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| SERMON #159 Judge not, that ye be not judged, MAT 7:1. Let's begin by directing our attention to PSA 2:1-3, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." Watch what the Judge of heaven and earth says in V:4, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." He is saying they have exceeded their jurisdiction. That is the subject I want to deal with in this message. The first area of judging begins with passing judgment upon God and the authority of His Word. Why do the heathen rage and imagine a vain thing? Why do they pass judgment upon the Lord? The kings and rulers take counsel together against WHOM? Against the Lord and His anointed. WHO is His Anointed? The Lord Jesus Christ is His Anointed; the name Christ means Anointed, and taking counsel implies passing judgment. Passing judgment is the subject we will examine. We must be judges; when the Lord Jesus Christ tells us to "Judge not," He is not telling us to be void of judgment. He gives us judgment within an area of jurisdiction that He has established. The kings of the earth are anointed in their office by the Lord's providence, but they go beyond the delegated authority that He has given them when they start judging based on human reasoning instead of the Word of God. In MAT 5:13-48 the Lord Jesus Christ taught the second table of the law of love, i.e., our right acts toward our neighbour as the righteousness that excels. We must keep the Scriptures we are studying in context. MAT 5:20 says, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." We cannot enter into the service of the Lord with a wrong attitude towards our neighbour. When the Lord Jesus tells us to "Judge not," He means we are not to pass unjust judgment upon others, but we are to judge their actions according to His Word. God sends His judgment upon those who worship the creature more than the Creator; such people have a mind void of sound judgment. See ROM 1:28. Let's look at MAT 7:12 where Jesus summarizes His teaching of sound judgment. "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." The law and prophets hang upon the first and second table of the law. When we judge our neighbour's actions we must visualize him in the judgment seat and ourselves in our neighbour's place. Now what judgment would we want? That is the basis we must use when we pass judgment on our neighbour's actions. That is how Jesus crystallizes His message. Now we must consider the chronological order involved and where this message is placed in the context of the whole Sermon on the Mount. Chapter 6 begins, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them [don't do your right acts and attitudes toward your neighbour with a wrong attitude toward God!]: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven," MAT 6:1. We are cautioned not to do alms for self- glory; the motive behind our acts should be for God's glory. Let's take notice how the words of our text, "Judge not, that ye be not judged," fits chronologically in the Sermon on the Mount. First, MAT 5:20-48 deals with the second table of the law of love, i.e., it deals with our right attitude toward our neighbour. Secondly, MAT 6:1 begins with the law of love under the first table of the law, i.e., our right attitude toward God in the performance of the second table of the law. "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also," 1JO 4:20-21. Then MAT 6:19-34 teaches a wholehearted service unto God which is, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," MAT 6:33. All of our acts of love to our fellow man under the second table of the law are in subjection to the first table of the law with a right attitude toward God. We do these acts of love to our neighbour as under the kingdom of God; we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Serving the Lord according to the first and second table of the law becomes our first priority; then all these other things will be added to us. Now notice in MAT 7:1-12 how Jesus is teaching a right attitude under the law of love! This portion of Scripture deals with the second table of the law in subjection to the first table of the law which He so clearly set forth in MAT 5 and 6. Now He is teaching us that we must have our eye on the first table of the law as the basis for serving God under the second table of the law. This right attitude which Jesus is teaching is based upon self- knowledge which He concluded with, "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," MAT 7:12. This is the first and second table of the law and all of the law and gospel hang upon it. Love to God under the first table of the law is inseparably connected to loving our neighbour as ourselves in the second table of the law. What does all this really mean as we enter into judgment of the actions of our brother? We are to place ourselves in our brother's position. If we have self-knowledge and if we understand the fountain of corruption in our own heart, the only way we can judge our fellow man's actions is with mercy. If we want mercy God says, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment," JAM 2:13. When we judge our fellow man's actions it must be done with mercy. It must be under the law of love. What would we desire under such conditions? We would desire mercy. We should judge with mercifulness; we must pass just judgment. As we go through this message, we will see we are not to go without judgment. We are not to be void of judgment. Jesus is telling us how to judge. Jesus is teaching in our text that the judging of others is self- righteousness if we stand aloof, looking down upon others. That attitude is against the second table of the law to pass such judgment upon our brother. Let's look at the context in which Jesus brings forth our text, MAT 7:1-2, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The Lord Jesus Christ tells us in MAT 5:22 that we are not to call our brother "Raca." Why? It is because it means "you empty fellow." If we perceive our brother as an empty man, if we pass that judgment upon our neighbour, not only God, but also our friends will look at us as being empty. They will judge us with the same judgment we pass on them. If we say, "Thou fool," we pass judgment on their eternal state, then that is the judgment we shall receive. Verses 3-4 continue, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?" There is a beautiful example of this when the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery to the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave the Pharisees but a glimpse of what was in their own hearts, and they walked out one by one. Not one was left to cast a stone at the woman. Why? The Lord gave them righteous judgment. They passed judgment upon themselves. First, let's consider what Jesus is not saying in our text where He said, "Judge not." This verse does not condemn organized authority and judgment. Jesus is not saying we cannot have civil judges, civil authority, or that the law could not be enforced because that would contradict the Word of God. He does not condemn Christians sitting as judges to enforce organized authority or organized judgment--civil authority. Satan wants to use this passage of Scripture out of its context to make sin acceptable by telling us to not be judgmental and to close our eyes to sin. By so doing, people could sin without shame or reproach. God is the highest authority, but He delegates authority to human beings in various areas. To be sure this point is very well understood, we'll look at an illustration. Wouldn't it be the highest blessing for this nation if God would grant nine men who truly fear the Lord to sit as judges in the United States Supreme Court? When we speak of being in a position of being judge, we are speaking of judicial proceedings. A judicial proceeding commences with jurisdiction; jurisdiction is obtained only from a higher power. God has provided in His providence that jurisdiction in civil courts in the United States is obtained only from the Constitution. No person can take jurisdiction; no person can legislate jurisdiction, and no person can give jurisdiction. I cannot come to you and say, "You be the judge." The word jurisdiction implies boundaries; for instance, a county sheriff has jurisdiction within the realm of that county. As soon as he crosses a county line, he is out of his jurisdiction with no more authority than the average person on the street. He is sheriff only of the county where he was elected because it was the electing body that gave him his power as provided under the Constitution. Those people who could have had no part in that election are not under his jurisdiction. God gives judicial proceedings and power according to the jurisdiction He gives. A court has jurisdiction only within the boundaries of their given power. When the Lord puts you and me in a position to judge, He gives us areas of jurisdiction whereby we may judge. However, we may not cross the boundaries He has placed around us. This is the principle in PSA 2. The people had risen up against the king's authority; they wanted to rebel from under the authority of God. They were exceeding their jurisdiction, and they had no authority beyond that which God had given to them. God is the highest authority, and He delegates authority to human beings in various areas. It is very important that we understand that God has set up His chain of command. The first link in the chain of command that we must recognize is recorded in 1CO 11:3, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Do you see the chain of command? The Psalmist is speaking about Christ, God's Anointed, in PSA 2:2, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed..." Man by nature rebels against the Lord's anointed One, i.e., Christ to whom all authority is given. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power [authority] is given unto me in heaven and in earth," MAT 28:18. Christ delegates some of that authority by placing the man in a position of authority over the woman. Be careful; that authority cannot exceed the authority written in the pages of Holy Writ. It doesn't include whipping a wife into being a slave. The man is given jurisdiction over her, but under the authority of Christ, under the authority of the Word. Anything that goes beyond that is exceeding the man's jurisdiction. He may not make her his slave; he cannot do anything beyond what he does out of love. A loving husband will act according to EPH 5:25, i.e.,to be willing to die for his wife, but she must live for him. That means he dies to self; he puts himself totally to serve the needs of his wife. That doesn't mean he can cause her to become his slave, serving his needs exclusively. Stop and ponder the resulting harmony and love that would exist in a home governed by this principle. We must remember there are areas of jurisdiction; there is a chain of command set up by the Lord. The wife must join her husband in parental authority or jurisdiction over the children, but in subjection to the husband. The authority a husband has over his household is in subjection to the authority of Christ. The children must obey both father and mother, but mother may not lay down any rules or allow liberties that are against the rule of the father. She may not say, "Here is $10. Your dad isn't looking; go have your fun." All of the woman's authority