Embrace the Within no. 179

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading and vile passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural [a function contrary to nature], and in the same way also the men turned away from the natural function of the woman and were consumed with their desire toward one another, men with men committing shameful acts and in return receiving in their own bodies the inevitable and appropriate penalty for their wrongdoing.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors], slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity]. Although they know God’s righteous decree and His judgment, that those who do such things deserve death, yet they not only do them, but they even [enthusiastically] approve and tolerate others who practice them.

Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things [which you denounce][This is not a prohibition of judgment, nor is it a command to stop using godly wisdom, common sense, and moral courage together with God’s written word to discern right from wrong, to distinguish between morality and immorality, and to judge doctrinal truth. There are many judgments that are not only legitimate, but are commanded (cf John 7:24; 1 Cor 5:5, 12; Gal 1:8, 9; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 10); however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.]” (Romans 1:26-32;2:1).

Hold on, this is going to be a ride. I want to start by bringing attention to how awesome the Amplified Bible is in always including the ending note I included about judgment every time a scripture that references judgment appears. And I want to reiterate what it says before beginning, “There are many judgments that are not only legitimate, but are commanded; however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.” And really, the only judgment that should really concern you or me is His judgment of what I am doing. Sure, our brothers and sisters can point out when we are messing up BUT we know.

When we deny the sovereignty of God and fail to follow His Will, then it is only inevitable that we will get what we wanted as Paul writes, “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness” (Romans 1:28-29). And isn’t this the world? Isn’t this what we see daily around us, on social media, in the newspapers, on television?

And we have, “ . . . no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things [which you denounce]”(Romans 2:1). I am in no position to act superior to the world if I am still approving and justifying and practicing the same sin in the world around me. I am to be set apart. I am to be a new creature. I am to be His Ambassador. How can I do that when I am one of the, “. . . gossips [spreading rumors], slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity]”(Romans 1:29-31)?

How can I do the things that I know are wrong? How can I tolerate those doing things that are wrong?

It’s easy to get caught up in the ways of the world. We live within the world. BUT we, as followers of The Christ, are not to conform to the world. We are to be Ambassadors of His Kingdom. And that means a totally different way of doing things. That means doing things like Jesus did things. Walking and talking and acting like Him rather than our fallen family, friends, and nation. And that is going to take becoming a new creature in a lot of ways. That is going to take being open to taking up His cross and walking daily in His Will. It is going to take dying to who I am and following obediently. It is going to take all of who I was and overflow who I am going forward.

I pray that I walk every day taking up His cross and walking obediently in His Will. I pray that I no longer accept and tolerate unrighteousness. I pray that I am moved by the Spirit of Righteousness in my daily walk as an Ambassador of His Kingdom. I pray that I take that responsibility with all the weight it carries.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH