Discernment

Now accept the one who is weak in faith...

One person has faith...

he who is weak...

God has accepted him...

To his own master he stands or falls;

and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand...

Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind...

...observes it for the Lord,

...does so for the Lord,

for he gives thanks to God;

...for the Lord...,

and gives thanks to God

...if we live, we live for the Lord,

or if we die, we die for the Lord;

therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:1-8)

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, ...for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

...regard with contempt the one who does not

...judge the one who eats...

Who are you to judge the servant of another?

...lives for himself...

...dies for himself... (Romans 14:1-8)

Is the point a little bit more clear? There are two ways to live in relationship to religion and to others in the body. One way is to compare ourselves and our beliefs with theirs in a critical spirit, to discredit their beliefs while thinking we are more valuable, more “saved”, more righteous than they. In some sort of subconscious, twisted way we somehow think that condemning what others believe in contrast to our own set of doctrines or practices will somehow cause them to want to switch over and believe like we do.

But condemnation is yet another counterfeit that simply does not accomplish what we think it might. Condemnation is the counterfeit for conviction which is only the job of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said very clearly that He was not sent into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Only the Holy Spirit can perceive clearly and relate to the heart properly and we have absolutely no business attempting to “judge” others no matter how many proof texts or quotations we can compile in our defense. The kind of judgment referred to here in this passage is the counterfeit kind of judgment, not the true form of judgment that takes place naturally in the presence of the real Spirit of Truth.

This lesson is so tangled in our thinking – mine included – that it is difficult to unpack it without participating in the very activity warned against here. But it is also important that I must be insistent in understanding it thoroughly and absorbing its reality into the deepest part of my thinking and relating. Any discussion of this topic can quickly sink into practicing the very thing we are talking about in this case – passing judgment on each other's opinions. This is an important lesson that must be applied first and most intensely to myself before I can be useful in sharing with anyone else this most important truth about relational attitudes.

This is one of those passages where I feel it is helpful for me to literally separate the opposing descriptions so that it can become more clear what the unique elements are involved on each side as I have done at the beginning here. There is evidently a way to accept others without slipping into the trap of pride and comparing their faith and beliefs with mine. There is evidently also a way of “accepting” others in a body of believers while thinking that I need to point out their errors and make sure they know that their opinions and beliefs are inferior to mine.

I am painfully aware of far too many people who fit this last category all too well. In fact, they build much of their theology around honing this practice to an art form almost. They compile texts to reinforce their feelings of guilt, their fear that they will be condemned themselves if they do not pass judgment on anyone in the church whom they believe is harboring heresy or sin in their lives. I have seen this practiced much and for many years in the example of people very close to me, and the results are sickening to my heart. Even in the past couple days I heard about one of my classmates from many years ago who is right now very offended because someone in the local church passed judgment on them in an attempt to intimidate them into coming to a series of “evangelistic” meetings designed to increase the membership of the church.

When are we going to listen to these warnings from the Word of God that expose our own pernicious practices that tear down so much of what the Holy Spirit works to build up? He is constantly working in the hearts of hurting people who have left the church because of our false representations of God, but our callous words and thoughtless comments can cause immense damage that we never even realize while we glibly go on in our self-righteous arrogant thinking that we are the chosen people of God with all the truth and that others must conform or be lost.

It makes me start feeling very angry whenever I think about these kinds of situations. But then the Spirit gently moves in to remind me that what irritates me most is very likely because it resonates with some deep flaw in my own life and I know that I also am very capable of doing the very same things to others. In the past few days I have felt the need to practice full identification with these sins of the church, take ownership of them for myself and confess them before God with intense emotion, pleading with Him for healing, for forgiveness, for the light of truth to bring conviction to our own hearts and to shine much more light into our own thinking. I pray intensely that we will see the ugliness of our own supposed righteousness and judgmental spirit and that the kindness of God will be seen clearly enough to induce repentance in our own hearts.

I plead with God to not only show me my own habits of judging others much more clearly but that I may also begin to see others, in and out of the church, through the eyes of heaven, to hear their words through the ears of heaven, to feel their pain and longings and dysfunctions through the heart of heaven instead of my own judgment, condemning-prone heart of flesh.

For whenever I sense the slightest spirit of contempt for anyone at all, then I have spotted the infection that has deep roots that cannot be seen in the open but that thrive in the selfish soil of my soul. Whenever I am tempted to evaluate whether someone else is saved or lost based on my opinion of their apparent beliefs and practices, I am being tempted to usurp the job of the Holy Spirit and am in reality acting as an anti-Christ.

I have felt convicted repeatedly lately by these words, Who are you to judge the servant of another? I have felt the Spirit impress these words on me as I am tempted to analyze someone else in the church with a critical spirit. And I will say that I am glad for these warnings so that I can be reminded that I can choose not to go there. I am finding that the more I fill my mind and heart with these warnings and instructions from the Word of God that it is easier for the Holy Spirit to remind me of them and utilize them internally to warn me when I am in danger of hurting yet another person.

