But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

 All Things:

            The spiritual appraise all things:  

1 Corinthians 2:15

15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

 

            As Christians, we are judged by those of the world. If we fall, they say, “See, it doesn’t work.” Even though their judgment is unjust and we shouldn’t let it bother us, we usually do let it disturb us and keep us from living the kind of life we should. We, through the Spirit, should be able to judge the actions of others. It is difficult sometimes to allow Him to do the judging. Some people seem to get too much pleasure judging others.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Do not fear the criticisms of those around you who say, ‘You are stupid for believing that God is real and that He loves you’. You have no need to fear them. They are but a vapor that will dissipate into the wilderness. You shall stand forever because you have trusted in Me for your salvation. Do not listen to their taunts and jokes about you. You cannot be defeated by them and so you should not fear their insults. You shall reign forever with Me, so why pay attention to their insults. They are the ones that shall soon be sorry that they have not believed in Me.”

 

            65. I am spiritual through Him who indwells me and I appraise all things.

For everyone will be salted with fire.

 Salt:

            Salted with fire:  

 

Mark 9:49

49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.

 

            We’ve probably all heard messages on salt (adding flavor; being a preservative; etc.) and on fire, and they all say it better than I could. What I want to look at is the statement that we will be salted with fire. It is the fire that brings about the flavor and preservative characteristics of this salting. The fire burns away the dross from our old life and leaves the “flavor” of the new. Fire hurts, but this fire is beneficial. It leaves us much stronger than before. Many Christians resist the inward fire. It is necessary for us to experience this in our lives. We need to determine, though, if this is God’s cleansing fire or the devil’s tempting one. He sends his fire to destroy us. We must resist that one.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is a fire coming upon the world. It is a fire that will burn up the chaff of mankind. It is a fire that will destroy the works of the devil. It is a fire that will purify My people. You are My special one, and I desire that you come to know Me in My cleansing fire. You will either be cleansed by My fire or destroyed by it. It is a cleansing and redeeming fire. It is a fire of purity and grace. All who go through the fire and are not scorched by it shall come into My blessings on the earth as well as in Heaven.”

 

            64. I shall be salted with fire and shall come through unscathed like the three Hebrew children.

Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

 Conscience:

            Hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience:  

Hebrews 10:22

22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

            Whenever they touched a dead body in the Old Covenant, they had to be sprinkled with pure water prepared in a special way. They could then after a short time be considered clean. They could not participate in anything spiritual until they followed the formula for cleansing that God had established. They couldn’t come before God and have their sacrifices acceptable until then.

            When we made Jesus Lord of our lives, our hearts were sprinkled clean from all the evil our old (now dead) man had done. Our conscience was now clear. We hadn’t done those evil things. Our old man did them. Now we can come near to God with a sincere heart, being fully assured that we are acceptable to Him.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You can before boldly, My children because you have been bought with a price. It is a price of untold riches. It is a price of untold grace. It is a price of untold boldness. It is a price of untold suffering. You are not some unwelcome piece of trash, but one of delightful longing. I have desired to know you from the beginning of time, but it is only recently that you have come to know Me. You are Mine from the beginning of Creation, but you are just recently My special one. You have known My grace and you will know My favor as you rest in My love for you. You shall not know hardship as My Son knew hardship on the cross. But you shall know My love in your heart for you have come unto Me and have accepted Me as your Savior.”

 

            63. My heart has been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. Therefore, I can trust it when it tells me that I have done something right or something wrong.

On the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

 Something Better:

             We have a better hope:

 Hebrews 7:19

19 (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

 

Hebrews 11:39-40

39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

 

            There were many promises in the Law for the children of Israel. They had a hope in the present and in the future through their relationship with God in the covenant they had with Him. However, they could not draw near to God. He was always far off. They could only hope that they had done whatever was necessary for them to be heard by Him when they cried for help. They did, though, have a hope in this covenant. In the second Scripture associated with this concept, the great men and women of old gained approval with God through their faith; and yet, they didn’t receive the Great Promise that God had made to them.

            We have a greater hope based on better promises made to us. Through the New Covenant, we can draw near to God. He is not far away from us like He was with them. We can know Him personally through His Son, Jesus. We can experience His promises in this life and the next.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My people of old had a hope in Me. It was a hope that they did not see and had no idea of exactly what it would be like. You have a hope fixed on Me that will bring you into a better life on earth, not just in Heaven. You have a freedom they did not have. You have insight that they did not have. They could not see, yet they believed in Me. You can see because you believed in Me. As you walk in Me, you will see the hope realized in your life. There is more to come, but there is a revelation of that future hope in Me as you allow My Spirit to reveal it to you. You cannot find it apart from Him. In Me you have hope. In the world you have no future. You  only have failure in the world.”

 

            62. I have an even greater hope than the people of God in the Old Testament. That’s because there is something better for me than they had.

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 Freedom:

             Called us to freedom:  

 Galatians 5:13

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 

            We weren’t called to slavery, but rather to freedom. We are free in Him. However, we don’t use this freedom to do any sinful thing we wish. We use it to do His will; to walk in the manner that He wishes us to walk. We use this freedom to serve one another through His love indwelling us. We don’t do it because we have to, but because we love one another and want the best for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I did not call into slavery, but into freedom … not the freedom that the world desires. That kind of freedom only wants the freedom to do the desires of the flesh. I called you into the freedom that desires to do the will of the Spirit. You will walk in true freedom when you walk in My Spirit. Then you will not carry out the desires of the flesh, but will carry out the desires of My Spirit. That is true freedom. You are not a slave unto the desires of the flesh, but rather free to obey Me and walk in newness of life.”

 

            61. He has not called me to bondage but to freedom in Him.