2009-07-17
Good Morning Cherished of God,
Some of you might be wondering why the Holy Spirit is giving me so much to say about judgment. One reason certainly is that our human judgments and God’s impact almost every facet of our lives. So, I’m encouraged to continue, this week by looking at the issue of God’s guidance when humans cause trouble. Once again, we will compare MT 7: 1-2, which by now I am hoping we have all memorized, with MT 18: 15-20. MT 7: 1-2, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and He will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.” MT 18: 15-17, “If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two others persons with you, so that ‘every accusation my be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the Scripture [DT 19: 15] says. And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.”
As with any group of people gathered together, there must be some guidelines to deal with inappropriate behavior. The alternative is anarchy, which is wholly unacceptable, particularly in places where the Body of Christ comes together for God’s purposes. I was in a church where a man felt he had the right to sleep with any woman he felt like, as long as she agreed to it. Fornication and/or adultery are unacceptable to God and certainly against God’s principles whether a man or a woman initiates it [EX 20: 14, 17]. All of us have seen how a sin like this spreads, like the proverbial red liquid stain on a white handkerchief. Sadly, humans are expert at rationalizing sin. In this case, each of the steps of MT 18: 15-17 were taken, and the offending man decided to leave the church. I’m sure it breaks God’s heart when the devil has such a stronghold on a person. None of us ever knew what happened to him. The ladies who gave in to him also had to come to terms with what they had done and right their relationships with the Lord. If it seems so simple as described here; it is because space doesn’t allow for me to discuss each of the lives that were adversely impacted by this series of poor choices.
This is only one example from my long-time experience serving God in a church setting. Another such time came when a woman decided that she didn’t like another member of our church, due to his having to refuse her requests for money in a business deal they were in together. According to the guidelines of his company, he acted entirely within his right here. She had a terrible penchant for getting angry and holding grudges, the extent of which I hadn’t seen for a long time. Her way of taking out her anger against him was to begin a whispering campaign to get him released from his job and destroy his reputation. I was in on what was going on, because I knew both of them and was in a class with her. She discussed her opinions in our class, which was completely inappropriate and brought in people into this controversy who had no business being dragged into it. Once again, the guidelines of MT 18: 15-17 were brought into the situation. She too eventually left our congregation. No amount of bringing Scripture into discussions with her in an effort to stop her activity from going forward made any difference. What we must learn from such situations is that the devil can establish heavy-duty strongholds which can be very difficult and sometimes impossible to break through in some people. This never needs to happen if: 1) There is strongly obedient faith in Jesus Christ, 2) people realize we are given the same power to win in spiritual warfare as God used to raise Christ from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20], and 3) we don’t forget to use it, if necessary.
MT 18: 19-20, “And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, I am there with them.” When a church or any other institution which is set up with God’s participation through prayerful planning obeys Biblical guidelines, none of it’s decisions will be carried out with mankind alone. When God is truly a part of the proceedings, the chances are likely that serious misbehavior of its human element will be rare. People who are mature in their faith actually feel God’s presence with them at all times, even when trouble does come. If they are wise, they turn to Him for direction, and certainly before taking any serious action. PS 37: 23-24, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Once again, as the Lord did in JN 15: 7 and MT 21: 22, He repeats this most amazing promise to answer prayer for anything within His will in MT 18: 19. LK 17: 1-3 gives us God’s realistic perspective and warning about sin. “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! It would be better for him to a large millstone were tied around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch what you do!” While Christ is speaking here of little children being caused to sin, the same principle applies to adults too. We see this from Paul’s words in RO 14: 13, “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we must learn to consider the consequences of our actions before we go headlong into sinning. If a person in our spiritual community is about to sin and we can say something to prevent it, then we are responsible to do so along the guidelines that Christ has set out in MT 18: 15-20. Before we ever say a word, we should come to you to find out if this is according to Your will and give You the chance to give us the right words to say, if it is. We can come before Your throne and boldly ask with reverence for Your help, and You will answer our prayer. That is the confidence You tell us we can have in EPH 3: 12. We must ask the question: Are will really helping, or are we simply being judgmental with a self-righteous point of view? You will let us know which, if we will listen to You in prayer. Praying first to You before we say a word gives us the time not to be acting solely out of our emotions. You have shown us repeatedly that a person’s spiritual health is very important. When someone who is possessed by the devil and is unwilling to use the power to battle him that Christ has given us is in our midst, we must pray for him, and do all that is appropriate to help him avoid or stop his sinful behavior. Indeed, Dearest Abba, we are our brother’s keeper, but not to the point where it pulls us into sin. That is why You set up the guidelines in MT 18: 15-17. You have also given us comfort in reminding us that You are with us when two or more people agree. Turning to You for guidance is the most sensible thing we can do, whether we are a pastor, leader, or ordinary member of our community. We need You! We praise and thank You for always being here for us whenever we need You. We say this prayer, in the mighty and holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, we will continue on the subject of when human judgments are not forbidden while looking at HE 5 :14. We all know that there are some pretty complex problems that beset us as individuals and as church communities. My feeling is that God allows some of these to test/strengthen our faith and to bring forth awareness of our need to be dependant on Him. Other times when things begin to get out of hand, He is teaching us to turn to Him. PS 71: 20-21, “You have brought trouble and suffering one me, but You will restore my strength; You keep me from the grave; You will make me greater than ever; You will comfort me again. It gives me great comfort to know that when things seem at their very worst, our Lord is always there for us. We can and should turn to Him at any time, and always FIRST. JN 20: 23 gives us God’s perspective when there is trouble with others. “If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” This puts the onus on us not to hold grudges. So many times we see this between family members. It is a stain on the relationships that God has established, and it can get ugly. It is never constructive for us to hold grudges; nothing good ever comes from it. God has indeed equipped us to be forgiving, which is why He says what He does in MT 7: 2, “…He will apply the same rules to you that you apply to others.” We can avoid ever having to worry about spiritual death, if we will only keep looking to God for His direction and have the courage to follow it in this and all contexts of our lives. Praise be to our wise, forgiving, and loving God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn