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| SERMON #157 Judge not, that ye be not judged, MAT 7:1 Passing judgment is much more frequent and serious than people realize. It is very hard to comprehend the extent of this sin of judgment. Passing judgment upon God was the first temptation used by Satan to gain the fall of man. Satan tempted Eve to pass judgment upon God. He convinced Eve that God's restrictions were unkind and unfair; he convinced her that God's motives in making these restrictions were not right. Therefore, passing judgment on the motives of God was the temptation that Satan used to bring about the fall of man. He convinced Eve that she should be as God, not subject to God. GEN 3:5 says, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." In other words, she should be able to decide what is right and what is wrong. Passing judgment upon God's motives for placing the restrictions on man in the Garden of Eden was the beginning of judging. It is essential to look at the chronology in which Jesus placed our text. His teaching is not only perfect wisdom, but it is perfectly organized. Take notice of Matthew 5 and 6 in the Sermon on the Mount. Notice the chronology each time Jesus uses a section of verses to bring forth a given point and summarize that point. That is what we see in the first eleven verses of Chapter 7 which are summarized in V:12, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." What does the Lord mean when He says, "for this is the law and the prophets."? He is referring to the law of love; we are to love God above all and our neighbour as ourselves. MAT 22:40 says, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." If that law of love, loving God above all with all the heart, soul, and mind which is the reflection of the image of God, had not been violated, then Eve would not have passed judgment upon God. Our Saviour says, "Judge not..." Questioning the authority of God's Word was the temptation Satan used to gain the fall of man as we see in GEN 3:4-5, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die [I want you to see what he did; Satan questioned the authority of God's Word; he passed judgment on the Word of God and its authority. He set God's Word in the balances to establish that its authority was wanting; thereby he got Eve to pass judgment upon God's Word!]: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Satan questioned the motive of God as though He was keeping man ignorant in order to keep him in subjection. Satan taught man to pass judgment upon God. When Jesus says, "Judge not...," He is telling us to come into subjection to the Father and let Him be the judge. We are not to pass judgment. Eve coveted the wisdom Satan offered as the reward for sin; she placed God's authority in question. GEN 3:6 says, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise [She coveted that forbidden wisdom], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." The first sin was effected by calling the authority of God's Word into question. Therefore, the gospel must begin by re- establishing the authority of God's Word. Stop and ponder this thought; how often do we pass judgment upon the Word of God? How often do we take God's Word out of context or twist it to mean something more favorable to our beliefs and desires than what it says? This is done because man is not willing to submit to His authority. Passing judgment upon God brought about the fall of man. Do you see why the Lord Jesus said, "Judge not..."? Do you see why the preaching of the gospel must begin by re-establishing the authority of God's Word? Why did God seal the mysteries of the truth of the gospel which is found in His Word until the opening of the gospel? He would not gratify the covetous sin of Eve wherein she would become wise by eating the forbidden fruit. See how He began the gospel by speaking with authority; He spoke as the King of kings in MAT 4:17 by re-establishing the authority of the Word of God, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," i.e., return under the Kingship of the Son of God that Jesus may rule your life as King. Jesus opened the way that we might understand the mysteries in the gospel which had been hidden from the foundation of the world. MAT 13:35 says, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Let's also consider MAT 7:28-29, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Jesus' ascent "up into a mountain...[where]...he opened his mouth, and taught them," MAT 5:1-2, teaches us the authority with which Jesus brought forth these mysteries of truth. Jesus unfolded those mysteries, and He showed us the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of the the church. He showed them how they were not observing the first and second table of the law; they had a religion that ended in themselves. Their religion was based on self-preservation rather than self- sacrifice. Jesus showed them the mystery of the gospel. The seals, the seven seals spoken of in REV 5:1, were broken. The seals were opened, and the mysteries of the gospel were brought forth teaching us these principles that Jesus gave us in the Sermon on the Mount. We see in ROM 16:25, "Now to him that is of power [of authority] to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began." Those mysteries were never unfolded in the Old Testament. V:26 continues, "But now is made manifest, and...made known to all nations for the obedience of faith," i.e., to re-enter the kingdom or service of God, to surrender to His sovereign kingly authority and rule. Don't forget that God created man to walk under the reign and rule of God; man rebelled in the Garden of Eden. Man was created to reflect the image of God which is righteousness and true holiness. Through the obedience of faith we are to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. We are to seek to re-enter the station which was forsaken by Adam, i.e., walking under the authority of God and His righteousness. Passing judgment upon God's motives and authority was the root of the rebellion in Paradise, but as we become reconciled unto God, we will seek to re-enter God's kingdom, i.e., to return under His sovereign reign and rule. It is important to understand that the questioning of God's authority, passing judgment upon God, is what Satan used to gain the fall. So, what is the first step necessary to return to the Lord and be reconciled to Him? We must seek to re-enter God's kingdom under His sovereign reign so our heart is reconciled to the will of God. That is what Jesus told us in MAT 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." That is the first step toward reconciliation; to re-enter His kingdom, and His righteousness, serving our neighbour ahead of ourselves. We must have a right attitude and character toward our neighbour. If we are to become reconciled with God, we must stop passing judgment upon God and submit to His Word. In 2CO 5:18-20 we read, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. [What is the word of reconciliation? The next verse tells us.] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." From God's side, He has reconciled Himself unto the world through Christ, but now from our side the rebellion of our heart must be broken so we can be reconciled to God. The first fruit of being reconciled from our side is having the Lord's will as our first priority. We must not gainsay what is said in God's Word with "Yes, but..." We ask, "What is Thy will?" Then we DO it. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us in the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock," MAT 7:24. Knowing the will of God is not enough; we must strive to do it. The Apostle Peter says in 1PE 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Is that addressed to you and me? Certainly! We must watch for Satan's lurking devices whereby he tries to devour us. What is the first thing to watch for? The one most deadly weapon Satan uses even today to devour mankind is getting them to pass judgment upon the Lord--raising up against Him as unjust, gainsaying His Word and questioning its authority. Satan hasn't altered his tactics at all; he will try to keep us ignorant of the Word of God or get us to pass judgment upon God's Word by saying such things as "Yes, but...," "Well, I believe...," or "But some certain commentator said..." In that way, human reasoning takes precedence over the Word of God; it is one of Satan's most common tactics whereby he devours souls today. He doesn't want us to totally surrender ourselves to the authority of God's Word. Think of how many people Satan has devoured today by convincing them that God's curse upon sin and restrictions upon man are unkind and unjust. See how they question God's motive, gainsay His Word, and question its authority. Often if one cites God's Word, people will shift the conversation to another authority and the authority of God's Word has lost its pre-eminence. The gospel begins by re-establishing the authority of the Word of God in the heart. We may not pass judgment upon the Lord or question His motives and authority. What He says is, "Yea and Amen in Christ." There is to be no bartering of the Word of God. Here are a few examples that are rank in our society today to give you some food for thought and show you what I mean. Through every phase of our religion and church life today we can find traces of this bartering of God's Word. Think of how many people Satan has devoured today by convincing them that God's curse upon sin and His restrictions are unkind and unjust. We read in GENESIS 3 of the curses God placed upon mankind for sinning. In V:16 we read, "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Today people are trying to shed that curse. Women say they will not have children, so they have an abortion. Women say they only want one or two children and use birth control methods to assure it. They often do not stay home and take care of babies; so they hire a baby-sitter and go for a career. Who are they rebelling against? They are rebelling against the authority of the Lord to place a curse upon man for sin. Also consider "and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." The curse the Lord placed upon Adam was that he would labor under the sweat of his brow, and the ground would produce briars and thorns. Adam would have to cultivate, fight the weeds, and raise his food all his life. The Lord did the same thing to the woman. The thorn in her life is in the word desire. This word desire is translated from the Hebrew word teshuwqah which means "A sense of stretching out after, a longing desire to run over, i.e., to overflow." The curse which the Lord laid upon the woman is a yearning desire to overflow her husband, to run over the top of him, but the Lord came back and said, "he shall rule over thee." Now look at the thorns which are growing in her garden that must be constantly weeded out. The thorns of rebellion and the yearning desire to overflow her husband is the curse God placed upon mankind. The farmer must cope with all the weeds in his fields and garden so they don't choke out his crops. The thorns grow in the woman's heart and have a tendency to choke out her submission to her husband. There is a constant warfare. Do we see women submitting to the authority of their husbands today? No! They are rising up and demanding to be equal to their husbands, rebelling against, and passing judgment upon God. Do you see why our Saviour says, "Judge not," and how we are rebelling against the Lord's authority? Does the Lord have the authority to tell the woman that she shall be in subjection to her husband? ROM 9:20 says, "...O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" Today we see so much need for weeding out these thorns if a woman is going to truly walk in subjection to her husband. Is the Lord unjust? Unkind? He rewarded her according to her doings. She rose up against God to walk under Satan's authority. Because she rebelled against the authority of God, He put her under the authority of her husband. He had the authority to do that. The women's liberation movement is attempting to set the husband's authority aside as unjust. These women claim they have rights. The Equal Rights movement is continuing. They have the "right" to rebel and pass judgment upon God. "Judge not," means