Warning Against A Spirit Of Condemnation

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (Matthew 7:3)

Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? (Proverbs 20:9)

Proverbs 20:9 has a wide variety of applications and deserves to be examined in light of all of them, far more extensively than it can be addressed in a devotional.

The Proverb is of a spiritual and of course practical nature and it is a warning phrased as a question. The question, paraphrased, is "Who can honestly say, 'I have my made my heart clean. I am pure from sin?'"

Clean is a word that means innocent, among other things. One of the meanings of the Hebrew word is translucent. One meaning of pure is bright. Who can say I have made my heart translucent and I am so far removed from sin that I'm bright, squeaky clean? That sounds like a commercial for a dishwashing soap, but the Bible asks in all seriousness.

The warning found in such a question reminds us of several things, one of which is that mankind often has within him a misguided spirit of condemnation directed at everyone and everything else. We really do, at least sometimes, operate with just such an outlook.

Hillary Clinton will ruin our country and it's your fault if you elect her! If you're so perfect and you know what's best, why don't you vote? Mick Romney is a terrible choice for president. If you're so perfect and you know what's best, why don't you vote? Don't be so quick to condemn when you haven't lifted a finger yourself.

Even Christians fall into this pattern of behavior. A clear example: I had to repent more than once just to be able to look at one person who says they're Christian but acts like a harlot.

A second clear example: As my Adult Sunday School teacher mentioned recently in a lesson, sometimes it's brought up that the church is not full and it's "the preacher's fault." Well...how many people have you talked to about coming to church or how many have you talked to about their salvation? The Great Commission was given to every man, woman, and child and it's response to the commission that fills the churches. Anyway, if people are responding to a charismatic preacher you're not having any success no matter how large or rich the church is.

How far can we go in the spirit of condemnation? Not long ago an old preacher was told that if he resigned he'd be given a large severance package and if he didn't he was fired. The preacher had suffered many heart attacks and he was in bad health.

Here's how God worked that out: the preacher took the severance package and got called to a new church. God worked in his old church and the new church, and now both of them are doing better than they were before.

God can intervene and stamp out actions taken in a spirit of meanness and condemnation, but wouldn't it be more Christ like if He didn't have to?

Who can say I have made my heart clean? I am pure from my sin? Who can condemn others and say they can because they're innocent of the same things?

The answer is that no one can say it honestly. And if you're tempted to point the finger of condemnation at others, look down and notice that three of your fingers are pointing right back at you.

It is Christ who makes the heart clean and purifies us from all sin and unrighteousness. As for us, we still have a sin nature for which we need to watch out!

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