must be exercised in subjection to the husband. EPH 6:1-3 says, "Children, obey your parents [your father and mother] in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." The Lord has also delegated civil authority to elected officials. Look at DEU 16:18, "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates [by the election process], which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment." Judicial power and official authority are delegated by the Lord. The Lord does give jurisdiction to public officials. They may arrest people and bring them to the bar of judgment; judgment can be passed, and penalties, fines, and punishments may be inflicted upon them. The Lord has so delegated it. When Jesus says, "Judge not," He is not saying we are completely void of judgment. He does want righteous judgment. Rebellion against this delegated authority is rebellion against the authority of God. If we rebel against civil authorities the Lord has placed in office, we are rebelling against God Himself. We see that truth in ROM 13:1, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained [ordered] of God." God has so ordained, so delegated that we have authorities such as peace officers and judicial officers with power. "Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake," ROM 13:5. For the sake of our conscience, we must be in subjection to those jurisdictions of authority that God has placed over us. In each of these areas of authority delegated by the Lord, judgment and pronouncement of judgment are required. When Jesus says, "Judge not..." He is not saying that judges may not pronounce judgment or levy penalties. Judgment is required. In each of these areas of delegated authority, all government and judgment must be based upon the authority delegated, i.e., the Word of God, and not upon their own authority or judgment. Areas of jurisdiction means a judge who has been ordained and delegated by the Lord to be a judge must render righteous judgment. If he strays away from this, he has violated his delegated power; he is operating outside his jurisdiction. At that point, he is not a judge or peace officer. All governing and judgment must be based upon the laws and institutions of God. The United States Constitution was set up one hundred percent in compliance with the Old and New Testaments of the Word of God. Every decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court, rightly interpreting the Constitution, will be based one hundred percent upon the Scriptures. That is judgment and authority delegated by the Lord; their jurisdiction comes from God to pass judgment in those areas. Every time they violate that principle, they are entering a judgment that is beyond their jurisdiction. Therefore, husbands, fathers, parents, and civil authorities will all be called to account for their stewardship in the day of judgment. That is a very responsible position that many do not realize; they will be called to an account for the right judgment and the use of their authority in the day of judgment. Have we abused our position by being too strict or too lax? We have been placed in a position, and we are responsible to give an account of our stewardship. PSA 2:10-12 says, "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear [with holy awe for His will], and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." The conclusion is that all judgment must be based on the Word of God. As I pointed out in the previous message, Satan loves to use our text to say we may not identify sin. Satan's gimmick is to disallow parents to discipline children--or that church officers are not to identify sin and use church discipline--or that civil judges are not to render decisions which call for severe penalties such as capital punishment. Satan uses such gimmicks to pervert judgment; Satan wants those who do wrong to believe they will not have to account for it. Jesus' command, "Judge not," is to be understood in these things to mean man is not the Judge, i.e., Men are not to sit as gods knowing good and evil, but the Word of God must be the sole basis for every decision. Whether I am a civil authority, husband, father, or one of the church brethren, it isn't my judgment that is the basis; the Word of God is the Judge and the basis for all judgment. Man is not to sit as God. When Jesus says, "Judge not," He is saying that we should not use human reasoning to pervert His Word. Righteous judgment is judgment by the Word; it is our area of jurisdiction. Every one of us must sit in judgment; the question is, does "it" comply with God's Word? JOH 12:48 says, "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." Therefore, any judgment I make, I must investigate first to determine if it is according to the Word of God. All judicial rulings based upon the modern philosophy of women's rights and freedom of choice, i.e., abortion, parental prosecution as child abuse for disciplining children, are violations of the jurisdiction which God has given, and in violation of our Saviour's command, "JUDGE NOT." All such rulings are based upon human reasoning, not the Word of God! They are a violation of this command, "Judge not." All men, husbands, parents, pastors or civil authorities, are only judges to the extent of their delegated authority, i.e., the area of jurisdiction established by God in His Word. Parents must supervise and discipline their children, but they must not go beyond that authority, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," EPH 6:4. This verse tells us of the duties that are prescribed by the Lord, in other words, within the area of jurisdiction God has given, but don't provoke them to wrath. It is important that we