We see Christ’s good will towards all men. He is not willing that any should perish, therefore he gives the most faithful warnings and helps in advance to escape the danger. There are two measure we must take for our protection – we must both watch and pray. We watch – we evaluate our hearts, read them, look for weaknesses in them, notice tendencies to go after what is evil and immediately take action. No one knows your heart like you do. You alone have access to it. But don’t evaluate it with dishonesty. So many cheat themselves, by not being willing to see themselves as they really are. There are so many way in which we can do this, but conscience give us fair warning. A man stands in front of a mirror to see what he really is. He cleans the mirror so he gets an accurate reflection. Our mirror is the word of God. That is what we must look into to see an accurate reflection of our souls. We should want to know what we really are; we should want to know how God sees us. What is the point of fooling ourselves that we are better than we are. When we come to face our Judge, he will not be taken in. He will expose the real person. The word of God gives us the ability to see that real person before we get to that final judgment. We have the opportunity to do something about it before it is too late. Not self-reform – that is impossible. But we need to come to the fountain of forgiveness in Christ; we need to be washed in his shed blood. That alone can take away sin. We must watch particularly for any inner inclination to return to what we were before. Watch your thoughts, and see if they often turn in a particular direction, and resist that tendency for all you are worth.
But pray also, because you know that you do not have the strength without the help of God to resist sin. Pray for the mortification of your lusts. Pray for vigilance to see danger when it is approaching. Pray that the devil will not persuade you to minimise the danger of sin. Pray that you will keep up the struggle to the end, and not grow weary. Pray for a clearer view of Christ and of the goal to which you are heading. Pray that you recognise your unworthiness to receive anything from the Lord, and that you do not deserve to stand before him. Pray for more grace and that God would uphold us with a willing spirit. But pray that you will stand before him by grace, as one who is justified and sanctified, and made fit for heaven by his power. Those who stand before him will be bold to come to him. They will not shrink from his eye upon them.