Judging Others – 9

Sermon on the Mount - 80

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.

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.

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.

What are some indisputable matters in the Bible that many, including Christians, dispute? We’ve already discussed the following.

Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

Jesus is God.

Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead.

Salvation is by grace through faith and not by any human merit.

What About Water Baptism?

Is Water Baptism a disputable matter or an indisputable matter when it comes to the matter of salvation?

Acts 2:36–41 (NIV84)

36“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

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.”

40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Accepted = ἀποδέχομαι apodechomai = Welcome, receive favorably, accept, to receive with pleasure.

Baptism is the believer's response to having received the gospel by faith.

The people being baptized are described as people who had first accepted the apostolic message.

A person was to be baptized after they believed the message of the gospel.

Acts 2:38 (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.

Many take this verse and interpret it to mean that both repentance and baptism together results in salvation.

We must interpret Scripture in light of the whole of Scripture. To conclude from this one verse that water baptism is necessary for salvation, without considering other passages that clearly teach salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, is to draw a conclusion that is not supported by the full testimony of Scripture.

Part of interpreting Scripture in its context includes the consideration of both the audience to whom he was speaking and the historical and cultural setting in which his command was given.

For these Jewish believers, water baptism was a public demonstration of their repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

It signified their willingness to identify themselves with the very One whom their nation had rejected.

Unlike some water baptisms today, where individuals may offer only a superficial or biblically inadequate understanding of why they are being baptized, water baptism in the early church was a public declaration of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Through baptism, these new believers outwardly expressed the inward change of heart that had taken place as they turned to God in repentance and placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Their baptism did not create their repentance; it publicly demonstrated their repentance.

Charles Ryrie: Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ meant for these people a severing of their ties with Judaism and an association with the messages of Jesus and His people.

Baptism was the line of demarcation.

Even today for a Jew it is not his profession of Christianity nor his attendance at Christian services nor his acceptance of the New Testament, but his submission to water baptism that definitely and finally excludes him from the Jewish community and marks him off as a Christian.

Baptism publicly demonstrated their allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah, even when that allegiance brought opposition from their fellow Jews.

Their willingness to be baptized, despite the potential consequences, demonstrated the seriousness of their commitment to Jesus Christ.

For the early followers of Jesus Christ, water baptism did not make them Christians; rather, it publicly identified them as followers of Jesus Christ, sometimes at tremendous personal cost.

Acts 2:37–41 (WUESTNT)

37Now, having heard this, they were stung to the heart with poignant sorrow. And they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, What shall we do, men, brothers? And Peter said to them, Have a change of mind, that change of mind being accompanied by abhorrence of and sorrow for your deed, and let each one of you be baptized upon the ground of your confession of belief in the sum total of all that Jesus Christ is in His glorious Person, this baptismal testimony being in relation to the fact that your sins have been put away, and you shall receive the gratuitous gift of the Holy Spirit, for to you is the promise and to your children and to all who are at a distance, as many as the Lord our God shall with a divine summons call to himself. And with many other words he solemnly affirmed, and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Then those who received his word with approval were immersed. And there were added to their number on that day about three thousand souls.

The NIV84 translates Peter's words, "Repent and be baptized ... for the forgiveness of your sins."

For = εἰς eis = When eis appears across the New Testament, because of rather than in order to obtain, emerges as the most coherent interpretation.

J.I. Packer: We must not derive our doctrine of baptism from here, as Peter is just touching on it at this point. Our old nature is crucified by baptism, as Paul teaches, so that we may live a new life (Romans 6:4, 6). Scripture teaches everywhere that baptism is a sign and token of repentance.

In this passage in Acts Peter is not teaching about baptism but the forgiveness of sins. He says incidentally that baptism is the confirmation of the forgiveness of sins.

In the early church, baptism was the public confession of Christ. It was also the point when a believer was taken seriously and when persecution became a real possibility.

A person who said he believed but refused to be baptized would not have been taken seriously either inside or outside the church.

John MacArthur: By calling on each of them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, Peter does not allow for any “secret disciples” (cf. Matt. 10:32–33). Baptism would mark a public break with Judaism and identification with Jesus Christ. Such a drastic public act would help weed out any conversions which were not genuine.

