Examination of Conscience

Based on the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:3-17, ESV

This work is explained in one of my posts.

It is also available as a pdf document.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

1. You shall have no other gods before me

Have I denied the existence of God?
Do I make faith in God a priority in my life and that of my family, or do I measure everything by what pleases me?
Have I let someone or something influence my choices more than God?
Do I read Scripture and apply in my life what God has revealed? Do I take God seriously?
Do I make prayer a priority, or is it an afterthought? Do I pray every day and dedicate all things to God?
Do I reject evil and the lure of sin? Have I been honest with God about any disobedience or rejection of his ways? Have I presumed on God’s mercy?
Do I reject despair and do I hope in the good that comes from God? Do I see my worry and fretting as sin against trusting God? Have I despaired about my salvation or the forgiveness of my sins?
Am I self-centered and selfish? Do I complain about the troubles, people, work and suffering God lays on me?
Have I been involved with superstitious practices or the occult?
Am I sometimes lukewarm in my faith?

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image

…or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

What other God’s am I worshipping, what idols am I making? What dominates my thoughts and ambitions?
- Comfort and ease?
- Money and wealth?
- Power, influence or prestige?
- Possessions – my home, car or other belongings?
- My reputation and public persona?
- Pleasure and sensual desires?
- Alcohol, drugs or other chemical dependency?
Have I elevated my family or any other good gift from God above God himself? Have I loved someone or something more than God?
Do I love the things God gives me more than I love Him? Do I cling to what God takes away?

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain

…for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Do I use God’s name cheaply for oaths and promises that are frivolous or false?
Do I curse or swear using the Lord’s name?
Do I fail to use God’s name purposefully: do I pray with fervor in times of trouble? Am I bored and indifferent in prayer?
Am I dissatisfied with his Word?
Am I insipid in my thanksgiving and praise? Is my heart and life in the praise of God in worship? Am I mouthing things while my heart is far away?
Have I done wrong in the name of the Lord? Has my conduct,character, manner of speaking, and self-control glorified God or dishonoured his name?
Have I belittled others in speech? Have I used vulgar, suggestive or obscene speech?
Have I made an oath, affirmation or promise in the Lord’s name and broken it?
Have I blasphemed God, ascribing to him evil and falsehood?

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

…Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy

Do I set aside time dedicated to God, to rest and exercise trust in Him as I set aside work, toil and busy-ness? Have I set apart a day in the week, and time each day?
Have I hindered others from having a day of rest?
Do I love my fellow Christians by being present with them in corporate worship to sustain them? Am I quick to make excuses for neglecting worship because of what someone else has said or done, or to do other things I like more? Have I failed to participate fully at worship?
Do I spend time complaining about the worship, the pastor or other people? Do I learn the Word gladly so that I may teach others?
Have I failed to include my children in the church? Have I discipled them faithfully?
Have I failed to invite others to be a part of the church service and church community?

5. Honour your father and your mother

…that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Have I shown respect to my parents? Am I at peace with my parents?
Have I shown respect to my spouse, the parent of my children?
Do I pray for, and with, my family? Have I set a godly example to my family?
Do I care, as I am able, for aged relatives?
Do I seek to spend quality time with members of my family?
Have I trusted God to bless my submission to the authority of parents and those over me, or have I been angry, and rebellious out of fear that I would miss out on something?
Have I been insolent, sullen and disrespectful to my parents, teachers, employers or other authorities over me? Has my behaviour been different when they are present than when they are absent?
Have I helped those who carry responsibilities in governing? Do I pray for parents, leaders of the nations, schools and church? Have I helped make it easier for those who carry responsibilities?
Do I grumble, murmur and undermine those in leadership?

6. You shall not murder

Have I injured anyone with violent actions?
Have I spoken debasing and insulting words? Have I used foul or dirty words to describe another person, have I failed to rein in thoughts and words of anger, contempt, and hatred?
Have I withheld compassion, comfort and help from someone in need? Has my heart become hardened to the poor? The homeless? The mentally ill?
Do I respect each person as a bearer of the image of God?
Do I abuse my own body with neglect of health, care, excess use of food, drink, tobacco, or drugs? Have I seriously considered or attempted suicide?
Have I purposely provoked another to anger, frustration or violence?
Am I vengeful? Do I hold a grudge?
Am I filled with hate for anyone or for any group of people who may be different than me?
Have been unable to control my temper?
Have I delighted to see someone else get hurt or suffer?

7. You shall not commit adultery

Do I live a chaste life? Have I engaged in sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage?
Have I been faithful to my spouse physically and emotionally?
Do I allow myself to be tempted by others or by viewing inappropriate material? Have I indulged my eyes with longing for my sexual satisfaction from a man or woman who is not my spouse? Have I used pornography?
Have I brought fear, abuse or manipulation to the relationship with my spouse?
Do I speak poorly about my spouse to others? Have I dishonoured marriage by ridicule, unjustifiable divorce, or neglecting to encourage others to be faithful to their spouses in the fear of God?
Have I failed to trust God to bless us in our marriage, even in times of trouble? Have I neglected to pray for my spouse, to worship together, and to live in the fear and love of God?
Have I been a temptation to others? Have I been immodest or unchaste in my thoughts, words and actions?

8. You shall not steal

Have I stolen from anyone, or stood silently by while others took what was not theirs?
Have I defrauded anyone, or claimed as my own what which is not mine?
Have I held tightly to money, and so stolen from the Lord in failing to invest in the church and the things of the Kingdom?
Have I failed to be generous?
Have I provided for my family?
Do I put in a good day’s work for my pay?
Have I been honest in paying my taxes and financial dealings?
Have I deliberately damaged any public or private property?
Am I wasteful?

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour

Do I lie? Gossip? Spread rumours?
Do I pass judgement quickly on others?
Have I inappropriately passed on information which can destroy someone’s reputation?
Do I flatter people to gain an advantage?
Do I speak truthfully?
Do I respect confidences and keep secrets appropriately?
Am I sincere in my dealings with others?
Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others? Have I defined people by their weaknesses, faults and shames?
Have I failed to go to others to make peace if I wronged them or they me, or to correct them if I knew of their wrong?
Have I failed to defend someone when I have heard falsehoods about them?

10. You shall not covet.

… your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Have I longed for the honor, wealth, happy life, or what seemed the ease of the lives of others? Has my life been full of craving for these things? Does my lack of possessions or money make me unhappy?
Have I lived in grudging discontent with whatever God has given me, restless about what I do not have and neglectful of thankful generosity with what I do have?
Have I tried to win the affections and loyalties of someone’s spouse or children or friends away from the them to me?
Do I treat other people like objects or property? Do I fail to see each person as an individual with needs? Do I use other people to get what I want?
Do I trust that God will care for all of my material and spiritual needs?
Have I pursued goals that are not in accord with God’s will for my life?