Clean and Unclean - 3

Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. (Romans 14:22)

Guilt and condemnation is, at the brain level, a tension created by conflict between opposing beliefs held in the left and right brain – between intellectual beliefs and strongly held experiential or emotional beliefs. In the situation Paul is describing here, a person may try to accept intellectually the belief that there is nothing spiritually unclean about something he is encouraged to eat, or some activity. But if that belief is forced on him by others judging him, then at the emotional and heart level this belief has not taken hold and this other part of their brain does not really believe this truth. Then whenever that person might engage in those activities or partake of those things, conflict will take place within their own being and tension will ensue and grow as a feeling of guilt inside of their mind.

Just as this takes place within the mind of a person, so too in the body of Christ whenever one person views another with contempt, a feeling of guilt and condemnation is created which is very debilitating and discouraging. The heavy weight of feeling condemned is a burden we were not designed to carry around, it is the very opposite of the joyful lifestyle that Jesus desires for us in which our soul can thrive and grow and bond together with others and with Him.

It is not enough just to try to intellectually refrain from condemning one's self about something that they feel is wrong or unclean. This is why Paul keeps talking about a much deeper level of belief in this passage. This deeper level is called a conviction, being convinced, having a belief at the level of conscience that allows one the freedom to do things that formerly were unthinkable without having twinges of fear and guilt.

This is not the same thing as hardening the heart against true convictions of the Spirit of God so that we can do wrong things without feeling guilty. That is the counterfeit of this kind of conviction. Also, this freedom from condemnation is not the same thing as convincing ourselves that our opinion is right or better than others and thus allowing pride to slowly extinguish the voice of God in our souls. That may appear very similar to what Paul is talking about here, and this passage may even be used to justify such activity. But that is not the point that Paul wants to make here.

What is needed, both in our own experience and in our relationships with others within the body of believers, is a humility of spirit but also a congruency of belief. This is what is sometimes called an integrated personality where our beliefs also correspond with our gut-level feelings and impulses. Apparently the importance of this congruency is very high in God's eyes, and a lack of consistency in our own heart and thinking is a very serious liability that needs to be addressed even more so than our lack of accurate information.

What Paul might be saying here is that instead of externals or misinformation being the cause of our becoming spiritually unclean, it is our relationships and the cherished attitudes of our spirit that is most likely to have that effect in our lives. The debilitating effect of “uncleanness” on our spirit can not only come from the guilt involved in eating certain things that we may believe can produce condemnation but also can come from receiving contempt and judgment from others who should be there to encourage and lift us up. Thus, fellow Christians can potentially become the source of uncleanness of the spirit for us in place of forbidden activities that were part of the Old Covenant restrictions.

Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil. (Romans 14:15-16)

Is this talking about physical destruction here? I don't believe so, at least not in the immediate sense. So it must be talking about the tearing down of the spirit. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. (Romans 14:20) In verse 17 Paul explicitly clarifies what he is referring to here. The kingdom of God is not about externals as we continue to often suppose, but is about having our spirit properly aligned and synchronized and connected with the life of God Himself. This will produce real righteousness, unimaginable peace and true joy in the Holy Spirit.

What is being described here is a transition of maturity from childhood to adulthood in the spiritual life of God's people on earth. God is trying to take us past the simplistic rules needed for the protection of little children to more meaningful levels of relationship with Him through mature ways of living and thinking. That does not mean that what we were taught as children no longer applies – that is the logic of fools. It means that we shift our priorities and focus on the things that God now wants us to consider as of more importance appropriate for our more advanced level of maturity. Instead of throwing away the past instructions God gave, we should be building on their foundational principles and coming to understand them better in the increased light of advanced truth.

Present truth never discards past truth but will tend to enhance and expand on it more clearly. Some of the simplistic, childlike restrictions may be withdrawn or outgrown as one matures, but that does not mean that the underlying reasons for those restrictions no longer exist. It means that we are being trusted to act more responsibly and are being trusted to think and relate in more mature ways. If we fail to use our new freedoms responsibly we fail to enter into the proper place of advanced mature responsibility in God's family that He designs for us to enjoy.

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