I pray for God to transform me into the kind of person described in this passage who will accept others – with my heart and with sincerity and genuine love – without the urge to compare them to myself spiritually. Yes, I may be able to clearly see that they are weak in faith, but that is not the problem pointed out here. There are certainly differences between the levels of faith between people in the same body of Christ and there is nothing bad about that. We are all growing in grace and the body is supposed to a safe place where we can assist and encourage and nurture each other. But it is far too easy to move past the observation of differences in the amount of faith we think someone has to forming value-based opinions about their relationship with God.

If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we shall become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf. The revelation is made to us not through the acuteness of our minds, but by the direct penetration of the Spirit of God, and if we are not heedful of the source of the revelation, we shall become criticizing centres and forget that God says—“. . . he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.” Take care lest you play the hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right before you worship God yourself.

One of the subtlest burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them, and as we intercede on His line, God says He will give us “life for them that sin not unto death.” It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede.

Is Jesus Christ seeing of the travail of His soul in us? He cannot unless we are so identified with Himself that we are roused up to get His view about the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so whole-heartedly that Jesus Christ will be abundantly satisfied with us as intercessors.

Chambers, Oswald: My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI : Discovery House Publishers, 1993, c1935, S. March 31

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Critical Carnivors

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. (Romans 14:1-3)

I keep coming back to verse one here and every time I read it I feel convicted. I feel convicted about my tendencies to criticize others both in my own church or from other persuasions for the beliefs they have different than mine. I feel frustrated about the damage that others in my church have caused in the hearts of people they try to strongarm into joining my church. I have begun to notice how often the urge springs up in a conversation to “correct” someone else's opinion about some subject feeling that I have more insight than they do about what we are talking about. And while it may be true that I have spent more time studying something or even have received the gracious gift of insights about something from the Holy Spirit, that attitude of superiority reflected in that moment inside of me comes under the scrutiny of the presence of Christ and I realize that I need to, at the very least hesitate before speaking until my own spirit is in harmony with the gentle and gracious Spirit of God.

This passing judgment on other's opinions is just far too easy of a temptation to slip into. Ever since I first approached this verse maybe several weeks ago I came under this conviction and it has only grown since. That is not to say that I should ignore opportunities to share with others things different than what they already believe. I still believe that God holds me accountable to share the wonderful things He has been sharing with me over a number of years and continues to do on a very regular basis. But as I have become much more aware of over the past few years, it is the condition of my own spirit that is far more crucial as to whether my witness is useful or is damaging to God's reputation, than the correctness of the knowledge that I have to offer someone.

But I am really very glad to have this ongoing sense of conviction. It is not something that I resent but that I deeply appreciate. It means that the Holy Spirit of Jesus is present and active in my life to warn me when I am in danger of damaging the reputation of the wonderful God that I am getting to know better and want to share more with others who are so afraid of Him due to the millions of lies they believe about Him. I want to be convicted when I am about to misrepresent Him and when I certainly am not cognizant enough to know until after the fact many times that I am doing that. If it were not for the convictions of the Spirit in my heart ever-present to guide and coach and alert me I would cause terrible havoc in the Kingdom of God and make a terrible mess of other people's lives as well as my own.

Thank-you Jesus for being active and applying Your Word to my heart even though I continue to many times push past it in my own pride and self-confidence. Stay with me and do not remove Your Spirit from convicting me and encouraging me. Please prepare me to be more effective in being used by You to touch hearts for You, to attract others to Your true beauty and gentleness and kindness and to help free them from many of the false fears that I have suffered under for so long myself. Reveal Yourself to me more clearly and please show me Your perspective much more clearly today in every moment that I have in relationship with others. Fill me with Your love, Your compassion, Your patience, Your kindness and Your rest.

I have been pondering the following verses that come after verse one for several weeks now hesitating to draw any conclusions about them until I feel more at rest in my own spirit as to what God intended in these writings. But it is starting to become more clear in my mind that Paul was speaking in the context of the hot-button issues of the church in his day and had nothing in his mind about vegetarianism or the keeping of the Seventh-day Sabbath set up before sin even entered this world. He was addressing, sort of in shorthand as we often do when speaking of things our listeners are all too aware of, the problem of meat offered to idols and the residual intense arguments still swirling around in a church very much under the shadow of Judaism, about whether or not to observe the many “holy days” called Sabbaths, the feast days observed by all good Jews.

