Follow Suit: Judgmentalism

Welcoming

Do you have a critical spirit?

Live to Please Others

NOT OURSELVES

Please those who are fail

Please his neighbor, to build him up.

Why do we seek to please others?

To follow suit!

Christ did not please himself

“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

NIV: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” (Psalm 69:9)

Scripture teaches

God gives endurance and encouragement

God gives same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had

So that with one mind and voice we would glorify God.

THEREFORE: Application: Welcome one another as Christ has Welcomed You...

Conclusion: For the Glory of God!

Introduction:

Begin with statements:

“I can’t believe she thinks that’s appropriate to wear. Does she not respect her body?”

“I can’t believe he owns that truck, he can’t afford that.”

“She does not know how to control her kids!”

“They are way too strict.”

“He actually thinks he’s better than me.”

“Those people are just ignorant.”

“Those other people are just too stuck up.”

“They drink way too much!”

“They don’t drink enough!”

“They can’t afford that vacation.”

“Their family is too competitive!”

“I really question their salvation based on their Instagram posts.”

“They just struggle with idolatry: They worship their house, their car, their family.”

“Yeah, they probably don’t tithe.”

“They’re too progressive.”

“They’re too woke.”

“They are so judgmental!”

“They are far too critical.”

If there’s anything this pandemic has exposed, is our ability to critically break people apart!

Besides, the fear of missing out, besides how jealousy drives us back to social media, or our addiction to be affirmed with likes, it’s also a way in which we can judge people with our minds.

And it’s not like we need social media to be critical of others. It just comes instinctually to us like sharks smelling blood— our minds can rip people’s decisions, opinions, minions to shreds… If we had minions, we’d find a way to criticize them too! Why are they all yellow, why haven’t they diversified!

So, to address our own critical souls and as a way to deal with critical souls, we turn to Jesus. We follow suit!

Three Ways to address our critical hearts and those with critical hearts:

Please Others -Like Jesus

Get Your Minds Together- Like Jesus

Welcome Others- Like Jesus

Please Others and not Yourself (vv.1-4)

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

‘Able’ vs. ‘Unable’, ‘Powerful’ vs. ‘Unpowerful’

Paul uses the language of strong and weak. LIT. able vs. unable. Difference between these two words is one letter

So if you’re mature in the faith, like Paul, like the strong ones, than that impacts how you view other people.

If you think someone isn’t a strong Christian.

If you think someone behaves in an unChristian way but still calls themselves a Christian

If you think someone is immature and sways by culture’s shifting sands

THAN, you have an obligation to be critical of them!

NO, you have an obligation to build that person up.

You don’t merely tolerate them, but you are invited to ‘bear with the failings of the weak or, as verse 2 says, “build him up.”

We’re solid at tearing down. We’re solid at bearing our own burdens.

But it’s antithetical to our hearts to bear with the failings of the weak.

And notice, Paul uses the word neighbor in verse 2:

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good.

NOT: Church Visitor, or Church Member, or Family Members, or Friend: It’s the all-encompassing word ‘NEIGHBOR!”

To avoid your critical heart against all these people who you disagree with ideologically, politically, socially, whatever, our role is to be the strong ones! To be the mature ones, and to bear the burdens of those who are weak.

Now one side note before I talk about how this is following suit:

How do you know if you are a strong person or weak?

Like, you may think your strong, but most people who know you would consider you still quite immature in your faith.

I think the reason why we are so critical is because we’re weak! See, the weak or unable in the faith: they operate our of our fears, anxieties, insecurities, and are swayed very easily by where the culture blows.

The strong are ones who, simply put, embody the FRUIT of the SPIRIT.

They are proactive rather than reactive.

They are encouragers, not criticizers.

Live in freedom, not fear.

Live with Courage and not angst.

Live with Comfort in Christ, and not Comfort in Culture.

Live with security in their salvation rather than putting their trust in princes as Psalm 146 reminds us.

