight of God.
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The casual nature of our exaggerations reveals a massive
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lack of fear regarding God's standard of truth.
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The tongue reveals the true state of the heart.
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Christ taught that out of the abundance of the heart, the
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mouth speaks. The way we talk about our
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neighbors, the way we handle truth, and the way we engage in
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conflict are flawless indicators of our spiritual health.
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And nowhere is the spiritual health tested more rigorously
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than in the home. Edwards declares that the family
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is the real proving ground of our faith.
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He says that our own house is the greater part of our world.
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We might appear incredibly pious and civil among our neighbors
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and at church, but if we are perverse, harsh and cruel in our
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own homes, our religion is vain. The closer the relation, the
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heavier the obligation to love. To harbor bitterness toward a
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spouse is not just a relational failure.
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It violates solemn vows made before the presence of God.
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It is a form of covenant breaking.
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Edwards refuses to let us hide behind a public facade of
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righteousness while leaving our homes in a state of emotional or
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spiritual tyranny. Let us spend some serious time
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here, because Edwards addresses husbands, wives, parents and
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children directly. He asks husbands and wives if
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they are guilty of bitterness of spirit toward one another.
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He says it is no excuse at all to say that your spice is to
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blame because God commanded this entire friendship knowing full
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well that both parties would have faults.
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Love covers a multitude of sins. Do you study your spouse to
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accommodate their temper, or do you set up your own will in
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opposition to theirs? He specifically warns husbands
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against ruling imperiously treating their wives as servants
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or laying them under unreasonable restraints.
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He notes that her husband cannot forbid a wife from disposing of
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property and charity, referencing the Proverbs 31
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woman who stretches out her hand to the poor.
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We often see distorted views of headship today that treat the
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wife as a subordinate employee rather than a fellow heir of the
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grace of life. Edwards cuts right through that.
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And regarding parents, Edwards warns of the sin of Eli.
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For those who have not read for Samuel recently, Eli was the
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high priest whose sons were abusing their power and
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committing grievous sins at the Tabernacle.
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Eli told them to stop, but he did nothing to actually remove
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them or discipline them, the text says.
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His sons made themselves vile and he restrained them.
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Not God judged Eli's entire house for this failure.
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The sin of Eli is a terrifying warning for Christian parents.
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Eli reproved his sons, meaning he told them their behavior was
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bad, but he failed to exercise actual government in his home by
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restraining them. Edwards points out that if
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parents lose their authority and their children do not regard
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their rules, verbal reproofs signify nothing.
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Parents must maintain order. They must enforce the boundaries
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they set. He also warns parents against
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weakening one another's hands, one parent smiling while the
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other frowns, 1 protecting while the other corrects.
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This inconsistency ruins children.
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It teaches them to manipulate the division between the father
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and the mother. To get their own way, parents
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must present a unified front of loving, consistent discipline.
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And Edwards does not let the children off the hook, including
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adult children. He addresses them directly,
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asking if they are guilty of undutifulness.
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Do you despise your parents for their natural infirmities or the
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weaknesses of old age? He contrasts the sons of Ham,
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who made derision of their father Noah's nakedness and
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shame, with the sons of Shem and Japheth, who respectfully
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covered it. A child who mocks their parents,
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who is impatient under their counsel, or who allows a fretful
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disposition toward them as they age, is living in a sin that is
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repeatedly threatened with a curse.
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In the Word of God. The 5th commandment does not
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expire when you move out of the house.
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So we have walked through this incredibly dense exposing
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diagnostic test covering our worship, our business, our
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tongues, and our homes. What if you find that you are
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indeed living in a way of sin? Edwards provides awakening
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considerations. These are symptoms that indicate
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a hidden sin is wreaking havoc on your soul. 1st is unanswered
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prayers. You might have been seeking
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salvation, crying earnestly to God for a long time regarding a
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specific trial, and yet he does not regard you.
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You wonder why all your efforts are blasted.
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Edward says. If you are holding onto a sinful
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way, that is the reason you cannot seek God's blessing while
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refusing to cut off a corrupt member.
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The psalmist explicitly states. If I regard iniquity in my
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heart, the Lord will not hear me. 2nd is languishing grace.
