Self-Examination

Spurgeon takes the apostle Paul's challenge to the fault-finding Corinthians — "Examine yourselves" — and applies it to every person present, explaining that the command involves more than a casual glance at oneself but a thorough, honest, cross-examining investigation of whether Christ truly lives within, since many mistake outward religion and correct doctrine for saving faith. He presses several urgent reasons to do this now: the stakes are eternal and irreversible, many people have been fatally deceived about their own condition, God himself will one day conduct the final examination, and ironically, self-examination is the fastest cure for the doubts and fears that trouble so many believers. He closes with practical tests to apply immediately — checking whether your public life, private prayer habits, genuine grief over sin, and actual trust in Christ point to a living faith — and warns plainly that the presence of Christ in the heart is the only real mark of salvation, with everything else being, in the apostle's own word, "reprobate."Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on October 10, 1858.