The Doctrine and Duty of Self-Examination

It's been kind of a rough couple of weeks -- so self-examination is on my mind in a really pressing way, lately. I came across this on the world wide internet -- it clarifies a lot of the stuff I've been trying to make internally consistent, vis a vis mid-19th century Dissent and under what circumstances the Evangelical "relation" (a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ) becomes a really meaningful thing.

This doesn't really cover it, but it gets at some of the main questions:

Self-examination is not calculated to quiet the conscience, to banish slavish fear, or to

remove doubts and apprehensions of our being unbelievers. When the mind is apprehensive of

divine displeasure and its consequences, we have for our relief, the testimony of God, that the

blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. We are invited to draw near to the throne of grace for

mercy, and are assured that Christ will in no wise cast out the most vile who come to Him. If this

does not relieve us, God has provided no other ground of comfort and we ought to beware of

seeking such, either for ourselves or others. If this does not give us peace, it must be because we

believe not the record of God, because we are not willing to be indebted to free and sovereign

mercy alone. And in such a state of mind we need to be excited to fear and jealousy of ourselves,

and to be called to repentance, not to be quieted in our unbelief and rebellion

remove doubts and apprehensions about our being unbelievers. When the mind is apprehensive of divine displeasure and its consequences, we have for our relief, the testimony of God, that Christ's blood cleanseth of all sin. We are invited to draw near to the throne of grace for mercy, and are assured that Christ will in no wise cast out the most vile among us.

If this does not relieve us, God has provided no other ground of comfort and we should beware of seeking such. If this does not give us peace, it is because we do not believe the record of God, because we are not willing to be indebted to free and sovereign mercy alone. And in such a state of mind we need to be excited to fear and jealousy and be called to repentance, not quieted in our unbelief and rebellion.

The contrast, then, would be a state of predestination: the Calvinist death march presumption of Hell, where good intentions or acts are irrelevant in light of God's sovereign power. Here, it is sovereign mercy that exerts the force on personal will. What it does (I think) is remove the primary condition of doubt -- you are already guaranteed forgiveness, and so to ask for it -- or to attempt to earn it -- is an option that's already off the table.

In this case, notably, the power dynamic is still alive and well. Note the conditions on self-examination - that we are indebted, the submission to a higher will. In this case, what reinforces it is the idea of mercy -- not that you have been chosen, but that you are always already forgiven -- and that this commands a certain respect.

is not calculated to quiet the conscience, t