Who Are You?

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)

I sense a little intensity in these words that brings conviction to my heart on a regular basis. I suppose that I could just classify this as another rhetorical question but I don't think that is as helpful as facing it head-on. I see it more as an invitation to deeper honesty, to self-examination, to confession of what the Spirit is trying to expose that is so deep-rooted that I have not noticed it before. Just who do I really think I am whenever I judge someone else?

Implied very strongly in the text is the idea that just maybe I am trying to act like or induce them into thinking that I can be their master. That squares very closely to the observations that I have made for some time about the craving for control that most of us possess. It may come out in all sorts of ways in the how we treat others or even ourselves, but our desire for control is so pervasive and familiar that we don't even notice it most of the time, especially in our own lives.

But judging is definitely a means of trying to control someone else. It is using many of the favorite tools of Satan, the chief accuser, to try to manipulate others and bring them under my influence. I don't like the sounds of what I am perceiving here, but I have to admit that it is true all too often. Judging inherently has built into it the spirit of accusation which is the number one activity of Satan, the greatest accuser the universe has ever seen. Satan's chief desire is for control of everything and everyone he possibly can, and his level of desperate activity is ramping up the closer he gets to the end of the great war. (Rev. 12:12) He induces everyone he can to help him in this activity and uses them to discourage others and skew everyones picture of God by this means.

God never, ever accuses anyone. Our own hearts may often accuse us whenever we encounter the presence of God, but that is not because God is accusing us but because our flesh is resonating with the spirit of Satan and that is what Satan always does. Judging, condemning, accusing, fault-finding, etc., all play into promoting the kingdom of darkness and drive the heart away from its attraction to its Creator. No wonder Paul takes on this issue so strongly here and exposes it for the danger that it is.

I do well to meditate on the implications of this question – Who am I, really, who do I think I am to judge the servant of another? I must be willing to be more honest about my true motives and strip away the excuses and nice-sounding facades used to cloak the real nature of false judgment. I have so many nice-sounding reasons why I can dwell on other's faults without feeling guilty. I may at times feel more advanced or spiritually superior to them. I often feel very angry that they are still indulging in the sins that have held me in bondage for so many years and that I am becoming more aware of lately. I feel angry that they seemingly refuse to see the truth about God as revealed in the life of Jesus and cling instead to legalistic notions that have suffocated all of us for so long.

But then I have to ask the question, why does this make me feel so intense inside? I have pondered that question many times and it honestly does seem baffling to me. I am sure that is because of a major blind spot in my own heart, but asking the question does move me toward allowing light to enter into that dark area of my own thinking. Understanding what is triggering my anger, resentment and self-righteous feelings will help to begin to unmask the answer to this question put to me by Paul. Who do I think I am, anyway?

The very presence of a judgmental spirit betrays the existence of a false identity claiming to be me and dwelling inside of me. I, like Paul in Romans 7, find myself wrestling with a superpower inside of me asserting itself as the real me but in constant conflict with the new heart that Jesus has implanted within me. This causes a great deal of frustration at times when I confuse the two and wonder myself who I really am. There is no shortage of others willing to point their fingers at me and tell me who they think I am which also becomes a source of confusion as to my real identity. The whole controversy going on in the great war has a lot to do with whom I choose to believe as to the makeup of my true identity.

This question by Paul also reminds me of a very similar question posed by Jesus to His disciples. Jesus went out, along with His disciples...; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, "Who do people say that I am?" ... And He continued by questioning them, "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:27-29)

I really don't believe that this question by Jesus was just to satisfy His curiosity. I believe that there was a very intentional and purposeful reason that Jesus chose to ask these questions and they still apply to us just as strongly as they did to the disciples. It is a question that goes much deeper than simply identifying the external label that a person wears or the occupation that they may engage in. It is referring to the gut-level sense of how we perceive a person's identity, not just what label they may have on the surface.

I believe Jesus was trying to reach deeper into the hearts of the disciples in His quest to get them to think more with their heart instead of just their head; to utilize their right brains and get it up to speed instead of playing it safe in the left brain. I think to some extent the disciples responded to His question that way but not to the extent that Jesus longed for. It was not until some time after Jesus left this earth that the disciples really began to catch on to what He was trying to accomplish in their hearts. But the resulting fire of passion for God ignited in their souls then began to turn the world upside down.

I also think that these two questions may well be closely related to each other. Both questions need to be asked and examined on a regular basis in order for a person to begin to grasp a true sense of reality. If I have very confused or distorted notions about who God is – and all of us do – then I certainly can never properly perceive my own true identity because I am created in the image of God. Instead, I often project my own opinions, feelings and faults into my perception of God and end up forming a picture of Him more reflective of my own image than the other way around.

I also need to understand the truth about my own identity in the light of the real truth about God's identity. That becomes even more difficult because there are such conflicting indicators on which to base opinions about my true identity. But that is part of the problem itself. If I try to determine the truth about my real identity based on the evidence and behaviors of my past, then I am bound to come up with a pretty sad conclusion as to who I really am. That plays directly into the problem of judging that Paul is addressing here.

Judging then, may flow out of a life that is confused about its own true identity in Christ. A spirit of judging and condemnation very likely is a symptom of a person with false ideas about their real identity. That is why they engage in fault-finding and criticism of others – because they are trying to make themselves look better by contrast. That is always an activity of pride that dwells in all of our hearts.

Pride is the chief attribute of Satan. It was the ingredient that caused his fall in heaven and prevented him from being able to return in repentance. Pride is the underlying element behind all other sins and is the greatest obstacle to the process of salvation in the human heart. Pride lies at the root of all false judging, fault-finding and criticism.

But pride has an interesting twist to it. As the primary part of our sinful flesh, pride always asserts that it is just looking out for our best good and is there for us to provide all the things that our heart is missing. So when we sense low self-worth, pride quickly comes in to suggest ways to make us feel more important. When we feel empty and dissatisfied, pride comes up with all sorts of ways to make us feel better, more fulfilled and physically or emotionally pleased. The problem however, is that pride always provides solutions that are just a little bit off and never allows God's will and ways to take precedence in our life. Pride believes that given enough time and knowledge and experience it will be able to figure out the answers for itself. Pride refuses to be submitted to the authority of Jesus and instead claims that we are capable of fixing our own problems, even if that requires some outside assistance at times.

And this is where pride can become the most subtle and diabolical. Because most Christians – really most humans – believe that we can get our life sorted out if we just had some supernatural help to accomplish our own objectives. We believe that innately we have enough wisdom to figure out our own answers but we just need more power to implement them. This lies at the foundation of all humanistic thinking, all New Age philosophy and most of religion throughout the world.

So the question remains very urgent and persistent: Who are you...? Who do I perceive myself to be? For the nature of my perceived identity will strongly influence the way I relate to others. And parallel to that, the perceived identity that I have of God will dictate what I believe about myself that will in turn control how I treat others.

So it becomes more evident that at the heart of all the problems I face, the most important first step is to have my perceptions of who God is repaired and radically revised to get a clearer picture of how He feels about me. This will initiate a chain-reaction of internal beliefs that will result in long-term transformations of everything else in my life. It will change who I perceive myself to be and will empower me to relate to others as family under the kind and perfect parentage of the Godhead.

So if I find myself judging another person, I must see that as a symptom of a false sense of personal identity that needs repair in my own heart. It is also likely a symptom of the presence of false ideas about God that need yet to be corrected, because false notions about myself grow out of false ideas about my Creator.

One of these false ideas that poisons my relationships and causes me to judge someone else is the idea that God desires to control me and even uses force whenever necessary to bring about obedience. If I think God employs force to control me then I will do the same to someone else through manipulative means of judging, condemning, shaming or other similar activities. And that means that I very likely believe that God is doing those very things to control me.

