Recently, I believe
the Lord showed me that I had to put on the belt of truth so that my spiritual
loins could be healed and fullness of intimacy with Him be made possible. This
would also enable Him to conceive in me what He desires to conceive in me. I
believe He led me to Derek Prince’s book, Lucifer
Exposed, page 59, where the author elaborates on the meaning of the belt of
truth which is part of the armor that God supplies to us,[1] “We must
be ruthlessly honest with ourselves and, as the Holy Spirit leads, with other
people. We cannot encumber ourselves with religious clichés. They are a
terrible hindrance if we want to be truly committed Christians. We cannot hide
behind religious talk; we have to be sincere.”
It is important to be
honest with ourselves and with God and not to hide in fear if we want to
receive forgiveness, deliverance, healing and restoration. Legalism
causes us to want to hide for fear to be condemned and rejected if we do not
possess or display perfection. Furthermore, legalism always demands us to be at
a higher level of holiness than where we are now. We may be at level three in
love and level two in faith, but legalism is not satisfied, because we should
be operating at level seven and eight, or actually we should be operating at
level ten! It always brings the sense that we are not enough. It usually causes
us to put on a façade, a spiritual mask, so that if we don’t measure up within,
perhaps, we can, as much as possible, measure up without. It is a merciless
place―a place where there is no life, no color, and no joy. Religious perfectionism
is a major hindrance to progress.
Jesus did not waste
any words when He addressed the experts in the law of His day. Here is an
excerpt of Jesus’ blunt words in Luke 11:46 AMPC: “But He
said, Woe to you, the lawyers, also! For you load men with oppressive burdens
hard to bear, and you do not personally [even gently] touch the burdens with
one of your fingers.” In contrast, grace will take us as we are and will
help us make progress. Under grace, it is understood that the change will
happen over a period of time and not all at once. If it were not so, a genuine
work of the heart wouldn’t be possible. God is the only one who can mold and
shape our hearts. We do need to cooperate with Him as He transforms us within;
and we do that by believing that He is working in us even when we do not see immediate
results and by yielding to His molding. We also cooperate by studying and
applying His Word and by praying. That way, we are being transformed as our
mind is renewed.[2]
This represents the time and the effort that we put in. Then, as He does the
work in us, we begin to work out what He is doing inwardly.[3]
Here is another of
Jesus’ strong rebuke to the religious leaders of His day, found in Matthew
23:25-26 AMP: “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full
of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). You
[spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the
plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so
that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.” As we can see
from the aforementioned Scripture, unless we open up in honesty and face the
truth about our inner condition, our religion is reduced to mere hypocrisy―outward
performance. The Gospel is the good news. It frees us to come to God just as we
are, without condemnation and without fear, and it opens the door for God to
examine our heart thoroughly. Under grace, we are invited to let God forgive,
heal and restore us in our innermost parts. Then the outward will follow. As a
child of God, we are in the process of becoming what we already are. And the
Bible says that we are the righteousness of God in Christ.[4] I love
Hebrews 10:14 which teaches us that by a single offering (which is Jesus on the
cross), we have been made perfect forever those who are made holy.[5] It is a
new covenant.
Jesus said in Matthew
5:48 AMPC, “You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into
complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper
height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Amplified Classic Edition version of the Bible describes perfection as
“growing”. During my recovery from legalism/religious OCD (scrupulosity), when
I was in prayer, I asked the Lord, “How can you love us so much when we are so
messed up?” Immediately the Lord spoke to me as a word came to me from my
spirit. The word was hunger. God is
not looking for perfection. What God is looking for is hunger—hunger for Him, hunger for righteousness.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 KJV, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for
they shall be filled.” Therefore, let us, by
grace, pursue holiness with our whole heart and let us hunger for righteousness,
but let us not forget that what God is looking for first and foremost is
hunger, not perfect performance. There is a difference between godly perfection
and legalistic “perfection”.
In conclusion, God is
a God of the heart. Certainly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.[6] Let us
make the difference between a perfect heart and a perfect performance. Repentance
doesn’t mean perfection. Repentance means to come into agreement with God
concerning sin, to turn from our sins and to begin to walk in the opposite
direction―toward perfection. The
Bible clearly shows that the merciful will receive mercy.[7] If there
is room for us to receive mercy, it is because we are not perfect, or else
mercy wouldn’t be needed. God has called us to enjoy the journey while we are
on it. He who has called us unto Himself is faithful; He will hallow and keep
us.[8] Let us
trust God to deliver us from our enemies―from temptations, weaknesses and sin. Then
will we be truly changed from the inside out and empowered to live the
victorious life we have always wanted to live. Be encouraged dear one, there is
hope! There is a way out. (To be continued in part 2)
—Kathleen Kaczmarek
[1] See
Ephesians 6:11-17.
[2] See
Romans 12:2.
[3] See
Philippians 2:12-13.
[4] See
2 Corinthians 5:21.
[5] See
Hebrews 10:14.
[6] See
Matthew 11:28-30.
[7] See Matthew 5:7.
[8] See 1 Thessalonians 5:24 AMPC.
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