understand this. Such judgment must be within the proper jurisdiction, based upon the authority delegated, and it must not infringe upon God's authority or judgment. When a pastor begins to compromise the Word of God to become a menpleaser, he has passed judgment upon God and His authority! Such a pastor has exceeded his jurisdiction. When a pastor is sent forth to preach the gospel, he is sent to preach the Word of God. When he compromises that, he is a menpleaser. Therefore, he has violated Jesus' command in our text, "Judge not." Let's go to GAL 1:10-12 to see what the Word of God says about a menpleaser. "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." A pastor is given tremendous authority; he is to bring forth the authority of the Word, but he may not compromise that Word. If he does compromise, he has grievously violated the Word of God. A person who has been put into a position of public trust is a fiduciary. Under the laws of the land, a fiduciary will be held much more accountable for a violation of the law than an average person because he is a person placed in a position of public trust. Now think about the position of public trust a pastor has! He is entrusted with rightly dividing the Word of God, and he is accountable for the souls of his hearers. When he is a menpleaser, how grievously he will be called into account of his stewardship when he compromises the Word of God. When a church body begins to compromise the Word of God, allowing women to teach or hold any office in the church which God's Word clearly forbids, they have exceeded their delegated jurisdiction. They have passed judgment upon God and His authority to forbid the same! Therefore, they have violated Jesus' command in our text, "Judge not." See what 1TI 2:11-14 says, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." The teaching is very clear. God's Word forbids a woman to be ordained as a pastor or to be put in any position of authority over the man as his teacher. The Word of God just cited is so clear on the point it needs no further interpretation of man, only obedience to God's authority. 1CO 14:34-35 says, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak [How can they teach if they cannot speak?]; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. [That refers us back to GEN 3 where the woman was told to be in subjection to her husband.] And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." Today, women are being ordained in the ministries; they are acting as chairmen of committees within the church. Women are taking positions of authority with men under their authority. Who are these churches passing judgment upon? The Lord! Such women are menpleasers, and it is a grievous and abominable sin. Jesus' teachings in His Sermon on the Mount center on the law of love. All His teachings center on loving God above all and the righteousness that excels, or a right attitude toward our neighbour; all the law and the gospel hang upon these two commandments. To love God with all our heart, soul and mind is to hold His will in holy reverence. We stand in awe of His will if we desire to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. Any act of passing judgment upon God, or the authority of His Word, is a grievous violation of the first table of the law. When Jesus said "Judge not," He did not say we are to be void of judgment. One of the punishments God sends upon people for passing judgment against Him is that they shall be void of sound judgment. ROM 1:28 says, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind [a mind void of sound judgment], to do those things which are not convenient." That is the curse God places upon man because they do not want to be under His authority. Those who passed judgment on Jesus for healing on the Sabbath were not admonished that they should not judge; they were admonished to use sound judgment. There is a difference. In JOH 7:23-24 Jesus said, "If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." How are we to weigh this? Ways of judging must be equal. If a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath because Moses said so, then why cannot a man be healed on the Sabbath? Jesus said their ways were not equal; it was a double standard. He is coming against their double standard when He says, "Judge not." The people passed judgment upon Jesus, calling Him a devil. We may not judge the hearts of others, nor their intentions, nor what they are in themselves. We must learn to understand that. He didn't say, "Don't pass judgment." He wants us to pass righteous judgment. These people had just called Jesus a devil, then to reprove them He gave them the scenario above in JOH 7:23- 24. Jesus said they passed judgment upon Him, but it was not righteous judgment. It is forbidden to pass judgment upon a person's intentions or upon what is in his heart; only God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. 