Today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers covers something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I have come across so many people who claim to be believers, yet are maligning people and even ministers of the Gospel who believe something a little differently than they do. The ONLY teaching that makes someone a false teacher is when they teach that there is another way to the Heaven of the Bible than by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, including adding certain works to the simple Gospel. It also seems to be very easy for believers to spot the sin of another believer, while many times missing their own! Our attitude toward these things should be as covered here:
Heedfulness v. Hypocrisy
In Ourselves
If
any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He
shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. — 1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we
will 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 will 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.
Refuse to speak a word against another born again believer. Choose to obey the Word of God and PRAY for them! See them as God sees them, worth dying for! When we sow mercy, love and forgiveness, then we will reap mercy, love and forgiveness when WE need them! And we will! AMEN! Here is Hillsong Worship with "Grace to Grace":
Shalom in Him!