I am starting to see that one of my greatest needs is to get a much clearer grasp of my true identity as God sees me as well as a much more accurate concept of who God really is. Instead of focusing on either other's faults or even dwelling on my own, I need to dwell on and fill my find with the truth about God's goodness and all the wonderful attributes of His character that will attract me to want to be more like Him. As I stay focused on the beauty and loveliness and truths of God's real character and His dealings with others, I will spontaneously begin to assimilate those attributes into my own life and will more often reflect them in the way I relate to others. By beholding I can effectively become changed.

I am now seeing that this question by Paul is best answered by asking a question of my own. If I launch into an attempt to answer the question of my own identity by looking around at my past performance or my inner feelings I am going to come up with skewed answers to this most important question. What I really need to do when confronted with the need to know my true identity is to immediately turn to the One who knows me far better than I can ever know myself, the One who has given me a new heart with which to live in proper relationships to those around me, and ask Him who I really am. Instead of trying to unravel the mystery of my own identity by figuring it out with my own faulty thinking or being influenced by what others say about me, it would be much easier and far more accurate to receive the answer repeatedly from the One who died to transform my picture of God as well as my perception of my own worth in His eyes.

So if I find myself judging someone else instead of loving them, I can know that I have forgotten my true identity and am operating under a false premise of who I am. As a result I am projecting my false ideas about identity onto another person and trying to confuse them. It is at those times of temptation that I need to turn to God and again confirm the truth about my true identity and value as He sees views it. As I realign my inner thinking to agree with God's revelations about my true self, I will then begin to see the fruit of the Spirit of God growing more readily in my life and the way I treat others. I will not have to work hard to keep myself from judging others because I will lose my desire to judge them. I will be empowered to see past their faults and begin to see their hearts as Jesus sees them and love them more the way Jesus loves them.

This is the experience that I want for myself today and that I choose to ask God for. I choose to accept God's version of the answer to my true identity in preference to my confused versions.

(next in series)

Fully Convinced

Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)

What does this really mean? I know what comes up in my mind as a reaction whenever I read this but that many times clouds my ability to perceive clearly what the real meaning is that God wants me to see. I think I know some of the things it doesn't mean but why did Paul write this in this context?

There are two kinds of people, no, three, talked about here. There are people who are critical and fault-finding who tend to look down with contempt on others who have different opinions about certain spiritual issues. Then there are those who are on the receiving end of that activity which, in turn can cause them to either become discouraged or maybe defensive and judgmental themselves. Verse three indicates that these people may judge those who are viewing them with contempt which is pretty much the same thing as what the other group is doing.

The third group are those who learn from this instruction and cease from judging others or viewing them with contempt. They are those who align themselves more closely with the way God perceives reality and live in the context of an ever-present awareness of a coming day of judgment before God. They also live with an attitude of gratitude and thanks no matter what their beliefs are or how they differ from others in the body. They measure everything through the context of remembering that they are individually accountable to God and everything they do, say or even think will someday be fully exposed without anything hidden any longer. They live with God as their master and Lord exclusively and seek to align their lives and hearts to worship and praise Him. They live with a determination to do nothing that might cause someone else to stumble in their walk with God.

I find it interesting what is written here in regard to the judgment day of God. So often people have a terrible sense of foreboding whenever judgment is mentioned and especially the Great Judgment Day. It is most often used to intimidate people into joining a church or to motivate them to repent in fear and comply with a long list of religious rules. But most of that kind of thinking is far more reflective of the false version of judgment than what is really going to happen on judgment day. What I see in verses 10-13 is a far more accurate presentation of true judgment than the distorted concepts promoted by many religions in the world. But it is important to remember that there is no force involved in this outcome.

But what does this have to do with being fully persuaded or convinced in my own mind?

One thing that comes to mind is that being fully convinced would seem to be the very opposite of being double-minded as described in James 1:5-8. And as I look at the surrounding verses in James I notice a similar equalizing of self-perceptions recommended for people who have very different circumstances in this world. How does this feed into the need for me to be fully convinced in my own mind? The more I look at James 1 the more I see applications between these two chapters that may strongly complement each other.

