This week we have been looking at a
section of a famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount,
which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible
called the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 7:1-5, in one
of the most misunderstood and misused statements of Jesus in the entire Bible,
we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless truth that a right relationship with God requires that we
use good judgment when making judgments.
We talked about the reality that Jesus
addressed the issue of us making judgments because Jesus knew that the tendency
of humanity is to make judgments and to be judgmental. Jesus addressed the
issue of making judgments because Jesus is concerned with our internal heart
condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus
knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will
spill out. And because of the reality, Jesus
commanded humanity throughout history to make sure that they used good judgment
when making judgments.
And because of the reality that a right relationship with God requires that we
use judgment when making judgments, I want
to apply this truth in real and tangible ways to our day to day lives. The
first application of this truth is that we use good judgment when making
judgments when we recognize that we are to make judgments as we want to be judged.
We have to be very
careful that we do not engage in a crusade of judgment against the sins, the
selfishness and rebellion that you personally struggle with. For example, you
are being hypocritical if you engage in a crusade of judgment against the lewd
sexuality of Hollywood while you are engaged in online porn. However, it is
tempting to engage in the expressing of our opinions to others on an issue that
we ourselves may struggle with.
We also have to be
very careful that we do not harshly condemn the selfishness, rebellion and sin
of others out of a desire to protect those we love. For example, it is tempting
to harshly condemn a person who struggles with addiction because we worry about
a person you love being tempted by addiction.
The second application of this truth is that we
use good judgment when making judgments when we make sure we deal with our own selfishness,
rebellion and sin before we start worrying about everybody else’s selfishness,
rebellion, and sin. Be very careful to make sure that
the opinions that we express and the judgments that we make begin with the
person in the mirror before moving to the person out the window. Be very careful to
make sure that we point the thumb at ourselves before pointing the finger at
others.
The third application of this truth is that we
use good judgment when making judgments when we make sure that we do not make judgments if God
has not spoken clearly on an issue. Within Christianity there are two types of
issues: There are some issues about
following Jesus that are closed handed issues that are not open for debate. For
example, the fact that Jesus Christ is God-in-a-bod; the truth of the Trinity;
the truth that salvation from selfishness and sin comes only by placing one’s
confident truth in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by
believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader; these are closed
handed issues, they are not open for debate.
However, there are other issues about
following Jesus that would be referred to as open-handed issues that followers
of Jesus disagree on. For example, is it o.k. for Christians to drink alcohol
socially? Is it o.k. for Christians to dance? Should Christians participate in
any activity that is associated with Halloween? Should Christian children to go
to public school or should they be in a Christian school or homeschooled?
Should Christians work at casinos?
Now, these issues are debatable, because while
the issue is not clearly stated in the Bible as being right or wrong, some
people view the issue as morally wrong, while others view the issue as being
morally acceptable. And so often, what can tend to happen is that followers of
Jesus will engage in heated debate and confrontation over an issue that God has
not given us a clear directive on in His word. As followers of Jesus we often want to make
open handed issues close handed and make closed handed issues open handed. So,
we must be very careful when we are giving our opinion on an issue that is an
open-handed issue.
The fourth application of this truth is that we
use good judgment when making judgments when we refuse to make judgments about
the behavior of non-Christians
by Christian standards. Far too often we expect non-Christians to act like
Christians before they become Christians while allowing Christians to act like
non-Christians. Instead of expecting non-Christians to act like Christians
before they become Christians, imagine what would happen if we lived around
them in such a way that revealed and reflected Jesus to them.
When we read the
accounts of Jesus life in the Bible, what we discover is that there was something about Jesus that made people who were
far from God comfortable enough to hang out with Son of God. While Jesus never
lived a life that was marked by selfishness and sin, people who were far from
God felt comfortable enough to engage and interact with Him. If you are a
follower of Jesus, could the same be said of you? Jesus never expected non-Christians to act
like Christians before they became Christians. Instead, Jesus lovingly engaged
those who were far from Him and invited them to follow Him.
The fifth application of this truth is that we
use good judgment when making judgments when we remember that our ultimate purpose in judging
is not to condemn, but to either evaluate and protect or discern and restore.
As followers of Jesus, when it comes to making judgments about others, God
wants us to judge in the same way we both judge and love ourselves, by calling
sin, sin, while responding with an abundance of grace and mercy to those who
are engaged in sin. We discover a sixth application of this truth is what Jesus says next in Matthew 7:6:
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls
before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you
to pieces.
Now to fully understand what Jesus is communicating
here, we first need to understand something about the context and the culture
that Jesus was speaking into. In the Jewish culture of the day, “A dog” was a
phrase used to refer to a culturally impure person. In addition, swine were
considered unclean and impure by the Jewish people.
Jesus here paints two different word pictures to
reveal the reality that we should not attempt to force the message of the
gospel and the message and teaching of Jesus down the throats of people who are
either incapable of receiving it or are openly opposed to it. When we do that,
we risk that the message of God will be disrespected or abused and that we will
be attacked by those who we are trying to reach because of our
overbearing approach.
And it is here that we discover a sixth application
of this truth in that we use good judgment when making judgments when
we use judgment when we are sharing God’s message with
others. As followers of Jesus, we are to use judgment when it comes to who we
share the message of the gospel with. As followers of Jesus, we are to use
judgment when it comes to when we share the gospel with others. And, as
followers of Jesus, we are to use judgment when it comes to how we share the
message of the gospel with others. As followers of Jesus, we are not to view
those who do not know Jesus as projects to be completed. Instead, we are to
view those who do not know Jesus as people to be invested in and loved.
So here is a question to consider: Do you use good
judgment when making judgments? Do you make judgments or are you judgmental? Do
you make judgments
about others by the same standard that you want to be judged?
Do you begin with
the person in the mirror before moving to the person out the window when it
comes to expressing your opinions? Do you point the thumb at yourself before
pointing the finger at others when it comes to making judgments?
And what is
the purpose behind you’re your desire to make judgments? Do you make judgments
in order to condemn or to rescue and restore? Do you use good judgment when it
comes to who, when, and how you engage others with the claims of Christ and the
message of the gospel?
Because, as Jesus makes clear, a right relationship
with God requires that we
use good judgment when making judgments...
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