“When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, [as thou art] in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.” Luke 12:58
As blood bought believers in the body of Christ we abide… we live… in Grace.
And yet… on a daily basis, we live under the law by choice. We appeal not to God’s grace but to our own works, our own justification.
And we hold others to it, forgetting that when we judge others we enter the court room of the Law. And whoever is in the court room… whether prosecutor or defender… the plaintiff or defendant… it is the Law that rules them.
We tend to assume our own righteousness when we read scripture. Take, for instance the above verse in Luke 12:28. How many of us read it carefully enough to realize that the one who is cast into prison can be the same one who brought the case against his brother!?!
The word used for “goest” is hypagō… which can mean to lead.
We often feel wronged… an so we feel right. And in our own righteousness we feel justified to over others and so we begin to “know” that we are right.
“You were wrong!” we say. We bring condemnation to others. We pass judgments. We accuse. Never realizing or stopping to think for a moment that… when all of the evidence is submitted before the judge…
The verdict may well not be in our favor.
Because we chose the law. We chose to bind others with it, and therefore be bound ourselves. We forsake Grace because we believe that we are above it… we believe that we deserve it.
But grace on merit is not grace.
I am guilty of this often. And I have to often repent of it.
Just recently I had someone tell me “where I was at” and “what was wrong with me.”
And what was my first response… I got my defense ready. I knew that if I chose to I could refute the argument and win… at least I was confident I could.
But the Holy Spirit convicted me, “Why do ye not rather take wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7)
I never want to “go to the law” with a brother in Christ… because I don’t know all of the evidence… but as soon as you go to the Law… The Law Giver, The Judge… He knows ALL of the evidence…
I would much rather be under Grace.
And did you know that when you refuse to defend yourself, you save both you and your brother from the Law? You stay in Grace, and trust that the Lord will deal with it.
Are you absolutely, 1000%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, certain that there isn’t even just a little bit of you in what you say? Can you say with unquestionable certainty that you and you alone are completely right in any situation?
I can’t. In fact, I can never.
And so, I want to choose the route of “no defense.” (I have heard that it is the best offense! – private joke… I assure you it is funny when you know the whole story)
Pride loves a conflict. Fear loves a fight.
When we “suffer wrong” to avoid a conflict… when we have faith that God will fix things… we diffuse the law and invite Grace.
If people hurt you… if they accuse you… assume that you are wrong. Respond as if you are. Be gracious.
Don’t be offended. We’re all wrong. Apart from Christ, Who is our righteousness.
Remember, the Word of God says that whatever we do to anyone… we do to Him. Which also means that whatever anyone does to us they do to Him.
If someone hurts you… they are hurting Jesus.
If someone accuses you… they are accusing Jesus.
If you hurt someone… you are hurting Jesus.
If you accuse someone… you are accusing Jesus.
The moment you enter even one iota of evidence in your own defense that is based on you not having done anything wrong or proof that the other person is wrong… you chose the law over Grace.
Your response may have won the argument of the Law…
But has it won the heart of Jesus?
If someone asks you a question, answer it. If they accuse you and make a case against you without asking a question… don’t defender yourself.
Don’t accuse people. Ask them questions.
Resolve your differences along the way.
SDG
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