In Spirit and in Truth

By Gary Ray Wallace

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     "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah" (Proverbs 17:15). Solomon warned mankind about the danger of judging others. It is real easy for a sincere man to zealously bat around conclusions about the state of the souls of other men, but is that what God asks of us? Jesus told us to judge not (Matthew 7:1). He explained that God would use his word to judge us in that last day (John 12:48). Since Christ's words will be judging us on that last day, it is to no advantage, either to us or to those whom we teach, to speculate on the destiny of their souls now. Would it not be better for us to "preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:2), and leave the conclusions to God?

     Remember that Paul once said that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). That "all" includes us. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 John 1:8). We have always realized that we sin, but at the same time we hope for God's pardon and love. Is that same hope not open to others who are trying also? There must be some other people who are also incorrect on some points who will be saved because of God's mercy, and not damned because of their misunderstanding. If we negate the possibility of their salvation because they have sinned, we would have no hope of salvation either, because all have sinned. I am not saying that we are not supposed to preach the truth, but I am saying that after we have preached the truth, we had better leave the judging to the Lord.

     All of my life I have accidentally misapplied James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all." I have been thinking that this applied to the law of Christ. Actually it is talking about the law of Moses; that nobody could possibly keep it in its entirety. We are no longer under this rigid old law, but under "a better covenant, which has been enacted upon better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). We are now under a system in which we are "justified by his grace" (Titus 3:7), rather than by keeping every point mentioned in the New Testament right down to the letter.

     Does this mean that we do not have to obey the Lord then? No! James 2:17 states that "faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself." The Hebrew writer showed that even Christ had to obey, and that he is the author of eternal salvation unto all who obey him. A person is not saved, however, by his one hundred percent obedience, because none of us are perfect. We are saved by the mercy of God, "for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God...For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works" (Ephesians 2:8-10). We are expected to fill our lives with good works and obedience to complete our part.

     How does an understanding of this help us? I believe that it cuts out some of our uncalled for fears and gives us more "hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7). We need to understand that the whole burden of our salvation does not rest upon our shoulders, but that God's grace will make up the difference between what we have been able to do and what we should have done. When we realize this for ourselves, perhaps we will show more mercy upon those sincere people who have not "inferred" the same thing that we have on all points.

     Some people choose to combine fasting and prayer to grow closer to God. That is between them and God, not a case for us to make judgment upon. Some people want to take the communion every day, so as to honor Christ and remember him more often. Did Christ tell us to straighten them out? What if some person chose to wash a brother's feet in humility?

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Would it be necessary for us to convince him that this was just a custom of the first century, or could we allow him to do something which we do not customarily do? Am I saying that everyone has to do these things? No! I am saying that there can be liberty and diversity in our worship as long as it does not contradict what our Lord taught.

     Let's consider an example. If our keen eyes spot some "inferred reference" that another congregation of baptized believers does not spot or understand as we do (assuming that we are right), does God make a general statement of their condemnation in his holy Word? Would we be the only saved, and they the condemned, all other things being equal? Do we have to pass judgment on this issue? No! Should we pass judgment on it? Christ said to "judge not." We had better leave the judging to God, remembering that, "for judgment is without mercy to him who hath shown no mercy" (James 2:13). Instead of depending on our exactness, would it not be better to depend upon God's grace?

     Someone is probably recalling some of the observations that Christ and Paul made, like "ye hypocrites," and "thou whited wall." Can we make this same kind of statement today? We could if we had the ability to see into the hearts of men or if we possessed special powers given us directly from Christ, but I know of no man with these qualifications.

     Is someone thinking that it's too dangerous to preach that "grace stuff"? Paul did not think so. Should we not pray, "Be thou merciful to me a sinner?" (Luke 18:13), and wish the same for all others who are trying to live as the Lord taught? Is it possible that many times we have championed a cause of criticism, instead of teaching with "meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15)? Are we too afraid of not following the letter of the law and not concerned enough about following "the weightier matters of the law" (Matthew 23:23)?

     Christ taught that we should worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). I believe that the churches of Christ have done a good job of staying close to the "truth." I hope to see us get closer to that "spirit" of compassion and dependence on the Lord's mercy that primitive Christians had. Perhaps we could have more of that "peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), if we remembered that "faith can be counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). We do not have to be one hundred percent correct when the Lord is our guide. We should fight the good fight of faith, finish the course, and keep the faith, depending upon God to "forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:14, 15).

     (Editor's Note: You may address Gary Ray Wallace, at Apdo. 1555, San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America).