Rev. Cor Harinck

This is the final installment of three articles on the vital and often misunderstood subject of self-examination. Former articles have addressed the necessity and criteria of self-examination.

Having looked at various facets of self-examination in two recent articles, I want to conclude our study of this subject by looking at some of the benefits we derive from self-examination. We are inclined to think that there is no benefit in doing so; it is nothing but digging within yourself. It yields no comfort and it is of no benefit to the Christian life. It only promotes doubt and lack of assurance.

Our Dutch forefathers and the Puritans were of a different mindset. Why did they give such prominence to the doctrine of self-examination? First of all, they had a pastoral motive, recognizing that people need it. They defined this pastoral motive as watching over souls. They habitually said that they deemed it important to expose self-deceit in a timely fashion, and they also deemed selfexamination to be an important means to confirm genuine faith. They viewed this as belonging to their pastoral duty as shepherds of the flock. They therefore believed that self-examination exposes the hypocrite but also promotes the assurance of the believer.

Biblical self-examination will expose the hypocrite and the nominal Christian, for it confronts us with the very essence of the matter. It confronts us with the question, “What is my confidence for the future? What is the basis for my expectation? Is my expectation truly well-founded? Is my hope in anything other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Am I relying on my works, my seriousness, my contrition, my attendance at the Lord’s Table, and my impressive and sound confession? Or do I confess with Paul, ‘But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’” (Phil. 3:7–8)?

Self-examination confronts me with questions as to whether my faith is genuine; whether my love is genuine; and whether my walk is upright. Self-examination focuses particularly on uprightness. In the Bible, the pure in heart are a distinct category of people. The pure in heart are those who are truly born again.

By way of self-examination, we can discover that neither our love and faith nor our sanctification are genuine. What a blessing it is when this is exposed in a timely fashion! Many of our forefathers will say that it is to our benefit when we discover in time that we were never sincere in our departure from evil, for then we can do so at this very moment. If we discover that we have never sincerely confessed our sins, we can do so now before God. If we discover that we never came to Christ in truth, we can come to Him now. Such is the benefit derived from self-examination.

Finally, the intent of self-examination is not that we should endlessly search within ourselves for proofs of the genuineness of our faith. Faith and confidence in Christ are the preeminent features, and the marks of grace will follow. They will confirm and declare that in all uprightness I have put my trust in Christ. However, self-examination is not merely for the purpose of affirming that the exercise of my faith has been genuine and sincere by virtue of the fact that it produced fruits consistent with faith and repentance; it is also the means to foster renewed exercises of repentance and faith.

Let me illustrate what I mean. Perhaps at one point in your life, you had assurance—you observed within yourself the marks of a true Christian. There was a godly sorrow about sin and a departure from all the ways of sin. You fled to Christ because you heard His voice in the gospel, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). There was, to use the words of the Belgic Confession, a “continual taking refuge in the blood, death, passion, and obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Your private prayer life was healthy, and you desired to avail yourself of the means of grace. Your walk was a sanctified walk, and your heart sought “those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God,” and not “things on the earth” (Col. 3:1–2). You rejoiced in the light of God’s friendly countenance.

However, things are so very different now! You now fear that you are but a temporary believer. Where is the joyous assurance that God is with you and that Christ is your portion? Why have you lost all of this?

When Christians examine themselves, they will have to confess the reason for this to be their departure from the Lord. Their personal prayer life has declined, and they are no longer fleeing to Christ. Their appetite for the means of grace has declined, and the world has become so attractive to them. The benefit of self-examination will then be what we read in Hosea 2:7: “I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.” It will lead to a renewed contrition. It will prompt us to take refuge to Christ once again. It will make us more cautious in our daily walk. In short, a Christian will benefit much from self-examination.

Repentance and faith are the distinguishing marks of the Christian, for the true believer will do battle with sin his entire lifetime. Daily repentance remains necessary precisely because we never will be fully done with sin, and we will never achieve perfection in this life. The holy war is fought on the battlefield of the heart. It is the Christian’s calling to engage in a lifelong battle against sin, the world, and his own flesh, and this necessitates daily repentance and a daily fleeing to the blood of Christ. That struggle is so beneficial! Such a struggle leads to renewed exercises of faith, and that is how the Holy Spirit strengthens our union with Christ, making it ever more intimate. He thereby stimulates our sanctification and causes us to feel ever more deeply that “we have no might against this great company that cometh against us” (2 Chron. 20:12).

Daily repentance and daily embracing of Christ by faith through a fresh encounter with Him is the secret of the true Christian life. Repentance and faith are not matters that occur just once and then are no longer necessary. You will always be able to recognize the Christian by his repentance toward God and his faith in Jesus Christ.

Rev. Cor Harinck is a retired minister of the Gereformeerde Gemeenten in the
Netherlands and the author of many books. This article is translated from
Dutch by Rev. Bartel Elshout.

Published by The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, used with permission.