The Joy of Glory

Romans 14:1-12 (click here)
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:10-12)

Reflection
We are not to pass judgment on one another.

This principle and texts like Romans 14 suffer from much abuse. People us them to say all sorts of things the text doesn’t say at all!

For instance, this text is not saying that we are never to hold each other accountable. It’s not saying that we don’t call one another to repentance or practice church discipline. It’s not saying that we don’t talk about, even debate, our disagreements sometimes.

So what is it saying?

All of the things I just mentioned are motivated by love. We hold each other accountable, call one another to repentance, and discuss our disagreements out of love for one another and out of a desire to help each other grow towards Christ.

The “judging” being forbidden in Romans 14 is not motivated by love, but by condemnation. It comes from despising someone and what they think or do. There is no desire for redemption… just condemnation. There is no desire for repentance… just punishment. There is no desire for their good… just shame.

We never have the right to condemn a brother or sister in Christ, because we are not the judge with them needing to plead their case to us. No. We are actually in the same position as they are…we all have one final, ultimate judge…God! We will all give an account to God.

No one has the right to judge except the one who is the judge…The Lord. The good news of the Gospel is that even though we deserve the righteous wrath of God the judge… he has taken that wrath upon himself so that he might not show us just condemnation, but gracious salvation through Jesus.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:17-18

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Acts 9:1-18 (click here)
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:10-17)

Reflection
Why did Ananias go to Saul?

After all, he’d heard about all the evil this man had done and was intending to do toward the church. Ananias seemingly had every right to be angry with this man, to wish him ill, and to refuse to extend him grace. So why did he go?

Ananias went to Saul because he knew that when it comes to grace…he has no rights.

He had no right to claim grace for himself, and he had no right to refuse it to someone else. When it comes to grace…God has all the rights…the only rights! God chose Saul as his instrument, just like he chose Ananias. This is grace!

So Ananias goes, but not unwillingly. Though he may have had some initial hesitancies, Ananias’ fears are relieved by God’s good Word and he goes to Saul in celebration. How do I know?…because, before Saul is baptized, and before he even makes a confession of Christ with his lips…Ananias is calling him “brother.”

He is celebrating the fact that his faith family is growing, and he welcomes Saul with open arms. He celebrates the birth of his brother in Christ!

I don’t know Ananias’ past, but he obviously had a great understanding of what it meant to receive grace. We know this, because he had a great understanding of how to extend grace. We would all do well to ponder the grace we have received. This transforms our hearts into vessels that are quick to pour out grace toward others.

The more we ponder grace, the more we realize that we have no rights over grace…the more we realize that we have no right to claim grace for ourselves and we have no right to refuse it to anyone else.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

John 18:1-18 (click here)
The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. (John 18:17-18)

Reflection
This is the world in which we live.

Think about it… Peter had spent three years physically being around Jesus. He walked with him, talked with him, listened to him, etc. Most of the time, he was encountering people who were in favor of Jesus and also wanted to be near him. It was “cool” to be with Jesus.

Then Christ was arrested and everything changed.

For the first time Peter found himself without Jesus…standing amidst a crowd who opposed Jesus. This is the world in which we live.

Jesus is not physically with us and we spend much of our time surrounded by people who are not exactly “in favor” of our savior. We live in a world where it is not “cool” to be with Jesus.

So what do we say about Jesus? When we find ourselves standing around the fire with others…or chatting at work…our out socializing…what do we say when Jesus comes up? Are we with him? Do we know him? Do we love him?

All too often, we take the route of Peter. As soon as being identified with Jesus means insults or isolation (or worse) we plead ignorance. I have been guilty of this too many times.

The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus never pleads ignorance of us. If we truly know, trust, and love him…he is always read to welcome our rebellious hearts back home. He did this for Peter (Jn 21:15-19) and he will do it for you.

Jesus is not ashamed of you and me (Heb 2:11)…so may we never be ashamed of him (Rom 1:16).

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.