The Only True Way

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Mat. 7:1,2). "For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought… Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day" (Isa. 29:20,21; Isa. 65:5). "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1). I suppose you are getting the drift here, but whether you are or not, here it is: There are many who measure their own righteousness by someone else’s UNrighteousness, or in some cases by what they merely THINK to be someone else’s unrighteousness that may not be unrighteousness at all. That is exactly the kind of spirit that the modern Christian doctrines cultivate in those who adhere to them, which unfortunately is most of God’s people. Many people in this condition have experienced initial deliverance from certain vices and such, and many have gone on to the new birth experience as well, which is to say they have been baptized with the Spirit of God (I Cor. 12:13). But the many that I am citing here have not really grown in the love of God after experiencing these things, but rather have grown in the spirit of Christianity which condemns those that it deems to be ‘sinners’ who do the things that they themselves no longer do. That is the condition noted in the passages of scripture that I have begun this article with.

My friend, nobody’s UNrighteousness makes US righteous. What we believed God for and experienced with him yesterday does not necessarily mean we are walking in harmony with him today. God doesn’t change, and anyone who expects to be with him forever must be the same (Mal. 3:6; Jas. 1:6-8; Heb. 6:13-15). That sameness needs to be as follows: "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). A lot of folks are plenty zealous of John 3:16, and they should be; but most of them should go just one verse further and consider the kind of heart and spirit that was involved with Jesus coming to this world: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (Jn. 3:17). There is only one true way of being right with God presently, and the prophet Micah gave it to us straight up, along with a good idea of what does NOT constitute righteousness in our lives: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. 6:6-8). Hosea was in perfect harmony with these things as well: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hos. 6:6). What’s even more confirming than that is that JESUS was and IS in agreement with this way of thinking: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Mat. 5:7).

As noted, Jesus is in agreement with this mindset, and even punctuated Hosea's words: “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Mat. 12:7). James the brother of Jesus was also in full agreement: “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (Jas. 2:13). I could go on to quote half of the Bible with these kinds of sayings, but I believe this is sufficient to the point. The real point is in fact that those who are presently walking with God are only interested in getting wayward souls out of the sins that they had once been bound by themselves, and they have the spirit of God’s love which alone can get the job done. Those who are not presently walking with God in truth and reality are mainly interested in justifying themselves by looking at how ‘bad’ others are. That is a very serious condition that we surely want to avoid my friend, because if not corrected it can escalate and end up somewhere like this: “And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him” (Mk. 3:1-6). Amen.