Christian Conduct

Joel Hayworth

Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Transcript

Introduction

It seems like in our day and age there are two main types of people out there. The people who judge others in public and those who judge people in private. We are a very judgmental society and the advancement of social media has only worsened that tendency. To some people they might say that they don’t judge others and they are inclusive of everyone regardless of their background, race or gender. But the millisecond you bring up an opposing political or religious viewpoint what do you receive? Judgment! The hypocrisy is astounding. Nearly everyone seems to know what says, though. There are just some verses out there that people absolutely know are in the Bible. , , , , (treat others the way you want them to treat you), and all come to mind. For whatever reason people know these verses and whenever they think of the Bible, they think of these verses. While does say to not judge others, this verse is one of the top 5 misunderstood and misapplied verses in Scripture.

The reason that this verse is so misunderstood is because it’s convenient. How many of you have heard someone say or see someone post on social media, “Only God can judge me!” This seems to be a very popular saying nowadays in order to justify people’s mistakes and poor actions. You get caught in tax fraud, it’s ok, only God can judge me. You get caught in adultery, it’s ok, only God can judge me. You are clearly caught doing something that the Bible says is wrong, it’s ok, only God can judge me!

Jesus repeatedly calls out people for their sin during His day. Does Jesus, according to , mean that we should never use discernment and evaluate the spiritual fruit of others? Certainly not. Christ warns us of false prophets. How can we know who is a false prophet and who is legit without using judgment and discernment? It’s impossible. As a result, I think Jesus has something else in mind whenever He says in that we should not judge.

As human beings, we are all sinners. As a result of our sin, we are desperately in need of grace and saving. The wages of our sin is death. We are in no position to play the “holier than thou” card and judge the eternal destination of people because we are not God. With that said, the Greek word for judge is “krino” and it can mean to analyze or evaluate as well as to condemn or judge. As Christians, are we commanded to analyze and evaluate others ( and come to mind) in order to see if what they are saying is truth. If someone is preaching a false Gospel or teaching something that isn’t in Scripture, it’s not judgmental to call them out on it and warn others to stay away from them. There is a prominent pastor in Texas with the same first name as myself who fits this mold. It’s not a sin to say that Christians should flee from his teaching.

Newsflash, you all should “judge” the sermon you hear each and every week against what Scripture says. Don’t pull the card and say you’re not allowed to question things. The Bible commands us to analyze what we hear and see. Jesus’ message here is simple, but it has been misunderstood. Don’t be characterized by judgmental attitudes. Don’t be insanely quick to find fault in others.

This is something that we all struggle with and I pray that this message will allow us to be convicted by the Word of God in such a way that we leave this placed forever changed. That we would discern and evaluate things but that we would do so with a Christlike heart and not one filled with criticism.

Matthew 7:1–12 NASB95

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 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. 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! 12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:1–6 NASB95

Don’t be quick to Judge (1-2)

Passing judgment is one of the easiest things to do as humans. Maybe we don’t do it publicly, but we certainly do it in our head and in our homes. We see something going on and we think, “that’s crazy” or “I would never do that!” Literally everyone does this, so why does Jesus command people to not be quick to judge? Because it is foolish and what you do when your judgmental is you apply a standard to someone else that you would not want to be applied to you. Think about it. It can be very easy to say, “I can’t believe that so and so would say that to this person, they are so nice and wouldn’t hurt a fly. This person must just be a jerk.” We judge people based off of hearsay and we hold people to our own standard and the rules that we make. This makes us feel good. When the converse happens, though, suddenly we feel offended. Whenever we do something that someone else does not agree with or whenever someone hears a false rumor about us, we get offended and it can be easy to say “this isn’t fair!” Yet, this is what we do to others, often times.

So why are we not supposed to be quick to judge and be critical and judgmental of others constantly? Because it’s foolish. It is foolish to judge others harsh and expect others to treat us mercifully, yet this is kind of the default human mentality. Think of what Paul tells the Roman church in

Romans 14:1–4 NASB95

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Galatians 6:1–6 ESV

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Romans 14:

Romans 14:10–13 NASB95

10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Romans 14:

We are not supposed to put up a stumbling block in front of others, we are supposed to help one another out in this thing called life. One of the greatest ways we can do this is by not being judgmental and overly critical of others but rather by helping one another our out. Have you ever been in a situation where you did something wrong and you deserved to face a consequence for your shortcoming? I remember many a situation like this from my teenage years. Situations where I messed up big time and I deserved punishment and I got punishment many times, but have you ever been in such a situation and rather than experiencing punishment, you receive mercy? Rather than experiencing judgment and condemnation, you experience forgiveness and grace? Friends, few things are sweeter than being in the wrong and experiencing grace. That is how we are supposed to be with one another inside the body of Christ and all those we have relationships with outside the church as well!

The reason this matters so much is because in verse 2 we see that we can expect to be treated however we treat others. If we forgive others, we can expect to be forgiven by God. But if we refuse to forgive others then we can expect God to withhold His forgiveness on us. We are called to show mercy to others because we acknowledge that we have received mercy from God. Judging others harshly is an act of foolishness and ultimately reveals that we do not truly understand God’s transforming and consuming grace.

Sinclair Ferguson notes that, “The heart that has tasted the Lord’s grace and forgiveness will always be restrained in its judgment of others. It has seen itself deserving judgment and condemnation before the Lord and yet, instead of experiencing His burning anger, has tasted His infinite mercy.”

Don’t be a Hypocrite (3-5)

If you have experienced this grace and mercy then you will extend that to others rather than being a hypocrite. We’ve talked about how many non-Christians accuse Christians of just being a bunch of hypocrites. In some ways this is people simply being upset at the message of the Gospel, but in other ways, this is a fair critique. Hypocrisy is certainly a place that the church can do a better job.

Jesus continues in verses 3-5 to use an illustration that we have all heard and one that many non-Christians know by heart: Take the beam of wood out of your own eye before you take the splinter out of my eye!

This is a humorous example by Christ, but it’s also a convicting message as well. Think of the difference between a log and a speck. Several of you in this room deal with wood on a frequent basis for woodworking or for construction and you know that a plank or a log is extremely large and heavy. While this is true, a speck or splinter is miniscule, right? Whenever you compare the two one is clearly larger. With that said, aren’t splinters simply annoying? Splinters aggravate us and cause us much frustration because they are a pain to walk around with and they are seemingly impossible to get out sometimes! We hate splinters! I think this is why Jesus uses this example in . We hate splinters and we want to remove them whenever we see them. Do you know anyone that has a nervous habit? Perhaps it is biting their nails, making a noise with their mouth or doing something with their fingers, but it seems as though we all know people who do things like this whenever they are nervous and sometimes they do it without even thinking about it. In moments like this it can be easy to kind of be annoyed and make a comment like, “Could you please stop doing that?” Or better, “You’re destroying your nails and being super annoying, cut it out!” Sometimes we have our own nervous habit, but often it is what other people do that really get on our nerves.

Sadly, we see a lot of splinters in others. We see the smallest flaws in the lives of others and we love to be the person who walks up with a needle and say, “Hey let me correct this for you!” Even if you have good intentions, this can be a very awkward conversation, but we simply hate splinters and we think that we are helping the other person by pointing out the splinter.

Christ says that we should notice the log in our own eye first. They say that we are our own biggest critic and that we are always the hardest on ourselves. I think this is a pretty accurate statement at least some of the time. In high school I was in band and absolutely loved it. I loved the marching aspect of band and made some lifelong memories and friendships in competitions and trips around the country, but one thing that I will always remember from my time in band was the standard that was set from the leadership. The standard in band was perfection. With music you have about a dozen different things that you’re thinking of at any given time with dynamics, intonation, blending with your section and watching the conductor. In order to be successful, you have to be extremely observant and disciplined. One of the best musicians I had the opportunity to play with went on to become 1st chair All-State clarinet. The way that you make All-State band is you qualify in your local district and then you advance to have the opportunity to audition for All-State to have a blind audition to play scales and some selected pieces that are extremely difficult.

This guy came out of his audition and said that he didn’t feel like he did a good job. He was extremely hard on himself. He made some mistakes and he felt as though he could have done a better job. Fast forward a couple of hours later and whenever the results were published he discovered that he had done well enough to be given the honor of best clarinet player in the state. Maybe this is you when it comes to things. You focus on the negatives and feel as though you could have done a little bit better. Maybe you’re your own worst critic.

By and large, though, what I’ve discovered is that we as humans are content with performances. We are content with the type of people that we are. We have our shortcomings and our weaknesses but rather than focus on those things we focus on our strengths and the things that we excel in. Whenever we do this and we are oblivious of our weaknesses and sin and we call out people for their specks and splinters, we are playing the hypocrite. We are commanded by Jesus to take the log out of our own eye first!

There is a great example of this in Scripture in the story of King David and the prophet Nathan. David had just sinned with Bathsheba, he had lied, he stole another man’s wife, he gave orders for Bathsheba’s husband to be killed, he committed adultery, he dishonored his parents. David broke many of the commandments in the span of a couple actions. You could say that David had a pretty big log in his eye, yet whenever the prophet Nathan confronted him by sharing a parable of a rich man who slaughtered a poor man’s single lamb what did David say, “The man who did this deserves to die!” Nathan proceeded to tell David, “You are that man!”

David was a hypocrite. He had everything he could have ever wanted. He was the king! Yet, he was not satisfied. It can be easy to hear this story and say, “Well I’ve never committed adultery or gotten someone killed. Therefore, I don’t really have a log in my eye to get rid of!”

What does the Bible tell us. All have sinned. The wages of sin is death. We all have logs in our eye that we must rip out and repent of! But please notice the conclusion of verse 5 because it serves as a seg-way to our final point today. Christ says that after you take the log out of your own eye, then you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Jesus shows that it is right and proper to humbly correct a brother or sister who is in sin.

We must see this in correct order though. The first and much larger issue is ourselves. We must deal with our own sin first and foremost. But after we do that, we are in position to help one another. Splinters are painful, friends. Sometimes we need another person to help us remove them! It’s not a sin or judgment for someone to lovingly come up and help you get the splinter out of your life! I don’t know where we flipped that idea, but the Bible commands us to bear one another’s burdens.

Galatians 6:1–2 ESV

We must correct sin, but we do it with compassion and humility not with pride and arrogance. It is absolutely unloving to see sin going on right in front of us and to not address it or call it what it is: sin! That doesn’t mean that we hate others, it means that we love one another. Spurgeon put it well whenever he said, “For us to hate those who walk in error or talk of them with contempt or wish them ill, or do them wrong, is not according to the Spirit of Christ. You cannot cast out Satan by Satan, nor correct error by violence nor overcome hate by hate. The conquering weapon of the Christian is love.”

Helping a brother or sister with a splinter is an act of love, if done Biblically.

It’s not a sin to Judge (6)

Know that God answers prayers (7-11)

Verse 6 stands out compared to the other 5 verses in this passage. This verse can be difficult for us to hear and apply because Jesus’ words are strong. John Stott notes that, “Jesus always called a spade a spade. He called Herod Antipas a fox and the Scribes/Pharisees whitewashed tombs and a brood of vipers.”

Obey the Golden Rule (12)

While it is true that Jesus certainly did call these people out, we need to have an elementary math lesson before proceeding any further. How many verses warn and caution us with judging others? 5. How many showcase judging the wicked? 1. This ratio shows us where the danger lies. Generally speaking, you don’t have to go and tell people that it is not a sin to judge because they already judge others! That’s a part of our DNA and we must battle against the tendency to be judgmental and prideful rather than humble and compassionate as we are commanded to be!

Verse 6 shows us that there are both dogs and pigs. There are wicked people out there. Whenever we think of dogs in our world, maybe not all of you, but the typical American (especially children) thinks of a family pet. After all, dogs are called man’s best friend for a reason! We love dogs in America and the Hayworth household is no exception! Why does Jesus use dogs in verse 6 in a negative fashion? Because in the 1st century world dogs were not man’s best friend. They were not domesticated pets like we have in our country. Typically, dogs were unclean animals who ran in packs. They were dangerous! Paul uses dogs in this kind of manner in Philippians when he says that they are false teachers

Philippians 3:2 NASB95

2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

There are wicked, dangerous people out there who twist the truth of Scripture and who despise the Gospel message. They rip it to shreds. Their goal is to destroy the message. Christ’s warning here is to discern who these people are and after witnessing to them, not force the message upon them. Just as you wouldn’t force something upon a wild dangerous animal like a dog, don’t allow these dogs/false teachers and evil doers the opportunity to tear you apart verbally or physically.

Christ is not telling us that we should not evangelize these people, but after they reject the message of the Gospel violently, we continue to pray for them but we use a different strategy with them. In practical terms, it might look like muting a person on Facebook rather than enduring endless debates that do not edify anyone and cause pointless division. It might look like inviting someone to church and continuing to pray for them whenever they slam the door in your face. You present the message and invitation, but we leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. We use our discernment and we evaluate the situation.

The next animal is pigs who trample God’s truth. Pigs were unclean according to the Old Testament law and are rarely, if ever, spoken of positively in Scripture. If the dog is someone who attacks the messenger and slam the door in your face, the pig is the person who accepts the Gospel tract and shreds it up in your face. Pigs cannot recognize the beauty in the Gospel (the pearls). They simply see it as another book and they reject it and destroy it consistently.

Charles Quarles helps us better understand this verse when he says, “Just as dogs will fail to show proper reverence for sacrificial meat and pigs will fail to value precious pearls, the wicked will fail to value and show reverence for the message about the Kingdom. On the contrary, they will spurn, mock and ridicule that message.”

The opening of verse 6 could be read “Never give” rather than simply “do not give.” We are never supposed to do this. Whenever someone is violent and dismissive of the Gospel message and to the Gospel messenger, we pray for them and we recalculate our strategy but we in no way allow the Gospel message to be trampled on or attacked. This requires a certain level of judgment.

We do not judge in advance. Only God knows the heart. We share the good news to all people without discrimination. Some will hear and believe, others will hear and reject. It’s our calling and command to share the message and to leave the rest up to God.

Conclusion

Maybe you’ve always been told that you’re not allowed to judge because the Bible says so. While the Bible says that we cannot judge the eternal destination of someone (we can’t play the role of God), the Bible clearly shows that we are to play a role in the sanctification of our brothers and sisters. We are to help one another out as we die to ourselves and become more like Jesus Christ. This process is difficult. This is a process that requires help. We must not buy into the lie that says that we are lone ranger Christians and that the moment someone says something direct out of love that they are judging and hating us. Praise God for people who care enough about our spiritual walk to help us out. Splinters are painful, these conversations are painful sometimes, but they are necessary and in the long run they are extremely beneficial.

A couple of considerations in this process:

Why am I doing this?

Check your own heart first. Get the log out of your own eye!

Seek God’s wisdom before acting

Pray for the person and for yourself often before this conversation

Follow the model

First go to the person in private

Speak the truth in love () and understand that we have freedom and liberty in Christ. There are some essentials out there, but much of our disagreements and splinters stem from secondary issues that result from our freedom in Christ as reminds us ()

In all things we remember that we are supposed to love one another and treat others with mercy as Christ has loved, forgiven and lavished us with grace and mercy.