Judge Not

We agreed as Elders that this year we would try to have a more coordinated approach to preaching and have more series’s. Shane has been bringing a study on the Sermon on the Mount so we decided we would start by finishing that over the next few weeks. 

When we were young, my Dad used to invite people back for Sunday lunch quite often. Good for Dad, Mum used to do all the work preparing the lunch. One week we had a family over and when Mum called us in, I came in from outside, said hello to the guests and saw the lunch ready on the serving bench. Amongst the dishes was an awful looking dessert - horrible colour, plain, a bit of a mess, not the usual standard Mum would make. I took one look and let out my thoughts. Then there was a silence. « Mrs So and So has made the dessert today ». Not a good start to that weeks lunch conversation. Have you ever opened your big mouth and put your foot in it. Yes, we don’t always judge very well! Sometimes bad judgment has far worse implications than embarrassment at the Sunday lunch.

What would be the strong contenders for the most well known and quoted scripture in our world today? « Judge Not » and « Do unto others as you would have them do unto you » both from Matthew 7 would be my guess. People don’t know the rest of the Bible but they memorised these scriptures off by heart and will quote them at their convenience. Let’s read the passage from the Sermon on the Mount;

Matthew 7:1-12

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’when there is the log in your own eye? 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. “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

In our modern culture,« Don’t Judge Me » or « Who are you to Judge? » is just another way to defend one’s every choice and lifestyle. We’ve been doing that since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. A person may have murdered their whole family but we’ll hear all the mitigating reasons that lead them to commit the crime to the point where people will actually blame the victims. Well his Dad was a bad father… But Jesus wasn’t excusing the sin. He was taking aim at self-righteous hypocrites who were accusing others but guilty of the same sins themselves. Jesus said the same measure we use to judge others will be the same measure used on us. He was basically asking « are you qualified to judge ? » 

We need good judges. Justice is a good thing that requires correct and fair judgment. It is said that Justice is Blind which isn’t supposed to mean it looks the other way but means instead that it is unbiased and doesn’t judge people by the way they look. 

In addition, isn’t it true in life that having good judgment is extremely valuable

1. Being a good judge of character will save you a lot of relationship pain

2. Bad judgment leads to all kinds of problems in life

How to judge well

1. Judges make decisions based on the law (Godly judges know the Word of God)

2. Judges need to know all the facts

3. Listen to both sides of the story (testimony)

Proverbs 18:17

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

Justice requires that the punishment fits the crime. Eye for an eye was the Old Testament law. Life imprisonment or execution for murder. But we do well to remember that our crimes, our sins were committed against eternal God, therefore our punishment should be eternal. Mercy means we don’t get the punishment we deserve. The Lord is rich in mercy. Therefore we also need to be rich in mercy.

I wish to be judged fairly. I wish to be judged with mercy. Therefore I need to judge fairly and with mercy.

The saying goes; "The Wheels of Justice turn slowly but exceedingly fine."

James 1:19-20

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

We are wise when we don’t rush to make a judgment on others. That is especially true in the age of social media. A post is made and everyone makes a judgement before a response can be given. 

And Isn’t it true that so often when we point the finger at someone else, that fault is true of ourselves. (3 fingers pointing back). It’s easy to recognise our own faults in others like it is recognising ourselves in the mirror. How can I understand properly and make a correct judgment without working through my own issues first ? This is what’s wrong with the social justice movement. It leads you to accuse and blame others but never to repent yourself. The very people who accuse others of intolerance are so often the most intolerant. God is not impressed with our words unless our actions match our words.

James 1:21-25

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

So when we judge, it must always be after we’ve looked in the mirror. And finally with mercy doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. 

James 2:13

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Psalm 85:10

Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.

John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

But this « Judge Not » culture can lead to problems in the Church. Just like looking in the mirror too often is a sign of a problem, if we spend too much time navel gazing and not dealing with sin, it gets to the point where very few are prepared to speak against the tide. That is our problem today.

When the culture is heading for Hell in a handcart, someone has to stand up and warn of inevitable judgement.

The trouble is, the culture is « Judge Not » and the message from the Church has been God is Love and has a wonderful plan for your life.

So then, how do we deal with sinners? Look at the position they take;

1. Where they refuse to acknowledge their sin, they need the warning of judgement. (In this way, we are not judging but leaving it to the Lord).

2. If they have the fear of the Lord, they need mercy.

Not every « Word from the Lord » is an encouraging one. It’s not easy being a Nathan and passing judgement. We can read in the New Testament of a situation where Grace had turned into Disgrace. The context of 1 Corinthians 5 and 6 is that sexual immorality had taken place in the church at Corinth and the individuals concerned were unrepentant and living together. Something had to be said and Paul didn’t hold back.

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Paul teaches that we are not to judge the outsiders but to leave it to the Lord. But he also says to put out the evil person from within the Church so the Lord will judge them. Following the principles of 

Matthew 18:15-17

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

This is in fact a very merciful process where someone is given every opportunity to repent of their sin. If they still refuse to repent, they should be put out of the Church and left to the Lord to judge. The Church has the power to excommunicate which means to put out of fellowship and not allow the person to participate in Communion. They are ex-Communion if you like. There is a problem we face in the Church now where people on the inside are living in blatant sin but rather than do the hard thing and start the discipline process, we are applying grace and naively hoping they will change ! This is bad parenting.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

In the world to come, Christians will be given responsibility to judge the world and even angels. Therefore we should to learn to judge well now amongst ourselves first.

If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. 

By the way, Paul reminds us that we shouldn’t be harming each other in the first place. We are to love one another. 

Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 

It is true that the immoral will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But also remember the context of Paul’s teaching is sexual immorality within the Church. This should not be the case, our lives should be exemplary. We have the Holy Spirit and the power to overcome sin. If the person will not repent having gone through the discipline process, they need to be put out of the Church.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Remember well that the general law of God i.e the 10 commandments is applicable to all mankind. There is no excuse, it is written on their hearts.

Romans 2:12-16

For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Someone will say what about the laws in Leviticus? We shouldn’t mix threads, we shouldn’t eat non-kosher food. If God changed his mind about eating non-kosher food in Acts 10:9-16, has he also changed his mind about LGBTQ people today? 

1. Firstly, the Leviticus laws were given to the Israelites. The Gentiles don’t have a consciousness about eating non-kosher food. But they do about the 10 commandments - they are well known and written on people’s hearts.

2. The New Testament repeats the laws about sexual immorality, they have not been superseded in the age of grace.

3. The times of the Gentiles will come to an end. The Leviticus Laws are still true but grace is being applied in this age.

No one can accuse the Lord. Amen

Resurrection Sunday 2023

Today is without doubt the most important day in the Christian Calendar. The Gospel is only Good News if  the Resurrection is true. And it is, beyond reasonable doubt !

The Bible says;

“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

Deuteronomy 19:15

Note that testimony is God’s way of establishing the facts, Science is man’s way.

Let’s read from the Gospel of 

Mark 16

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 

The women purchased the spices when the Sabbath had finished on Saturday evening. Remember, the Jewish Sabbath is from Friday nightfall to Saturday nightfall. This is based on the scripture which puts the evening ahead of the morning in the very first day;

Genesis 1:3-5

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

But why were the women purchasing spices on Saturday evening when Nicodemus had already taken care of everything on Friday evening?

John 19:39-42

Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Does anyone really need to ask why the women would have wanted to go and anoint his body separately even though it had already been done. The women had not had time to grieve properly, the matter of Jesus burial had not yet been dealt with as far as they were concerned.

As a side note, some sceptics have suggested that these women went to the wrong tomb by mistake and that’s why they found it empty but it is highly unlikely they would have been confused over where Jesus was buried as the tomb was in a garden close to the crucifixion site and guarded by Roman soldiers.

So….

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 

Presumably the women would have asked for some men to come and help them that morning but the men would have been thinking what’s the point, the stone is in place and the tomb is under Roman guard. Anyone who tries to move the stone will be arrested! The real reason was that the men were too scared to come out of hiding for fear of suffering the same fate as Jesus. So the women went on their own perhaps thinking the guards would be sympathetic to temporarily removing the stone which is reckoned to have been one or two tons (similar to tonnes).

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” 

The Gospel has to be proclaimed strongly to shake people up. There is no time for moping around. He is Risen ! It was time to depart hostile Jerusalem. Home in Galilee is about 150km away so a good number of days walk.

So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

It doesn’t say they didn’t believe, it just said they were were afraid. How many believers are afraid to tell anyone about Jesus for fear they don’t know enough about science or even Bible theology?  Fear can stop many of us speaking up about our experiences because we’re afraid we’ll say something wrong. Just tell what you know happened to you, this is your testimony ! Interestingly the account in Luke provides an extra piece of information.

Luke 24:10-11

Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

We don’t have to have all the answers but our testimony is powerful to proclaim the Gospel. It helps create a fuller picture of the Truth. J Warner Wallace, the former atheist and detective who wrote Cold Case Christianity wrote how separating witnesses at a crime scene is crucial because each witness will have a different piece of information that helps paint the whole picture, sometimes even if it’s wrong ! If the witnesses stay together, the stories tend to get collaborated and little pieces of information that could be important get withheld. He said that the different accounts in each of the Gospels was one of the reasons he believed they were genuine eye witnesses. So don’t be afraid to tell your story !

