Jonathan Edwards – Resolution 37

One thing that has struck me as I’ve read through Edwards’ resolutions is the emphasis he places on self-examination.  If you’ve been able to get your hands on a list of his resolutions, you’ve likely noticed the same thing.  Many of his resolutions imply that such an examination needs to take place, while others state it explicitly.  Consider resolution 37:

“Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and wherein I have denied myself; also at the end of every week, month, and year.”

Edwards was absolutely determined to examine his life every single night.  Every night he’d check on what things he neglected to give proper attention to.  He analyzed his actions for any sinful conduct.  He looked for evidence of self-denial. 

It’s interesting to note the correlation between a life that was, by all accounts, lived as much as humanly possible for the glory of God, and the practice of self-examination.  I wonder what impact we would see on our lives if we employed a similar strategy in regards to our spiritual health. 

I see a few elements of Edwards’ self-examination that would likely serve us well to implement.  The first of these elements is the consistency with which Edwards examined himself.  We ought to purpose, as Edwards did, to examine our spiritual health regularly and consistently.  This should be at least daily, and preferably several times per day.  It’s amazing how quickly our spiritual lives can get away from us, isn’t it?  So we must consistently and methodically search our hearts and minds, assuring that they are in alignment with what Scripture says is to be true of us.

Another element is the three areas Edwards examined.  He looked at where he had been “negligent,” what sins he had committed, and where he had denied himself.  We ought to look at what we’re neglecting within the context of our spiritual lives.  These things may not necessarily be sin, per se, but could be things that would be beneficial for us.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t be on the lookout for those overt acts of rebellion against God; on the contrary, we should wholeheartedly seek to identify and repent of those sins, as Edwards resolved to do. 

But even further still—we must examine our lives to see if there is evidence of self-denial.  According to Mark 8, among other passages, self-denial is an essential if one is to be a Christian.  This is a non-negotiable.  If one wants to follow Christ, self-denial is prerequisite.  Our pastor, Dr. Steve Lawson, gave a wonderful explanation of this last Sunday morning.  He explained that we must in a very real sense disavow ourselves.  We must disassociate with our very nature.  We must act contrary to how we’d like to act in almost every situation.  We must deny ourselves, our ambitions, our desires, our lusts, our pride, our selfish goals, and so on.  We must die to ourselves.  The power of God’s grace and the Spirit in a believer’s life is the key to all of this.  Were it not for His Spirit and grace, this self-denial would be impossible, and we would remain quite literally dead in our sin, per Romans 3, Ephesians 2, et al. 

So we must resolve to examine ourselves consistently, confess and repent of our sin regularly, and place an emphasis on the denial of self that we might live to glorify Him and make His name great.

~ by Matt on April 29, 2008.