1 Nov 2022
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see of there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)
As we look back at the essence of the Reformation (505 years ago), there is a real need for self-examination, not just for individual Christians, but for those who lead, and for the Church as a whole.
Self-examination is essential for spiritual health – there ought to be a measuring of ourselves, morally and spiritually, in terms of things done and things not done, by the behavioural standards that God set for us in His Word, and in the light of what believers in the past had fought for, and sacrificed for, particularly in the Reformation.
We are certainly not advocating introspection, which may result in euphoria or in the gloom of self-pity, and self-despair – all these are expressions of self-absorbed pride. On the contrary, self-examination is the fruit of God-centred humility, ever seeking to please the Father, honour the Son and give glory to the Holy Spirit (and to the Triune God as a whole). Self-examination is actually asking God to examine us – it is laying ourselves open to Him and and asking Him to search us, our hearts, our thoughts, and to unravel any grievous way and negative motivations within, and to help us to repent before Him – not just feeling sorry for ourselves and then continuing in our old ways.
As we consider the essence of the Reformation and note how believers in the past have ‘fought’ for, defended the truth, and even sacrificed themselves (some actually dying for their faith), we ought to ponder how far we have ‘abandoned’ the ‘truth’ and the ‘faith’.
As for the authority of the Bible and the revelation in Scripture, many have died to translate the Bible, and others have stood up against danger, persecutions and mockery to uphold the authority of Scripture over against the teachings of men (including the institutional church of the times) and the ‘traditions’ of institutions formulated by them – how much significance do we place on this today? Do we value the Scripture; do we discipline ourselves to know and to study the BIble; do we take pains to apply the truth and revelation in it; do we indeed uphold and defend the wholesome teachings of God (through the illumination of the Spirit) when these are distorted and ‘corrupted’, even by men who may apparently be sincere but have strayed away from what God has revealed??
Has the preaching ministry on the pulpit and the teaching of the Bible been so compromised that they take the form of human anecdotes and serve to further the ideas of men (with superficial attempts to buttress them with some quotations of Scripture, not accurately interpreted in their context)? Some Bible colleges have ‘produced’ academics who are not even born-again, popularising liberalism, and even querying well established doctrines and creeds (which have been established by men of God in Church history).
Has the church been displaced by men who seek a great following who clings to every word they speak, without thinking through whether what they propound are in line with Scripture; are Christian leaders led by those who depend on charisma, eloquence, ‘success stories’ (seen in numbers, statistics and manipulations of the accuracy of events); are Christians plagues by murmurings, complaining with every little ‘suffering’, forgetting that genuine disciples are expected not only to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for His sake??
Would we spend time for self-examination before God in the light of what has been shared; or would we allow God to ‘discipline’ us, for He disciplines those He loves, and only illegitimate children are not worthy to be disciplined by their parents??