Jeff Pollard
Dear Brethren,
Please give a few moments of thought to the following: “This is the age of shams—sham preaching, and sham hearing, and sham professors: we must strive after realities.” Who said that? And of whom was it said? Maybe it sounds to you like a fever-brained fundementalist trying to stir up a few hearty “amens” from his Bible-thumping listeners; we might call it “amen-bait.” Or maybe it sounds like a well-known conservative preacher condemning the latest viral apostasy making its rounds through the vast heresy-zoo of American religion. Perhaps it sounds like the latest cult leader, making Bible-believers look phony and making himself look good to make new followers. Or, you might think, “Who is that hateful person who is saying such hateful things about others? God is love and that kind of talk is not loving!” Well, whatever your response, the preacher was Charles H. Spurgeon.
Spurgeon was not trying to be entertaining; he was not trying to enhance his popularity; he was not being hateful; and he was not looking down on anyone. He, like faithful preachers in every age, was urging his listeners to examine their hearts to see if they were in the faith. He knew the human heart is well able to deceive itself. So, he wanted to be faithful to Christ, to the Word of God, and to immortal souls that would spend eternity in the glories of Christ’s presence or in the flames of God’s hell. His heart’s desire was his hearers’ eternal good, and his message was aimed at pulling down strongholds of external religion, undeceiving the self-deceived, and rescuing the confused. He desired nothing but to encourage the saved to be sure of their hope for heaven and to loosen the false professor’s grip on a testimony that would damn him in the Day of Judgment. He wanted all to know biblical assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ the Lord!
That famous preacher understood what few understand today: Satan gets more mileage with false religion and false professors than whoredom, addictions, and the extensive list of sins catalogued in Scripture. Convince a lost man that he is “saved,” and he can enter the waters of baptism, carry a Bible, go to church, sing hymns, take the Lord’s Supper, and then fall into hell. Is it so? It is. That is why Jesus will say to some miracle workers that call Him “Lord,” “I never knew you: depart from me” (Mat 7:23). And that is why Paul commanded the Corinthian church, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (2 Co 13:5). These are sobering words that must be heeded by everyone that professes the name of Christ Jesus.
We are pleading with you, dear reader: “Examine yourself.” Do you believe you are bound for the Promised Land because you have “made a decision for Christ,” have “let Jesus come into your heart,” have “changed a few immoral practices in your life,” have “become a five point Calvinist,” or have “adopted an orthodox creed”? Examine yourself. That is the word of Christ through the mouth of Paul. Wise Christians must learn heart anatomy and self-inquiry in the school of Christ.
So, for the good of our immortal souls, we offer the latest FGB, Self-examination. Puritan Thomas Watson helpfully introduces the subject to us. Charles Spurgeon then exhorts us to examine ourselves and gives a useful analysis of the word examine. Wilhemus à Brakel urges us to go even further and examine our faith. With great wisdom and insight, J.C. Ryle warns about his (and our) age of spiritual danger. Arthur Pink shows us that the Scriptures call us to this holy exercise, and Octavius Winslow asks us to dig deep, as we answer his question, “Are you alive or dead?” The Lord’s Supper is always a crucial time to examine our hearts, and Jonathan Edwards helps us to understand who should come to the Table and who should not. Thomas Wilcox gives us some penetrating questions by which we may examine our profession of Christ, and Charles Spurgeon asks yet another pointed question: “Does Christ dwell in you?” Finally, Ryle closes with brief but powerful applications of where to begin and how to proceed with self-examination. Hear those men: they are skilled physicians of the soul.
O brethren, we mean no one harm; but for our consciences’ sake, we urge you with all our hearts to hear God’s Word and examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. It is a healthy exercise, even though we are so reluctant to do it. But do it for your soul’s sake. Do it for the glory of Christ. Do it for the good of your family. Do it for the good of your congregation. But, by faith in Christ and by His grace, strive for realities: we live in an age of shams.
In the love of Christ,
Jeff Pollard
Courtesy of Chapel Library