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 Chapter 3

MEASURED TO HIS FOOTPRINT
 

 "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God." [Romans 14:10-12]. 

          Day by day the challenge deepens in the life of the believer that is progressively following on to know the Lord― to be holy as He is holy, to be conformed to His image, that we might shew forth His praise. This puts a purpose in the daily travail, as well as preparing for the greater  fulfillments to come, when in the ages to come we shall be His display vessels through whom He will reveal His love and grace to all men.
          Romans 14:4, instructs us that we are not to judge another man's servant, because "To his own master he standeth or falleth." Then the sure promise is added, "Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." Praise God! "He is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." [Jude 24]. Then Paul turns the spotlight from focusing on others, to say that we all must, personally and individually, "stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
          JUDGMENT SEAT― from the Greek word "bema," meaning "footprint, or tribunal," as it refers to the seat of a judge; or, that which decides or judges, as, the tribunal of public opinion as a standard which is measured to.
          BEMA is used only twelve times in the New Testament. Ten times as "judgment seat." Then in Acts 12:21 where it says that "Herod... sat upon his THRONE." And in Acts 7:5, "And He gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as TO SET HIS FOOT ON."
          These words "to set on" come from the Greek "bema" or "judgment seat." It is very obvious that the word JUDGMENT SEAT doesn't easily fit in this verse, for Abraham was not given so much as a FOOTPRINT in the land, that is, no lasting mark upon which to look as a token of his future inheritance in the land. There was nothing tangible to measure by.
          This is wonderful! There was no visible standard, no definite imprint whereby he could lay claim to anything in the land of Canaan, and yet God promised it to him for an inheritance. In fact, the promise was given to him while at such a time that he did not even have a child for an heir. This was a walk of faith in God alone, and Abraham became an example of a "FAITH WALK." But for some tangible evidence, that he was in the land, that it would be his for future inheritance, there was nothing, not so much as a footprint. Even his godly life left little impact upon the nations around about him. There was no lasting or remaining evidence of his holy standard, were we even to use these words translated as "judgment seat." In fact, two generations later, God even pulled all of his seed out of the land, sent them down to sojourn in the land of Egypt, until the cup of iniquity was filled up, of the ungodly inhabitants of the land. Then Israel returned to wipe out these ungodly ones, and to possess some of their inheritance.
          As a stranger, as a pilgrim, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt in the land of promise for a time, but he was not allowed to raise up a pillar, to visibly leave a mark that this was to be his land. The promise was to be received by faith, in his spirit, and held there for future fulfillment.
          How true this is yet today in the life of a believer in Christ, those who are called to become His first fruits of the new creation, to receive their inheritance IN HIM. We see the vision, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne." [Revelation 3:21]. We talk about ruler-ship, about mature sonship, possessing the kingdom, etc. and yet if someone were to demand literal, physical evidence of this at the present time, we have little visible evidence that proves our true position in God. We have all the "same afflictions that are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." [1 Peter 5:9]. What we do possess is a vision, a faith, a trust, believing that which God has promised will assuredly be fulfilled at His appointed time.
          Nevertheless, we are persuaded that "HE is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." [1 Corinthians 1:30]. HE IS THE STANDARD we are to measure to HIS FOOTPRINT, to His walk. Being brought to the very "JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST" is literally being measured to His footprint.
          Christ alone must become the ALPHA and the OMEGA of our life. He is the only Standard to which we are measured. It is not what people say about Him, but what HE NOW BECOMES TO US, and the revelation is unfolded to our own heart, so that we come to KNOW HIM in a deeper and more intimate way. One cannot always measure up to what others say is the "Christ life and walk," for men's opinions greatly vary, and often miss the truth completely. Nor can we go beyond the point of revelation which He imparts, but we would obey, and measure up to all that we have received of Him.
          Tradition gives the impression that the "judgment seat" is a fearsome place where God, as an austere Judge, metes out the sentence. There is no mercy, no love― only awesome judgment. But the truth of the matter is that day by day we are now, progressively, facing the judgment seat of Christ, as we are experientially being measured to HIS FOOT-PRINT. As the holy Spirit leads us into all truth, there is purging and purifying so that we might be conformed to His image.
          Since we are not to judge one another, but each one must personally bow before Christ, and come into submission to His will and way, then Paul went on to teach, "Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." [Romans 14:13].
          We are not to set up these standards to which our brother is to measure. A setting forth of our own carnal ideas, which he cannot fulfill, and thus we cause him to stumble and fall, to become discouraged and give up the way of faith. At no time are we to project a "footprint" and demand that another now measure their walk to it. We have no present authority to sit in the judgment seat and give the sentence. Christ will set forth the standard, as HE quickens to each man the will of the Father. He raises up the foot-print, and then will require that our walk, our foot measure up to that print. To Him alone we will stand or fall, and praise God, He is able to hold us up, so that we do not fall, do not fail, do not come short of the goal.
