John Wesley’s 22 Questions of Self-Examination — and the Liberating Swap

Christians have always cared about integrity.

One famous example comes from John Wesley, who wrote a list sometimes called “The 22 Questions of Self-Examination.” These questions were meant to help believers examine their hearts and lives honestly before God.

And to be fair, that hunger for integrity is admirable.

A person who genuinely wants their life to align with truth, love, and holiness is not the problem. The problem comes when self-examination quietly turns into something else: a daily diagnostic to see whether we are still acceptable to God.

You know the feeling; it’s like a spiritual version of checking your bank balance every morning, except the balance is “God’s approval,” and you’re pretty sure the account might be overdrawn.

That’s where the gospel makes a crucial difference.

Under the New Covenant, the Christian life does not begin with trying to get right with God through self-inspection. It begins with the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Through His sacrifice, believers are already right with God once for all.

That is good news, because if salvation depended on our daily performance, we would lose it before breakfast.

We are not earning closeness or forgiveness.

We are expressing Jesus who already lives in us.

I offer a liberating swap. We will read Wesley’s questions through the lens of the New Covenant. Instead of diagnosing ourselves to get right with God, we learn to live from the reality that believers already are right with God in Christ.

The Spirit is within believers, and the fruit of the Spirit grows naturally in their lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

For all of the following, if you find yourself doing what your new redeemed heart considers sub-optimal, remember Paul’s advice to believing sinners: you can stop (Ephesians 4:28). Humanity’s strategy for dealing with sin has historically been:

1. Do sin

2. Feel bad about sin

3. Do sin again

4. Be surprised

Christ already did the heavy lifting in forgiving you and freeing you from your old sinful nature (Romans 6:11-12, Colossians 2:11-14). Good behavior adorns the Christian life (Colossians 3:12) because it just makes sense – we’re already wearing Jesus (Galatians 3:27).

Put on the armor of God while you’re at it (Ephesians 6:10-18), since that’s just Jesus again, too.

The Questions Reframed Through Grace

“Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Why do people put on airs? To avoid judgment from other people. The only Person whose opinion actually matters already decided to forgive us. Be yourself—the new, righteous self God made you. Hypocrisy is pretending you’re dirty and distant when God says you’re clean and close. Just walk in honesty, knowing you’re new (2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 10:14). Anyone who has attended church long enough has seen The Church Face. The Church Face is a special facial expression that says: “I am joyful, blessed, victorious, and absolutely not thinking about the argument I had in the car five minutes ago.” God, of course, is not fooled by this face, mainly because He invented faces.  

“Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Why do people exaggerate? To impress other people. This is especially tempting in church circles where someone will casually say, “The Lord really used me this week,” and suddenly everyone feels the urge to report that they personally evangelized a bowling league. If you know you have the love of God, human approval just isn’t as important to you anymore. Let truthfulness flow from your new heart. You don’t need image-building; you’re already accepted. Speak plainly and let love guide your words (Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9–10).

“Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Why do people gossip? To meet some need to feel “better than” or “better off” compared to others. Sometimes gossip even disguises itself as a “prayer request,” which is a fascinating theological innovation. If you share something about someone else, share from love, not pressure. Keep confidences because love protects. You’re free from the need for people-pleasing, so you can be faithful instead (1 Corinthians 13:6–7; Galatians 5:22–23).

“Can I be trusted?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Your new heart wants to live with integrity, and if you choose otherwise, you won’t feel great about it. That uneasy feeling is not God rejecting you. It’s more like the spiritual equivalent of your dashboard warning light blinking. Depend on Christ in you to express faithfulness. You don’t vow harder; you walk in Him and let your “yes” be yes (Matthew 5:37; Galatians 2:20).

“Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Remember you’re not a slave—you’re free and complete in Him. Humans are extremely talented at inventing new forms of slavery, especially the kind involving phones, notifications, and social media arguments with strangers. If something masters you, bring it to Jesus and choose what fits who you are in Him (John 8:36; 1 Corinthians 6:12; Colossians 2:10).

“Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Fix your eyes on Jesus, not on self-scrutiny. Self-analysis can become a full-time job, and most of us are bad bosses. Paul resigned from that position (1 Corinthians 4:3), and we can quit, too. You’re justified already, so you can relax and care about others (1 Corinthians 4:3; Hebrews 12:2; Romans 5:1).

“Did the Bible live in me today?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Remember the early Church, when saints were being dragged from their homes and killed? Most of the believers back then were illiterate. In addition to the simple truth of Jesus Christ, a church may have had a letter from Paul and whatever the speakers remembered from the Old Testament (from when they used to meet at their local synagogue) at best. Meanwhile many of us own five Bibles, three Bible apps, and a study guide that weighs as much as a cinder block. Imagine explaining the modern Christian bookshelf to the apostle Paul:

Me: “Paul, this shelf is commentaries about your letters.”

Paul: “You… need books… to explain my books?”

It is amazing that we can study the Bible now, and I encourage you to do so, but don’t forget that Christ lives in you, and Scripture renews your mind to that reality. There is no need for scorecards—just let Him remind you who you are (Colossians 3:16; Romans 12:2).

“Do I give the Bible time to speak to me everyday?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Enjoy Scripture as nourishment, not a notch on a belt. Missed a day? You’re still one with Him. Don’t feel bad. However, once you see it as a letter God, your Dad, wrote to you about how much He loves you, you will get “hungry” for it if it’s been awhile since you’ve read (2 Timothy 3:16–17; John 6:63). Some Christians treat Bible reading like an Olympic event. You’ll hear sentences like: “This year I’m doing the Chronological Hyper-Turbo Reading Plan with Cross-References.” Meanwhile, another believer quietly reads three verses and spends the day loving people, which is suspiciously close to the entire point. 

“Am I enjoying prayer?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Talk to Dad freely. Prayer is conversation in union, not a duty. Share everything because you’re totally accepted. If it matters to you, it matters to Him. As you learn what matters to Him, it will matter more to you. This is one of the few relationships where you can talk literally all the time and the other Person never says, “Hey, could we circle back on this tomorrow?” (Philippians 4:6–7; Romans 8:15–16) Christians sometimes develop a special Prayer Voice, which is unlike anything a human has ever used in normal conversation.

Example:

Normal voice: “Hey, how’s it going?”

Prayer voice: “Faaaaaather Gooooooood we just come before You this day…”

If you suddenly spoke to your spouse in Prayer Voice, they would call medical professionals. You don’t need to use King James English or say the word “just” thirty ‘leven times; God knows what you were going to say before you even thought of thinking about it.

“When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Have you been fishing for people lately? Relax. Evangelism is a specific spiritual gift, we all have a part, and that part may just be to support the evangelists (Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16). Be available, but don’t feel pressured. Love prompts words in season; if you’re not a salesperson, then just be you (1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:5–6).

“Do I pray about the money I spend?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Walk with Jesus in everyday choices. You’re free and generous from the heart; wisdom grows as you depend on Him (2 Corinthians 9:7–8; James 1:5).

“Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Granted, it is easier to be your “best self” if you are well-rested and healthy. Subtracting any unreasonable expectations and any unmet needs (that you have control over and/or that you should be in conversation with God about providing) will improve your interpersonal interactions. Again, though, you are not under pressure to perform – you are not under the Law anymore (Romans 10:4). Let His peace order your rhythms. Rest is holy; productivity doesn’t measure your worth (Matthew 11:28–30; Psalm 4:8).

“Do I disobey God in anything?”

Trusting Christ looks like: God has the market cornered with regard to personal fulfillment. Your new heart, your new human spirit, and the Holy Spirit living within you all agree that you now want what God wants and do not want what God does not want. You will find sin to be unfulfilling, which is why it will begin to seem so strange that humans in general keep returning to it like someone repeatedly checking a vending machine that ate their dollar. But, remember that there’s no condemnation for the Christian. If something’s off, Jesus is your guide, not your accuser. Agree with Him and walk forward (Romans 8:1; Galatians 5:17-18; Titus 2:11–12).

“Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?”

