Don't Even Judge Yourself!

 

 

 But as for me personally it matters very little to me that I may be judged by you or any human court; in fact, I do not even judge myself. I am aware of nothing against myself and I feel blameless, but I am not by this acquitted before God. It is the Lord who judges me.  So do not go on passing judgment before the appointed time, but wait until the Lord comes, for He will both bring to light the [secret] things that are hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 AMP

 

Those of you who follow me know that I do not believe in Eternal Security or Once Saved Always Saved as some theologians and others do. I was taught that doctrine in church, but like other things I've come to believe, I just kept running into Scriptures that contradicted it. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to open the Bible and not see a verse that contradicts eternal security. Before I continue, let me just say that I think it's very hard to lose your salvation. It takes a purposeful rejection of Jesus and a walking away from the truth and living a lifestyle of complete disobedience. Remember God didn't take away our Free Will when we got saved. We can still choose to reject Him. I've posted about this before so I won't go into it here. I only bring it up because those of us who believe we can lose our salvation tend more toward worrying about losing our salvation than those who believe once you say a prayer to receive Jesus, you can live anyway you want. 

 

My personality is one that some may call critical or judgemental. Honestly, I should have been a judge. I would love nothing more than to give criminals what they deserve! But I am probably the harshest critic of myself. I am constantly analyzing everything I do and say and even my motives and making sure I'm not sinning or doing something to displease the the Lord. I probably repent of things a dozen times a day... a bad attitude, a complaint,  a rising temper, impatience, etc.  It can be very frustrating and cause me to lose my peace.  I'm not afraid of losing my salvation because I know I love the Lord and have a relationship with Him, but I guess I'm hard on myself because I just don't want to ever mess up so much that I head down the wrong path. AGAIN. I say again because I spent the first 35 years of my life on a very dark path. So, I constantly check myself. I also grew up without a loving father so I sometimes imagine God as being angry and disappointed with me. Maybe some of you can relate. Maybe some of you are AAA perfectionists personalities like me.  Hence the reason for this post. 

 

I came across Paul's words in the above Scripture and they really struck me. Paul says he doesn't care what the world or anyone in it thinks of him. He then says he doesn't even judge himself, but that the Lord is his judge. You see, that's what I'm constantly doing. I'm judging myself, instead of leaving the judging up to God. I think it was David who said in one of the Psalms that no one can know the heart of man. Isn't that true? We are a mixed up bundle of genetics, upbringing, environment and events. One person may have a weakness in one area. Another in a completely different area. We are not to judge one another because we really have no idea what a person has been through. In fact, we aren't even to judge ourselves!

 

Now, I'm not talking about not repenting of sin. The minute the Holy Spirit convicts us, we should repent, let it go, and move on. And if we see a brother or sister committing purposeful sin over and over, we are to approach them about it. (This is Biblical and found in Corinthians) So, when I say judge, I'm talking about condemnation, about feeling bad about yourself, putting yourself down, wondering if you're ever going to be good enough, thinking God doesn't love you or is mad or disappointed, etc. I'm talking about negative feelings of unworthiness. 

 

Have you often thought that other Christians have it together so much more than you do? I have! I compare myself to them and wonder why they seem so much more spiritual and together than me. But the truth is, we don't really know their hearts. People can put on a show for others and I can guarantee you, most believers are struggling just as much as you are, and many probably more. 

 

Our enemy loves to condemn and make us feel unworthy. When he succeeds, it steals our peace and joy and hence our strength, and it can even make us not want to spend time with the Lord for shame. But remember satan is a liar... but he's a good liar... he always mixes some truth in with the lie. He may remind you of some sin you committed and then add in that you are unworthy and God is mad. Well, maybe you did commit that sin and maybe you are weak in that area, but the rest is a lie. At this point, we need to remind the enemy that we repented and that God forgives and forgets our sins

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

and that Jesus adores us so much he became a man and died for us. How many people would you do that for? All that suffering, pain, agony and rejection? I can only think of a few. But Jesus did it for you! While you were yet a sinner, rejecting Him!

 

I admit that sometimes I look at myself and it's hard to imagine that God really loves me. But the truth of Scripture stands strong.  I encourage you to look up verses on God's love. There are hundreds of them!  Then get alone with Him and ask Him to reveal His love. I think there are many Christians, myself included, who have no idea how much the Lord loves us!  He is as excited to be with us as we are to be with Him. 

 

The Lord your God is in your midst,
A Warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with joy;
He will be quiet in His love, making no mention of your past sins,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17

 

So, when you start to look at yourself and your flaws and feel unworthy, listen to the Apostle Paul and don't even judge yourself! The Lord knows all your weaknesses and flaws, all your heartaches, your past, your genetics.. and He understands you better than you do yourself. Keep your focus off yourself and your eyes on Him and His soon return. And keep yourself in the love of God!