Grow in Holiness (by Self-Examination)

Let a person examine himself.

1 Corinthians 11:28

Make it your regular practice to give your soul a thorough examination to see if there is anything displeasing to God hidden inside you. There are several ways of doing this. As you read the Bible, note anything that displeases God and ask yourself, “Do I see any evidence of this in me?”

Don’t ask vague questions like “Are there any sins in my soul?” Go hunting for specifics. Here is a checklist of some sins that could easily infect you: taking God’s name in vain, crude or vulgar conversation, enjoying unclean jokes, cruelty toward others, especially those who are weak, cynicism, greed, and bitterness. These are as deadly to your soul as cancer is to your body.

Let’s consider pride for a moment. Peter said, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). It doesn’t say that God “ignores” the proud. It says that He “opposes” them. He puts up His hand, and He says, “You aren’t going anywhere.” The proud person thinks he is achieving all kinds of marvellous things. But, actually, he never makes any progress. On the last day there will be little of lasting value to show for his work.

The humble receive grace from God. So, there are going to be some surprises in heaven. Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last” (Mat. 20:16). We may well find ourselves wondering why so many people we have never heard of are receiving such rich rewards while others who we thought were front-runners in the kingdom seem to be empty-handed.

If pride or greed or lust or self-pity or bitterness or cynicism are anywhere in us, then they must be identified, confessed, and destroyed. That’s the language of the New Testament: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Col. 3:5).

Will you take a few moments now and examine your soul using a passage from the Bible like the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20)?