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 fellow], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool [passing judgment on his eternal state], shall be in danger of hell fire." We may not pass judgment upon what is in a person's heart or on their eternal state. We may not pass judgment upon anyone's relationship with God. They were not allowed to pass judgment upon Christ by telling Him He was a devil, but that doesn't mean they could not pass judgment upon His teachings. In that area they were to use righteous judgment. We must pass judgment upon a man's teachings, but it must be based on the Word of God, not on what one believes. The Apostle Paul commended the men of Berea for this in ACT 17:11, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." We cannot base our judgment of one's teaching upon what we believe, but it must be based upon God's Word. If we pass judgment on the person, that is wrong, but we must pass judgment upon his sermon. We must be able to compare what he says with the Word of God. Is his teaching in harmony with God's Word? That is how we pass judgment. We are called upon to pass judgment upon the fruit of a man's works in the vineyard of Christ, but it must be righteous judgment according to God's Word! I want to show you Scriptures which command us to pass judgment upon a man's ministry, righteous judgment based upon God's Word. Watch what we see in MAT 7:15, "Beware of false prophets [That is a command to pass judgment upon their work], which come to you in sheep's clothing [do not judge by their appearance], but inwardly they are ravening wolves." How do we tell who is a false prophet? We know them by their fruits. It is the authority God gives us. We may not judge the man, but we are commanded to judge his actions, i.e., the fruit of his ministry. How do we judge teachers of the gospel with righteous judgment? MAT 7:16-18 says, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." How do we judge a pastor's work? We look at the fruit of his work. Are people coming to repentance? Are there fruits of the Spirit among his people? Is there love, meekness, temperance as the fruit of his work? If we do not see these things, stay away from him. Get out of his crowd. Those good fruits cannot come from an evil tree. Do not sit and argue doctrines to see who can be the sharpest in argument or debate; you will know him by his fruit. The fruit by which we must judge is found in JER 23:21-22, "If I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But [now look at the fruit!] if they had stood in my counsel [under the authority of the Word], and had caused my people to hear my words [preaching God's Word, not human reasoning or philosophy], then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." That is the fruit of one's preaching who has been sent by the Lord! Pastors who preach the Word of God in the spirit of the law of love come against heart sins; they identify sin with tenderness and love. They reach out to bring the sinner into harmony with God's law of love. They condemn the sin, not the sinner. We must judge by their fruits; if we see a church where the people are living in open sin against the law of love, filled with bitterness, envy, strife, and contention without repentance, then we must conclude that the pastor is a false prophet. That is the judgment which Christ wants us to pass on a man's ministry. Jesus gives good counsel in judging a man's fruit in MAT 15:7-9, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. [Judge people by the fruit of their hearts. Is there a heart's desire to do the will of God? Do we see them seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Is that the fruit of the man's preaching or are their hearts far from Him?] But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Jesus points out that we must look to see what the person is teaching. Are there a bunch of legalistic do's and don'ts that are commandments of men, or are they teaching the spirit of the law according to the doctrines of the Bible? We are called upon to pass judgment in these areas so we don't run around with every passing doctrine. We read in EPH 4:14-15, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." Judging with righteous judgment according to a man's fruit is illustrated beautifully in those who have a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof. We must be able to see these things and understand them. 2TI 3:8-10 says, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. [Those who have no repentance; those who do not turn to the Lord with their whole heart, yet they have a form of Godliness without ever having the power of sin broken in their hearts.] But thou hast fully known my doctrine [see what we are to judge by], manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience." When a man is a true pastor of the Lord, men will obviously see his purpose in the things he brings forth. The purpose must be to bring repentance, to bring people in awe of the will of God. We must judge whether or not we are under true preaching. It is a command; men "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away," 2TI 3:5. We are forbidden to follow them. We must judge with righteous judgment when it comes to the truth of a man's preaching. Look at GAL 1:8-9, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. [That is passing righteous judgment based on the Word of God. Therefore, it is the Word that is the judge, not us.] As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Those who follow menpleasers do not use righteous judgment, but pass judgment upon God and the authority of His Word. If we are a follower of menpleasers, we are not using righteous judgment, but we are passing judgment upon God and the authority of His Word. By the mere fact of joining with them, following them, we assent unto what they say. The Lord Jesus says we are to wipe off the dust of our feet against them as a testimony, LUK 10:11. We are not to walk with them. ISA 30:10 tells us menpleasers do not want the truth, "Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits." Those who follow menpleasers do not want the truth. Why? "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do," HEB 4:12- 13. People who don't want honest preaching, don't want the truth. Scripture calls those who seek to please men dogs that refuse to bark. That is strong language against those who are in the pulpit for the purpose of pleasing men. One of the main reasons men keep dogs is that they bark to let the owner know a stranger or possible danger is coming; they are watch dogs. A true watchman blows the trumpet to alert the people of the approach of an enemy. The faithful watchman on the walls of Zion will blow the trumpet of the gospel; there is sin in the camp. They will identify sin and blow the trumpet. Those who refuse to blow the trumpet when they see sin approaching the camp are likened unto a dog which refuses to bark as we see in ISA 56:10-11, "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs [who remain silent], they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. [They love ease; they love pleasure;they love the praise of men. They see sin and compromise. They are dogs who refuse to bark because they don't want to be told to be quiet.] Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter." We see many such people in the pulpit today; my Bible calls them dumb dogs. They are shepherds, watchmen, who want the praise of men and popularity. They are afraid of being called a trouble maker by coming against the majority. If you get put out of such a church, don't feel bad; you didn't belong in that group. If you are following our Saviour in the way of the cross, you may get put out more than once. Jesus says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets," LUK 6:22-23. We are to judge the preaching and beware of dogs that refuse to bark. We are not to follow dogs who refuse to bark. PHI 3:2 says, "Beware of dogs..." Has it ever entered your mind what that means? It means to beware of preachers who refuse to identify sin because they don't want to stir the waters. Are we to pass judgment when we can see sin in the camp and we have a pastor who refuses to identify it because he wants to be a menpleaser? Oh yes, he's a dog who refuses to bark! "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers [Do you see the harmony in that?], beware of the concision." Do we pass judgment upon a man's actions? Oh yes! But what is the basis for that judgment? It must be exclusively based upon the Word of God. You and I cannot stand as the judge; the Words of Christ shall be the judge. See what Jesus says in JOH 12:48, "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." It is not what we believe that matters; it is what the Word of God says. I have taken everything I have ever been taught, and everything I have ever believed, and put it on the shelf. Then when I study to prepare my sermon; if it isn't there in the Word, it stays on the shelf. I must be faithful to the Word of God because I must give an account in the day of judgment of my stewardship. I discovered when I started studying the Word of God for the purpose of unfolding the Word to preach the gospel, that what I believe has certainly taken a turn. I found commandments of men that were taught to me from my youth, by good, well-meaning, God- fearing parents. Such teachings didn't stand the test of the Word. I must judge by the authority of the Word. Beware of dogs; beware of those who want to sleep. Beware of those who tell you not to stir up the waters or be a trouble maker. Do you dare to be a Daniel? Do you dare to stand alone? Do you dare to have a purpose true? Do you dare to make it known? That is being faithful to your God. Jesus says, "Let them alone [Who? The dogs who refuse to bark and the pups that follow them]: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch," MAT 15:14. He says for us to leave them alone; don't go in there thinking you can convert a bunch of dogs into sheep or their followers into lambs. Just identify them and get away from them. Those dogs are the ones who make a lie. Making a lie is taking partial truths, or two truths out of context, and putting them together to tell it as a whole truth. When a man can take the Word of God out of context or put it together with what he believes with truths out of context, he makes a lie. Satan is very crafty; a doctrine can be built that knows no bounds in this manner. When you come back to the truth of the Word of God, in its context, you find they have made a lie. Who are they? They are the people who want to be menpleasers. They don't preach the truth, but they make it sound like the truth. My Bible says they are dogs. See this also in REV 22:15 which talks about the judgment day, "For without are dogs...and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Look at the message in that verse. "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." They make lies because they are menpleasers. Are they judging? Yes, but it is not a righteous judgment, and they are standing in a position of authority. That is the most powerful position of authority that God has ever delegated to the human race. They are the ones who stand in the pulpit and proclaim the authority of the Word of God; yet these dogs use that authority and jurisdiction to serve themselves. We are called upon to judge righteous judgment in 1JO 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit [Is that passing judgment? Absolutely!], but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." We are absolutely passing judgment when we do not believe every spirit. When we try the spirits to see whether or not they are of God, we try them before the Word of God. How do we try them? Is judgment based on our emotions or some vibration? No, that is not what the Bible says. We try the spirits to see if they are of the Spirit of Christ. Is it the spirit of contrition and humility? Is it the spirit of subjection to the will and Word of God? Is it according to the Spirit of Christ? It must not be my will, but "Thy will be done." Amen. |
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