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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Acting
Guilty
(James 2:10-13)
by
Karl J. Forehand
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has
become guilty of all. For He who
said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit
murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you
have become a transgressor of the law.
So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of
liberty. For judgment will be
merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:10-13)
Acting guilty is considered a
weakness in most societies. We
sometimes glorify the ability to keep a “poker face” and we encourage people
not to wear their emotions “on their sleeve.” The tough part about God’s law is that we are all guilty; so
what good does it do to pretend we are innocent. One sin makes us a transgressor.
Because of the work of Christ,
if we have accepted Him, we will not be judged for our sins. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now
NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” John 3:18 stresses that we were already condemned by the law;
but belief in Jesus Christ takes away that condemnation.
Although we will not be judged
for our sins, there will be a time when we are judged for our works. This won’t determine our eternal security;
but will determine eternal rewards.
Don’t ask me to explain that right now; but understand it is clear in
Scripture.
What do I do with the fact that
I AM guilty?
1. Speak as a guilty one
Speaking as a guilty one means
we don’t compare. As a pastor,
I have had occasion to visit people in jail.
Almost without exception, the person in jail wants to convince me of
how bad all the other prisoners are.
The problem is that people don’t compare themselves to the right
standard. Why doesn’t the prisoner
compare himself to the model citizen of His community? Christ is our standard and must be what we
measure our lives against.
We also must avoid the
temptation to brag. Whatever
we have done to please God has been because of the Spirit of God working in
us.
The Bible tells us that we will
have to give account for every careless word we speak (Matt. 12:36). Our primary speech must be that of a
guilty one – after all, we are guilty.
2. Act as a guilty one
I believe the primary way
our actions are enhanced through acting guilty is in our compassion. Jesus was continually moved with
compassion. Very often we are
abounding in piety and religiosity and lacking in compassion.
3. Why mercy triumphs over judgment….
Judgment (by us) circumvents the
authority of God. God has already
judged our lives and found us guilty.
When we judge someone else as (more guility ?!?) than us, we take
God’s authority and make it our own.
We’re trying to do a job that God already did and taking
responsibility for something that we are forbidden to do (Matt. 7:1, Rom.
14:13). Judgment circumvents the
authority of God -- mercy releases the Power of God.
Judgment ignores the compassion of God. Whenever we decide to judge and condemn
others, we seldom have compassion for them.
God has already judged us and found us guilty. The work of Jesus Christ is about rescuing
us from this judgment. Our work
should be about rescuing others from the fire – this requires mercy (in other
words, we can’t simply give them what they deserve). Judgment ignores the compassion of God –
mercy releases it.
Judgment denies the heart of God. God’s heart aches for lost sinners. He must judge because He is holy, but He
desires that all be saved. Judgment
denies the heart of God – Mercy embodies it.
Are you able to act guilty and let mercy
be your mode of operation?
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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