Judging and Holiness

...Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for 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. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:5-9)

As I read this passage again this morning I was reminded of the very insightful teaching on the word “holy” that I heard from Craig Hill of Family Foundations. He pointed out that the true concept in this word “holy” does not so much mean good or righteous or pious as we often associate with it, but it simply means exclusive dedication to something or someone else for their use. Holiness, therefore, must always have an object toward which it is focused.

Now I am seeing this very concept clearly spelled out in these verses in Romans 14. The need to be fully convinced in our mind is the very same idea as being fully dedicated in the word “holy”. And this makes sense since we are called to be a holy people before God. Without holiness no one can see God and live. But that holiness is not a self-generated piety or perfection by which we get ourselves finally good enough to convince God to let us into His presence. It is a total and exclusive dedication of our complete being in pure abandon to the will and ways and authority of God in our lives.

Notice in this passage how many times the phrase for the Lord is repeated. It is also interesting to note that this phrase applies equally to people who have sharp differences of opinions about certain religious subjects. And yet Paul is stressing very much here that we absolutely must not view anyone with contempt because they hold a different opinion about some point differing from ours. He even goes on to say that God is quite able and will make them stand, independent of our opinions about their beliefs. What this is really saying is the same thing that is found in the true meaning of “holiness”, that the object of our focus and attention and devotion is to be exclusively the Lord.

I took up this phrase about being fully convinced in our own minds a few days ago and wondered what deeper implications might be uncovered in it. I am now seeing some of those deeper implications. To be fully convinced in my own mind is very important, but at the same time it is even more important what the object of that conviction is. I have seen too many tragic examples of those who are fully convinced of their own opinions and subsequently view with contempt anyone who differs with them while strenuously trying to convince others of their own opinions. But when I compare this passage with what I learned about true holiness I see that the object of my being fully convinced is to be found in an exclusive devotion to God as my Lord, not to an opinion that becomes my slave-master.

In this passage I am clearly instructed that whatever beliefs I hold need to come from a total submission and devotion and relationship with God that is greater than any belief or opinions that I may hold. This reinforces the growing conviction I have had that my spirit and my relationship with God must always trump my ability to prove that I am right or the accuracy of my opinions. And furthermore I must definitely avoid taking the next step and spend time criticizing others and dwell on how I think they are wrong. This chapter is a blatant warning against going down this path.

Quite apparently the Christians that Paul was writing to must have had a problem with this divisive activity and unfortunately nothing has changed much today. It is still all too easy a temptation to fall into by growing Christians (that be all Christians) who find it a challenge to keep their focus on their own relationship with God and off of comparing themselves with others in the body. But what I am seeing in these verses is that the far more important aspect that I must focus on is my relationship with Jesus who died and rose to life again in order that I and He might have this exclusive relationship of holiness with each other.

This is spelled out very clearly in the words for this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord. This tells me that at least one of the main reasons He did what He did when He came to this earth was to be able to establish that unique kind of relationship with each one of us. Verse five says in the original language that very specifically, individually, each one in particular apart from what anyone around them does, needs to be fully convinced, or to be exclusively dedicated themselves to engage in a holy-kind of relationship with this Lord, the Christ, the Savior in their own mind.

Verse eight is also very enlightening in this respect. One of the true definitions of a genuine Christian is a person who no longer lives or even dies for themselves. This addresses the issue of self-survival that is an inherent instinct in all of us. But Jesus said that those who want real life must let go of their desperate grasp on life in order to achieve real life. If we try to stay in the mode of self-justification, self-defense, self-promotion and comparing ourselves with others to determine how valuable we are, we will not be able to enter into the eternal life that Jesus came to offer us.

If we find ourselves judging others or viewing them with contempt it is very likely that we are slipping back into a mode of living for ourselves again and are no longer resting in that exclusive, holy relationship with our Lord who is able to make us stand. We are not only putting stumbling blocks and obstacles in the paths of those around us but we are also creating or exposing faults within our own lives that we will be required to give an account of in the day of final Judgment ourselves.

This sheds light on verse ten as well. If judging someone else in the body of believers creates an issue within my own heart for which I must give account to my own Lord in judgment, then why would I do such a thing? In fact, now that I think about this a little bit, the thing I may be required to give account for is my attempt to usurp the role of judge in someone else's life. So how am I going to explain to the true Judge of all the universe why I thought I was capable of taking His place and doing His job for Him in someone else's life? What gives me the illusion that I can meddle in someone else's relationship with their Master and Lord? What makes me think I have that kind of authority over their relationship with God?

