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