What is it that I am to be fully convinced about? Is it about myself, about others whom I am tempted to judge or view with contempt, or is it my opinions about hot-button issues in which I disagree with others? I know that many people read this text to mean that they need to redouble their efforts to entrench themselves even stronger in their prejudices and religious opinions and amass even more proof that they are “right” so that no one can refute their iron-clad arguments. But is that really what being fully convinced means in this context?

Does this phrase imply that there is more than one way to relate to God or more than one set of beliefs that a person may choose from and still be accepted by God? Now that is a real argument starter for many people I know. That runs head-on into some pretty deeply-entrenched paradigms on both sides that many are completely unwilling to even question. I'm not saying whether this is true or false at this point, but is this really what Paul is trying to say here? Is being fully convinced the same as being deeply entrenched and stubborn? Or is he saying something much more significant that is easy to miss in our rush to use these verses to justify our preferred opinions?

Paul uses, by way of illustration, two hot-button issues that were generators of a lot of heat and arguing in the early Christian churches but which now are so far removed from our thinking that we barely can even understand what he was referring to. As a result we bring our own issues and prejudices to the passage and deduce that he must have been talking about vegetarianism or maybe implying that the seventh-day Sabbath no longer needs to be observed as many like to imply.

But we draw these conclusions partly because we fail to perceive the main point of this passage and because it seems so convenient to weave them into our preferred opinions. These topics were not the real issues Paul was trying to address here but were simply illustrations of situations in which people are affected by potential bitterness and prejudice in their relationships with each other within the body of Christ. Our topics of conflict likely will be something completely different but the problematic attitudes will be identical with those he was addressing in this passage.

Somehow I don't believe that being fully convinced of our opinions is necessarily the solution that Paul is recommending here, though many may want to draw that conclusion. Entrenching ourselves deeper into divisive topics of conflict will not likely bring about the unity that Jesus desires for His body on earth and will not prepare us for the judgment day. Again, I am brought back to remember that the far more important issue at stake in the true judgment process is the spirit and attitude that I cherish in my heart and relationships far more than the religious opinions that I cling to. And while my religious beliefs are not unimportant by any means, if my spirit is not right then no amount of factual correctness is going to prepare me to be found on the right side on judgment day.

I still don't have a clear answer about what being fully convinced really means, but that is not necessary right now. I don't want to insist on simplistic or quick answers to all of my questions. It is refreshing to be able to entertain a question and then leave it open for the Spirit to bring various things to my attention over a period of time to enlighten me further and bring resolution and peace. In fact, there are times when I feel a little resentful or maybe cheated whenever someone feels the need to immediately answer every question. It betrays an insecurity on their part. It is far more rewarding to join with others in exploring questions with open minds and hearts than to demand quick answers that many times prove to be faulty in the long run.

Father, continue to reveal to my mind and heart why You had Paul write these words. Show me how this enhances the others things I am learning from this chapter and why it is so important for me to be fully convinced in my mind. Show me what it is that I am to be fully convinced of and help me not to impose my own preferences in the answer. Surround me with Your presence today and fill my mind with Your wisdom and Your disposition. Make me a channel for You today.

(next in series)

Accepted Overcomer

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions

... for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:1, 3-4)

What does it mean to stand? I don't think it is talking about physically standing because there is a great deal more going on in this passage than physical realities. As I understand it, to stand means the opposite of what we call falling which usually implies being overcome by the temptations of sin. So in this context to stand means to overcome the urges to sin.

Having said that, I realize that this opens up something of a Pandora's box or a can of worms. It launches some people right into the sticky arguments of perfectionism and makes other's eyes glaze over with disgust at the excesses of legalism. But if I am honest and am willing to leave behind my prejudice and preconceived notions in my pursuit of reality and truth, the Word is clear that there is going to be a people who are willing to enter fully into God's rest and are going to have an experience described as an overcomer.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:11)

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. (Revelation 12:11 NRSV)

This verse has been one of the key verses bantered about in my church for all of my life and it has great significance for many people. And while I want to disconnect from the legalism that it has often been used to support, I do not want to disconnect from the underlying truth that it reveals. In this verse is one of the most important keys to unlock the mysteries of holiness and salvation. Understood correctly, this verse provides a secret that will enable me to make enormous progress in my Christian development and maturity.

