Removing the Buttons Part Ten - Judging
"Do not touch."
"Do not enter."
"Do not remove."
You've seen these instructions before. Pretty clear-cut. Whether or not you actually obey what the tag or sign or instruction says, you know what it means.
So what about this one: Do not judge.
WE. ALL. KNOW. WHAT. THAT. MEANS.
So why don't we do it?
I'm preaching to myself today. Passing judgment on others is so easy, so effortless, so natural. (And have you noticed that most natural reactions often are not of God? It takes work to live by His commands!)
I'm coming clean here: I've already passed judgment today. Aloud. About someone I know and love. (But it wasn't you. I promise :)
Jesus doesn't mess around with His instruction here:
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you," (Matthew 7:1-2).
The Greek word for "judge" used in verse 1 is defined this way: "to decide, consider, as preferring one thing over another or determining the correctness of a matter; by extension: to judge, pass judgment on, condemn in a legal sense," (Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance, Copyright 1999).
When we judge others, we declare them guilty.
But we're not the judge.
We didn't write the rules.
We don't have the authority.
And this is exactly why Jesus warns against judgment: like all the other Sermon on the Mount commands, it's a matter of the heart. When we judge, we step into God's shoes.
He alone is judge.
He wrote the rules.
He has authority.
Not us.
Go back to Genesis 1-3. God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the rules, and when they broke them, He chose the punishment. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God creating a nation, giving it His rules, and exercising His authority when they disobey. And He has now handed that responsibility to His Only Son, Jesus.
When God (or Jesus) judges, He does it with His God qualities: He is all-knowing, all-seeing, and eternal. He completely understands the situation and the intentions and the heart of the sinner. He knows the offender's weaknesses, how hard Satan's been attacking that week, and how the sin will change that person.
WE DON'T.
Psalm 96 describes how God judges:
"He will judge the peoples with equity," (verse 10).
"He will judge the world in righteousness," (verse 13).
But all around those verses about Him being judge we find the following:
"For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods," (verse 4).
"Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary," (verse 6).
"Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth," (verse 9).
"Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns,'" (verse 10).
"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth," (verses 11-13).
He alone gets to judge.
And you know He WILL come to judge the inhabitants of earth, once and for all. Everyone who has ever lived and not accepted Jesus as Savior will stand before Him as judge (Revelation 20:11-15.)
But did you know He judges even today?
Not in the eternal-punishment form. Through His Word.
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12, italics mine.)
Read just the italicized part: "For the Word of God...judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
God's Word, infused by His Spirit, judges those of us who seek Him. That powerful Word is not to be used to judge others, but ourselves.
How often do you feel like a pastor or teacher is reading your mind and seeing your sins when they are teaching or sharing the Word of God? When was the last time you knew the Spirit's conviction when you were reading or studying the Bible?
That was the Holy Spirit. That was judgment. It didn't throw you in jail or cast you out of heaven forever. It was a patient, gentle, loving God warning you to stop and calling you back to Himself.
Who wouldn't want that judgment? :)
May we praise the Lord for His judgment and give acknowledge Him as the only Judge.
WOW! We're almost through the Sermon on the Mount. I sincerely hope this button-free obedience has changed your faith!
Quick review:
1. Be weird.
2. Forgive.
3. Bounce.
4. Speak truth.
5. Don't slap back.
6. Agape.
7. Be righteous secretly.
8. Fill your heart with eternity.
9. Don't worry.
10. Don't judge.
PLEASE find the posts for any you missed below.
And don't forget! SUBSCRIBE! (Top right corner)
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
"Do not enter."
"Do not remove."
You've seen these instructions before. Pretty clear-cut. Whether or not you actually obey what the tag or sign or instruction says, you know what it means.
So what about this one: Do not judge.
WE. ALL. KNOW. WHAT. THAT. MEANS.
So why don't we do it?
I'm preaching to myself today. Passing judgment on others is so easy, so effortless, so natural. (And have you noticed that most natural reactions often are not of God? It takes work to live by His commands!)
I'm coming clean here: I've already passed judgment today. Aloud. About someone I know and love. (But it wasn't you. I promise :)
Jesus doesn't mess around with His instruction here:
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you," (Matthew 7:1-2).
The Greek word for "judge" used in verse 1 is defined this way: "to decide, consider, as preferring one thing over another or determining the correctness of a matter; by extension: to judge, pass judgment on, condemn in a legal sense," (Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance, Copyright 1999).
When we judge others, we declare them guilty.
But we're not the judge.
We didn't write the rules.
We don't have the authority.
And this is exactly why Jesus warns against judgment: like all the other Sermon on the Mount commands, it's a matter of the heart. When we judge, we step into God's shoes.
He alone is judge.
He wrote the rules.
He has authority.
Not us.
Go back to Genesis 1-3. God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the rules, and when they broke them, He chose the punishment. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God creating a nation, giving it His rules, and exercising His authority when they disobey. And He has now handed that responsibility to His Only Son, Jesus.
When God (or Jesus) judges, He does it with His God qualities: He is all-knowing, all-seeing, and eternal. He completely understands the situation and the intentions and the heart of the sinner. He knows the offender's weaknesses, how hard Satan's been attacking that week, and how the sin will change that person.
WE DON'T.
Psalm 96 describes how God judges:
"He will judge the peoples with equity," (verse 10).
"He will judge the world in righteousness," (verse 13).
But all around those verses about Him being judge we find the following:
"For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods," (verse 4).
"Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary," (verse 6).
"Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth," (verse 9).
"Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns,'" (verse 10).
"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth," (verses 11-13).
He alone gets to judge.
And you know He WILL come to judge the inhabitants of earth, once and for all. Everyone who has ever lived and not accepted Jesus as Savior will stand before Him as judge (Revelation 20:11-15.)
But did you know He judges even today?
Not in the eternal-punishment form. Through His Word.
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12, italics mine.)
Read just the italicized part: "For the Word of God...judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
God's Word, infused by His Spirit, judges those of us who seek Him. That powerful Word is not to be used to judge others, but ourselves.
How often do you feel like a pastor or teacher is reading your mind and seeing your sins when they are teaching or sharing the Word of God? When was the last time you knew the Spirit's conviction when you were reading or studying the Bible?
That was the Holy Spirit. That was judgment. It didn't throw you in jail or cast you out of heaven forever. It was a patient, gentle, loving God warning you to stop and calling you back to Himself.
Who wouldn't want that judgment? :)
May we praise the Lord for His judgment and give acknowledge Him as the only Judge.
WOW! We're almost through the Sermon on the Mount. I sincerely hope this button-free obedience has changed your faith!
Quick review:
1. Be weird.
2. Forgive.
3. Bounce.
4. Speak truth.
5. Don't slap back.
6. Agape.
7. Be righteous secretly.
8. Fill your heart with eternity.
9. Don't worry.
10. Don't judge.
PLEASE find the posts for any you missed below.
And don't forget! SUBSCRIBE! (Top right corner)
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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