It helps to understand that Christianity in the minds of new believers back then did not make a clear distinction or break between their identity and that of the Jewish religion. Unlike many Christians today who almost resent Judaism, the early church very much identified with most of the fundamental beliefs and teachings of Judaism because it was very clear to them that it was founded by the very same God who was still leading them to broader insights about salvation. So in their minds, Christianity was not a new religion whatsoever but was an expansion, an unpacking of the real intent of the religion God had guided the Israelites in for many centuries.

Given this context and the intense debates among the believers that this caused, one of the main hot-button topics of intense debate was whether it was spiritually safe to eat meat that had been first offered to pagan deities as an act of worship to them. If we could place ourselves in their sandals and realize all the implications on both sides of this issue while still appreciating their desire to serve God with their whole heart correctly, we would not be near so quick to draw premature and ignorant conclusions from this passage about a supposed freedom to eat anything that moves on the face of this earth. Paul was not at all dealing with dietary issues in this passage but was addressing a spiritual principle and simply was using a hot-button issue that everyone was painfully aware of as an illustration for a far deeper principle that they needed to practice in their lives.

That is why is it so important to view this passage in the context of verse one as well as an understanding of their unique issues. Paul is trying to get everyone to realize that there are far deeper issues at stake in true spirituality than the externals that we so easily get caught up in arguing about. And while those externals have other implications and dangers if not properly addressed, if we miss the underlying problem of the condition of our attitude and the effect that our spirit has on those we disagree with, we really miss the main point altogether in this chapter of what God considers important.

An early New Testament Christian that is referred to here who is weak in faith eats vegetables only is not weak in faith because he is not a carnivor but is weak in that he is still deeply affected by the fears of the power of false gods to infect his soul if food offered to idols happens to be eaten. False gods were much more front and center in the lives of millions of people in that day than what we are familiar with in our culture and we forget that old superstitions and fears do not just disappear overnight when they have dominated all of your thinking for all of your life up to that point. Eating meat offered to idols was such an intense act of participating and inviting the demonic powers of evil into one's life in their culture that many had difficulty believing that these false gods really did not have the powers and authority that they claimed to have.

So when Paul refers to those who are strong in faith not being afraid to eat meat, he is not promoting a lifestyle full of red meat, pork and anything else your stomach can keep down in the name of freedom, but he is referring to one who has become freed from the fear of control by the spirits behind the idols due to eating some meat that might have been offered to them before being set on the table for people to enjoy. And in that context, a person who is not so sure that they are safe from demonic infection may easily feel that the safest thing to do is to simply avoid all meat and eat only vegetables.

Why would they do this? Why wouldn't they just ask which meat was offered to idols and avoid that only? Because I am sure their family or friends knowing their convictions and fears about being involved in any way with idol worship might enjoy tricking them by trying to slip in meat unknowingly onto their plate or even outright lying to them about whether or not this meat had been first offered to idols. Because of this situation, some had chosen to simply stop eating all meat altogether so as to avoid any chance of being fooled into participating in a demonic activity that they were keen to avoid at all costs.

Evidently, according to what can be seen implied in this passage, there was a lot of tension between those who chose to abstain completely from all meat in order to avoid any contact whatsoever with idol worship and those who had come to believe that God's power would protect them and idols were nothing but a farce. These later ones Paul says were stronger in faith because they currently had more confidence in the Word of God about the powerlessness of false gods and were not afraid of unintentionally ingesting some food that had been sneaked into an idol's presence before being presented to them for dinner.

But just because a person has more insights or a more advanced grasp of the truths about God's reality and power gives them no license whatsoever to look down upon or criticize anyone else who does not yet have the confidence or knowledge that they enjoy. And this is the main thrust of this whole chapter. The illustrations that Paul uses here in this chapter are not the main point of what is being taught but are simply that – illustrations and tools which are used to convey a crucial truth about the condition of our spirit while relating to others who are at a different place in their journey with God.

Today the illustrations would be something completely different no doubt. We do not typically struggle with fears about our food being offered to an idol and likely have no notion whatsoever what strong emotions that fear elicited in the hearts of early believers. But we certainly have similar hot-button issues that haunt believers today that generate intense debate and create bad blood between people claiming to belong to the same Savior. It is the spirit of criticism and pride that is being addressed here exclusively, not vegetarianism or Sabbath-keeping. And if we miss that most important aspect of this passage we have missed the whole point that Paul is making altogether.

Father, please expose to my awareness the pride that still thrives in my own heart and attitudes and that poisons my spirit. Do this by increasing Your light and presence in my heart so that I can see my selfish tendencies by contrast. Show me Your humility and love and help me to see those I look down on in the light of the value You have for them. Cleanse me of all desire to pass judgment and condemnation on anyone else and fill me instead with Your passion to reveal the heart of the Father to them. I really mean every word of this, Father. Dwell in me by Your Holy Spirit today as I mingle with others who are hungry to know Your love, even if they are not aware of it. Make me an instrument of Your peace for Your glory.