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 

If you had died and come back to life, who would YOU go and see first ? Of all the people, Jesus picked Mary. There is a bit of speculation why that would be but perhaps it was simply that Mary was the only one there in the garden. Mary had been at the Cross when Jesus died. Mary was at the tomb that Sunday morning and you can bet she was feeling empty, preferred staying in bed and not getting up on such a sad day of her life. Sometimes all you have to do to experience Jesus’ presence is just make sure you turn up! There’s a lot of people who don’t make an effort to come go to Church on Sundays especially when they’re feeling sad. Even when it’s hard, just turn up !

She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 

Who are they who did not believe. Not the women !

From the account in Luke, we know that Jesus appeared first to Mary who believed, then Mary went and found the other women who had been witnesses at the tomb and together they all realised the truth and rushed to tell the disciples that Jesus is alive !!!

It was the men. Strike One, the men did not believe. They should have. 

Remember Deuteronomy 19:15 says

“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 

Strike Two. If we read Luke 24:13-36, it tells us these 2 were Jesus followers who were on the road to Emmaus but even they didn’t believe straight away.

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 

Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

Simon? Looks like the men are trying to take the credit…

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”

So when Jesus broke the bread, they recognised him. We will have Communion after the sermon this week in case someone here needs to recognise Jesus for the first time.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 

Yes it was right for Jesus to rebuke them because they had heard the testimony of 2 witnesses and that is enough to establish a fact as the Lord has already instructed. Yes your testimony is powerful. If people don’t believe you it is because their heart is hard. But the Lord is gracious. There was Thomas, the most famous doubter of all. Thomas was just like a modern man. He relied only on scientific facts instead of the testimony of trustworthy men and women, he had a block to faith. John tells us;

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and  reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be  unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:26-31

It’s a funny thing that someone presents you their testimony and you don’t believe it. Perhaps that’s because living in this world we get so used to lies, betrayal and disappointment. So if anyone is still doubting like Thomas, let’s again consider the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

The evidence for the resurrection is a mixture of testimony and fact;

1. TESTIMONY: Here in the gospels we have the eye witness accounts of 4 followers of Christ which tell us that 11 disciples, several women and family members and more than 500 other witnesses actually saw Jesus Christ alive and well after he had been crucified, died and been buried. The bible says that you only need 2 witnesses to establish a fact, but here we have several hundred. 

2. FACT: The empty tomb. No one at that time could deny that Jesus’ body was missing. 

3. FACT: The disciples never backed down from their claim and most died for that. They had no choice – they had seen and touched him. 

There are some weak modern theories to rebut the story of the resurrection - we won’t cover those today. 

• Swoon Theory
• Hallucination Theory
• Impersonation Theory 
• Spiritual Resurrection Theory
• Wrong Tomb Theory

We’ll focus only the one the Jewish Leaders could offer at the time. That the disciples had stolen the body. 

Actually, they knew it wasn’t true but they wanted to try and squash the story there and then. This is found in Matthew 28:12-15 

“When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Apart from what is written in Matthew about the bribes, what else shows the claim that the disciples stole the body was a lie? 

>The evidence of the linen cloth and swath being left behind neatly folded. People hurrying to steal a body wouldn’t bother to undress it and leave the clothes folded neatly behind. That clearly points to Jesus himself.

>The disciples were not willing or able to take on a Roman guard of well disciplined battle ready soldiers;

i. Their hopes and dreams of Jesus being the Messiah had been crushed

ii. They were grief stricken over the loss of their friend

iii. They had all run away less than 2 days before and were hiding in the upper room. Only the women were brave enough to venture out first thing on Sunday morning.

iv. The only fighting man among them was Simon the Zealot

>There was no reason to move him. Jesus had been buried honourably in the best tomb paid for by a rich man

>It didn’t do them any favours to tell people that Jesus was alive – they were persecuted to their graves because of it. If they had stolen the body, then nearly all of them died for a lie.

All of which we know leaves us with the only true explanation, that Jesus really did rise from the dead. This is what the gospel writers wanted us to know about God. That in his kindness, all he wants from us so we can be saved is our belief. Believing in the Resurrection is the key to our salvation. 

As Romans 10:9 says 

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

So with that in mind and now as true believers;

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 

We are his witnesses, it is our job to speak up our testimony and preach the gospel (and to make disciples out of those who believe). The sober truth is that those who don’t believe will be condemned. We can’t do anything about those who reject Christ. The Lord will ultimately deal with those who don’t believe.

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.