This is getting stickier and stickier the more I think about it. This is very similar to me attempting to step in and try to micromanage and advise and control how someone else's spouse should relate to their partner in marriage, especially when my own marriage is far short of ideal. It actually might be very tempting for me and for many others to do that very thing, but it would also be ludicrous if I have my head on straight at all. It is never my place to try to control how another person should relate to their husband or wife. And likewise it is never my place to attempt to control or manipulate someone else's intimate relationship with their lover and Lord, Jesus their Savior.

I have to confess that these warnings and instructions are all too applicable to me. I wish that was not the case, but it is true. I am all to easily tempted to judge others and view them with contempt and try to manipulate their relationship with the Lord. I may do so because I am comparing their opinions and beliefs with my own instead of paying closer attention to listening to the Spirit communicating to me from my own Lord. That means I am meddling instead of serving, and that will always end in disaster.

Lord, keep reminding me that I have far too many issues and faults of my own to spend time dwelling on those of others. Remind me that the most important thing for me to focus on at all times is to be in right relationship to You as my Lord and not try to lord it over someone else through contempt, fault-finding and a critical attitude. I likely do these kinds of things because I still don't have a grasp at the heart level of how much You value me, and so I try to make myself feel more valuable by comparing myself with others that I think are less right than me. Forgive me for doing this so often and change the way I think and the way I perceive others. Give me the eyes of heaven and Your heart of love and compassion to see others with the same infinite worth and value that You see in them. And help me to really grasp how much You value and cherish me so that I will not be so tempted to compare other's opinions with mine and judge them with contempt.

Thank-you Father, for not treating me the way I have treated others so many times. If You judged me like I judge others I would be overwhelmed with discouragement and depression and would have given up on our relationship many years ago. Please get me off this addiction quickly and heal whatever is inside me that continues to feed on this sin. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness and cause me to reflect more perfectly Your glory and Your grace so that others will be more attracted to wanting You as their Lord.

(next in series)

Accounting for Who?

...For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:10, 12)

For a number of months now I have been compiling and digesting information from various sources that help me to more clearly understand the two kinds of judgment. There is a counterfeit form of judgment that is the kind that most people think of whenever the word judgment is used. In fact, counterfeit judgment is so pervasive in our thinking that even when we talk about the judgment of God which is the true kind of judgment, we make many assumptions about it that infuse false ideas from our distorted views about judgment that we are more familiar with.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the words used are the same for both. It is one of those instances where language itself becomes part of the problem and so a lot of extra explanation must take place and a lot of qualifications and clarifications need to happen during the process of examination in order to understand the differences between the two. But once it becomes more clear what the differences are it is much easier to see the contrast between the righteousness of God's judgment and the destructive, debilitating nature of false judgment which is about all most of us are familiar with.

Most of this chapter thus far has talked almost exclusively about the false or counterfeit kind of judgment. As such, we are repeatedly warned about the pitfalls of indulging in this kind of judging which God never participates in. Paul brings this passage to a head with the climaxing statement: Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. (Romans 14:13)

It becomes even more clear in this last verse what the true nature of counterfeit judgment is all about. False judgment places obstacles and stumbling blocks in people's ways and inhibits their ability to come closer to God and to each other. Because of the nature of this activity it is quite clear that false judgment is from the enemy of God and is something none of us should ever participate in. And yet we find ourselves slipping into this mode of thinking and speaking so easily and unconsciously much of the time. And that is why it is so important to awaken our hearts and train our minds with the clear warnings and instructions of this passage.

But tucked into the middle of this chapter is a reference to the true kind of judgment that happens when God executes justice. Paul talks about the day of Judgment when everyone without exception is going to appear before the real Judgment Seat of God, the only true Judge. If we want to know what real, valid judgment looks like it might be helpful to carefully examine what goes on during the time of true judgment. And we find that right here in this verse.

First of all, we are shown the results that naturally will take place whenever true judgment happens. When true judgment occurs, those who are judged will do at least two things according to verse eleven: they will willingly bow their knees in submission to the superiority to the one and only true God and secondly they will use their own mouth to give praise to God who alone is worthy of all praise.