Be very careful cautious automatically thinking: I’m the strong one. The Fruit of the Spirit is the litmus test of Discipleship. That’s who makes up the strong.

Follow Suit: From Critical to Commassionate

Now, we need to move on: The strong or the ‘able’ in the faith, when they bear burdens and lift others up, they are following suit like Jesus.

The goal is not to please yourself, but to please Christ.

verse 3: A little awkward of a translation, but what Paul is doing here is pointing us to Psalm 69:9. Psalm 69 is an individual lament psalm of a person suffering for wrongs he committed.

Jesus, as the suffering servant, took insults from people. He took criticism. He took the comments from the religious peanut gallery

So just as Jesus wasn’t seeking to please himself in helpful us, we ought not plan to please ourselves when helping others.

Mother Teresa: Power story of Shane Clayborn:

Why is her feet so malformed?

She takes the last pair of shoes...

Would you take the last pair? I don’t think I would. I would like to think I would, but I probably wouldn’t...

When you follow Christ is this way, your critical hearts transforms to a compassionate one.

Get Your Minds Together

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

v. 5: live in such harmony with one another

NIV: “have the same attitude of mind.”

Lit. “Same mind toward each other”

Mind= diaphragm: “Deep seated spot of mental and spiritual activity”

So it’s not so much an intellectual unity, but an unity of spirit, feeling, connectedness...

Jesus: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Being on the same page stops you from being a critical soul.

Your desire for harmony outpaces your instincts to Cut down

Vision:

Family of God drawn to Jesus, challenged by his message, and released as missionaries

September series: Revisioning of not only why we exist, but how we are choosing to exist...

Worship Together: Doing that separately

Challenged: Discipleship

Released: Sent out as Christian Ambassadors

I am very flexible about a lot of things, but I’m still sold on this vision for us!

We need to glorify, we need to grow, and we need to go.

Focusing on who we are as disciples, we are in one accord to give one voice to God!

What’s the motivation behind having one mind?

Because Christ aligned us with him, we need to align with others

Live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,In Accord: He lived for others therefore we must put up with others.

Motivation to live in Unity is because of our relationship with Christ:

Live in harmony like we experienced unity with Christ

Live in harmony like how Christ united to him.

How did we end up on the same page with Christ?

He took us, and we died with him and than we were raised with him.

Christ made us ONE with him by dying to our sin, our misery, and then we rose with Christ as new creations!

And so THE TYPE OF UNITY and now HARMONY that we experience with Christ was a result of the GOSPEL!

Safe Guards our Definition of Unity:

Christians need to be in one accord of mind together because we’ve experience the dying and rising with Christ together.

That means this is not about UNITY at all costs:

Like, we don’t need to all agree on what color our future church buildings walls will be.

We don’t need to agree on how many parking spots we’ll need, or how big our budget should be for outreach. We’ll have differing opinions.

The Point is that we’ll have harmony in accordance with the Pillars of the Faith:

Dying to Sin, rising in salvation, living in service.

Kingdom, Covenant, Doctrines of Grace

Discipleship, Image of God and how that Image reflection manifests itself in marriage, and gender and...

These are fundamental theological positions that are rooted in accordance with experiencing harmony with Jesus.

Like, we don’t need to buy the same cars, but we do need to buy them understanding our role stewards.

We don’t need to all vote the same but we do need to prioritize Christs’ reign and rule.

This is about unity in understanding our position before God as sinners needing salvation

Third Way to Avoid a Critical Heart

v.7: Welcome One Another

7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Welcome One Another

Show what this means:

Etymology: Grab- don’t grab people!

Prefix: Grab beside! Seize to the side.

Get in step!

Welcome: word first meant: to grasp

My mentor: Jake grabbed people, always threw his arm around you.

Mentor to so many!

Why? Because Christ has taken you!

Made you a co-heir!

This activity bring God all the Glory

Gospel activity at work, not a critical mind at work.