Looking Inward and Looking to Christ

Looking Inward and Looking to Christ

The Second Wednesday in Lent – 2/25/2026

Psalm 119:1-16, Matthew 5:17-20

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this evening is our first reading from the 119^th Psalm, with special emphasis on verses fifteen and sixteen which read as follows:

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is something dangerous about looking inward. We live in a time fascinated by constant introspection. We are told to examine our feelings, to search our hearts, to discover our authentic selves. We are told that the truth is within us, and that salvation, if we may use that word, is found by understanding ourselves more deeply. In other words, the general advice is that to become righteous, happy, and whole, we must look inward to find our truest self and then we must orient everything around that central supposed truth.

But the Christian faith teaches something very different. It teaches that salvation does not come from within. Faith does not come from within. Truth does not come from within. Certainly our Lord Jesus Christ does not come from within. Salvation comes from outside of you. Faith comes from outside of you by the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Truth comes from outside of you. Christ comes to you from outside, through His Word and Sacraments.

As St. Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”[2] Faith does not come from introspection. It is received from proclamation of the Word of God. So we must ask: is there such a thing as Christian introspection? And if there is, what use is it? The answer is yes, but it has a very specific and limited purpose. Christian introspection is not looking inward to find goodness. It is not looking inward to find truth. It is not looking inward to find God. If you look inward for those things, you will either fall into pride or despair. Pride originates when you discover things that seem righteous in yourself. Despair comes when no such things are found within.

Instead, Christian introspection serves a catechetical purpose. It teaches you two things: your sin, and your need for a Savior.  First, Christian introspection means discovering your sins in truth, through the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are not merely rules for how we ought to behave in society. They are a mirror. They reveal what is truly inside of you. They show not merely your outward actions, but the condition of your heart.

You shall have no other gods the Bible says. Yet how often do you fear, love, or trust something more than God such as your health, your reputation, your security, your own judgment?

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Yet how often have you failed to

call upon Him in prayer, treated His Word as something optional, or used His holy Name as a cuss word? Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet.

These commandments do not merely regulate behavior. They expose the truth: that sin is not merely something you do. It is something you are. We sin because we are sinners, we are not sinners because we sin. Just like a pear tree makes pears and an apple tree makes apples, so sinners produce sin. We are conceived and born sinners, so we make sin. The theologians call this state of sin original sin. And it is something that we are unable to do something to remedy. Can a leopard change his spots? So the old saying goes. We might also say, “can a sinner change from his sins?” This is the first purpose of Christian introspection: not to flatter you, but to humble you. Not to justify you, but to accuse you. Not to heal you, but to reveal the wound. The problem of sin runs deep down to the very core of our entire being. Christian introspection is taking the Ten Commandments and comparing them to what we have done, thought, and left undone. Further, it is taking our God-given vocations, that is, those things that God has given us to do such as being a child, mother, father, neighbor, student, teacher, and so on and asking whether we have done what God would have us do in them. Again, this is measured by the Ten Commandments. And when we are honest about this, we will find much that causes us anguish and frustration and it can be easy to see why there is a temptation to despair for one who honestly assesses himself before God’s holy Law.

But this is not the end. Second, Christian introspection directs you to the solution: Jesus Christ. Once the Law has revealed your sin, you must not remain looking inward. If you stay there, you will either try to justify yourself, which is self-righteousness and arrogance, or you will despair, believing that remedy is impossible. Instead, the discovery of sin should drive you outward, to Christ. Christ is everything you are not. Where you have failed, He has obeyed. Where you have loved yourself, He has loved His Father and His neighbors perfectly. Where you deserve judgment, He stood in your place under the judgment of God. Your sin was laid upon Him. Your guilt was nailed to His cross. Your death became His death, so that His life would become your life. He did not merely teach righteousness. He became your righteousness. And this righteousness is not found by introspection. It is given through the Gospel. It is spoken into your ears. It is poured onto you in Baptism. It is placed into your mouth in His Supper. It is declared to you in absolution. Your salvation is always outside of you, in Christ, the One who stands having done all things needed for you and your salvation. His benefits and promises are ensured by Him alone, leaving you free from the worry and anxiety of wondering whether you are enough or have done enough. Such questions no longer determine your standing before God, because Christ has already determined it.