From the verses in Romans 14 it is clear that God is going to work with people who are weak in faith and is able to make them stand up against sin in their life successfully. Those same people may be some whom I am tempted to view with contempt and pass judgment on their opinions according to Paul, but evidently God sees things quite differently with them and so should I. When I link this verse with the one from Revelation, I can begin to see how God is able to make them stand and likewise how I may be able to stand with them as well.

There are two crucial elements present in the lives of those who are seen as overcomers, those who are able to stand before the universe free from the slavery of sin in their hearts. The first element is the blood of the Lamb, whatever that really means. The second is the word of their testimony. The result of the presence of these two powerful ingredients is a disposition that allows them to be so completely free of all fear that even death itself is no longer viewed as a threat that can intimidate them or change their minds and hearts. Implied in this verse is that they are now clinging so tenaciously to something or Someone else that they don't feel the need to cling tightly to their own self-protection. This is exactly the opposite of the theory of evolution, self-preservation and the survival of the fittest.

While I am completely convinced that these two ingredients are able to make me an overcomer who is able to stand in the presence of God without sin, I am not so confident of my complete perception of the real meaning of these most important phrases. I have spent many years wondering about the real truth behind this phrase the blood of the Lamb, and I have felt quite dissatisfied with most explanations circulating about it. In the past few years I feel like I am getting closer to perceiving the real truth about this symbol as I have grown in my understanding of the bigger picture of the real controversy going on that is far more expansive than most every realize. And as my frame of reference has dramatically expanded, so too have my beliefs about the real nature of the blood of Jesus and how it fits into this picture as they have been moving to a completely different perspective.

I have always felt uneasy with the almost magical nature that seems to be attributed to this concept of the blood of Jesus typically promoted in religion. While I will not deny that His blood has incredible power to transform lives and deliver people from the power of sin and death, the real reason for this has been obscured by the simplistic formulas that many people propose. This symbol, I am coming to believe, works in our hearts much differently than has been typically taught and can only be properly perceived by adopting a radically different perspective on what is really going on in the great war between Christ and Satan. When the context is clarified then the ingredients within that context suddenly take on a whole new meaning and much greater power.

Without the time to explain this fully, I will try to simplify it greatly by saying that when we begin to see that the real issues at stake in the battle with sin are about God's reputation instead of our personal comfort and security, then everything involved in this battle takes on a whole new meaning. When we cease to view God as the problem that must be solved by appeasing His supposed wrath and begin to perceive that it is our hearts that are full of wrath and rebellion against the ways of love; when we begin to glimpse the fact that we are the ones who are terribly deceived and confused about reality and that God is doing everything imaginable to attract us back into intimacy with His heart of power and life and love where we can thrive and be fully alive. Then we will begin to view the real purpose of the cross and the blood of Jesus radically different than ever before.

In Romans Paul declares that God has accepted the ones whom He enables to stand. Don't read that wrongly! God's acceptance is not based on the fact that they are able to stand but He produces that ability to stand. The cause and effect order are extremely crucial to get right or else we become vulnerable to the subtle perversions of Satan's lies about God and about us. When I begin to grasp with my heart the reality that God unconditionally loves me, is crazy about me, is doing everything possible to attract me back into perfect harmony with Him so that I can live and thrive in the presence of His enormous power and passion, then I will begin to perceive the reasons for Jesus' death differently than I thought before and I will be spontaneously empowered to overcome sin as I give my personal testimony to the truth about God and His work in my life.

It just occurred to me that maybe I have come across the counterfeit of true testimony. Passing judgment and criticizing others is the counterfeit of being a true witness and testifying to the real truth about God. In relating to others, especially within the church, I have the option of viewing them with contempt or viewing them through the eyes of Jesus and sharing the testimony of how He is transforming my life through the ongoing revelations of His love to my heart.

God, remove from me all desire to judge and criticize others. Fill me with Your passion, with Your perspective, with Your desire to lift up and encourage and to save. Make me a cleaner channel of Your powerful, life-changing love today.

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