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Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Self-examination

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“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 13:5

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

“Examine:” that is a scholastic idea. A boy has been to school a certain time, and his master puts him through his paces—questions him, to see whether he has made any progress,—whether he knows anything. Christian, catechise your heart; question it, to see whether it has been growing in grace; question it, to see if it knows anything of vital godliness or not. Examine it: pass your heart through a stern examination as to what it does know and what it does not know, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Again: it is a military idea. “Examine yourselves,” or renew yourselves. Go through the rank and file of your actions, and examine all your motives. Just as the captain on review-day is not content with merely surveying the men from a distance, but must look at all their equipment, so look well to yourselves; examine yourselves with the most scrupulous care. And once again, this is a legal idea. “Examine yourselves.” You have seen the witness in the box, when the lawyer has been examining him, or, as we have it, cross-examining him. Now, mark: never was there a rogue less trustworthy or more deceitful than your own heart, and as when you are cross-examining a dishonest person—you set traps for him to try and find him out in a lie, so do with your own heart. Question it backward and forward, this way and that way; for if there be a loophole for escape, if there be any pretence for self-deception, rest assured your treacherous heart will be ready enough to avail itself of it. And yet once more: this is a traveller’s idea. I find in the original Greek, it has this meaning: “Go right through yourselves.”

For meditation: Is self-examination a foreign concept to you? It should be done as least as regularly as we observe the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:28); God is able to assist us in our self-examination (Psalm 26:2; 139:23,24).

Sermon no. 218

10 October (1858)

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Charles Stanley – Advancing Through Adversity

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Job 5:7-11

“Why is this happening to me?” When we are bewildered by life, we cry out to anyone who will listen, “What is the point of trials?” Our thoughts become confused, our emotions chaotic, and our steps slowed. Scripture answers these questions. In response to “Why,” it tells us that we live in a fallen world filled with sinful people, that even the redeemed struggle with sin, and that Satan—the “ruler of this world”—has great influence here. No wonder why trials happen!

But there is something else that we are wise to consider—namely, what is God’s purpose in our adversity? It could be that He desires to get our attention because we have ignored His other signals. Or it could be to keep our attention on Him. When the Israelites lived in the desert, it must have seemed a great trial to have no food left at the end of each day. But God knew that if He provided more than one day’s supply at a time, the people would stop looking to Him. This “trial” kept their attention on their Provider.

Adversity can also be a tool to remind us of God’s great love for us. We can become so used to His love that we don’t appreciate it until we hit a bump. What’s more, hardships can help us to know the Lord in a deeper way. To experience Him as our comfort requires that there be a need for comfort. Or perhaps He wants to lead us into self-examination. We tend to ignore our wanderings from God’s ways. When halted by an obstacle, we have time to discover the wrong turns we’ve made.

Whatever the reason for your trial, know that God has purpose in adversity and that He has allowed it for your good (Rom. 8:28).