Read John 16:1–3

I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.
For you will be expelled from the synagogues,
and the time is coming when those who kill you
will think they are doing a holy service for God.
This is because they have never known the Father or me.
(John 16:1–3)

Self-examination can be both helpful and healthy as long as we are honest in our evaluation and accurate in our conclusions. In fact, it’s essential. Any church that fails to look within may start to drift without knowing it. But we cannot stop with self-examination.

If we hope to become, as Jesus commanded, “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16 NASB), we also need to look around to understand the times in which we live and the culture to which we minister. Not only will this help us become more effective in ministry, but it will also bring light to darkened areas of our minds and provide a pathway through the thick jungle of a culture that’s lost its way.

The Holy Scriptures issue clear and timeless warnings so applicable to today that you’d swear the ink was still wet on the page. The New Testament includes several passionate warnings to those who are followers of Christ, beginning with the words of the Lord Jesus Himself:

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the words that I said to you, “A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. (John 15:18–21 NASB)

Peter offers a warning to his readers from the seasoned voice of experience. He discovered the truth of his words a number of times—both through his own failures and those of others (see Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 22:31; Acts 5:3). His warning is as timeless as it is true:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8–9 NASB)

Taken from The Church Awakening by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Faith Words, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.