Next we are shown how each person will relate to the conditions that cause true judgment to happen. For whatever reason, and I believe we need to learn why, each one will give an account of himself to God. The reason behind this must be very carefully examined without introducing elements and assumptions from our false ideas of judgment into the picture. But very clearly this is what will take place when true judgment occurs. Notice that it is not God imposing His determinations about people onto them. It says that each person will himself give the account. This is consistent with the immense value that God places on personal freedom and His respect for our power of free choice. Each person makes their own choices and then finds themselves in a position where they feel they must confess the true reasons and motives for those choices.

I think that we might be able to learn some things about counterfeit judgment by contrasting it with real judgment. In true judgment it says that we will give an account of ourself to God. False judging places obstacles in the lives of others. So inherent in the very nature of false judgment I see that it is focused on attempting to possibly involve ourselves in accounting for other people instead of ourselves. Maybe we are even trying to pretend to be in relationship to them as their judge instead of helping them get properly aligned and prepared for the real kind of judgment. That sounds very much like the blame and shame game that Satan introduced into the human race in the Garden of Eden.

There are a number of compelling reasons to refrain from false judgment. False judgment does not lead a person to spontaneously submit to God's sovereignty. False judgment will not produce genuine praise and gratitude and admiration toward God. Counterfeit judging will tend to illicit a response of a like spirit in the person, a defensiveness that damages their perception of the truth about God and creates fear in their heart. Contempt and false judging creates the wrong spirit in a person and induces unnecessary pain in the heart of those accused that causes them to draw away from God instead of learning to trust and appreciate Him more.

I still plan to take some time to lay out the clear differences between true and counterfeit judgment and I hope to do it very soon. It is helping me to clear up many things in my own mind and heart as I process through and examine carefully the issues and problems involved in this subject. The more I learn about the true kind of judgment the more exciting it is but the more I realize that much of the time I am not in harmony with the ways of God on this issue. But the more I implement the principles of true judgment the easier it is for others to see the real truth about God and be attracted to His heart of love. True judgment always results in glory and praise being given to God.

(next in series)

Refocus

For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for 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 14:7-8)

I have been thinking about this verse off and on for quite awhile since I started this chapter in Romans wondering what it really means. It seems that the way it is usually approached is so idealistic or vague that it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense in everyday life. I am praying for more insight about what God wants me to know about these verses.

What comes to mind this morning is that religion has become so self-focused and human-centered that God is trying to remind us that the center of all our attention needs to be outward focused and directed toward His heart. This comes right at the end of a whole passage delineating differences between beliefs of people within the body of Christ that conflict with each other. Now it appears that Paul is saying that focusing on our differences is not nearly so important as focusing on God.

If we view our relationship with God like spokes on a wheel then this would make a lot of sense. If viewed from a position on the opposite side of the wheel, other spokes will be very much out of line with our viewpoint and opinions. It will be very easy for us to compare others position on issues with our own and criticize, condemn and pass judgment on their views. But the same would be just as easy for them to do to us. Conducting ourselves in this way only tends to highlight our differences and create more and more division and disharmony within the body. No matter how right we may feel we are, pointing out perceived faults in others tends to only alienate and tear down the work that the Holy Spirit is seeking to accomplish at the heart level.

In these verses I see a call to realign our thinking and focus back onto what is important and what will bring us closer to the real and only point of legitimate reference for any Christian. Religion is not something we are to perform to earn anything from God. No matter where we are coming from theologically, if we center our focus on God, seeing truth about Him more clearly for ourselves and deepening our affections for Him ahead of everything else, then we will inevitably find ourselves coming closer and closer to each other as we approach the common center of all truth.

Not one of us lives for himself... I sense that Paul is writing from within a social context of community experienced by the early church that is so foreign to most of us today that we do not really understand most of the implications and assumptions of those within that body of believers. While they certainly had a lot of personal problems and each person was very much in a healing process, there was a level of transparency, vulnerability and mutual love and trust that would be shocking and even frightening to most people in churches today. I believe most people who now consider themselves quite religious would be scandalized by the level of openness that was required in order to participate in that early community.

When Paul talks about one of us, he is referring to those who have chosen to be absorbed into the body of Christ and fully participate in community with all its implications. I have to admit that not only is my church a very long ways from reflecting that kind of unity and openness but that I have never even seen a community or group of people who were experiencing that kind of intimacy. I certainly believe that God fully intends for us to live in that kind of oneness with each other and it will happen with or without us very soon. I am quite hungry to find and experience the kind of fellowship as described in the New Testament church but am also very skeptical of claims by people today to have achieved this kind of community. When they are more closely examined it is usually found that they are carefully orchestrated image management programs that are trying very hard to create the external symptoms of community life without properly addressing the root causes and creating an atmosphere where hearts can really thrive in a safe environment.