Third, having received Christ, Christian introspection now becomes an examination of Christian obedience and life. You do not examine yourself in order to save yourself. You examine yourself in order to recognize the ongoing conflict between the old sinful nature and the new man created by Christ. You learn to recognize your sins not to excuse them, but to resist them. You learn to confess them, to bring them into the light, and to receive forgiveness again and again. This is the Christian life: not perfection, but repentance. Not sinlessness, but forgiveness.

Fourth, this repentance directs you outward again, this time toward your neighbor. The Ten Commandments are not only a mirror. They are also a guide and rule for our lives. Having received forgiveness, you now learn to live as God would have you toward others. You honor authority. You protect life. You honor marriage. You respect your neighbor’s property and reputation. You learn to be content with what God has given. Not in order to earn salvation, but because salvation has been given to you. Sinners may make sin, but the new and righteous self born in you by water and the Word of God in Baptism produces good works as God has prepared for him.  Faith always moves outward: first to Christ, then to the neighbor.

And this is not something that happens once. This pattern repeats throughout your entire life. You discover your sin. You receive Christ’s forgiveness. You struggle against sin. You serve your neighbor. And then you discover sin again. This repetition might feel like failure, but it is not. It is the Christian life this side of the Resurrection. As long as you live in this body, repentance and faith will continue. The Christian life is not a straight line upward. It is a continual return to Baptism, a continual dying and rising. Even more, the Christian life is defined not by our ascent to God, but by His descent to us—His coming down to us in His Word of grace.

A word of caution must be given about the Christian life: there are two ditches on either side of this road, and both are deadly. The first ditch is self-righteousness and legalism. This happens when a person looks inward and believes that he is succeeding. He compares himself to others and concludes that he is righteous. He begins to trust in his own improvement, his own discipline, his own obedience. But this is an illusion. The Law was never given to justify you. It was given to expose your need for Christ. When introspection leads you to trust yourself, it has become poison.

The second ditch is apathy and antinomianism. This happens when a person refuses introspection altogether. He does not want to examine himself. He does not want to see his sin. He assumes that forgiveness makes repentance unnecessary. But this too is deadly. For the one who refuses to see his sin will eventually cease to see his need for Christ.

The Christian does not avoid introspection but neither does he trust it for his salvation. He uses it rightly. God has given you tools for this purpose. First, the Word of God. The Word reveals your sin, and the Word reveals your Savior. It kills and makes alive. Second, the Sacraments. In Baptism, you have been united with Christ’s death and resurrection. In the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. These are not mere symbols. They are realities. They deliver Christ Himself to you. Third, Confession and Absolution. Here your sins are not merely acknowledged. They are forgiven. Christ speaks through His Church and through the man He has called to be your pastor and declares you clean. And fourth, Christian discipline: prayer, self-denial, hearing the Word, and gathering with the Church. These do not earn forgiveness, but they keep you connected to its source and free from the distraction of idols and cares of this world.

All of these tools have one goal. Not that you would become impressed with yourself.

Not that you would become fixated on your sin. But that Christ and His saving Word would be held clearly before you. For this is the goal of the Christian life: not self-knowledge for its own sake, but Christ. To know your sin, so that you may know His mercy. To know your weakness, so that you may know His strength. To know yourself rightly, so that you may know Him truly. And knowing Him, you have everything. Your righteousness is not within you. Your righteousness is Christ Himself. And He is yours, through faith, forever.

In the Holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] Psalm 119:15-16 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Holy Scriptures are from the ESV.

[2] Romans 10:17