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Authorities and Reflecting Faith

What is starting to become more clear to me in this training about true submission is that it is much more about God's reputation and honor than it is about whether or not I am doing the right thing the right way. I am seeing that, as is often the case, I am getting side-tracked on trying to figure out how to “get it right” so that I can be deemed on the “right side” of God's favor or avoiding sin instead of viewing every situation from the perspective of what effect my witness has on the reputation of God on the hearts of others.

As I look more at 1 Peter 2 I notice that repeatedly Peter refers to the underlying reason for why I need to relate to authorities in the right way according to God's design. The context goes all the way back to the beginning of the book, but I pick it up near the end of chapter one. Peter lists a number of motives that I need to foster and encourage in my life in order to create the right atmosphere in my soul to be able to relate to authority with submission properly.

Fervently love one another from the heart... you have been born again.... (1:22-23)

Putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander... long for the pure milk of the word so that you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. (2:1-3)

Coming to Him [who is] choice and precious in the sight of God. (v.4)

...offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (v.5)

This precious value, then, is for you who believe.... (v.7)

You are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. (v.9-10)

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that... as they observe [your good works, they will] glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution.... (v.11-13)

Act as free men.... Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King.... Be submissive... with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. (v.16-18)

You have been called for this purpose.... (v. 21)

I notice several references to the true character of God that is to be seen coming through my own actions in response to authorities, especially those who are unreasonable.

The kindness of the Lord.

The One who is precious in the sight of God.

God's generosity and kindness in making me a chosen one, a royal priest, part of a holy nation, one who is God's own possession.

The reason I should keep my behavior excellent among unbelievers is because I serve a God who is excellent and when they see God's excellencies “proclaimed” as demonstrated in my spirit and proper response to unreasonable authorities they will glorify God. I am to submit for the Lord's sake. This is all about God and the effect of my witness about Him, not about me getting it right so I can get myself into heaven!

This can only happen as my perception of my own identity radically changes from who I think I am based on my past behavior and reactions to authorities, to the identity proclaimed by God as to who He designed me to be and declares me to be spelled out in these verses. We always tend to act according to our perception of our identity. This is one of the most subtle schemes of the enemy to trip us up. He causes us to believe that our real identity is based on the failures we have made throughout our life instead of believing the Word of God declaring the truth about who we really are in His sight.

Doubt springs up to challenge what God says about me and that doubt originates with the lying false gods that have hung around in my head for most of my life. Faith the the decision to believe what God says about me in spite of my own miserable track record. Faith is inspired and springs up as a natural response to perceiving the incredible trust of God, discovering that God believes in me far more than I believe in myself. He believes in me to respond to Him, to trust in His perspective, to lay hold of the provisions that He has made to transform me into His image.

One of the most amazing insights I came across recently was when I listened to some talks about “the faith of Jesus”. The faith of Jesus actually refers to the faith that Jesus has in us, not some faith that we have to work up in trusting Him in spite of our fears and doubts. Our faith is actually a response of trust from being trusted. Faith induces faith just as love inspires love. The more I expose myself and fill my mind with the idea and truth that God really believes in me and has faith in me to respond to His grace, mercy, love and kindness, the more my own heart will glow with reflected faith back to Him.

And I am also beginning to see that this is where the real focus needs to be in my preparation for being able to live in a spirit of respect and honor, and act with excellent behavior when confronted with unreasonable authorities. It takes me right back to realizing that I am more of a mirror than anything else and what I choose to focus on will heavily influence my reactions to any given situation.

If I dwell on the injustice of abuse committed against me I will instantly begin to react with motives and desires for injustice against them in my heart. The only hope for me to reflect the excellencies of the God who has chosen me for His own possession is to focus on His excellencies so that His character of respect and honor for others is what is seen reflected in my mirror. Just as I respond with reflected faith when I experience God's faith, so too God intends that through my seeing others through the eyes of heaven and responding to them with the reflected character of God that faith may be awakened in their hearts as well. When that happens God will be glorified even more.

Just as in other areas of salvation, I do not succeed in overcoming sin by focusing on overcoming or avoiding it, but by focusing on the heart of the One who has already done it successfully. The overcomer is the one who learns to live as a reflector focusing their heart on the truth about the Father who loves them and gave His Son to die for them.

Father, help me today to see Your heart more clearly. Cleanse me of all the lies about You I have accumulated over my lifetime and fill me with fresh revelations of Your excellencies. Finish the work of cleaning my mirror and aligning my attention to stay focused on You, especially when I am sorely tempted by my sinful flesh to react in bitterness and hatred. I confess that my sinful heart is full of those feelings many times and my only hope and trust is in Your salvation and miracle-producing power to remove my heart of stone and implant in me Your own desires and motives and a new heart. Fulfill Your Word in my life today for Your name's sake.

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