Our confidence shows itself in loving acts toward others, and also toward God. Love is firstly a response: we love Him because He first loved us. Gods love is expressed in the loving things He does for us. The more we love Him and the more we love one another, the more His love is perfected in us. The NT Greek word for perfection means “An end accomplished as the effect of a process.” To the degree that God’s love enters our heart the fear of His disapproval exits. Perfection is a process, not an event. Perfect love is love that has come to maturity. Perfect love dispels lingering fear of rejection. The fear referred to in 1 John 4:18 is not the fear of the Devil but the fear of Almighty God. The thought that torments many otherwise strong Christians is that ultimately God might condemn them (Hebrews 2:14, 15). We will all appear before Christ, but not in a dock! There will be no prosecutor, because our sins have been forgiven. Our defender will be Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. His judgement will relate to our rewards for our past service, not our future salvation. That was secured for us once and for all by his death on our behalf (1 Corinthians 3:13-15; 14:10-12). “In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as he is, so are we, in this world.” (1 John 4:17) “Because” is a ‘hinge’ word: the rest of the verse ‘swings’ on it. Other than the fact that we are still in this world, we are just as acceptable to God as is His Son Jesus. If we know that God unreservedly accepts us, we will not worry if others reject us. Instead of (a) fear of God’s judgement; (b) negative self-judgement; and (c) acceptance of criticism from others, the reverse applies: (a) no condemnation from God; (b) no negative judgement from ourselves; and (c) rejection of unjust criticisms by others. When criticized, the Apostle Paul defended himself. “What about me? Have I been a good servant? Well, I don’t worry over what you think about this or what anyone else thinks. I don’t even trust my own judgement in the matter. My conscience is clear, but even that isn’t final proof. It is the Lord Himself who will examine me and decide. So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether someone is a good servant or not.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-5) Paul here refers to our tendency to pronounce judgement on others without full knowledge of the person, the situation or the circumstances. “Man’s day” (of judgement) stands in opposition to “the Lord’s day” — the day on which “the counsel of the hearts will be revealed.” Paul could not have continued his work for the Lord if he had accepted the criticisms and the judgements heaped on him by “false apostles” – critical, devious, envious and resentful competitors. Condemnation is not just a word — it’s a sentence. If you accept it because you feel you deserve nothing better, you pronounce yourself as “unfit for use” in God’s service. But God’s love perfected in us enables us to have “boldness in the day of judgement” — and a confident, joyful life of service for the Lord in the here and now! “So let us come boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) “Come boldly” — openly, confidently. Not timidly or fearfully, but confidently and expectantly! “God is love; and he who dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. In this our love is perfected, so that we may have boldness in the day of judgement.”(1 John 4:17) So stop condemning yourself – why do the enemy’s work for him?
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:05:33 +0000
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