submit to the authority of God's Word. Let's consider another example. Think of how many people Satan has devoured today by convincing them to pass judgment upon God's restrictions against sex perversion as unkind and unjust, and that His curse upon that sin is a vain threat. In today's society, homosexuals are considered to be a minority group who have rights ahead of those who are living according to Scripture. Why? They are passing judgment upon God, saying they have a right to choose what form of sexuality they will use. Is that the Word of God? LEV 18:22 says, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Are we going to set aside the authority of the Word of God by saying we have a right? That is questioning the authority of God's Word. You see, they pass judgment upon God. God's curse upon this sin is found in ROM 1:32, "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Sometimes people say God has made a vain threat. An article in the paper discussed those suffering from AIDS. See what we read in ROM 1:32, "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." The argument was raised that certainly AIDS could not be from the Lord, it just happened to be that this group of people are the ones suffering. AIDS could not be connected to the perversion now so widespread. Let's come back to this thing called love. Do you see how Satan, who goes around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, has perverted the Word of God with regard to the word love. Is there any other word more perverted than the word love? Why? Love is the character and image of God. Satan wants to pervert, make absolutely abominable, the character of God. When man sinned against the first commandment of the law of love, i.e., to love God with all the heart, soul, and mind, it ended in the shameful fall recorded in Genesis 3. The fall resulted in the sin against the second commandment of love, i.e., loving our neighbour as ourselves. Love reflects the character of God; Satan's perversion is not genuine love. The word love means self-sacrifice. Look at the perverted way the word love is used today. Sex is coming over national networks as though women and men can live publicly like animals and worse. Sex is found in movies and on the TV screen right before the family with the label of love. Look how Satan has gone out to devour people by perverting God's Word. The authority of the Word of God must be established in our hearts if we are ever to have salvation. That means we must seek first to come under the rule and reign of Christ. The first message of the gospel is to come under subjection to the authority of God; this is where the gospel begins. Jesus is revealing the mysteries that have been secret since the beginning of the world. Satan's gimmick is to use our text to come against those who identify sin. People will say one should not be judgmental if they come against sin. This gimmick clearly comes against the authority of God's Word. We must identify sin; if we do not identify sin, we are hypocrites. It is that important. This is the mystery of the truth that Christ is preaching. We are able to discern the difference between identifying sin and being judgmental; there is a tremendous difference between them. Satan will take the Word of God and use it out of context to destroy its authority. In ROM 16:17 we read, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." In other words, identify those who violate God's Word and have no company with them. Is that being judgmental? No! It's the sin we are judging, not the person. A principle I have always lived by is, "I love the man, even though I might hate what he does." We must hate his sin even though we love his soul. There is a difference. I have been involved in twenty years of litigation; I have constantly prayed for the men who have come against me. I was not attempting to harm the men, I was defending against their sin. Jesus teaches us that we must be able to identify sin in our closest brother in Christ. We must also identify sin in ourselves, and if we are truly walking in love we will thank a brother who helps us identify a sin in our lives. Identifying sin is not being judgmental. Satan's interpretation of love is akin to, "Oh, you can't be judgmental; you can't point at someone else's sin." That mentality is designed to embolden people in sin and to take away all shame. That is a satanic substitute for love! Look at EPH 5:11-12, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret." We absolutely must reprove those committing such sin. Glorying in our tolerance for sin is not good. The Apostle Paul not only identified sin, but he said to purge it out. We must deal with sin; we cannot use the excuse of not being judgmental. We must identify sin and aggressively put that sin out. 1CO 5:6- 7 says, "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" The Corinthians were glorying in a false love as though they should not identify sin; it was a synthetic love. There was a grievous sin in the camp which must be purged out. Paul said it was not good. V:7 continues, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." That leaven is sin; unleaven is clean, not sinful, and not puffed up. In other words, we may not trample on the sacrifice of Christ's blood by claiming it can cleanse us from sin which we still cherish and serve. If we see a sin, we must identify it because it took the blood of Christ to cleanse that sin. We may not just sit back and watch someone live in sin. We are to mark those among us who walk in sin and have no company with them so they may be ashamed and repent. We do not put them out of our company because we are "holier than they." They must be made to feel ashamed in order to bring repentance. 1CO 5:9-11 says, "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." In other words, don't let them come to your table; they are not to be treated as company. We do this so they will be ashamed and repent. If we were to say that to every person in the world, we would have to come out of the world. Reprove those who profess to be in Christ who walk in sin. We are to use discipline to correct; that is not being judgmental. We are to turn away from people who pretend to be Godly by perverting the meaning of our text saying, "Oh, you can't be judgmental!" Oh, how Satan loves that expression! He promotes sin with that perversion thereby making people tolerant of sin. 2TI 3:1-2 tells us we are to beware, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." 