" A New Look At Self Examination" - Chapter 15a

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Where does confession of sin and examination of your life concerning sin fit into the life of a Christian following this path? How does he deal with these important matters? Let us take this chapter to open up a clearer, higher view of self-examination and of confession of sin.

It is commonly taught that self-examination is something that should always precede confession of sin. Though this may be correct, the manner of the self-examination is dictated by the level of your Christian experience.

I would recommend for a Christian whose spiritual state has actually advanced to the stage which was described in the preceding chapters that when you come to the Lord concerning sin and confession, you do this: Lay your entire soul open before God. You can be certain that the Lord will not will not fail to enlighten you concerning your sin. Your Lord will shine as a light in you; through His shining, He will allow you to see the nature of all your faults.

You might say that when this brilliant light, which is Christ Himself, shine on you and in you, you are under examination. An examination is being given to you by God when this happens. Since it is your Lord who is doing this, and no one else, you should simply remain peaceful and calm before Him as He carries out this exposing.

Depend upon your Lord, not on yourself, to expose your sin and to show you the extent of your sin.

Please understand this fact: It is not your diligence, it is not your examination of yourself that will enlighten you concerning your sin. In stead it is God who does all the revealing.

You see, if you try to be the one who does the examining, there is a very good chance that you will deceive yourself. You will never really allow yourself to see your true state. That is the simple fact about the nature of your own self-love. “We call the evil good, and the good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Ah not so when you come to your Lord. He can be so thorough, so exacting, and so demanding! There before Him you are in full exposure before the Sun of Righteousness. His divine beams make even your smallest faults visible. You must abandon yourself into the hands of God, both in self-examination and in the confession of your sins.

A Christian does not begin his spiritual experience with the Lord on this level which I am describing. On the other hand, he can, through this “prayer of simplicity”, eventually arrive at this level.

Once you have established such a relationship with your Lord, you will soon discover that no fault in you escapes the reproof of God. For instance, as soon as you commit a sin, you are immediately rebuked by an inward sense. It will be a kind of deep inward burning…a tender confusion. You see, all things are exposed under the piercing glance of your Lord. He will not allow any sin to be hidden or concealed.

As for you, when the Lord has firmly established this relationship, you will have the sense that He has so completely found you out that each time His light focuses on the sin in your life, you have only one course. All you can do is turn very simply to Him and there bear all the pain and correction He inflicts.

Continue in this experience with your Lord. After a period of time of experiencing Him this way, the Lord will become more and more the constant examiner of your soul. It will not be you examining yourself, nor will it be seasonal. It will be the Lord, constantly.

If you remain faithful in giving yourself up to the Lord this way, you will come to realize that the divine light of your Lord can really reveal your heart far more effectively that all your efforts could.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.