JUDGE NOT PART 7

October 18, 2012 at 9:07 AM (Ethics, Judge Not)
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INTRODUCTION

Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

Let’s look at a fifth and final instance when judging is inappropriate and is an act of disobedience to God.

IT’S WRONG FOR US TO JUDGE CONDEMNINGLY

Jesus’ prohibition against judging means DO NOT JUDGE CONDEMNINGLY. A critical, judgmental person is a condemning person. He finds what’s wrong with people. He judges them. Then he condemns them. If it’s within his power, he punishes them. A CRITIC ISN’T INTERESTED IN LIFE, PARDON, FORGIVENESS, OR SECOND CHANCES. HE’S INTERESTED ONLY IN SEEING A PERSON PAY AND SUFFER FOR HIS WRONGS. He seeks to damn and exclude people from Heaven. He alienates people from God and the hope of Heaven and life by consigning them to a life and a future of punishment and damnation.

Look again at Luke 6:37, Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Brethren, it’s not our liberty, right, or prerogative to condemn. Look at James 4:12, There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? It’s not our place to condemn anyone. Or to damn them.

Romans 14:4 asks us an interesting question, Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. When we judge one another we’re judging another man’s servant. That man’s name is God. Our brothers and sisters belong to God. God is their Master. And WE’VE GOT NO GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO CONDEMN OUR BRETHREN BECAUSE THEY DON’T BELONG TO US. They belong to God and they answer to God, not us. God will deal with them. But, in the mean time, He’s dealing with us. And He’s saying, How dare you presume to act like Me and be the Judge when you’re no judge! Since when did I make you the judge?

When you read Romans 14 you’ll see that there was a conflict in the Roman church. There were two groups of Christians in the church. One group ate meat; the other was vegan. One group celebrated the holidays; the other didn’t. So you had two different groups with two very different, opposing, contradictory beliefs and lifestyles. And the one group would naturally think that the other group was wrong and going to Hell. That’s what the judging was all about. Each group was saying to the other, you’re wrong and you’re damned. You’re going to Hell because you don’t believe and practice what I believe and practice.

But look closely at the last part of Romans 14:4, Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. The person who’s wrong, the person who doesn’t believe and practice what we believe and practice, the person who a critic condemns and damns; look at what God does with this person. God holds him up and makes him stand! GOD, BRETHREN, KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH HIS PEOPLE AND MAKE THEM STAND!

The interesting thing about this is a critic’s solution to a problem is to get rid of the person who has the problem. You get rid of him by damning him, making him feel like dirt, making him think God doesn’t love him, forgive him, or want him. You get rid of him by alienating and ostracizing him.

But God doesn’t do this! INSTEAD OF GETTING RID OF THE PERSON WITH THE PROBLEM, GOD WORKS WITH THE PERSON AND GETS RID OF THE PROBLEM INSTEAD! How cool is that?

Look at verse 13, Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. We can spend our time judging, criticizing, and condemning one another. But God doesn’t want us to do this. He doesn’t want us spending our time knocking people down and trashing them. He doesn’t want us to make our brethren stumble or fall.

Yes, people are wrong. Every one of us are wrong at some time or another. We’ve all got our problems. But God isn’t damning or condemning us. He’ll do it as a last resort if we don’t get it right. But all the time that we’re wrong and missing it and messing up, God’s trying to bring us to repentance and help us get over our problems. He’s working with us because He wants to give us life and spend eternity with us.

And that’s what we got to do with one another. We can’t knock each other and throw one another down. We can’t condemn and damn each other. We’ve got to have the heart of God and reach out to one another and do what we can to help and lift each other up. We need to each one another the hope of change.

God, brethren, hasn’t given us the office and duty of judging as far as damning and condemning people is concerned. The ministry He’s given us is the exact opposite. Instead of knocking people down and driving them away from God, mercy, forgiveness, Heaven, and life; God wants us to bring them closer to God, mercy, forgiveness, Heaven, and life.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  (18)  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;  (19)  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  (20)  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The world was guilty and wrong. The world deserved to be damned. But Jesus came to give all of us the hope of forgiveness and life. He came to save, not to damn. THIS MUST BE OUR MISSION AND MINDSET.

AS LONG AS WE’RE CRITICS WE CAN’T BE SERVANTS AND MINISTERS TO PEOPLE. WE CAN’T HELP THEM. We can’t draw them to Christ. The exact opposite is true: critics drive people farther away from Christ. Condemnation crushes their spirit and gives them no hope of being loved, forgiven, and wanted by Christ.

Brethren, let’s leave judgment to the only Person who’s the Judge; the only Person who’s qualified to be the Judge. Get rid of the judgmental, critical mindset and tongue. Ask God to give you a heart of love for people. Ask Him to give you a different set of eyes so that you can look at people through eyes of love. He so much wants to do this for you! He’s waiting in the operating room. Won’t you come and let Him heal you and change you? You’ll be an entirely different person when love is in your heart! God bless you!

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JUDGE NOT PART 6

September 22, 2012 at 11:56 AM (Ethics, Judge Not)
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INTRODUCTION

As we saw in my earlier post from John 7:24, there are times when it isn’t wrong for us to judge one another (JUDGE NOT PART 2). Having said this, the prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1 tells us that there are times when it is indeed wrong for us to judge people. Let’s look at a fourth instance when judging is inappropriate and is an act of disobedience to God.

IT’S WRONG FOR US TO BE UNMERCIFUL WHEN WE JUDGE

There are a lot of things wrong with a critical, judgmental person. (1) He’s hypocritical and self-righteous as we saw in the previous posts. (2) He’s partial and preferential. He’s unfair and unjust because he judges people by one standard but doesn’t judge himself by the same standard. (3) He’s critical in the sense that he’s focused solely on what’s wrong with people. And (4) a critical, judgmental person is a really harsh, unmerciful person. He’s got no mercy. No compassion. No understanding. No sympathy. No second chances. No chances to get it right. No forgiveness. No love or prayers for people who have problems.

A critic and a judge live by law: “you did this, you deserve this.” That’s all good and fine on the day of judgment or in a time of incurable hardening and unrepentance. But THE LORD DOESN’T LIVE EACH DAY IN JUDGMENT MODE. If He did, none of us would live another day. The Psalmist says it well in Psalm 130:3, If thou, O Lord, should mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? The idea here is, if all the Lord ever did was make a record of our sins—gathering all the evidence needed to condemn us—who could ever live? If God lived this way there is no life after sin and judgment!

But the Psalmist goes on and gives us the hope of life: But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared, Psalm 130:4. The Judge could live every day in judgment mode if He wanted to. But He doesn’t! He made us! He loves us! Do you think He wants to kill and damn us? You’ve got God figured out wrong if you think so. Christ and Calvary are the proof of that and they are a resounding testimony of God’s love and desire to forgive and save, not record, remember, and damn. THE JUDGE LIVES EACH DAY IN FORGIVENESS MODE. He offers forgiveness and pardon so that we can live. God is not willing that any should be damned, but that all should come to repentance, forgiveness, and life (2 Peter 3:9). This is the heart of God and it’s the very heart that’s lacking in every critic. That’s every critic without exception.

A CRITICAL, JUDGMENTAL PERSON HAS A COLD, UNCARING, UNMERCIFUL, UNFORGIVING HEART. HE OR SHE IS INTERESTED IN KILLING PEOPLE INSTEAD OF MINISTERING LIFE AND HOPE TO THEM.

In Luke 6:36-37 Jesus links judgment with mercy and forgiveness. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.  (37)  Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

A judge is given to the punishment of wrong: he condemns the people who are guilty and ministers death to them. But Jesus doesn’t want us to be like this. He wants us to be merciful and forgiving.

Now this is very instructive and enlightening. We are an imperfect people. We’ve got problems. We’ve got things that are wrong with us. We make mistakes. Critics use our imperfections against us to condemn and contemn us; to discourage and dishearten us; to make us miserable and mad.

But Jesus commands us to be merciful and forgiving! JESUS KNOWS THERE ARE THINGS WRONG WITH US. HE COULD CONDEMN AND BAD-MOUTH US. BUT INSTEAD OF MINISTERING DEATH, JESUS FORGIVES. HE’S SET THE EXAMPLE FOR US TO FOLLOW AND HE PLAINLY COMMANDS US TO BE MERCIFUL AND FORGIVING.

To me, the best example of a person who doesn’t have any heart or mercy is the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35. You know the story. A servant owes his master a big sum of money. The master threatens to sell the slave’s family and possessions to recoup his loss. But the slave begs for mercy and patience. And the master ends up not following through on his threat because he’s got a merciful heart. This same slave, now forgiven, went out and found a fellow slave who owed him a tiny bit of money. The fellow slave begs for mercy and patience. But the forgiven slave refuses to show mercy and throws his fellow indebted slave into debtor’s prison.

Do you get the point of the parable? Jesus was real merciful with us as sinners. He forgave us and saved us. He wants us to be like Him, follow His lead, and be forgiving and merciful with people who have wronged us. And if we’re not, we’ll end up where the unmerciful, forgiven-but-unforgiving servant ended up: tormented.

Friends, IF YOU LIVE WITHOUT MERCY YOU’LL DIE WITHOUT MERCY. IF YOU’RE HARD AND UNFORGIVING TOWARDS PEOPLE GOD WILL BE HARD AND UNFORGIVING TOWARDS YOU! For he shall have judgment without mercy that  have shown no mercy, James 2:13.

A critic forgets how God has been so merciful, forgiving, patient and kind towards him. HE’S ALLOWED HATE TO FILL HIS HEART. AND HATRED ALWAYS LEADS TO DEATH. IT MINISTERS DEATH. 1 John 3:15 warns us that whosoever hates his brother is a murderer. A critic is harsh and hard on people because he’s got no heart for people. He may never admit it, but the truth is he hates the person he’s critical of.

A critic will likely never admit to wanting to kill a person. She won’t take a knife or gun in hand and kill the person she’s critical about. But HAVING A CRITICAL MINDSET AND TONGUE IS ALL THE SAME AS WIELDING THE INSTRUMENTS OF MURDER AND DEATH! God doesn’t see any difference between a critical mind and a gun, between a critical tongue and a knife, because they both produce the same result—death, if not of the body, then certainly of the spirit. The depression, discouragement, anger, feelings of resentment, rejection, unworthiness, and more; all the feelings and emotions that come with being criticized and condemned kill the soul. They sap the life out of a person. IN GOD’S EYES THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CRITIC AND A MURDERER. Now I’m really getting ahead of myself. More on this in my next blog.

Coming Up On My Next Post, Part 7. The final post in this series looks at God’s attitude towards a critic. And, as you would expect, He’s got some rather harsh words to say to the harsh. If you’re a judge drop by for your trial and sentencing before the Judge. You’ll get a taste of your poison and we’ll see how you like it.  

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JUDGE NOT PART 5

September 15, 2012 at 10:45 AM (Ethics, Judge Not)
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Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

The prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1 tells us that there are times when it is indeed wrong for us to judge others. In my last blog post in this series we saw that it’s wrong for us to judge self-righteously and hypocritically. Let’s look at a third instance where it would be inappropriate and wrong for us to judge others.

IT’S WRONG FOR US TO BE CRITICAL WHEN WE JUDGE

The word judge, in and of itself, is not a bad word or thing. It comes from the Greek word krino and the word means to separate or distinguish.

Think of it as going to the vegetable section of your supermarket. When you’re buying bananas you look over the selection of bananas and you pick out the bunch that looks the nicest to you. You do the same thing with lettuce. You seldom just glance down and pick up the first head that your hand touches. No, you look at several heads of lettuce and you get the one that looks the nicest to you; you reject the one that’s starting to turn brown. THAT’S WHAT JUDGING IS: YOU’RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING AND YOU’RE SEPARATING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD; YOU’RE PICKING OUT THE GOOD FROM THE NOT-AS-GOOD.

A critic and criticism are the same way. Criticism is the act of looking closely at a person, thing, or issue and evaluating its merits or faults. A critic in the true sense of the term looks for the good, as well as the bad.

Now when he finds the bad it’s because the thing is bad. The critic doesn’t make it bad—he just finds it and singles it out and tells people “this is bad or faulty; there’s something wrong with this one.”

Consumer Reports is an organization that’s dedicated to trying out all sorts of products and name brands, testing them, and seeing which one of them works best and which ones don’t work as good. We deem their work to be very good, informational, and beneficial.

So judging and criticizing are not necessarily bad or wrong in and of themselves. When the Bible speaks of not judging, it’s not telling us to quit discerning or quit being on the lookout for something or someone that’s bad.

Unfortunately, judging and criticizing, or being discerning, have gotten a bad rap and are viewed with disdain because of the bad or wrong that they end up finding a lot of times. Because we’re all imperfect, there’ll always be something bad or wrong about each one of us. That’s just the hard fact of life and that’s the way it is.

In this sense, if we talk about a critic in the bad sense of the word, A CRITIC IS SOMEONE WHO SPENDS HIS OR HER TIME LOOKING FOR WHAT’S WRONG WITH PEOPLE. A critic doesn’t look for what’s good in a person. A critic doesn’t encourage or commend a person for his/her good qualities or achievements. HE doesn’t talk about what’s good about a person or thing. A CRITIC IS OUT TO LOOK FOR WHAT’S WRONG. TO BE CRITICAL IS TO LOOK WITH THE SOLE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF FINDING SOMETHING WRONG. A CRITIC IS A FAULT-FINDER.

  • When he finds what’s wrong, a critic is pretty loud or vocal about what he’s found. He’s a pretty negative person because all he talks about is what’s wrong with everyone and everything.
  • When a critic finds what’s wrong, the judge in him steps out and judges, or condemns, the wrong or bad. So criticism and judgmentalism go hand in hand. A CRITICAL PERSON LOOKS FOR WHAT’S WRONG. AND A JUDGMENTAL PERSON CONDEMNS THE PERSON WHO’S WRONG.
  • If a critic doesn’t find anything wrong at first glance, he doesn’t give up looking. He digs deeper and continues to dig until he finds what’s wrong. A CRITIC IS A DIRT-DIGGER. HE’S GOOD AT DIGGING UP DIRT and making people’s lives miserable.
  • HE’S ALSO A NIT-PICKER. He looks at every little thing and magnifies it so that it looks really really big when, in all actuality, it’s really not that big of a deal.  He makes mountains out of molehills. Stuff that isn’t really important is made  all too important.

Look at Matthew 7:3. A critic looks at a mote in a person’s eye. A mote is a small thing and a lot of us don’t notice when a person has a mote. We’re too busy looking at the person that we don’t notice a tiny mote.

When we think of a mote in terms of a splinter, which is what a mote was in Jesus’ day, not too many of us can see a tiny splinter in a person’s eye if we’re standing at least an arm’s length from that person. We’d really have to be up close to the person, in his face, and sometimes with a magnifying glass, before we can see the tiny piece of grass, hair, or dust that’s in a person’s eye. The point is, we just don’t see a splinter or mote under normal circumstances.

But a critic notices it right off because he gets up close, in your face even if you don’t ask him, and he sees it. He sees it because he’s looking for it.

Now when Jesus commands us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, lest ye be judged, the implication is He’s commanding us not to judge because He knows we’re going to be critical when we judge. It’s like when you tell your kids not to play in the dirt. You tell them that because you know they’re probably going to do it and you want to stop them from doing it. Jesus is the same way about judging. He knows we’re going to look for people’s faults and be critical of them; and He wants us to stop it.

Like we said in the previous posts, Jesus in John 7:24 wants us to judge. To judge righteous judgment and not judge by appearance. He wants us to judge, but not judge in a way that we’re critical.

How can you know or tell if you’re being critical? If you’re looking at people with the purpose and intent of finding out what’s wrong with them, if the reason you’re looking is to find fault with them, if all you see and think and talk about is what’s wrong with people and things; if you’re condemning of others; you’re critical.

So when Jesus commands us not to judge, He’s telling us HE DOESN’T WANT US TO JUDGE WITH A CRITICAL, FAULT-FINDING, DIRT-DIGGING, NIT-PICKING, PEOPLE-CONDEMNING, LIFE-SNUFFING, SPIRIT. HE DOESN’T WANT US TO BE PREOCCUPIED WITH, AND FOCUSED ON, PEOPLE’S FAULTS.

Within the framework of Jesus’ Law, be it the Law of Love,IF YOU’RE CRITICAL YOU’RE NOT ONE TO JUDGE. YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED OR AUTHORIZED TO JUDGE. YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF RENDERING JUST JUDGMENT. YOU CANNOT HELP PEOPLE OR MINISTER TO THEM IF YOU’RE CRITICAL OF THEM.

Coming up on my next blog post in this series, Part 6 looks at another reason why Jesus doesn’t want us to judge. We’re so busy looking at what’s wrong with people, but God’s going to continue telling us in these posts what’s wrong with us when we’re judging people. Still think you’re right? Wanna bet?

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A MAN OF WAR TEACHES US ABOUT PEACE

September 1, 2012 at 11:34 AM (Ethics, Peaceableness)
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You’re probably well familiar with the Roman centurion who came to Jesus asking Him to heal his beloved slave (Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:11-10). When we think about this centurion we’re prone to think about his faith, his understanding of authority, and Jesus’ miraculous power to heal the most impossible of sicknesses and diseases. If you haven’t read the story recently I’d encourage you to read it right now. It’ll help you understand what I’m about to tell you.

As I was preparing to teach a lesson on the Roman Centurion the Lord arrested my attention and pointed out a different picture of the centurion that I had not seen before. To my pleasant surprise, tucked away in a passage of Scripture where faith is everywhere apparent, a man of war had a lot to teach me about living peaceably with people who are very hard to get along with. Let me share with you what the Lord showed me.

THE PALESTINE OF YESTERYEAR

Take a trip with me back in time. Place yourself in the sandals of this Roman centurion. You’re currently stationed in Spain, France, Britain, or Rome itself. Your tour of duty is just about up and you’re expecting your next deployment order to come anytime soon. It comes as expected. Your next deployment will be to Palestine.

Of all the places in the Roman Empire, Palestine is the most difficult. The Jews are unrelentingly fanatical about their religion and their God. For them there is no compromise, no toleration, or moderation. They will fight and die for their beliefs, And, indeed, they have. Freedom fighters are aplenty and the entire region is a seedbed, or rather, a hotbed, of revolt and rebellion. The land is drenched in blood, both Jewish and Roman. If blood were water, the Palestine desert would be an oasis.

You are going to a land where you are not wanted or welcome. You are their enemy. You are a candidate for assassination. The unseen enemy is everywhere, dressed every bit as a civilian, and you don’t know who’s armed and hostile. Yes, with Rome’s might behind you, you can crush the Jews’ doomed revolts. But how do you crush a fanaticism and a spirit that will not die? How do you intend to live and survive in an environment of hatred and death?

BEING DIFFERENT

The Roman army—both its soldiers and its officers—are militant. They are a world power. Their numbers and their armament cannot be matched. They are, for all practical purposes, invincible. They will triumph in the end.

Knowing this, the army cares nothing about religion and people. They are concerned only to do the will of Caesar and enforce the rule of Roman law. There is no pity or compassion;  no deference, no backing down, no bowing down to the will of a conquered people or nation.

But this particular Roman centurion is different. (1) He loves his slave and treats him as his son (Matthew 8:6 where servant could be translated son). Slaves are not “people” to the Romans. They are things. Like iPods, cars, and cell phones are today. They are possessions. They weren’t treated like human beings. But this centurion is different. His slave is dying (Luke 7:2). And the centurion cares enough about him to seek Jesus out and ask Him to spare his beloved slave’s life. He’s a decent human being with a care and regard for people that didn’t exist all that much in Roman society. The guy’s got heart. He isn’t cold, uncaring, or ruthless.

The Romans hated the Jews as much as the Jews hated them. The Jews not only resorted to violence against the Roman presence in Palestine, but they also made full use of the power of petition or appeal. They would go to the highest Roman authorities in the land—the Army Tribune in town, the Roman Governor in Caesarea and Syria, the Roman Senate, and even the Emperor in Rome—if they had any gripes against Rome’s ruling representatives in Palestine.  

This, you will remember, is what finally forced a reluctant Pilate to succumb to the people’s wishes and have Christ crucified: the Jews were threatening to go to Caesar and accuse Pilate of treason for letting a rival King go scot free (John 19:12-13).

Not too infrequently, Caesar would remove these representatives from office in Palestine as a gesture of peace and good-will to the Jews. So the Roman rulers in Palestine knew their jobs were on the line and they despised the Jews for the political threat that they were.

But this centurion is different. (2) He loves the Jews (Luke 7:5). He finds a way to make peace with the local Jewish rulers in Capernaum. He extends some kind of olive branch to them and wins their acceptance and respect. He puts his money where his mouth is and spends a portion of his own personal wealth to build the Capernaumites a synagogue. Think of how much money it would take to build any kind of building today and you’ll get a fair idea of how much money this centurion dished out for the Jews. He was enabling their worship of a God that Rome didn’t believe or worship! Instead of being a traditional Roman and mocking the religious beliefs, convictions, and practices of the Jews, this centurion respects Jewish religion to such an extent as to spend a small fortune to build them a synagogue. And a synagogue wasn’t just a house of worship. It was a school. A community center. So the centurion’s goodwill gesture was a benefit to the people of the local community. The centurion wasn’t just winning the hearts of the Jewish leaders: he was winning the hearts of the Jewish people in the community.

The thing that’s so astounding about this is, ordinarily, the Jews wouldn’t have anything to do with Roman money. Rome kept them subjected. Taxed. Humiliated. A lot of Jews wouldn’t have accepted Roman money. But these Capernaumites received this Roman centurion into their midst, made peace with him, allowed him to build them a synagogue, and allied themselves with him to a point where they were willing to petition Jesus on his behalf. Somehow, the enemy centurion  found a way to change the enemy Jews and make them his friends.

Roman rulers and officers, as you would expect, are mightily proud. Jews were nothing to them and they used every opportunity to make the locals feel like dirt. They like to rubbed their power in their face and remind them they were a subjected people. Losers. Powerless against the might of the Worldwide Roman Empire.

But this centurion’s different.  (3) He’s humble—at least in the presence of his superiors or greatness (Luke 7:6-7). Jesus is a Rabbi. He’s no army man. He wields no political power. He’s vastly popular with the people. But He’s got no army! There no earthly reason why Rome would fear a fellow without an army. But the centurion knows something diffent about this Rabbi because he lives and works in the same city where this Rabbi lives and works. The Rabbi has power of a different sort. At His command, demons go. Diseases are healed. The sick are restored. The centurion recognizes authority when he sees it and he stands in enough respect for the Jewish Rabbi to place unbridled, undiminished faith and hope in Him to heal a dying slave. The centurion’s humble enough that he considers himself unworthy to have such a guest—a Jewish guest—in his home.

So what am I saying? I’m saying this Roman centurion was different. He was unlike most Roman rulers and officers. He was a decent human being. He had a heart. He was loving. Compassionate. Caring. Respectful. Considerate. Humble. Peaceable. Generous. An Ambassador of Goodwill. In a land of war and enmity, hatred and death, the centurion found a way to make peace and win the hearts of his enemies.

THE PALESTINE THAT IS AMERICA TODAY

That was back then in Jesus’ time. Now let’s fast forward to our time and the  real world in which we live today. Like the centurion, we live in a world that hates, despises, and persecutes us. We’re the enemy. We’re unwanted and unloved because of the Jesus we follow and the Bible we believe. Take a public, vocal stand on abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, prayer and Bibles in our schools, praying to Jesus in the public square, the Ten Commandments, need I say more?, and you will know the hatred and slander of those who oppose our Savior and our God.

Come into the workplace and, like the centurion, you step into an office or a factory where people hate your guts. They just don’t like you and they use every opportunity and tactic to let you know that. Take a wider step into the community and it’s like everybody’s against you. They’re not nice or respectful to you. They’re not decent by any means. Some would even kill you if they could.

Like the centurion, you’re faced with a quandary and a dilemma. How do you make peace with the enemy? How do you reach out to those who don’t like you  and who don’t want you to be around them? How do you get the enemy  to accept you or at least be nice to you? How do you be peaceable in an unpeaceable world?

The centurion was not like most of the Romans of his day. He was different. He was a man and a breed apart. TO WIN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE—maybe not everyone, but at least the locals where you’re at, the Capernaumites of your office, factory, family, or community; YOU’VE GOT TO BE A DIFFERENT SORT OF CHRISTIAN.

Your enemies know Christians to be heathens like them. Unscrupulous. Unethical. Thieves. Crooks. Gossipers. Back biters. Hypocrites. Liars. Drunks. Fornicators. Pornos. Gamblers. Carnal. Selfish. Ad infinitum.  Thanks to the unchurched, untaught, uncrucified Christians-so-called, Christians have a black eye in the world and people just don’t have a whole lot of respect for Christians.

YOU’VE GOT TO PROVE TO THEM YOU’RE DIFFERENT. YOU’VE GOT TO SHOW THEM YOU’RE DIFFERENT. LET THE LIFE, LIGHT, AND LOVE OF CHRIST SHINE THROUGH YOU. IN TIME THEY’LL SEE THAT YOU’RE A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTIAN THAN THE CHRISTIANS THEY’RE USED TO  SEEING. In time they’ll come to admire and respect you. YOU’LL CHANGE THEM WHEN YOU CHANGE YOURSELF. OR CHANGE THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT A TRUE CHRISTIAN’S REALLY LIKE.

To get the centurion’s results you’ve got to be like the centurion. Be a decent human being. Quit being selfish or self-centered. Quit thinking about yourself all the time. Have  a heart for people. Be loving. Compassionate. Caring. Respectful. Considerate. Humble. Peaceable. Don’t treat people like dirt. Don’t make sinners feel like dirt. Don’t rub it in their face. Show them the love of Christ. Show them there’s hope of a new life in Christ. Be an Ambassador of Goodwill. Go out of your way for people. Put your money where your heart and mouth are. Be generous and kind. Give. Help. Bless. Watch your mouth, your temper, and your thoughts. Overcome evil with good. Pray for them. Ask God for wisdom and He will show you how to tear down walls and build bridges. In Jesus’ words in the sermon on the mount, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). And in Romans 12:21, Overcome evil with good.

You’re not going to win everyone. We live in a hostile world and there’ll always be people who aren’t going to like you. But, like the centurion, if you persist in goodness and look for ways to win the hearts of people, God will give you grace and favor and you will win the hearts of those whom God intends for you to touch and change through His Spirit, power, and love working in and through you. God bless you and make you a modern day centurion, a man of peace, in the unpeaceable Palestine that is America today.

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JUDGE NOT PART 4

August 20, 2012 at 1:45 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
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Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

The prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1 tells us that there are times when it is indeed wrong for us to judge others. In my last blog post in this series we saw that it’s wrong for us to judge unrighteously or unfairly. Let’s look at a second instance where it would be inappropriate and wrong for us to judge others.

IT’S WRONG FOR US TO BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS AND HYPOCRITICAL WHEN WE JUDGE

In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus tells us not to judge anyone. If we insist on doing it anyway, He will judge us in the same way that we judge others.

Jesus then goes on to tell us why we’re not qualified to judge others. Here’s what He says in verses 3-5, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  (4)  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  (5)  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

You look at a person and see a mote in their eye. A mote is a tiny splinter or speck. It’s like the dust that gets in your eye when you’re cutting wood or mowing the lawn. You see a tiny splinter in a person’s eye, but there’s a beam in yours. A beam is a humongous log that’s used as the main pillars or rafters of a barn. You’ve seen these beams. They’re like 10” – 12” square and 20’ long. Now here’s a paradox. You see a tiny splinter in your brother’s eye, but you’ve got this humongous piece of lumber sticking out of your eye! It’s so big that it’s a marvel—not, it’s a miracle—that you can even see anything, much less a tiny splinter in another person’s eye.

EVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES. NOBODY’S PERFECT. WE ALL MESS UP AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER. No one of us is sinless. That’s just the facts of life.

1. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS BLINDS US.  We’re so prone to see everyone’s faults or problems, but not our own. That, I believe, is the first lesson Jesus wants to teach us in relation to judging others. We’re quick to judge because we see what’s wrong with others. But the problem is we don’t see what’s wrong with us.

Note Jesus’ words in verse 3, But you don’t consider the beam that’s in your eye. To consider means to take note or notice of; being oblivious, unmindful, or forgetful; you just don’t see what’s wrong with yourself. You’re so good at noticing what’s wrong with others, but you yourself forget that there’s something wrong with you. As far as you’re concerned there’s nothing wrong with you. And that’s the problem. There is something very wrong with you, but you just don’t see it. In Jesus’ words, you don’t consider the fact that you’ve also got something in your eye.

Self-righteousness blinds you from seeing the true state of things. It blinds you from seeing things clearly or as truly as they are. You think you’re okay, you’re alright, you’re sinless, innocent, perfect, and righteous. You haven’t done anything wrong. What you don’t know is, you’re none of the above. You’re blind to your own faults. You’re not considering that you too have got a problem in your eye.

2. WE’VE GOT THE BIGGER, MORE SERIOUS, PROBLEM.  Even though we’re not apt to see it or admit it, both we and the person we’re judging have the same problem. We both have something in our eye.

Note that a splinter and a beam are made of the same material. They’re both a piece of wood. The only difference between them is size.

Both you and the person you’re judging have a piece of wood in your eyes. Both of you have the same problem. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND THE PERSON YOU’RE JUDGING IS YOU’VE GOT THE BIGGER PROBLEM! Your brother has a splinter in his eye, but you’ve got a massive piece of lumber in yours! Your problem is a whole lot bigger. And the very size of your problem renders you unable to see clearly. YOU CAN’T JUDGE FAIRLY WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE CLEARLY.

3. OUR HYPOCRISY MAKES US WRONG AND UNQUALIFIED TO JUDGE. When we have something majorly massive in our eye, and yet quibble about the splinter in people’s eye, the very act of quibbling, fault-finding, criticizing, judging, and condemning makes us hypocrites. That’s what Jesus calls us in Matthew 7:5. Hypocrites.

Why are we hypocrites? Because we’re judging a person who has something in his eye when we ourselves have the same thing in our eye, except much bigger. We judge a person for a sin she’s committed when we ourselves have committed the same sin. We’re guilty of doing the same thing that we condemn others for doing.

Romans 2:1-3 speaks along this same line of hypocrisy. No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.  (2)  We know that God’s judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things.  (3)  When you judge people for doing these things but then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

The principle is this. IF YOU’RE GUILTY, OR HAVE EVER BEEN GUILTY, OF DOING WHAT YOU’RE JUDGING OTHER PEOPLE FOR DOING, THEN YOU’RE REALLY IN NO POSITION TO JUDGE. You’re judging self-righteously and hypocritically. You’re a hypocrite. And a hypocrite isn’t a judge. A hypocrite is disqualified from being a judge.

You see, both you and the person you’re judging have done the same thing. Both of you have the same piece of wood in your eye. You judge others but not yourself. You condemn others but not yourself. You publicize other people’s sins, but not your own. YOU’RE PARTIAL AND PREFERENTIAL IN YOUR JUDGMENT AND THIS IS WHAT DISQUALIFIES YOU FROM BEING A JUDGE. A judge who’s partial is no judge.  

You’re not only partial and preferential in your judgment, but YOU’RE ALSO UNJUST AND UNFAIR. You’re judging by different standards. You’ve got one standard of judgment, guilt, and death for others and another standard of innocence, forgiveness, and life for yourself. Instead of everybody getting judged by the one and the same law, there are different laws, standards, and judgments for different persons. And that’s not justice!

We’re all agreed. A PARTIAL, UNFAIR, AND UNJUST JUDGE SHOULDN’T BE A JUDGE. He should be removed from the bench. That’s why we shouldn’t judge anyone. We’re partial, unfair, and unjust. We may not consider it. We may not admit it. But we are. That’s why we shouldn’t judge period.

Coming up on my next blog post in this series, a third kind of judging that God doesn’t want us to do. It’s an eye-opener and you really don’t want to miss it if you want to see clearly.

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JUDGE NOT PART 3

August 11, 2012 at 4:10 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
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Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

In my last blog post in this series we saw that there are times when it isn’t wrong for us to judge one another. This said, the prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1 tells us that there are times when it is indeed wrong for us to judge others. Let’s look at one of these times when judging is inappropriate and is an act of disobedience to God.

IT’S WRONG FOR US TO JUDGE UNRIGHTEOUSLY OR UNFAIRLY

Jesus commanded us in John 7:24, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Jesus plainly tells us here that THE PROHIBITION AGAINST JUDGING IS NOT A PROHIBITION AGAINST JUDGING PERIOD, BUT A PROHIBITION AGAINST JUDGING A PERSON OUTWARDLY.

Now the word appearance  means what you can see outwardly, what you see with your eyes, what’s visible and seen to the naked eye. When you look at a person based on their stature or body size, their skin color, their clothes, their looks, their tats and piercings, their facial expressions or body language; when you make conclusions about them based on what you see or observe about them, you’re making a judgment, you’re passing judgment based on appearance, and this is the kind of judgment that God forbids.

What does it mean to judge outwardly or by appearance? It means that you’re judging by the facts and evidence that you have; you’re judging what you’ve seen or what others told you they saw. Your judgment is based strictly and entirely on what you heard and saw or on what the eyewitnesses told you they heard and saw.

But the thing that Jesus wants so desperately to warn us about is APPEARANCES CAN BE MISLEADING AND DECEIVING. THEY CAN FOOL YOU. The facts or the evidence, the hard cold proof, are true. They’re real. The gun in the guy’s hand, the sister walking out of the bar, the pastor seen with a hooker on Hooker Street; are all real. They’re true. BUT THE CONCLUSIONS THAT YOU DRAW BASED ON WHAT YOU SAW CAN BE MISLEADING. YOUR THINKING OR JUDGMENT BASED ON WHAT YOU HEARD CAN BE FALSE AND WRONG.

  • The guy with the gun in his hand picked it up after the real murderer ran past him and dropped it. And he dropped it just so that the innocent bystander will pick it up and people will think he was the murderer.
  • The sister who walked out of the bar went in there to call her husband and tell him the car broke down. The choice of using the bar’s telephone to make the call can be questioned. But if it was the closest business to the car, if it was the “safest” place for her to be in and not as dangerous as on the street, then that was her call. But the fact is, yes, she was in the bar. But your conclusion and accusation that she’s a drinker, she’s been drinking, she’s a drunk, is plainly wrong. What you saw was true. What you thought or decided wasn’t. The facts are true. The judgments or interpretations of the fact are what can be wrong.
  • The same thing can be said about the pastor with the hooker. In our day and age, yes, it’s possible that the pastor was playing spiritual hooky with the hooker. But, it’s just as possible he was witnessing to her. He wasn’t out looking for sex: he was looking for lost sheep. So before you pass judgment on what you saw, you’ve got to get the facts straight and get the whole truth.

WHEN YOU’RE JUDGING BY APPEARANCES YOU’RE JUDGING WITHOUT HAVING ALL THE FACTS. You’re not hearing both sides of the story. You’re not giving the accused or the defendant the chance to speak for herself; you’re judging the brother and condemning him without giving him an opportunity to explain or defend himself.

THERE’S A REASON OR EXPLANATION FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS, FOR EVERYTHING A PERSON DOES. You saw what happened; you saw what she did; you heard what she said. And what you saw and heard was real and true. But what you don’t know is why she did that or said that. There are other factors, reasons, or motivations involved that you don’t know about and these are the details, facts, or necessary pieces of information that you need in order to judge righteous judgment.

APPEARANCES CAN FOOL YOU. THEY CAN LOOK RIGHT, UNMISTAKABLE, AND TRUE TO YOU. THE FACTS MAY BE TRUE, BUT IT’S YOUR CONCLUSIONS OR JUDGMENTS THAT MAY NOT BE.  Judgment based on appearances is bound to be wrong and that’s why God doesn’t want you to judge like that. If you’re going to judge, then judge righteously or not at all.

How do you judge righteously? TO JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE ALL THE FACTS, NOT JUST SOME OF THE FACTS. We often make the mistake of thinking we have all the facts. We hear one side of the story and we think we know it all, we have it all. But a part of the story is just that—a part. It’s never the whole story. Unless you talk to the actual person involved, you don’t have all the facts. And NOT HAVING ALL THE FACTS IS WHAT DISQUALIFIES YOU FROM JUDGING. IT’S WHAT PREVENTS YOU FROM JUDGING RIGHTEOUSLY. And this is the kind of judgment that God forbids.

Coming up in my next blog post in this series, a second kind of judging that God doesn’t want us to do. It’s a real eye-opener. So if you want to see clearly, drop on by and let the Master Ophthalmologist fix you right up.

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JUDGE NOT PART 2

July 16, 2012 at 3:16 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
Tags: , ,

INTRODUCTION

Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

In my first blog post we saw that the same Jesus who forbade us from judging people in Matthew 7:1 also allowed and commanded us to judge people in John 7:24, howbeit judge righteously. So the prohibition against judging people isn’t absolute. There are times when it’s alright for us to judge. When can we do so and not get in trouble with the Lord?

TIMES WHEN WE CAN JUDGE

(1) WE CAN JUDGE SINNING MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. There was a professing Christian in the church at Corinth who was engaged in fornication and incest. The Corinthian believers, like many today, turned a blind eye to it, said nothing, and did nothing, about it. Paul wouldn’t stand for it. He asked them in I Corinthians 5:12, For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

Paul tells us that we are to judge those who are within. He’s talking about the church. We are to judge those who are a part of our church. Not our visitors, but our members. And the judgment that he has reference to has to do mostly with the judgment that precedes, or ends up in, church discipline. If one of us is messing up the church has a God-given right to judge us and, if need be, discipline or excommunicate us from the church. See verses 3 and 13 also.

(2) WE CAN JUDGE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE GRIEVANCES IN THE CHURCH. Like many of our churches today, the church at Corinth had a lot of problems. There was a lot of bickering and fighting going on in the church. They were taking one another to court to try and settle their disputes, grievances, and complaints.

Here again, Paul wouldn’t stand for it. He asked them in I Corinthians 6:1-7a,  Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?  (2)  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  (3)  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?  (4)  If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.  (5)  I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?  (6)  But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.  (7a)  Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another.

The judgment that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 7:1 has more to do with private or personal matters. Paul speaks of judgment in cases of moral sins in 1 Corinthians 5. And here is 1 Corinthians 6 Paul speaks of judgment as it relates to civil, legal matters. These are matters that can be, and are usually, taken to a court of law.

According to Paul, CHRISTIAN SHOULDN’T BE TAKING CHRISTIANS TO COURT. If you’ve got a problem with another church member and the problem is serious enough that you could go to court over it; then, instead of going to court to get it settled, you need to bring the problem to the church and have the church settle it—not the court.

Paul is laying forth the fact that the church is authorized to act, settle, or resolve problems and conflicts between its members. When there are problems in the church, it’s okay for the church to judge its own without fear of disobeying the Lord’s prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1.

(3) WE CAN JUDGE PREACHERS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS. John counsels us in I John 4:1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

When it comes to religious matters, especially matters of doctrine or belief, Christians are authorized and commanded to try the spirits. That means to discern, examine closely, and pass judgment on the truthfulness of the doctrine, person, and spirit who’s promoting it. So here again we see that Christians can, will, and are even commanded, to judge. IT IS NOT ALWAYS WRONG OR SINFUL TO JUDGE.

Alas, however, as we see in Matthew 7:1, there are times when it’s sinful and wrong for us to judge people. Coming up on my next blog post in this series on JUDGE NOT PART 3, I look at one of the times when it’s wrong for us to judge. It’s an eye-opening series and I invite you to drop by and let Jesus the Master Ophthalmologist set your eyes aright. God bless and see you in part 3.

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JUDGE NOT PART 1

July 10, 2012 at 9:55 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
Tags: , ,

INTRODUCTION

Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.

I am not an advocate of judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.

Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.

What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.

What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.

NOT AN ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION

Jesus told us here in Matthew 7:1 not to judge others. His words are clear enough so that we’re not confused or misguided about what He means here. Don’t judge means don’t judge.

 But the fact of the matter is, CHRISTIANS CAN, WILL, AND ARE EVEN COMMANDED BY CHRIST, TO JUDGE!

Jesus commanded us in John 7:24, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. This is the same Jesus telling us to judge righteous judgment who told us in Matthew 7:1 not to judge. He used the exact same word judge in both verses (Greek krinō), so we know He’s talking about the same thing. On the one hand He told us not to judge. Then on the other hand He told us to go ahead and judge, but judge righteously.

So is Jesus being contradictory here? It appears that way at first sight. But when you read the rest of Scripture and put the whole counsel of Scripture together I think you’ll see quite readily that Jesus isn’t being contradictory at all.

While Matthew 7:1 is very clear about Christians not judging other people, John 7:24 is equally very clear about Christians being able to judge people, albeit judge righteously.

So what we see here is THE PROHIBITION AGAINST JUDGING IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION. JESUS DIDN’T MEAN THAT WE CAN’T EVER JUDGE. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO, EVEN COMMANDED TO, JUDGE. Which is to say, there are times when it’s not wrong for us to judge.

So when it is alright for us to judge? Coming up on my next blog post on JUDGE NOT PART 2, I look at the times or situations where our Lord allows and commands us to judge people.

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CONDITIONAL LOVE PART 5

March 30, 2011 at 3:23 PM (Conditional Love, Ethics)

GETTING RID OF CONDITIONAL LOVE, continued

Despite your best intentions and well-meaning desire to see God’s people walk in righteousness and truth, you’ve got to give up control. How do you do this? (A) Come to grips with the fact that God will indeed clean up His people. He may not do it your way and He may not do it in the timely way that you would. But you can be sure of the fact that God’s going to clean His people up.

(B) Instead of forcing your beliefs and convictions on others, pray for them and trust the Lord to deal with whatever’s wrong in their life. You see, it’s not wrong to be concerned  about  the waywardness of the brethren. It’s not wrong to confront the brethren with the things that are wrong in their lives. Brethren, whether you’re on the right side of an issue or the wrong side, you all have to understand that GOD HAS GIVEN ALL HIS PEOPLE THE LIBERTY AND RESPONSIBILITY TO TALK TO THE ERRING  AMONG  THEMSELVES AND HELP THEM GET WHAT’S WRONG, RIGHT.  See Romans 15:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:14, James 5:19-20, Jude 22-23. But loving concern for the brethren is one thing: forcing yourself upon them is another. Brethren, trust the Lord for wisdom in dealing with your brothers and sisters. Get control out of your loving concern for the brethren. Seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance in using your loving concern to help God’s people without giving them the impression that you’re trying to control them.

(C) Lastly, remember that your job is not to make other believers look like you. Your job is for you to become like Jesus Himself. And that, dear friends, is a full-time job that doesn’t leave you any time to force people to be just like you. Friends, learn to rest in God’s love for His own.  He will mature and perfect them.  It may not be your way or time. But the work will get done. Remember that salvation is instantaneous, but maturity and perfection take a lifetime. Give God’s people time. And, with lots of prayer, faith, and love, they’ll become the kind of Christian that God wants them to become.

IDENTIFY THE CONDITIONS AND GET RID OF THEM.  Conditional love, as we’ve shown you, comes with all sorts of conditions, requirements, and expectations for God’s people to fulfill before you will love them. Identify what these conditions are. Think about them. Write them down if you have to and make yourself a list. Taking the time to do this and see these conditions face-to-face is a good way for you to come to grips with what you’re doing wrong. It helps you to remember what’s wrong. Once you’ve identified these conditions, repent to the Lord for conditionally loving the brethren. Then resolve in your heart that from now on you’re going to love your brethren without any strings attached.

LOVE AS GOD LOVES.  Lastly, to get rid of conditional love we’re going to have to determine to love people the same way God loves them. Many people think that loving as God loves is something that they’ve got to work up or try very hard to get from God.  But the truth of the matter is,  like faith, YOU ALREADY HAVE GOD’S AGÁPE LOVE IN YOU. AND LOVING THE BRETHREN IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF YOU USING THE LOVE YOU ALREADY HAVE.

Look at what John 17:26 says, I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. Romans 5:5 goes on to say, And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

You see, brethren, you already have God’s love in you.   God’s   love is   sovereign,   self-sacrificial, unmerited, unconditional, and unending. Now take this love and begin loving God’s people the same way God loves them. God bless you and may He help us all become lovers of the brethren.

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CONDITIONAL LOVE #4

March 23, 2011 at 11:37 AM (Conditional Love, Ethics)

GETTING RID OF CONDITIONAL LOVE

So how do we rid ourselves of conditional love? Well, since conditional love is motivated to a large extent by control, then in order to rid ourselves of conditional love we first have to relinquish control over God’s people.

Now there are many aspects of control and many different reasons why people seek to control others. Some control others for selfish reasons. That is, they’re doing it in order to amass a cultic following for themselves. Others do it because they want people to wait on them hand and foot and serve their own selfish interests, ambitions, or needs.

Others, however, use control in a sincere, well-meaning desire to see God’s people believe the truth and walk in the paths of righteousness. They force people to believe what they believe. Do what they do. Live the way they live.

Brethren, we may be right. We may mean well. We may be sincere in wanting God’s people to live up to the Scriptures. But DICTATING OUR BELIEFS, MORALITY, AND CONVICTIONS OVER THE BRETHREN IS NOT GOD’S WAY OF DEALING WITH HIS PEOPLE. RIGHTEOUSNESS DOESN’T COME BY ADHERING TO RULES AND LAWS, NOR DOES IT COME BY FORCING RULES AND LAWS UPON GOD’S PEOPLE.

A. CONTROL DOESN’T MAKE ANYONE RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S SIGHT.  Look at a couple of verses with me. Galatians 2:21 reads, I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 3:21 repeats the same thought: Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been  a  law  given  which  could  have  given  life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. In other words, NOBODY BECOMES RIGHTEOUS BY KEEPING THE LAW.

We can talk about any kind of law—whether it’s men’s laws or God’s laws. These two verses in Galatians are speaking about God’s  laws.  Think  about  this  for a moment because it’ll floor you. NOT EVEN GOD’S DIVINE, INERRANT, RIGHTEOUS LAWS COULD MAKE ANY ONE RIGHTEOUS! Why? Because the laws were so righteous that if you broke just one of the laws you were automatically judged unrighteous and a violator of the whole law: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10). Brethren, if God’s laws cannot make any one righteous, then who are we to presume that God’s people will become righteous if they keep our rules and laws? Will we accomplish what God’s law could not, or did not, accomplish?

B. CONTROL CAN’T CLEAN UP THE INSIDE. There are two basic aspects of righteousness: external and internal. External righteousness is the kind of righteousness that is outward and can be seen. Internal righteousness, on the other hand, is the kind of righteousness that isn’t readily seen or obvious. It’s what’s going on inside of you. The thoughts you’re thinking or the things you’re pondering in your heart are part of what makes you either righteous or unrighteous in God’s sight. TO BE RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S SIGHT YOU’VE GOT TO BE BOTH EXTERNALLY AND INTERNALLY RIGHTEOUS.

Now there is a sense in which the laws of God and/or the laws of men could make men righteous, but righteous only as it relates to external righteousness. If people conformed to your good or Bible-based laws, if they obeyed your rules; chances are, they will look good from all outward appearances. CONTROL CAN MAKE PEOPLE LOOK GOOD ON THE OUTSIDE. BUT IT CAN’T CLEAN A PERSON UP IN THE INSIDE. This is where Pharisaism went wrong.  It  produced good-looking  people. But their attitudes, thoughts, and even their behavior were abominable and godless.

Read what Jesus had to say to Judaism’s most religious men in Matthew 23:25-28, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. {26} Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. {27} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Do you know what this rebuke and denunciation says? It says that IT’S POSSIBLE FOR  PIOUS, RELIGIOUS, TOTALLY-COMMITTED PEOPLE TO LOOK GOOD ON THE OUTSIDE, AND STILL MISS THE KINGDOM BY MILES BECAUSE THEY’RE FILTHY AND SINFUL IN THE INSIDE. Pharisaism couldn’t clean up the inside. It couldn’t produce internal righteousness. If we would be honest with ourselves, we would have to acknowledge that legalism, shepherdship bondage, or control cannot succeed in cleaning God’s people up. Only God can do that.

C. CONTROL CAN’T GIVE CONVICTION. Christian conduct has to be accompanied by Christian conviction. You can force people to do certain things. But YOU CAN’T FORCE THEM TO HAVE A CONVICTION THAT THEY JUST DON’T HAVE. YOU   CAN’T   FORCE   THEM   TO   BELIEVE SOMETHING THEY JUST DON’T BELIEVE. That’s why controlling people by dictating your beliefs or by legislating your morality and convictions just doesn’t work. It doesn’t produce good, lasting fruit.

D. NO ONE IS AUTHORIZED TO CONTROL. God forbids His ministers from lording, or ruling, over the flock. I Peter 5:3 commands them, Neither be ye lords over God’s heritage. In the vernacular, don’t be domineering or controlling. The apostolic prohibition is simply a restatement of what Jesus already told His ministers:  Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.  (43)  But so shall it not be among you (Mark 10:42-43).

Friends, if ministers can’t be controlling, what makes you think you can? WHEN YOU EXERCISE CONTROL OVER OTHERS YOU’RE IN DIRECT DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD. You’re engaging in a prerogative that is not yours to have. You have no God-given right to rule or control.

E. GOD GAVE US LIBERTY, NOT CONTROL. Consider this thought carefully. IF LEGALISTS COULD MAKE GOD’S PEOPLE RIGHTEOUS, GOD WOULD HAVE CHOSEN AND USED THE PHARISEES AS HIS DISCIPLES. HE WOULD HAVE COMMISSIONED THE JUDAIZERS TO BE THE LEADERS OF HIS CHURCH.

But instead of doing that, God broke ranks with these power mongers and took Christianity down the path of liberty. He gave every believer the freedom to be fully persuaded in his or her own mind about the convictions they’ll have.

Romans 14 catalogs some of the differing convictions that the Roman believers had.  Do  you  know  what God said to this church full of disagreements and differences?  He said, One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind (Romans 14:5). BY GIVING HIS PEOPLE SUCH LIBERTY OR FREEDOM, GOD, IN EFFECT, IS TELLING US THAT OUR DICTATING OVER EVERY FACET OF PEOPLE’S LIVES AND FAITH IS NOT HIS WAY OF CLEANING HIS PEOPLE UP.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 5. This final installment looks at the practical things we can do to rid ourselves of conditional love. Don’t even think about missing it!

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