The early New Testament church was so energized, quite literally, by the dynamic inner power and working of the Holy Spirit that it was downright dangerous to your very life to try to join yourself to that intimate fellowship of vulnerable believers unless your were willing to dismantle all of your charades and masks you had acquired throughout your life. Ananias and Sapphira found out the hard way that you had better not mess with the intense power surging through a real church that is full of transparency and healing power from the very real presence of God in their midst. They thought that they could maintain their status quo of pretension like everyone else they knew that was part of typical religion, but they discovered too late that this was no typical religion. This was the real thing and the power in this religion was a great deal more than they had bargained for.

Quite literally, the early believers had to choose between continuing to live for themselves or to surrender control and authority over their hearts to the one and only Lord worthy of that role. It is important to note that they were not surrendering control of their hearts and minds to any human leader. That is how most counterfeit religions work. True spirituality does not assign any human being to be the channel of control over anyone else. In Christ's kingdom there is only one Master and that is the humble, graceful, kind and perfect Jesus who is no different now than when He lived here physically on this earth.

Every person in the true body of believers must be connected and subordinated directly to the Lordship of Jesus Himself individually from their heart and not to any other lord. Everything in their life then flows out of that relationship with Jesus and the intimacy that is enjoyed with Him is openly shared with all others who are likewise fully submitted to the complete authority of Jesus within their hearts. Intimacy is one of the most important things our hearts were created to enjoy and thrive on but has been mostly lost through the effects of sin in our world.

The counterfeit of true intimacy for which our heart constantly craves is the myriad offers of satisfaction through the various means and adaptations of everything sexually oriented in our world today. Satan knows that we crave intimacy almost more than life itself and he has spent thousands of years perfecting complex counterfeits that hold out convincing promises to satisfy that insatiable longing within us. But every one of them when indulged in leave us empty and even more hungry for the real thing. The deeper a person gets into the counterfeits the more intense and obvious they become aware of their deep need for real intimacy.

It sounds all too much like a cliché, but at the deepest level it is still unavoidably true: Jesus Himself is the only way we can find the intimacy that we each crave so deeply. Even the intimacy enjoyed by Christian couples within the context of true marriage is only a dim taste of the real intimacy that Jesus desires to ravish our heart with in direct connection with His own heart. This intense hunger inside of us has only one food that will hit the spot, and we can never feel really satisfied until we are realigned with our original wiring diagram, repaired and restored to our original destiny and purpose. Only when we are properly in intimate relationship with our Creator can we experience the true joys of pure, satisfying intimacy within the fellowship of true believers. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

(next in series)

Might and Power

...'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)

Yesterday I got to pondering this verse I heard quoted in a talk that has had an impact on me recently. As I thought about it I asked God what the difference is between might and power. In my thinking the two are nearly synonymous. I felt the need to look them up in the original and do some personal research to find out what this verse is really implying, because the underlying truth of this passage is very important to know if I want to be successful in life. So this morning I have taken some time to look up these words as well as peruse a number of other places where they are used in the Old Testament to pick up the sense of their meanings and applications.

Might: translated from the Hebrew word chayil. This version of strength implies external power through collectiveness. It refers to power or the threat of power by amassing resources such as wealth or armed groups of men. It is often tied to the idea of intimidation by the amassing of forces of some sort. It also refers to wealth implying the ability to use that as power over others. In both cases it seems to infer the power gained through the amassing of collective resources. It is also often interpreted as the phrase, mighty men of valor.

Power: translated from the Hebrew word koach. From what I can gather from its many uses throughout the Old Testament, this word is used to describe power or strength that is generally more internal in nature. Part of this is what we sometimes refer to as 'intestinal fortitude'. It also refers sometimes to physical strength such as with Samson, but it seems to always be linked with the will and emotional strength.

So what I am starting to sense here is that God is telling me that it is not by external amassing of force and/or resources, neither is it by my own internal resources of either physical ability, emotional strength or force of will, but it is something outside of these resources by which God's will and plans will be accomplished in my life: namely, His Spirit.

