Yank the Plank - Part 1

 

According to 2 Timothy 1:7, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. In Christ we are complete. He is our sufficiency in all things. Colossians 2:10 says that we are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power. God gave us His Word so that we would be thoroughly furnished for all good works. Jesus Christ himself is the word of God made manifest. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has before ordained that we should walk in them.

In Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be not judged. Take the log out of your own eye so that you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” The problem is not the speck in your brother’s eye. The real problem is the log in your own eye. The log is the “two by four” plank of  . A critical spirit will kill any relationship. When we criticize, condemn, and complain, then we are in not in the sphere of God’s will; we are in the devil’s ball park. The devil is the deceiver and the accuser. The adversary fills the hearts of our fallen in sin nature with a critical spirit.  

To see clearly you need to “yank the plank.” The plank is the critical spirit. We cannot judge righteously if we’re looking down on another person from a position of “so-called” self-righteous indignation. This was the problem with the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. They thought they were superior to others and could judge others according to their own self-righteous standard. However, only God is the righteous judge. To judge others is the height of blasphemy, inserting ourselves of judges of righteousness where only God himself has the right to judge.

Romans 8:33 asks: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? When we speak with a heart of vengeance and vindictiveness, then we’re not spokesmen of the One True God. Instead we’re spokesmen for the god of this world, the devil himself. He is the accuser. He’s the one who declares us guilty as charged. However, Jesus Christ, who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. In the spiritual battle, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high - (Ephesians 6:12). The devil’s ploy is to lure and set our hearts in the affairs of this fallen world instead of in the kingdom of Heaven. We often have a good plan to do good unto others with good intentions. However, as Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan of action until he gets punched in the mouth.” Then, when blind rage takes over, you’re out of control. You’re in the ring with the devil himself.

Let's continue Michael's message on judgmentalism in the next post.

In Christ, Brian