Baptism would be a dramatic step for Peter’s hearers. By publicly identifying themselves as followers of Jesus of Nazareth, they risked becoming outcasts in their society.

Peter calls upon them to prove the genuineness of their repentance by submitting to public baptism.

For believers, baptism is visible proof of repentance and commitment to follow Jesus, the Messiah.

The idea of baptism “for the forgiveness of sins” does not mean that baptism results in forgiveness of sins but rather that having received forgiveness of sins through accepting Jesus as Savior should lead a person to be baptized as an outward expression of that inner conviction.

Repentance, not baptism, is what brings forgiveness.

Acts 3:19–20 (NIV84)

19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

Repentance and being converted involve a change in a person’s mind and behavior which include turning from sin, forsaking it, and turning to the Lord Jesus.

When you repent, you go from being self-centered to being Christ-centered.

You become Spirit-directed instead of being self-directed.

You become a teachable person instead of being unteachable and defiant.

The blotting out of the people’s sins was a direct result of their repenting and turning to God. There was no reference made to baptism.

Acts 10:39–48 (NIV84)

39“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,

40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.

45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

47“Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Cornelius and those with him received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized in water.

They heard the gospel.

They believed and received the Holy Spirit.

They were subsequently baptized in water.

If baptism were necessary to complete saving faith, how could these individuals have received the Holy Spirit beforehand?

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

14“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you (has appointed you, nasb95) 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.’

This verse does not teach, as some try to argue, that baptism saves—Paul was filled with the Spirit before his baptism with water (see 9:17–18). Nor does it teach that the ordinance of baptism literally washes away our sins.

Faith alone, calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:9–13), saves, and baptism depicts that truth.

A more literal rendering would be “get yourself baptized … having previously called upon his name.”

In other words, the text is saying: “Since you have called on the Lord’s name, now get baptized.”

The taking away of sin was accomplished on the cross not when one is baptized.

John Phillips: Baptism would publicly identify him with the Lord and with His people, and calling on the name of the Lord would remove his guilt and sin.

By this step he would publicly and forever disassociate himself from the Jewish nation’s crime of crucifying the Christ of God.

Mark 16:16 (NIV84)

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

When we look at this Scripture verse, what is it that will bring condemnation?

Is it not being baptized? No!

Is it not believing? Yes!

In Mark 16:16, it is clear that it is unbelief that brings damnation, not a lack of being baptized: “he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

When a person rejects the gospel, refusing to believe it, that person is damned.

Some have erroneously espoused that baptism is a necessary requirement for salvation, because they misinterpreted this Scripture verse.

1 Peter 3:18–22 (NIV84)

18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

19through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison

20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:21 (NLT)

21  And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:21 (Free Bible Version)

21This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you, not by washing off dirt from your body, but as a positive response to God that comes from a clear conscience. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes your salvation possible.

22who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

This verse is not teaching that water baptism brings about salvation. Rather, salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, and baptism is an outward expression of that faith.

Symbolizes = ἀντίτυπος antitypos 2x (Heb. 9:24) = representation, copy, symbol.

Verse 21 does remind us that it is not the washing of the water that cleanses but the “appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

In other words, it is trust in Christ alone, which trust is evidenced by our humble request for God’s forgiveness based on Christ’s work and promise, that saves us.

Our faith, whether it comes before, during, or after the ceremony of baptism itself, alone unites us with Jesus who saves us from God’s wrath because He bore it in place of His people.

Baptism was the central rite of initiation into the Christian community, marking the death of the initiate to his or her old way of life and his or her rebirth to the new way of life that God opens up through God’s Holy Spirit (see Rom. 6:1–11).

Just as Noah was saved from God’s judgment and brought safely through the Flood into a new world, the believer is saved from God’s judgment through Jesus Christ and brought into new life. Baptism is the outward picture of that salvation; the water itself does not save—the saving power comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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.

Although, often disputed, it is an indisputable fact that water baptism does not save anyone.

You do not have to be baptized in order to be saved.

Remember the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43).

What about infant baptism?

A Disputable Matter or an Indisputable Matter?

Next Week!!! (The Lord Willing)