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If your spiritual life is weak, poor, and devoid of joy, this
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hidden sin is the culprit. We often try to cure spiritual
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depression by reading more books or attending more conferences
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when the actual solution is repentance from a hidden habit.
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Edwards uses the imagery of a secret ulcer.
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You can feed a man the most wholesome food.
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You can give him the finest delicacies.
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But if he has an internal bleeding ulcer, he will remain
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weak and lean. The food cannot nourish him.
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A retained sin operates the exact same way in the soul.
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It grieves the Holy Spirit. It causes God to withdraw His
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comfortable presence. This leads to spiritual
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depression and darkness. If you find yourself groping in
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a wilderness devoid of the sweet views of God's glory, Edward
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suggests that this unmortified sin is the root of your
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mischief. It is the HN in the camp that
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troubles you and offends God. HN hid the devoted forbidden
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things under His tent in the book of Joshua, and it brought
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military disaster and death upon all of Israel.
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A hidden sin in your heart brings disaster upon your
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spiritual vitality. Furthermore, A tolerated sin
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acts as a breach in a dam. If it is not stopped, it will
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grow wider until it endangers the whole structure, opening the
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door for Satan to lead you into even greater, more scandalous
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sins. The small compromise today paves
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the road for the massive failure tomorrow.
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Edwards also points to the biblical examples of David and
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Gideon. David's hidden sins regarding
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Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it up by murdering Uriah
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led to absolute disaster in his family.
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Rape, murder, and rebellion within his own house.
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The sword never departed from his family.
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Gideon made a golden ephod, which became a snare to his
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whole family and caused Israel to play the harlot.
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If you have met with the severe frowns of Providence.
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If you have faced sore rebukes and chastisements in your life,
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you must inquire if God is contending with you over a
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hidden way of sin. And finally, Edwards looks at
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the terror of death. If the thought of dying and
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stepping into eternity fills you with dread, even though you
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profess to be converted, it is highly probable that a worldly,
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sensual way of sin is keeping your mind tethered to this
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earth. It prevents that lively sense of
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heaven. If you want peace when you
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encounter death, you must walk closely with God now.
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You cannot live like the world and expect to die with the
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comfort of a St. This raises a massive point of
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accountability. Edwards concludes his argument
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by stating that if you have listened to these warnings, if
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you have examined yourself through the grid of these
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questions and found a way of sin, and yet you continue in it,
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it is no longer a sin of ignorance.
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You cannot claim you did not. Know from this moment forward,
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if you retain that sin, you are willfully living in known
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rebellion. That is a dangerous, precarious
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place for any soul to be. The discovering light has been
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shown upon the heart. The rule has been laid out.
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The call to mortification is absolute.
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We must constantly plead with God to search us precisely
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because our natural tendency is to hide in the shadows of our
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own self deception. Self examination is not a one
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time event, it is the constant rhythm of the Christian life.
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If you feel your prayers are hitting the ceiling, if the
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thought of eternity fills you with dread rather than peace,
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you must look for that a can in the camp of your own heart.
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Dig up the floor of your tent. Find what you are hiding.
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The peace that comes from a cleansed conscience is worth
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whatever pain the extraction requires.
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God's grace is abundant to pardon, but He will not pardon
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what we refuse to confess. As we bring this analysis to a
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close, I want to leave you with a final thought to Mull over
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regarding Edward's instruction to examine ourselves when we see
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faults in others. What if the behaviors that
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irritate you the absolute most and your friends, your
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coworkers, or your family members are actually a divine
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mirror? Consider the possibility that
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your extreme visceral sensitivity to their specific
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flaws is a symptom of your own unaddressed guilt regarding that
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exact same sin. When their pride enrages you, it
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might be your own pride reacting.
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When their selfishness offends you, it might be the resonance
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of your own selfish habits staring back at you.
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Let their failings prompt your own repentance rather than your
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judgement. That is a weighty concept to
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carry with us. Let us commit to bringing these
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hidden things into the light of God's grace.
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Do not hide from the discovering light of the Spirit.
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Face the reality of your own heart, Apply the truth of
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Scripture, and walk closely with a God who knows you completely
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and yet offers abundant mercy through Christ.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the source
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material on Reformed thinking.