What I find very interesting is a verse in Deuteronomy that also uses both of these Hebrew words and appears to me to be something of a parallel to this passage. But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power (koach) to make wealth (chayil), that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

It is not by my abilities or resources, either individually or collectively with others that I am to live and carry out God's plans for me. It is by letting go of my desires for control and instead letting God infuse me with His presence and His Spirit to synchronize me with His heart and His ways. Saying it another way, it is not by trying harder but by resting more completely in peaceful confidence in God's goodness, sovereignty, abilities and plans under every circumstance and in every situation.

This “formula” then, can be applied to nearly every situation in which I find myself, particularly in my spiritual life. If I find myself stressing out about the immaturity and dysfunction of those around me, I need to remember that it is not up to me to “fix” them or cause them to grow up. I must relax and remind myself that they are God's projects and not mine in any way. If God happens to assign me a bit role to play in assisting with their growth, then I need to be faithful to follow His guiding. But it is still none of my business as to the apparent success or failure of His work in their hearts and lives. The only thing I need to pay attention to is my own willingness to keep infused with the right spirit which will produce an atmosphere of peace in the midst of any confusion or clamor.

Even in my own life I am not to fret and worry about how I am going to get rid of my bad habits, my dysfunctional ways of relating to others or my own doubts and confusion and faults. If I will give God ongoing permission to have His way in my life no matter how I feel, He is faithful to honor that permission and to cleanse me from every attitude and spirit that is not in sync with His ways and His heart. Jesus takes full responsibility for my salvation, which is the process of restoring and healing me. I need to listen to the real message of this verse and not keep trying to resort to my own schemes and innovations to accomplish what I think is God's will, either in other's lives or in my own.

It is not by collective collusion, force, or even human wisdom that God's work and will can be accomplished. Neither is it by increasing my skills, my knowledge and pushing harder with my plans that God's ways can come to fruition. It is only by synchronizing more thoroughly my own spirit with the Spirit of Jesus that His ways and atmosphere will begin to be seen both in my own life and in my influence which will infect the spirit of those around me.

Judge Not

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:37-38)

Judgment is usually indulged in when some wrong inside of someone else resonates with some similar root or fault in our own hearts. This text is simply an explanation of a universal principle, a law of reality, a truth that defines the way our minds naturally function.

If I judge someone, by doing so I am really exposing and amplifying the same or very similar fault in my own life. I am really giving notice to all around that I have the problem which I am accusing someone else of having. Even though I may re-label the issue so as to try to avoid detection myself, the very fact that it arouses intensity in my emotions betrays the fact that something is unresolved in my own heart and needs healing.

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. (Romans 2:1)

So when Jesus says that I should not judge if I do not want to be judged, part of the meaning of these words is that when I stop judging others I also stop judging myself; when I stop condemning others I stop feeding the atmosphere of condemnation that has surrounded my own heart and mind. Ironically, it may be found that we ourselves are the greatest source of the condemnation that we feel. We try to blame others for condemning us or think that God is making us feel condemned. But God says very clearly that He is not condemning anyone and even if others try to condemn us it is still our own choice as to what we will believe.

If condemnation from the outside resonates with self-condemnation on the inside, then it will feel so true that it will set up camp in our hearts and continue the destructive work of eating us alive from the inside out like a cancer. The true function of the real body of Christ is to create a safe, non-condemning atmosphere in which a person can once again breath and thrive in truth and grow in maturity. The true community of believers is to reflect for each other the true nature of God Himself who is never a source of condemnation.

We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. (1 John 3:19-21)

This verse shows very clearly that one of the results of freedom from condemnation is confidence. Conversely, the effects of sin through condemnation is to rob us of our confidence. Notice also the double application of the first part of this verse that addresses both sides of our being, our left brain intellectual, logical side and then our right brain, heart-oriented side. Knowing and assurance come from both sides of our brain being in agreement and engaged in the process of restoration to wholeness and peace with God (salvation). We will be in growing agreement with truth and our hearts will also have more and more assurance which is just as important if not more.

Also note that this verse highlights what I pointed out before, that it is really our own hearts condemning us that is the real problem. When we find ourselves under the condemnation of our own heart it feels like we are hopelessly lost in slavery to our own deranged sinful flesh trying to hijack our spiritual experience. John tells us here that the way to get out of this desperate predicament is to choose to believe the superior authority of God in this matter and refuse to be sucked into the conclusions of our natural feelings. As our feelings are ignored in favor of real truth from God, they will soon change and begin to align more closely to our choices to believe real truth and then our own heart can be trained to no longer condemn us. The more we train our heart to not condemn ourselves the more confidence we will enjoy in our growing intimacy with our true Father and with fellow believers.