Matthew 7
Matthew - Junior Youth • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Introduction
Introduction
Before we start our lesson today, let’s quickly review everything we’ve learned in the sermon on the mount up until now.
In Matthew 5:3-12 we looked at the beatitudes, where Jesus describes the character of those blessed by God.
In Matthew 5:13-16, we looked at what it meant to be the salt and light of the world.
In Matthew 5:17-20, we looked at how Jesus came to fulfill the Law, in that:
He obeyed the Law perfectly
He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament
And how by his death on the cross the Old Testament sacrifical system and priesthood are no longer necessary.
In Matthew 5:21-48, we looked at important laws, and how Jesus raised the standard of the Old Testament. We looked at:
Murder
Adultery
Divorce
Oaths
Relaliation and how we are to respond righteously
In Matthew 6, we looked at three types of worship:
Giving
Praying
Fasting
And last week we looked at the treasures and how God is faithful to provide.
This week we will be looking at judgement.
Do not judge
Do not judge
“Judge not, that you be not judged.
So, what does the Bible say about judgement?
Are Christian’s allowed to judge?
The answer is yes and no.
Let me explain:
The greek word for judge is krinō.
This word is used in three scenario’s:
Judgement in court,
Judgement as condemnation.
And judging, using Godly discernment.
The question we need to ask is, which kind of judgement is Jesus referring to in verse one.
Jesus is refering to the type of judgement that is condemning and critical of the behavior of others.
Let me prove it to you.
Luke describes this same teaching of Jesus, but going into a bit more detail:
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to the Pharisees and the scribes. We read about them in Matthew 5:20.
They were people who were highly critical of both Jesus and others.
They were judgemental.
They were deeply religious, self-righteous and proud, constantly pointing out the flaws of others.
They were always condemning and accusing others for not upholding the standard of the law perfectly.
They were of their Father, the Devil, as Jesus called them in John 8:44.
And just like the Pharisees of that they, we have people like this in the church.
Are you one of them? Pray about it.
Followers of Jesus are called to to be different.
We are not called to take on God’s role as judge.
God is just and fair, He looks at things objectively, and shows no favoritism.
Only He can judge righteously.
And we should leave the judging to Him, because only He can be trusted with it.
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Additionally to this topic of judgement, I woud like to come back to what is written in Luke 6:37, where Luke records this teaching of Jesus in more detail.
Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
One of the things that I find very interesting about this passage, is that God calls us to be merciful like He is merciful.
But even more interesting than that, is that Jesus here ties judgement, condemnation and forgiveness together.
In my experience, I have come to realize that I tend to be most critical of people that I harbour unforgiveness towards.
When someone has wronged you, we harbour resentment towards them.
We become angry and hold onto it for days on end.
And before we know it, Satan comes and takes complete advantage of the conflict- and inserts himself into the situation, with the goal of damaging and destroying relationships.
Listen to what Ephesians says:
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
So first your angery, and perhaps even rightfully so.
But you aren’t willing to forgive and let go of how you’ve been wronged.
So the next morning you wake up, and you still have that anger in your heart, and you go about your day.
Then Satan comes along, see’s the conflict and unresolved anger, and see’s the perfect opportunity to bring destruction into your relationship with the other person.
So what does he do?
He comes and sits on your shoulder, and he whispers in your ear.
He starts telling you lies about the other person, how bad their intentions are towards you, how wrong they are and how you are allowed to be upset about what they have done to you.
And you begin to believe the lies.
You begin to grumble against them, you begin to harbour resentment them.
And, unfortunately, both you and the other person are too proud to say sorry and put the entire incident behind you.
So it goes on day after day, the grumbling continues and the resentment grows.
And before you know it you’re bitter, and if left long enough you develop a hatered for that person.
You drink the poison of unforgiveness and expect the other person to die.
But you’re the only one suffering, and the people that love you suffer with you, like your family and friends.
Because you’re angry and hurt, and because you can’t hurt the other person, you take out your frustrations on them.
And little by little, you damage more and more people, and others get infected with your resentment and unforgiveness.
And Satan stands in the background, loving every moment of it - because you took the bait.
You’re now doing his job for him by destroying valuable relationships and yourself.
You’re were unwilling to obey God, you were stubborn and rebellious towards the will of God.
He wanted peace and grace, but you wanted your apology, you wanted them to pay for the wrong they did for you, you wanted to be right.
And now you and many others are going to suffer the consequences of your unforgiveness.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Now the unforgiveness grows.
Now you’re bitter and now you want to involve others into your mess.
You want to surround yourself with other people who harbour resentment and anger to the person who wronged you.
You want others to critize and condemn the person who wronged you.
You want them to judge the actions of the other person.
