Favorite excerpts:
“Hyper-introspection is just a spiritualized way of being self-centered.
The key for a gospel-driven leader is this: remember to forget yourself.
We can avoid this type of introspection by avoiding the pitfalls of some of the Puritans. Though the Reformers sought to emphasize the assurance we can have because of God’s grace in election and salvation, their descendants sometimes undercut the beauty of assurance by stressing the fruit of sanctification more than the fact of justification (emphasis added). Self-examination was a “descending into our own hearts” to root out every possible sinful tendency and desire.
Beware the paralysis that comes from this type of introspection. If our goal is to discover, analyze, and root out every aspect of sinfulness in our hearts, then we will never come to the end of the task.
Satan loves to take the tender conscience and stir up doubt of salvation, doubt of sanctification, and doubt of progression in holiness. Then, he turns the gaze of the introspective person inward, where the dark recesses of our hearts continue to lead to darker recesses still. Instead of living in the shining light of gospel truth, the gospel that dispels all this darkness and grants us a new heart, we travel deeper and deeper into the cavernous rooms of our remaining sin.”
Read more: http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2012/11/20/beware-the-puritan-paralysis.
Christ-centered ANR 