Honest Self-Criticism

@FMF


lol. Takes one to know one.

Great projections FMF.

Honest self-criticism is not discouraged.
It doesn't accomplish what repentance toward God does.

Judas, self criticized when he realized he betrayed innocent blood.
Being a disciple of Jesus he turned the Son of God over to His enemies for execution.
The thirty pieces of silver he threw down and fled off in regret.

Self criticism didn't do what repentance for his sin against God could have done.

Paul pioneered in the Christian faith. He exercised to keep a conscience void of offense before God and with his fellow men. It was his routine to be sure nothing in his conscience condemned him concerning God or treating his fellow man.

"Because of this I also exercise myself to always have a conscience without offense toward God and men." (Acts 24:16)

Yet Paul said he didn't trust in this.

"For I am conscious of nothing against myself; but I am not justified in this, but He who examines me is the Lord." (1 Cor. 4:4)

Ie. " I am not aware of any infraction against either God or you in the church in Corinth who are complaining. But this is not the final court - my self evaluation or your's. God is the one who knows all and will judge." [paraphrased]

@sonship said
@FMF


lol. Takes one to know one.

Great projections FMF.

Paul pioneered the Christian experience. And certainly so also did the Apostle John.

John says that God knows our hearts and knows EVERYTHING.
We do not.

This works in two ways imo:
1.) In self criticism we may be too hard on ourselves because we do not know all the facts as God does.

2.) In self criticism we may be too soft on ourselves because we really do not understand the depth of our responsibility.

God is greater than our self critical heart and knows everything involved.

" . . . if our heart blames us, it is because God is greater than our heart and knows all things." (1 John 3:20)

John says it is possible that when the Christian come to the Lord his heart may have boldness though depending on how faithfully we deal with that which we do know.

"Beloved, if our heart does not blame us, we have boldness toward God." (v.21)

This boldness increases the effectiveness of prayer and petition before God.

" . . . we have boldness toward God, and whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight." (v.22)

@FMF

stop projecting your sanctimonious morally ludicrous filth onto your fellow human beings.

stop projecting your sanctimonious morally ludicrous filth onto your fellow human beings.

@sonship said

You're skating close to the infamous "excrement" comment you hate and repeatedly bring up.

@fmf said
Your excrement comment portrayed you as hateful, not me.

@sonship said
Oh, I can be hateful. There is no question to me about that.

I know where to go to get saved from it.
But that is "sanctimonious" to you.

I think it is about time that you defined what you mean by "sanctimonious".
I mean since it is a favorite jab you like towards any presentation of the Gospel, what do you mean?

Okay, I think we can related the Pauline "dung" comment to the present topic actually.

Paul was a pharisee. In those days to say this was a good sounding compliment. It might be the equivalent of telling someone they are a member of the Red Cross today. It was a noble thing for the most part to be a religious pharisee , and expert in the Law of Moses and exemplary model citizen of the nation of Israel - a theocratic nation.

Paul said once he found Christ this in comparison was like dung or dog food. IN COMPARISON it was far below living in oneness with the available resurrected Jesus Christ.

Of course being a Pharisee involved much self criticism. You could not be a good Pharisee unless you were self critical according to the law of Moses.

Now Paul says such self critical religiosity was excrement in COMPARISON to the riches of the full knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes things have to be contrasted and compared.

"And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith."

Where was the previously valued self criticism honestly done in light of the law of Moses dear to the Pharisee?

"But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of CHRIST. But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things . . . and count them as refuse that I may gain CHRIST and be found in Him . . . " etc. (See Philippians 3:7-9)

Knowing Christ as the Spirit of divine life in his spirit far far superseded his religious self criticism of a law keeping Pharisee. Now he lives by the real treasure - the law of the life of the Person of the Son of God dispensed into his innermost spiritual being!

@sonship said
I think it is about time that you defined what you mean by "sanctimonious".

@FMF
Phony innocence.

@sonship said
I think it is about time that you defined what you mean by "sanctimonious". I mean since it is a favorite jab you like towards any presentation of the Gospel, what do you mean?

@sonship said
@FMF
Phony innocence.