          Furthermore, since it is HIS FOOTPRINT for every man to follow, it becomes self-evident that HE HAS GONE BEFORE US, leaving us an example. It is HIS WILL for our life, and He clearly marks out that will for us. How often have we prayerfully sung, "Where He leads me, I will follow...," and then become frustrated and confused as we substituted the leadership of men, to follow men, and then wonder why the Lord allowed all this condemnation and sense of insecurity. But to keep our eyes solely upon Christ, HE IS OUR LIGHT, then our pathway will be flooded with light, joy, peace, even in the midst of the pressures which are used to help keep us girded up, and pressed into HIS WAY .
          By the grace of God we would not impede nor hinder our brother's walk in any way. We would offer no stumbling block, no prescribed hurdle for him to have to overcome. We would point the way to Christ, that He might have free course in every life, fulfilling the counsel of His own will for every man.
          Having thrown out all of man's self-prescribed standards, and insisting that we measure up to the footprint of Christ alone, then Paul goes on: "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." [Romans 14:14]. How dare we raise up any manmade standard, once we come to the point where we understand that there is nothing unclean of itself? Why become a law unto another, and indoctrinate him as to what we think is unclean, and thus limit him to a negative realm of condemnation?
          While nothing is unclean OF ITSELF, however, to him that esteemeth it to be unclean, it is, because he does not have faith for it. The context reveals that the subject is of "meats," and standards of what to eat, and what not to eat. But there is a PRINCIPLE INVOLVED which the Spirit can apply to many avenues of our life. So then, if you have faith to believe that the thing is all right, and to be received, be very careful yet, that you do not cause your brother to stumble over your freedom. "Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is the man that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth." [Romans 14:22].
          Amplified, "To be envied is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approved." Praise God! You believe a thing to be clean, with a clear conscience you can stand before God, knowing you have measured to His requirement for you in this thing, then you should feel no condemnation, neither from yourself, nor from another, over that which you approved and allowed in your life. You cannot pass along that liberty to another, for Christ must work in their life the same degree of faith for that thing, but, before God, you can walk on in peace concerning the matter.
          He who has doubts, an uneasy conscience, stands condemned because he is not true to his own convictions, and does not act from faith. "Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and man." [Acts 24:16]. May this declaraction of Paul be ours.
          Faith presupposes a divine revelation, a clear Word from the Lord upon which to base its believing action: When we personally have a clear revelation that a thing is right for us, we can receive it with a clear conscience, regardless of man's traditional standard concerning that thing. But, "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." [Romans 14:23]. Because without a revelation from the Lord upon it, we have no proper course of direction, and therefore will miss the mark.
          Therefore, to our own Master we stand or fall. When God gives us the Word that we can do this, or have that, then we can stand before Him with a clear and open conscience when we partake there of. Others might not have that same Word from the Lord, and their self-imposed standard might not allow it, and thus they would be inwardly condemned. Therefore we must seek, if at all possible, not to cast a stumbling block before them. It is between us and God, not something to be flaunted before men. Others cannot place their foot in this print until first God reveals it to them. That is why HE ALONE is the standard for every man. How just, how righteous are all His ways and inworkings.
          This makes no room for anarchy. Where there is no law and order, there is confusion and disorder. We do walk by a sure law, THE LAW OF GOD. Furthermore, consider the world "alloweth," in this statement, "happy is the man that condemneth not himself in the thing which he alloweth." For, as the Wuest Expanded translation gives, it is something which he has put to the test to see if it meet the specifications, and when it does, then he approves of it, allows it. The specification, the standard is Christ, and specifically how He speaks to our own heart. It is not "what does some Church organization teach?" nor yet, "What do my parents believe?" But it is that personal, daily leading of the holy Spirit, guiding our steps and causing us to know HIS will and way. This is the path of daily victory!
          Perhaps we might share the personal guide-rule which the Spirit gave us to test a thing:
                    1) Does it exalt Jesus Christ more and more?
                    2) Does it demand a deeper degree of personal holiness in following Him?                                 
          We have found that when we can answer these positively, with a clear conscience, there is real peace to go on. Learning to know the will of God in a matter, and then walking by the ROYAL LAW OF LOVE, we find that it is indeed, a "perfect law of liberty, " a glorious freedom in Christ, without condemnation.
          Self-indulgence, ignoring the law of God, not even seeking to know His mind and will in the matter, this does breed anarchy. "In those days there was no king in Israel: every  man did that which was right in his own eyes." [Judges 21:25]. This did not make for a happy state of affairs. When they refused to walk in the way of the Lord, Who was their Invisible King, then they were left without any standard, and so every man did his own thing, and chaos resulted. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end there of are the ways of death." [Proverbs 16:25].
          Paul's spiritual understanding developed to the point where he had great FREEDOM IN CHRIST, but he also stated, "I abuse not my power in the gospel." [1 Corinthians 9:18]. This word "power" comes from the Greek word "exousia" which means: the right, the privilege, the authority.
He would not abuse, or badly use, his privileges in Christ. True, he was free from man's traditional creed, and all the carnally imposed standards, but he also knew that he was "not without law to God, but under law to Christ." [1 Corinthians 9:21].