So you begin to speak to others about them.
You begin to gossip.
You slander the other persons reputation.
Maybe you’re even wicked enough to disguise it as a prayer request at church.
First you first bad mouth the other person, then acting holy, you expect others to pray for you.
Not knowing that you’re now actually defiling the very church of God, by slander others in the body of Chirst.
Not only that, you grieve the Holy Spirit, and God is probably not even listening to your prayers because you are unwilling forgive as the Bible prescribes.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Listen to Ephesians continues to tell us.
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to be different.
We are called to follow His example, and to forgive the very people who do not deserve it.
We are not called to be critical, judgemental and unforgiving.
We are called to show grace, be peaceable, and show mercy.
Listen to what God did for us, when we wronged Him.
Romans 5:6–11 (NET)
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
God had the full right to judge us.
God did not have to give His only Son to die on a cross for you and me.
But He was merciful and gracious towards us.
We sinned against Him.
We deserved to pay for our evil actions against Him and the people around us.
But He was willing to overlook our offenses and sins, and to forgive us.
Not only that He was willing to bless us, and give up the one thing most precious to Himself - His very own son, in order that we might obtain forgiveness and come into a right standing with Him.
He desired the best for us, He loved us and desired to be reconciled to us.
We should adopt this type of attitude.
Listen to what the Old Testament prophecied about Jesus:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Now listen to what Jesus said about this scripture. And take spesific note of where He stopped reading.
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus stopped at the proclaiming the acceptabe year of the Lord.
What comes after the acceptable year of the Lord? The day of vengenance.
The second coming of Jesus.
First Jesus came to show mercy, and the next time He is coming He will deal with all those people who are judgemental and unforgiving. And we will be jugded according to how we judged others.
Read:
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Did you know that the same standard of judgement you apply to others, God will apply to you when you stand before Him on judgement day?
Mark 4:24 (NKJV)
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
Often times the flaws and sin we identify in others, are the exact same things we are guilty of ourselves.
Its so easy to see it in others, because the truth is you are confronted with those same shortcomings in your own life on a day-to-day basis.
We are not to judge hypocritically.
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Again, the Bible reminds us, that if we act like hypocrites, condemning and unfairly pointing out the flaws in the lives of other people, God will deal with us in the same way.
If, however, we are merciful, God will show Himself merciful towards us.
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Read:
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Here Jesus makes use of hyperbole, he is making use of an exaggerated example for the sake of making a point.
Judgemental people are often times more guilty than those they judge, however they are blind to their own faults.
However, it important to point out here that Jesus is against judgemental, condemning, and critical spirit.
But what He is not against is itself healthy discernment.
In fact, as Christian’s we are called to practise discernment, especially in the teaching of God’s Word.
We need to weigh what is being said, and see whether what is being taught is in alignment with God’s Word and sound doctrine.
We need to be able to identify false teaching.
However, its important that while discerning and judging the teaching of God’s Word, our hearts remain pure before God.
The Bible also speaks about exercising judgement in the house of God.
Holding people in the church accountable for their actions.
In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Paul judges a man who was committing sexual immortality with His Father’s wife.
He called for the man to be excommunicated, and handed over to Satan.
However, its important to note that Paul’s motivation was pure - like described in 1 Timothy 1:5.
He called for this judgement both to protect the church, a desire to see this young man saved - that after He had tasted the rotten fruits of His sin, like the prodical son, He would return to God and be saved.
His heart was pure, He had a clean conscience, and the judgement was coming out of a place of love.
He had a desire to see the young man saved and restored.
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
Jesus calls for humility, mercy and forgiveness towards others, with a desire to see those living in sin to both repent and be restored.
Read:
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
This passage of scripture, refers spesfically to the judgement we receieve while evangelizing.
If you’ve ever had the courage to share the gospel with an unbeliever, or someone who does not want to be confronted with the righteous requirements of God’s Law - the first thing they will bring up Matthew 7:1 ““Judge not, that you be not judged.”
Why? Firstly, they don’t want to be confronted with their sin.
Secondly, they don’t want to be held accountable to a Holy God.
And lastly, love their sin more than they love Jesus.
They are unwilling to give up their sin for a Savior.
And what will happen is, because they can’t attack the message, the attack the messenger.
Therefore, its important for us to always remember that we are not able to save anyone.
Its the work of the Holy Spirit that draws someone to Jesus.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
All that we are expected to do is to be faithful with Jesus instruction of sharing the good news, and to leave the results up to him.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
But in doing so we need to willing to suffer reproach for his name.
We need to be willing to be judged and critized for Jesus.
If He received harsh criticism, we should expect it as well.
In the end, He will reward us - and all the suffering will be well worth it.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
