Be Honest with Yourself

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us”- Romans 12:3 NLT

Healthy self-esteem is important because some of us think too little of ourselves: on the other hand, some of us overestimate ourselves. Honest and accurate self- evaluation comes by knowing the basis of our self-worth, our identity in Yeshua. Apart from Him, we aren’t capable of very much eternal standard; in Him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service. Evaluating yourself by the worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to think too much about your worth in the eyes of others and thus your true value in God’s eyes.

He called apostles and prophets, like Paul, to instruct us in the way of salvation and so Paul rightly reminds us, "that through the Grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think."

There is nothing in the gospel that can be credited to our account, because Yeshua did it all. We are saved by Grace through faith in Yeshua’s work on Calvary and there is no ritual, religious activity, Sabbath rule, or Church-imposed regulation that could ever elevate our position before God or exaggerate our spiritual importance. ALL that we have and ALL that we are have been given to us by God's Grace.

God has given us all that we need for life and godliness, because we trusted in Yeshua’s finished work, by faith. By His Word and through His Spirit, we have received all that we require, including certain spiritual gifts, so that we may live a life that honors His Name. Each believer has a unique function and each person has been thoroughly equipped, by the Holy Spirit, with sound judgement and spiritual gifts so that we may carry out the work that God has prepared for us to do.

It is good if we recognize and employ the spiritual gifts that God has bestowed upon us, but we should never be puffed up by them or use them to falsely exaggerate our own importance or spirituality. All spiritual gifts are given by Grace and all are exercised by faith. We were saved by faith, we are to live by faith, and we are to exercise our spiritual gifts by faith - and all is to be done to the Glory of God and not for the elevation of self.

Each one of us has been blessed by God with certain spiritual gifts and we are to exercise those gifts according to the measure of faith we have received and according to the Grace we have been given. We should neither exaggerate nor minimize the gifts we received from above - but should do everything to the glory of God. Therefore, walk in integrity.