Judging Others – 8

Sermon on the Mount -79

Matthew 7:1–5 (NIV84)

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

We are allowed to help remove the speck from our brother’s eye, but there is a prerequisite.

Self-examination must come first.

Disputable Matters

These are disputes that are centered on gray areas in which the Bible does not spell out clear guidelines—matters of personal conscience rather than essential doctrine.

These gray areas are what Scripture describes as disputable matters.

Romans 14:1 (NIV84)

1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

Romans 14:1 (NLT)

1Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

Disputable matters = διαλογισμός dialogismos = discussion, discourse; reasoning, thought; dispute, contention. Dialogismos most often describes the inner discussions, reasoning, or conflicts.

The Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament: “the now one who is weak in faith receive [but] not for quarrels about opinions.”

to argue about differences of opinion; to argue, to dispute, argument.

Disputable matters can be summed up as non-essential issues in the Christian life, or gray areas in which the Bible does not spell out clear guidelines.

While many things in the Christian life are essential, some are not.

1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 (NIV84)

23“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive.

1 Corinthians 10:23 (TEV/GNB)

23"We are allowed to do anything," so they say. That is true, but not everything is good. "We are allowed to do anything"—but not everything is helpful.

24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,

26for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

28But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—

29the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience?

30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—

33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

11:1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

The quotation marks in verse 23, “Everything is permissible,” show that Paul was quoting a saying that was used in Corinth.

The French Common Language Translation refers they to certain people.

“Certain people have said.”

Permissible = ἔξεστιν exestin = to be allowed, especially as according to rule or custom.

Beneficial = συμφέρω sympherō = to be advantageous: to be or become appropriate for achieving a particular end.

To be of an advantage to someone; to be advantageous, to be better off, to be to someone’s advantage.

Constructive = οἰκοδομέω oikodomeō = to help improve ability to function in living responsibly and effectively; strengthen, build up, make more able.

Something may not be against the rules, but if it isn’t helping anyone to be better off or will help to build another up, then you are not to do it.

Just because there are no rules against something, that does not give you the green light to go ahead and do it.

The permissible but not beneficial things also applies to the disputable matters as mentioned in Romans 14:1.

When a matter comes up that is not specifically addressed in Scripture, we must consider scriptural principles to help us determine if it will please God.

We must ask ourselves, are we seeking to please ourselves or God (Colossians 3:1–4; 2 Timothy 2:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14–15; Galatians 5:16–18)?

Is the activity addictive (1 Corinthians 6:12; Ephesians 5:18)?

Will my Christian witness be upheld (1 Timothy 4:12; Colossians 4:5)?

Will doing this build me and others up to godliness (1 Thessalonians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 10:23)?

Our convictions must be molded to obey Christ, and then we must not go against them.

Disputable matters are differences of opinion over what is acceptable to God and not acceptable to God.

These are really gray areas that we are tempted to use as a club of conviction on another believer in Christ.

A disputable matter is any practice which God has not labeled sin that some Christians feel is all right, and others feel is wrong.

We may use a biblical principle as basis for feeling that a particular practice isn’t appropriate for Christians.

But unless God has clearly stated a practice is sin, our opinion is disputable.

Some examples in Scripture that illustrate disputable matters:

Dietary choices

Observance of special days

Food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 8)

Sabbath observance; Which day? Should it be observed at all?

The Sabbath command was given to Israel as part of the Mosaic covenant and served as a covenant sign between God and Israel (Exodus 31:16–17).

The New Testament does not place Christians under Israel's Sabbath regulations; instead, believers are warned not to judge one another concerning Sabbath days (Colossians 2:16–17) and are given liberty concerning the observance of particular days (Romans 14:5–6).

The Sabbath also points beyond itself to the greater rest found in Christ (Hebrews 4:1–11). Therefore, setting aside regular time for rest and worship is wise and beneficial, but Sabbath observance should not be imposed upon New Testament believers as a requirement for righteousness or salvation.

Colossians 2:16–23 (NIV84)

16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

Colossians 2:16 (NLT)

16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

Romans 14:5-6a (NIV84)

5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

6a He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.

17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?

22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Eating, drinking, religious festivals, New Moon celebrations, and Sabbath observances are matters where judgment should be withheld.

Jeremiah 10:2–4 (NIV84)

2This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them.

3For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.

Some justify not celebrating Christmas or not having a Christmas tree in your home by taking this Scripture verse out of context.

This is talking about taking the wood of a tree that was cut down and fashioning an idol out it.

If you aim to worship the Christmas tree, then you shouldn’t have one in your home.

Disputable matters are matters where believing or not believing in certain things, practicing or not practicing certain things do not keep a person from inheriting the kingdom of God.

Indisputable Matters

Just because something is disputed, it does not make it a disputable matter.

What places something in the indisputable column is not whether or not it is disputed by some people, or has ever been disputed, but what the Scriptures consistently say about the topic, and how the Scriptures tie it to other matters.

In the past, smoking, drinking, and dancing were considered indisputable matters. Today, for the most part, these actions are considered disputable.

What constitutes an indisputable matter?

An indisputable matter is anything that God has called sin.

We’ll be looking at indisputable matters in the Bible that many including Christians dispute.

Jesus Christ-Only Way to Salvation

John 14:6 (NIV84)

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 (NIV84)

12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5–6 (NIV84)

5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

Jesus is God

John 1:1, 14 (NASB95)

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is God; this is an indisputable matter.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Lord = κύριος kyrios = as a designation of God.

What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?

Generally speaking, a lord is someone with authority, control, or power over others; to say that someone is “lord” is to consider that person a master or ruler of some kind. In Jesus’ day the word lord was often used as a title of respect toward earthly authorities.

However, after the resurrection, the title “Lord,” as applied to Jesus, became much more than a title of honor or respect. Saying, “Jesus is Lord,” became a way of declaring Jesus’ deity.

It began when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection and Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

From then on, the apostles’ message was that Jesus is Lord meant “Jesus is God.”

R.C. Sproul: The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) used the term Kyrios to translate the Hebrew word Adonai, which was a title for God himself.

The Hebrew word Yahweh, which was the ineffable “name” of God, was too sacred to be used frivolously, even in worship.

When a public reader came to Yahweh in the liturgy, the substitute word pronounced in its place was Adonai.

Adonai was the title that indicated God’s absolute authority and power.

Part of our confession of faith is to acknowledge the deity of Jesus Christ. To confess, Jesus is Lord, is to confess, Jesus is God.

Christ Physically Rose from the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:3–8, 12–20 (NIV84)

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,

8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

There are those who claim to be Christians who deny that Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead.

John Shelby Spong – former Episcopal bishop: “I don’t think the Resurrection has anything do with physical resuscitation.” He instead understood Jesus as being raised into the life of God, with Jesus’ presence rather than his physical body manifested to the disciples. He says, in his book Jesus for the Non-Religious, “It is a mistake to literalize Easter.”

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is an indisputable matter!

Salvation is by Grace through Faith

Not Human Merit

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV84)

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Titus 3:3–7 (NIV84)

3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,

5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,

7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Romans 3:28 (NIV84)

28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Romans 4:4–5 (NIV84)

4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Galatians 2:15–16 (NIV84)

15“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’

16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

What About Water Baptism?

Acts 2:38–39 (NIV84)

38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Mark 16:16 (NIV84)

16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 22:14–16 (NIV84) Ananias said to Saul:

14“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

What about water baptism?

Are these Scripture verses telling us that we must be baptized in order to be saved?

Next Week!!! (The Lord Willing)