Trusting Christ looks like: The human conscience can be trained by anything. I know believers whose internal sirens go off in the presence of dance floors, playing cards, movie theaters, beverages that look suspiciously cheerful, etc. Meanwhile, the Bible spends entire books repeatedly warning about things like mistreating widows, orphans, and foreigners, which humans often manage to do while sitting very quietly and not dancing at all. Many things humans do are opportunities to see whether your concerns are addressed in the Bible or are from merely human traditions (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Is it really from the Bible, or just said a lot in the Bible Belt? Listen to Jesus and choose what builds up. You’re free, so you can say no (Romans 14:22–23; Galatians 5:13). Somewhere in heaven an angel is perhaps flipping through the Bible saying, “Guys… I still can’t find the verse about Uno being a gateway to moral collapse.”

“Am I defeated in any part of my life?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Failure isn’t your identity. Stand in His victory and keep learning. He not only works within you toward doing what He wants, but He also works within you so that you want to do what He wants (Romans 8:37; Philippians 2:13).

Christians sometimes feel defeated because they expected spiritual growth to look like a straight upward line.

Instead it often looks more like a toddler learning to walk, which involves:

 • standing up 

• falling down 

• standing up again 

• walking into a table 

• crying 

• trying again

And somehow, through this process, the toddler eventually learns to walk.

God appears to be remarkably patient with this system. God does not look down and say, “Wow. I did not see that coming.”

“Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Count yourself dead to sin and alive to God. When attitudes flare, remember they’re not the real you. Choose the Spirit’s way (Romans 6:11; Galatians 5:22–23). You will mess up (James 3:2) If you don’t have any people who keep it real around you, think of Sister Velma pointing her mop at the cross on the wall of the fellowship hall and saying, “That’s why that thing is there.”

“How do I spend my spare time?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Christ is already your life (Colossians 3:4) while you’re out there living. The Christian life is freedom with wisdom. Enjoy what fits your new heart and helps you love people (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17).

“Am I proud?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Boast in Jesus, not in fleshly accomplishment. God made humanity in His image. He’s neither ugly nor a bad artist, and only He can rightfully judge His handiwork. Humility is trusting His life through you, not belittling yourself (Jeremiah 9:23–24; Galatians 6:14).

“Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?”

Trusting Christ looks like: See every person as someone Jesus died for and loves. Righteousness is a gift, so there’s zero superiority (Luke 18:9–14; Ephesians 2:8–9).

“Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward, or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?”

Trusting Christ looks like: God made humanity in His image, but the sum of every (merely human) person who ever lived or will live is not enough to express the infinite. Jesus Christ is our visible experience of the divine, but whoever you thought of when you read this question from Wesley has something worthwhile about them (1 John 4:20). Depending on the situation, you may have to release them to God and choose forgiveness from your forgiven heart. Set healthy boundaries if needed, but refuse bitterness (Ephesians 4:31–32; Colossians 3:13). Also, be sure the Accuser isn’t reframing the real issue. Jesus Christ frequently had to go off by himself to pray; you may not hate people at the moment, you may just need to recharge.

“Do I grumble or complain constantly?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Bring cares to Him and choose gratitude, because you’re secure and supplied with regard to what matters eternally. This does not mean Christians never complain. It just means we eventually remember who we’re talking to (Philippians 2:14–15; 1 Peter 5:7).

“Is Christ real to me?”

Trusting Christ looks like: Remember the miracle—He lives in you. Your union is a reality, even when feelings are flat. Keep setting your mind on Him. Your feelings can be all over the place, but faith is a matter of knowing rather than feeling (Colossians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 6:17).

The Big Picture

The New Covenant flips the direction of the Christian life. Instead of self-examination trying to reach God, we start from union with Christ. You’re forgiven once and for all; you have been made perfect forever by Christ’s one offering. No exam can add to that (Hebrews 10:10,14; Colossians 2:13–14). You’re not under the Law for Christian living; you’re led by the Spirit, who writes love on your heart (Galatians 5:18; 1 John 3:23). Growth comes by renewing the mind to who you already are in Christ, not by doubting your standing or chasing a spiritual report card (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17). So by all means, ask the questions, but ask them from the right starting place. The issue is not, “Am I good enough for God today?” Remember, “Since Christ already lives in me, what does it look like to trust Him here?”

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