          THE LAW OF THE ANOINTING― being led by His Spirit! When we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Invisible as it might seem, we are being measured to HIS FOOTPRINT and the Spirit will guide us into all truth, so that we can fit that footprint.
          "Wherefore we labour (endeavour), that, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things in body, if according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." [2 Corinthians 5:9-10].
          We must appear before Christ, to be made manifest, be exposed, brought to the light, to see how we measure up to His footprint. No man can serve two masters, and if we are trying to please men, measure to their standard, we will fail, come short of the glory of God. But, as we diligently seek to present ourselves to the Lord approved, obedient to His will, the Spirit is able to present us faultless before His throne, and to do so with exceeding joy.
          Interesting that even the fairy tales of childhood bear out this same fragment of truth. Through efforts entirely not of her own making, for she had nothing in herself, sitting among the cinders, Cinderella received special grace from the fairy, who clothed her with new garments, and sent her off to the ball. In order to return home by the midnight hour, at the last moment she dashed out of the place, losing a slipper in the process. The prince had fallen in love with this beautiful one, and finding the golden slipper, he went throughout the land seeking one that could fit into that slipper, or, footprint. He sought for one that could measure up to its correct size, standard. Many tried to qualify in themselves, but to no avail. Cinderella met the standard, she fit exactly into the footprint, and because she qualified, she received the blessing.
          Yes, everyone that can place their foot, measure their daily walk, to HIS FOOTPRINT, to His standard, they are accepted into the Beloved. We have nothing in ourselves to make us worthy, to enable us to qualify, but His grace will work in us and bring us to that place. Miracle of miracles, the wonder of transformation, that He would give "beauty for ashes," changing our filthy rags for His righteousness, and then enabling us to daily walk in His steps. Now, "We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." [2 Corinthians 10:12].
          "For not he who commends himself, that one is accepted after having been put to the test, but he whom the Lord recommends, that one has His stamp of approval placed upon him, that approval being based upon the fact that the approved one has met the test satisfactorily." [2 Corinthians 10:18, Wuest].
          But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that THEY ARE WROUGHT IN GOD." [John 3:21]. Not one bit of fear, no pangs of a guilty conscience, because all of our deeds are to be wrought in God, with His approval, by His direction. Then we can come to the Light, be fully exposed, and yet remain unashamed. With joy we can look forward to the climax of the judgment seat in our life, knowing that because we daily, walked in the light, as He is in the light, there is nothing covered or hidden, waiting to be exposed to condemn us.
          In that day there will be no value in our own self-made light. We often try to tell God what to tell us, we want His will when it coincides with our will. But I daresay, HIS LIGHT will expose all the shadows of our un-surrendered will. Therefore we need to DAILY APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, a present-tense process, allowing His light to illumine us, and then yield to the holy Spirit for whatever cleansing and correctional measures are needed, so that we will be able to fully measure to His foot-print in the hour of His appearing. This is a progressive work to be executed in our daily life, with its climax at His coming.
          "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." [Hebrews 4:13]. The Amplified gives, "opened and exposed, naked and defenceless." While the Greek word for "opened" used here, literally means, "to have the neck bent back."
          Ah, how fully the face is exposed when the neck is bent back. We cannot escape by having our eyes shielded and our head hanging down. He will bend it back, look us square in the eye, and see whether we are conformed to His image, or not. All things are thus opened to Him, fully exposed to Him. There are no secrets hidden from Him. Praise God, we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord... [2 Corinthians 3:18].
          For even hereunto were ye called. because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps... [1 Peter 2:21]. We are persuaded that the standard is here NOW, we follow in His steps NOW, and  therefore we can say that the judgment seat of Christ is a progressive operation in us NOW, until we have been fully developed, adjusted, set to rights, unto a perfect man. Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.... [Ephesians 4:13].
          Furthermore, we are persuaded that HE JUDGETH RIGHTLY.  "He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears…" [Isaiah 11:3], for this is not an exterior, surface dealing of God. His work is in the inner nature, and therefore His breakings of our self-will, and His probings are very deep, for all that is within us must be refined and conformed to His image. But we can commit ourselves unto Him, our Faithful Creator, to trust in His all-sufficient grace, persuaded that He will bring us to His full stature― fully measured to His footprint.
 

 
Measured to His footprint, the judgment seat of Christ,
There to stand before Him in our sacred tryst.
 
Knowing that the Spirit girdeth up our way,
To present us faultless on that hallowed day.
 
Carnal creeds and doctrines leave a wanting score,
Failing in their measure- He requires more.
 
Grace alone sufficient in the Christ I find,
Blessed transformation, renewing of the mind.
 
Day by day to follow in His steps until
We are one completely with the Father's will.
 
Brought unto full stature, pure as He is pure,
This the holy standard that shall e'er endure.
 
Measured to His footprint, judgment seat of Christ,
Unashamed before Him in our sacred tryst.

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(1)  Prinzing, Ray and Doris. WHISPERS OF HIS JUDGMENTS. (now out of print), Boise, Idaho 83705}

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