“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32
Dear Ones:
Jesus once said that, “…In My Father’s house are many mansions…” (Jn. 14:2) There are also in the Father’s house, many brethren…even the redeemed from every tribe, tongue, and nation. If the will of God is for His name to be honored, His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, what is to be the relationship between brethren on this earth? Jesus leaves us in no doubt that the standard set by God is, “…on earth as it IS in heaven.” How can this be, and lived?
One of the greatest needs on the mission field is in the matter of personal relationships. How is this so? The key element, and power, of missions, is the Spirit of God. The enemy of our souls knows that to grieve the Spirit of God, because of a wrong attitude of one brother or sister in Christ, towards another, is a certain way to cause the blessing of God to be limited. The relationship of brethren, in the “Father’s house,” is to be right, and just, in the sight of God. It is for this reason that He declares, “…have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover the multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) But what does it mean specifically to truly love others fervently?
Let us look first at what is NOT love of the brethren. It has to do with “judging” others. What is judgement? It is the assessment, and adoption, of a certain attitude, one individual towards another, which approves or disapproves of a certain action or attitude of the other. Based upon that assessment, and conviction, a position is taken either to esteem the other as more important than oneself, or put oneself in the place of God, who alone can truly discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. Because of the attitude, love is replaced by the holding of a debt against the other person, not being willing to forgive and forget. Let us be clear that we are not specifically dealing with blatant sin. Scripture is clear about this, and sin must be humbly dealt with in the body of Christ. But we are dealing with that which is NOT love, and certainly not of true faith, which grieves the Holy Spirit.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he deals with “judging” a brother. He asks the question: “Why dost thou judge by brother?” He also later declares that we are not to judge one another “…any more.” (14:10,13) Why does he say this? The first and most obvious reason is that God alone can judge righteously, and correctly, for He alone knows the heart. Secondly, we cannot judge others because we are so limited. Even the Lord Jesus, when He took upon Himself human flesh, deferred wholly to the Holy Spirit for all judgement, and discernment. This was because of his limitations, even as a perfect man. In Isaiah 11, we read of Christ, and of the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him: “…and He shall NOT judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” (v.2,3,4)
The last reason for which we cannot judge a brother or sister resides in the fact, and presence, of our old nature. Jesus spoke of this problem when he spoke of those who wanted to remove a splinter out of another person’s eye, and yet, there was a beam in their own. He reprimanded also the disciples, who at one point wanted to call down fire out of heaven to destroy those who opposed Christ. Jesus’ words to them was: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” (Luke 9:55) The disciple of Christ has need daily to be saved from himself, and his sinful nature, leaning not to his own understanding, if he would be enabled to trust the Spirit of God for all discernment.
Dear Father, Teach us to discern by Thy Spirit, leaving all judgement with Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad