03.13.2011 Sermon on The Mount - Do not Judge - Do the Faults of Others Drive You to God?

03.13.2011 Grace Summit Sermon - Do not judge! Sermon on the Mount from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

God, we pray for those in Japan – that You would bring Your comfort there – and that people would come to You for help and grace. Lord, You are concerned for every soul on this earth – as we looked at last week – not even a bird falls to the earth without Your concern – how much more the people You’ve created. We pray for those yet to be rescued – that You would rescue them. We ask that You would make us more like You – and that we would commit ourselves to being like You.
God has changed all of our lives.
In 3 weeks we will have a 10 minute meeting after each service to discuss Honduras mission trips – want to find out realistic interest.
Matt. 7 – today we are going to look at a verse that is probably one of the most quoted in the Bible by those who don’t read the Bible!
7:1 “Do not judge lest you be judged.
Usually, it is misquoted. Typically, someone is in trouble, and someone says, don’t judge! But that is not what the verse is saying. But what is it saying – what is the right way to use this verse.
Judge – the word is translated 12 different ways! There are 3-4 primary ways it is used.
First – it is used – to discern or evaluate/discriminate between good and bad, right or wrong – and THIS is a good kind of judging – we OUGHT to evaluate whether something is right or wrong. This is NOT a prohibition against that.
It is also NOT a prohibition against saying that a certain action is sinful.
Another way it is used often – it is a legal term – like in a court. It is not a prohibition against that. A third way – a determination of guilt and a person’s ultimate fate. That judging is left to God – His responsibility – and it is not prohibiting that.
Looking down on someone with an attitude of superiority – now THAT is what is being spoken against – putting oneself in God’s place – taking His position as the Final Judge – Criticizing or condemning without a genuine concern for the person’s well-being.
The famous example of this is the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. “God, I thank You that I am not like HIM!” – He is saying – thank You that You’ve made me better – that I have done it right and that person hasn’t. Now that begins to hit home – doesn’t it? Like we are right or better. And the Tax Collector – give me Your mercy – I’ve blown it…
And Jesus says, who is right? That is the point. That is exactly what He is telling us – to think like the Tax Collector.
A lot of times, we judge others in areas in which we feel insecure. We aren’t sure. We want to go through all the things we have done RIGHT because there is an insecurity in our relationship with God – standing before God only because of what Christ has done on the cross.
This verse – remember it is in the Sermon on the Mount.
Give mercy – show mercy – be shown mercy.
So this is a serious thing. We cannot set this aside. Yet it may not mean what the commentators on Television say it means – but there is a judging that Jesus condemns soundly in this passage. And I think we all, at times, find ourselves doing this.
Matt. 7: 7:1 "Do not judge lest you be judged. 2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you
Many in the Jewish world practiced retaliation – an eye for an eye – and Jesus is saying this is wrong. As we look at this passage – in 7:12, he sums this up –
12 "Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
There are 613 laws in the Old Testament – and they were concerned about following all 613 that they forgot why they were given.
The Sermon on the Mount starts with The Beatitudes –
Matt. 5: 17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
You have heard it said…but the real meaning is… do not lust – do not hate – and now – the real meaning – do unto others – 5:17 and 7:12 are like bookends.
Love your neighbor – love God.
After this – He goes on – and gives an illustration – like in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matt. 7:3 "And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
This is Jesus’ attempt at humor – plank or log – is like a 2x4 or railroad tie.
4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
There is an attitude of superiority – someone who is pointing out flaws in someone else’s life – and is unable to deal with larger problems in his own life. When you recognize a flaw in someone else, that should trigger a recognition of your own shortcomings and flaws. If it does not trigger a deeper understanding of your own flaws and sin, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
That is what Galatians 6:1 says –
6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
I need to help him – but HEY – me too! I am no different – my flaws are just as bad and deep. That gives you the ability to help – that qualifies you to help! A lot of times, God puts us through much stuff because He is preparing and qualifying us to help others. That is how He does it. Someone said it like this – it is kind of like a redwood teaching a shrub how to take a low profile! It is ridiculous.
I think people tend to judge others harshest in the areas they are weakest.
I’d like to give a couple of brief examples to how this works out.
The Supreme Court – this past week – a church was protesting in front of funerals in protest of policies of the government and military. Let me say this – there is nothing wrong with us evaluating a policy to be righteous or unrighteous – but there is something terribly wrong with protesting a soldier’s sacrifice for our country – maybe because we disagree with the policy of the government.
There will be a judgment against that church. We need to be careful with things like that.
Jim Tressel – if you are a big football fan – and listen to the talk – here is what I would say – didn’t do the right thing – and you hear people saying this – Well, he is just a liar! Yes, he may have lied – we see someone committing an action – and then we determine their ultimate guilt – THAT IS JUDGING – determining their ultimate guilt – yes, we can say that what he did was wrong or incorrect – if everyone who ever lied is a liar, we are all liars. If someone does something mean – then he is mean! We have all broken all 613 of the laws! That is why we need to have His grace and to give His grace.
This works itself out – Judging based on personal conviction – this relates to gray areas of behavior. The Jews added rules to the 613 laws to decide how the laws should be fulfilled and lived out. We add on to that – other things – and then we judge others. In the old days – the fundamentalists – going to a movie is sin. This is wrong – and this is the right way to live.
“Every religious culture multiplies rules – that is religion – to be adding more rules – except Jesus, and His kingdom community and He reduces them.”
That is what Jesus does – He reduces the 613 to 2 – love your neighbor – love God. Just do those two rules in life.
I think sometimes we develop an attitude of superiority over our behavior – but Jesus talks about this the most – the people who have put themselves over others – and condemning them. It needs to be a part of our spiritual lives because it filled Jesus – it is how He is. I know, for me, I’ll close with this – it is easy – the more we know – to begin to be critical of others who don’t – for me – an area I struggle with – when it comes to theological thing – I have tried to put an emphasis on trying to make sure – when I read this book – and talk about it – that I am saying what it says – and that is right – but I need to have the understanding that I don’t know a lot of it. But when I listen to others – it is easy to say – That’s not right – he misinterpreted that! But we need to make sure we don’t become like the Pharisees – who were devoted to following the Law – they weren’t playing around! They were RIGHTEOUS in man’s lives! They really had it together! But what happened – they became arrogant and began to judge everyone else – and it is a caution today – to the church – to never get to that point.
Let’s pray.
Lord, we stand like the Tax collector – because of your mercy – and yet we know – it is easy to become a Pharisee – help us! Help us, Lord – to know our condition and place before You – that when we see a flaw in another – to trigger an understanding of our own need for mercy and forgiveness – and then with an attitude of forgiveness -