Judging conflict rightly

Question of the day: What kind of Christian does it take to cure disunity?

Review:

Don’t Gossip- If you aren’t trying to fix it, then don’t talk about it

Evaluate- Can you overlook the offense? Is it worth it?

Analyze- What is the true nature of the conflict?

Assuming you’ve evaluated, analyzed, and steered clear of gossip

Judge rightly- Have you made premature conclusions? Are you biased? - Yes - How are you biased? Are you exaggerating or guessing motives?

EX:: Hogan guitar look

Consider your responsibility- What are the consequences of their sin? Offense, murder, division, teaching another gospel?

Take the plank from your eye- Have you contributed to the problem? Is God going to be with you in your assessment or is something between you and our source of wisdom?

Judge Rightly

God hates hasty judgments- It’s better to do nothing then do this incorrectly

Proverbs 17:12–15 (NIV)

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly. Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good. Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the Lord detests them both.

Foolishness is worse than meeting a bear robbed of its cubs

Foolishness lingers in our lives

It is an abomination to condemn the innocent or justify the wicked

“Well at least I tried” NO

That’s like jumping from one building to another, missing, then thinking at least I tried before falling to your death. It’s better not to jump. If you can’t judge rightly then for your own sake, forgive and forget.

What does it mean to Judge Rightly?

Background: Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath and the religious leaders are chasing him over land and sea because they have judged Him to be evil.

John 7:14–24 (NIV)

Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

v20 You have a demon - This is their judgement

v24 Judge with right judgement - They understood circumcision was important enough to do on Sabbath but not healing, why?

BIAS: They were more worried about following the law of ceremony than the law of loving their neighbor.

Are you biased? Yes, that’s a given. The question is WHAT is your bias and is it pulling you in the wrong direction?

Are you highlighting a portion of God’s character and ignoring the rest?

It’s dangerous to judge another person

Matthew 7:1-5 ““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “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? How 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? You 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.”

Luke 6:37 ““Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

James 4:11-12 “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”

“Man judging is dangerous. I’m just going to love people and not judge.”

Warning: That’s just as unbiblical. It’s also illogical. The idea doesn’t make sense.

“I’m just going to love my christian brother by staying out of their mess. I’ll just let them suffer in the consequences of their sin so I’m not uncomfortable.” That’s not loving.

If your spouse was sleeping and the house was burning down, but you don’t want to upset them so you just let them sleep. It’s not loving it’s weak.

Matthew 7:5 “You 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.”

The point is to help each other become more like Christ.

Galatians 5:16–6:5 (NIV)

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 19 [But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.

We are seeking to restore but that can only happen if we ourselves are spiritual.

Definition: v19-23 [ ]

Jordan Peterson: “If you can’t even clean your room who are you to give advice to the world?”

Be the kind of christian it takes to cure division, before you decide to right the paths of others. If you can’t do that then keep it to yourself.

Warning: If you aren’t moving in that direction, if you aren’t becoming that person, you may need to evaluate what’s holding you back in your race.

Background: The church in Corinth is full of every kind of evil. It’s even happening among the leaders.

1 Corinthians 5:9–6:11 (NIV)

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

We don’t judge everyone. If a visitor or someone outside the church offends you, wrongs you, lies, cheats, you shouldn’t be surprised.

That doesn’t mean the world has no morals, what it means is that you shouldn’t expect them to live according to our moral compass. So if they sin against you, just like Jesus, Stephen, Paul and every other disciple and apostle you are going to respond with prayer and love. God says He judges the world.

Wrap-up

If a brother or sister sins against you and the consequences are so dire that it must be addressed. Be courageous, wise, thoughtful, full of the Holy Spirit, and gentle. Don’t play games. Don’t be petty, getting in little jabs to get back at them.

Judging rightly is first judging yourself. How are you biased? Do you have a plank in your eye? Are you responsible for part or all of the altercation?

Once your heart is confident before God, look at the other person and their actions according to the fullness of God’s heart - His purpose. If someone in the church has done something against the love of God, and your heart is blameless before God, then with all meekness and gentleness move on to the other steps.

That’s what kind of Christian it takes to cure disunity.