#6 Judgement Call - Sitting in God's Chair - Its all about where you stand

I -

Y - The damage judgement does to the church.

G - \

Transition:

James just spent 2 chapters talking about the damage words can do. And we know

It seems that in his community the words of others are causing untold amounts of damage.

And I dont just mean

Y - Ways we

Y - Ways we

W

Point: When we judge, condemn and speak against other people we put ourselves over others, in God’s chair. Perhaps lets let God do the judgeing AND us to do the doing.

The temptation to Judge is the temptation to STAND over our neighbors in God’s place.

Their zeal, ambitions, desire to be seen as good, our desires and yearnings have drven us up the ladder to the point where we are now assuming God’s perogative of lawgiver and judge.

James says watch out!

POINT: We face the same temptation to Judge and condemn with our words. To STAND ABOVE our neighbors in God’s place as judge. But we are called to take our STAND BESIDE our neighbors in LOVE. As fellow people on the road.

DO the law - DO the word - DO Faith

God is Lawgiver, we are Lawdoers

The Problem:

Judgementalism in the church drives people away from God, from Church, and from Christians.

Sets people adrift and makes it VERY difficult to come back

Creates the FALSE impression that you must be PERFECT to belong to God.

Creates the FALSE impression that everyone in the church is perfect.

Makes it VERY hard to get help when you need it.

Open’s the church's exit wide into a world willing to accept you with utter indifference

More The Problem:

We are called to live differently.

To be transformed, to be made new.

To no longer be trapped in sinful patterns.

What do you do, when you see someone who is not doing that? Who is trapped in sin, and bringing others into it? Do you let it go

Point: When you judge you are sitting in God’s chair. Don’t do it.

It is a worse sin than any sin you are casting judgement on.

Instead Love and wait. Dont give up.

Judgement is another way we step away from being “doers” of the word towards “speakrs”

What if we really lived like God was the judge and were the peopl

Don’t Judge, Love

When we start down the judgemental path it feels pretty good. Its tempting. Its nice to know we are right, and we can discern perfectly right and wrong, We can read *this* and tell people what to do. We get to condemn folks

If i cant judge, what am I supposed to do when someone is wrong?

Be indifferent?

ignore it? Cheer them on their error?

Judging takes things into our own hands

refusing to Judge requires a tremendous amount of faith, that GOD will.

Like visiting a prisioner who faces execution.

God will judge

Not saying that there is NO judgement. But that it really belongs to God. He wont just be judging them either, but us too.

All flows out of LOVE OTHERS

Love corrects, challenges, and cares for people IN RELATIONSHIP - If you dont have a relationship, what good is your correction?

Jesus parable with the wheat, people wanted to pull the weeds, to judge them. But Jesus said, no your actions will destroy everything else instead.

Judging others distracts us from looking in the mirrior.

we all know what it is like to be judged by someone and found wanting.

Angels

I - Have been judged OR I Have judged - “Oh, there not like, real christians.” - Crossview Job Review

Have you ever put yourself out there and been punished for it?

Y- We Know how much that hurts and the cycle it perpetuates. The Church has been serously damged by this. We know its wrong.

G- James has somehting to say about words of judgement in the Body.

Transition: James has somehting to say about words of judgement in the Body.

Background

What James is saying: Judgement and Slander - THe story

James says Its a problem of LOCATION.

Goes back to the sin in the garden taking God’s place.

When you judge, you are taking GOd’s seat, above the law. You are saying, I know whats right and whats wrong. I have perfect information. Dont look at me, look at them.

So what do we do?

Ignore the sin and the sinner?

Keep our mouths shut.

Look the other way?

J

Encourage or condone sin?

Jesus, even though he had the right to stand above, chose to stand beside.

He stood not above in judgement and condemnation, but in love. Did he stand with people and encourage them to turn from sin, YES. But always from beside.

Woman caught in Adultery. JESUS STOOD BESIDE

His condmentation was reserved for the “self made judges” of his day

Just like in Real Estate, what matters is location, location, location. - We are called to be stand BESIDE people. Not STAND ABOVE OR AGAINST.

Y- Instead of standing above, stand beside. Dont Stand ABOVE, stand BESIDE. (espeically the sinners)

We are called to be stand beside people.

A stand beside person is...

1. When you find yourself in one of those “judgement” kinds of converstaions.

2. When you see somone donig wrong

When somone admits their struggle

Who is it that God is calling you to stand BESIDE in love?

Who is it that God is calling you to stand BESIDE in love.

We are called to be stand beside people...

W- A time someone stood beside me. Imagine a chuch where it is safe to make mistakes. Where it is safe to need help. Where we stand beside instead of standing above. We are called to be that church.

It takes time because we have to become STAND beside people. ANd we have to start trusting each other again.