2TI 3:5 says, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." In other words, those who pretend to be Godly but have never had the power of sin broken are to be shunned. They still live in sin, and we are told to turn away from people like that. A group of people may pretend to be religious, holding church services and behave as though they were most Godly, but they have never come under the authority of God's Word. We are to turn away from such people.; we are in danger of learning their ways, doing their things, and becoming one with them. We must not only identify sin, we must admonish those who commit sin. Admonishing sin is NOT being judgmental. TIT 3:10-11 says, "A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." A heretic is a person who has been admonished, he knows what his sin is, that it is sin, and he continues in it. Reject him and leave him alone. His own conscience will tell him he is living in sin. He is justifying his sin, passing judgment upon God, making himself righteous and God unjust. He is a heretic. You must reject him if he refuses reproof based on Scriptural principles. This is not the same as the person whoo understands the reproof and seeks to conform to God's Word. Admonishing those who commit sin with love is being the light of the world. EPH 5:13 tells us, "But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light." In other words, when we are reproving someone and bringing them to the light of the Word, we are being the light of the world. Are we to be the light of the world? Certainly. MAT 5:13-14 says, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." Satan's gimmick of pretending that identifying and reproving sin is being judgmental, perverts the authority of God's Word in GAL 6:1-2, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Satan's gimmick would have us believe we are being judgmental if we identify sin. How can we restore one who is walking in sin if we cannot identify sin? We are to restore one who is walking in sin and has already strayed. Scripture doesn't say we should walk with them because identifying sin would be judgmental. Rather, we are to be careful as we proceed for we will be tempted to walk with them in sin; that we may not do. We also are to notice those who walk right and commend them. See this in PHI 3:17-19, "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. [Now see the contrast the apostle makes between those who walk uprightly and the hypocrite] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)" We are to mark those who walk according to the Word of God and use them as an example. We are to commend them and follow their example. They are few, but many are the enemies of the cross of Christ because they refuse to walk under the authority and sovereign rule and reign of Christ. These enemies of the cross are their own authority; they are not walking in the laws of love as Christ has defined love. Love is self-sacrifice. When the Lord Jesus says, "Judge not," He is saying we should not attempt to become the judge of another man's thoughts, the motives of his heart, or attempt to enter into the court of his conscience. Let's look at an example. If you and another person have a dispute or disagreement, it is very easy to say bitter things against that person, telling him what he intended, thought, etc. and go into his motive and intentions in bringing about this misunderstanding. That is judging another person. We are not to judge what motivated that person or group to say or do these things. Why? We could be miles off. We build a sob story while comforting and sympathizing with ourselves on the basis of our own presumption of their thoughts or intents. It is judging their heart, and we are not to pass judgment upon what is in another person's heart. We may identify their sin, but we may not judge the person. We see a beautiful example of what Jesus meant when He said "Judge not," in the history recorded about Satan contending with Michael, the archangel. Those filthy dreamers dared to judge dignitaries, but Michael, the archangel, would not judge Satan. JUD 1:8-9 tells us, "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion [authority], and speak evil of dignities. [That is passing judgment] Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." In other words, let the Lord be the judge. Michael would not pass judgment upon Satan as to his motives. That is quite an example. The Lord Jesus Christ knows the thoughts and intents of the hearts. Jesus knew that the scribes were judging Him as a blasphemer. During the ministry of Christ, judgment was passed upon Him constantly. MAT 9:3-4 says, "And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" Jesus knew their hearts, but He did not pass judgment upon them. He revealed their sins. He asked them why they were thinking evil in their heart, why were they passing judgment upon Him? They were not judging a sin; they were judging Jesus as an individual. Jesus knew hypocrisies and cunning devises would be used to try to take Him in His words. In MAR 12:15 the Pharisees asked Jesus, "Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it." He did not pass judgment upon the person; he revealed their sin. There is a difference. We must reveal sin, but we must not pass judgment upon the person, his thoughts, or his motives. We let the Lord judge. Even though Jesus knew the thoughts and hypocrisies of the human heart, He said "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world," JOH 12:47. If Jesus had come to judge the world, He could have declared everyone hypocrites and condemned them all. He came to save. Do you understand now what our motive must be? We are to identify sin, but for what purpose? So that we may restore such a man. We are not to condemn a person because he sins; we are bring him out and deliver him from sin. That is what the Lord Jesus is teaching us. Verse 48 continues, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." The Word will judge; the authority of His Word will be the final judge. Do you see why the gospel begins with the authority of His Word? God's Word will judge us in the last day. When we feel abused, offended or full of zeal we may err in judging another person's heart. Jesus was mocked, spit upon, blasphemed, and reviled, yet He did not pass judgment, but committed it to His Father who would judge righteously, 1PE 2:23. When someone comes to revile, slander, or destroy us, by nature our first reaction is to pass judgment upon them. That is not what Jesus taught us; we must be Christlike. He is our perfect example. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously," 1PE 2:21-23. To set an example the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings who knows the thoughts and intents of every heart, committed them into the hands of His Father who would judge them righteously. We may never become the judge of our own case. Moses, the meekest of all men, turned and prayed unto the Lord when he was accused by the children of Israel; then the Lord delivered. Moses never spoke one word to defend himself. Christ did not make one attempt to defend himself when they were buffeting Him, mocking Him, or spitting upon Him. Pilate marveled saying, "...Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly," MAT 27:13-14. Jesus never even tried to defend himself. We are to judge no one. If we see a person in the worst state, being "taken captive by [Satan] at his will," 2TI 2:26, what judgment would we pass upon that man if we were honest before God? It will be, "Lord, only by grace am I different because those seeds of corruption are in my heart. It is only by the grace of God if I am different." If we are to be Christlike, we go out and try to save the man and help deliver him from his sin. We identify the sin but don't put our arms around him and embrace him in the sin. We try to deliver him from the power of that sin. 2TI 2:25-26 says, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." We are not to pass judgment upon others. We see their sin; we condemn the sin, but not the sinner. When we condemn the sinner, we are passing judgment. See what 1PE 2:17-23 says, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. [That is showing thankfulness for what Christ suffered wrongfully.] For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." We are to follow Christ's steps. What were His steps? He was crucified and mocked while He hung naked before the world on the cross. Jesus then turned to the Father and asked Him to forgive those very people for they did not understand what they were doing. Can we follow His example when people come against us? Can we pray, `Father forgive them, they don't realize what they are doing'? We condemn the sin, not the sinner. Jesus committed Himself to One who judges righteously. We need to realize that Jesus did not pass judgment; He committed Himself to God, the Father, who judges righteously. What was righteous judgment in His case? "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," 2CO 5:21. That was righteous judgment! Our lovely Saviour was there to suffer the righteous vengeance of God on our behalf; this was righteous and just because He was made to be sin in order to be the propituation for our sins. He committed it to the Father for righteous judgment. "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost," LUK 23:46. Jesus warned that when we pass judgment, we may become in danger of hell fire. Why? MAT 5:22 says, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [you empty person], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool [if you dare judge his eternal state], shall be in danger of hell fire." As we learn to understand the gospel which was preached by Jesus Christ, we will learn His merciful approach to sinners. JOH 12:46-48 says, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." The Lord has given us a precious example. Now think how terrible it is for those who raise up in rebellion and pride and pass judgment upon God and His Word. If we pass judgment upon a brother, a sinner, we are in danger of hell fire. Think of how provoking it is to the Lord when we dare to question the authority of His Word. It is passing judgment upon the Lord as though He is unkind or unjust. Think of the horrible sin there is in even daring to attempt to question the authority of God's Word! ROM 9:20 says, "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" Is there a man who would dare to question God in such a manner? It would be so presumptuous, so Satanic. The next twelve verses deal with our being Christlike, i.e., desiring our fellow man's salvation, not his destruction. Jesus said, "...for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world," JOH 12:47. Do you understand the difference? If we are following Christ's example, we try to save, but we are not to judge. I don't want to see a man in sin and justify the sin, but I will not condemn the man. All I know is that if the Lord had left me to myself, I would have been worse than he. Therefore, I do not condemn the man, I condemn the sin. My chief desire is to deliver him from the sin. Our text says in MAT 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." The next verse gives us the reason for this, "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." When we have a heart that condemns a person, we have condemned ourselves. Why? It is because we are capable of the same sin, if by the grace of God, we are not already guilty of that sin. MAT 7:2 is synonymous with MAT 7:12, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." This is the law of love; if we see a person taken in a sin, we restore such a one. Why? It is the law of love. We are not to pass condemnation on the person. We try to restore them because we could be next. If the Lord withdrew His restraining grace, we could fall in the same sin. The law of love requires that we love such a person even as ourselves. Amen. |
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