Tag: Matthew

Judge Not – What does it really mean?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical22 Comments

Court Room

It is not uncommon to hear people to say:

“Aren’t we all sinners? What gives you the right to make moral judgments about someone else? Isn’t that God’s job?” “Do not judge, or you to will be judged.”

Some who make these claims know where this verse is found, and others do not, but the common theme is that it is used out of context. Incase you did not know, the verse is found in Matthew 7:1.

Why is this verse commonly used, or might I say, misused?

People desire to shield their sin. They want to keep others at bay. They desire to have “unrestrained moral freedom, autonomy, and independence [1].” They don’t want anyone to question their behavior, thoughts, or ideals.

That is a secular way of thinking. It is not a biblical way of thinking. Jesus is not giving this command so others can hide behind it. He is not giving this command as a license to sin. The Bible is clear about that.

  • The Bible gives us commands we are to live by.
  • The Bible tells us we are to hold others accountable.
  • Jesus provides us with the steps to church discipline.
  • Jesus provides us with a church so that we can stir one another up and encourage one another in the faith.
  • Jesus provides us with people in our life to point out our sin so that we will grow to be more like Him.

So then, Jesus’ command is not to be used to shield ourselves from moral scrutiny. To think and act in that way is to think and act in a secular way. It is to allow the world to influence us, and our interpretation of the Bible.

Instead of looking at the Bible through the world’s lens, we have to look at the Bible through its own lens. We have to allow it to interpret itself.

What Does This Verse Really Mean?

Even though people use this verse to dissuade others from judging their behavior, the verse actually does not mean we cannot ever judge another person. Let’s look at this verse in context, and you will see what I mean.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

After reading this verse in context, it should be apparent that Jesus is addressing judgmentalism and hypocrisy. He was after those who were critical of others and those who operated under a double standard. As well as He was after those who judged others without first dealing with their own sin.

Essentially, Jesus is giving two commandments:

  1. Stop judging others in a hypocritical fashion.
  2. Get the sin out of your own life [2].

So then, Jesus is not telling us we cannot speak about the sin in others lives. Rather, He is telling us that we are not to be hypocritical. We are not to operate under a double standard. We are not to be critical of others.

Can We Judge?

The answer is yes. In fact, it is our duty to judge others, so that they will grow in the Christian life. We are to spur one another on to growth and godliness, and we are to keep each other accountability. Hebrews 10:24-25 says,

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

In order to stir one another up and hold them accountable, we have to look into people’s lives and make judgments about how they are living.

However, if we are not humbly submitting our own lives to the Word of God for review, and if we are not willing to allow others to help us in that task, then we are not to judge others. If we are examining our own lives, and we are dealing with our own sins, living a life of genuine repentance, then we can judge others.

It is important that we are dealing with our own sin because those who are working on their own sin will approach others in a vastly different way than those who are not.

Those who don’t think they have any sin to work on will approach others in a judgmental way. Those who do work on their sin first will approach others with love, mercy, grace, and patience.

The reason for that is because they realize that God has had mercy on them; He has come to them in love; He has patience with them; He has shown them grace. Those who have experienced these things, will be in a better place to point out others sins than those who haven’t.

So then we can judge others, but not before we deal with the sin in our own lives.

The Proper Way to Judge

When we judge others, we must do it in a loving way. We are not judging them in order to make ourselves look better. We don’t come at them from a morally superior position. No, we approach them in love, humbly recognizing we are all sinners, we have all fallen short of God’s glory, and we all need Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we approach people from that position, then we have a right, neigh a duty, to speak into their lives, so that we may wage war on the flesh together.

Conclusion

Jesus did not say these words, in order to keep us from making moral judgments. Nor did He give us this verse so we can shield our own sin from review. Rather, He is attacking those who are hypocrites; those who operate under a double standard; those who are critical.

So then, when we look at this verse in context, we see that we can judge others, as long as we are first judging ourselves, and as long as we are approaching them in a loving manner.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

Resource

[1] Eric Bargerhuff, The Most Misused Verses in the Bible, 26.
[2] Ibid., 27

Image

Judge Not – What does it really mean? (Sermon I preached on this topic)

An Impossible Task Powered by God

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

As Christians, we have been called to an impossible task. Jesus told us that we are to make disciples by going and sharing the gospel with our neighbors and the nations, teaching them all the commandments of God, and baptizing them (Matt. 28:18-20).

Not only are we to do this work because Jesus commanded us to do so, which is a good reason, we are also to spread God’s gospel because we are God’s ambassadors (see my last post: Be an Ambassador). We are the means God uses to bring His message to others.

An Impossible Task

At first thought, this task seems impossible. There are people in our own backyards and around the world, who want nothing to do with Christianity. Whole nations have rejected it. Laws have been passed to punish those who spread it. Friends, family, and co-workers deride us for believing it. And that is just what others are saying. If we honestly examine ourselves, we will find doubt, fear of man, and a desire for our own comfort ripe within.

With so many people, and even ourselves, against us being ambassadors for God, how are we empowered for this mission? Others do not empower us, nor do we empower ourselves. So then, how are we empowered to overcome the obstacles of gospel proclamation and disciple making?

The Holy Spirit Empowers Us

In Matthew 28:20, after Jesus gives the Great Commission, He tells His disciples,

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Then in John 14:15-18, He tells His disciples after He leaves He will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to them. For He will not leave them as orphans in the world.

In keeping with His earlier promise, before Jesus ascends, He says to His disciples,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

And indeed the Holy Spirit is sent to them on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). On this day, the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ disciples, empowering them to be God’s ambassador to the nations.

Likewise, all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior receive the Holy Spirit and are empowered for their God given mission (Rom. 5:5).

Conclusion

So then, God empowers us for the mission He gives us. We do not take up His mission in our own strength. We are to rely on God for strength, wisdom, and courage to carry out His mission. A mission that seems impossible but is not when we rely on God to strengthen us. One way we can rely on the Lord is through prayer. Asking Him to work in us and among those He has called us to reach with the gospel.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you try to do God’s work in your own power?
  2. Can you think of a personal example, or a biblical example, where men tried to act in their own strength to do the work of God?
  3. Would you share a personal example where God has worked through you to reach others with the gospel as you relied on Him to do so?

Resource

Image

Judge Not is Not a Shield to Hide Behind

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical18 Comments

It is not uncommon to hear people say:

“Aren’t we all sinners? What gives you the right to make moral judgments about someone else? Isn’t that God’s job?” “Do not judge, or you to will be judged.”

A Real Life Example

I posted an article one time on Facebook that questioned homosexuality. One comment I received said, “Aren’t you a Christian? I thought Christians were not supposed to judge others.” After which, my friend, or used to be friend, de-friended me.

Some people who make these claims know where this verse is found, and other do not, but both groups are using this verse out of context. Incase you did not know, the verse is found in Matthew 7:1.

Why is this verse commonly used, or might I say, misused?

People desire to shield their sin. They want to keep others at bay. They desire to have “unrestrained moral freedom, autonomy, and independence” [1]. In short, they don’t want anyone to question their behavior, thoughts, or ideals.

What Does This Verse Really Mean?

Even though people use this verse to dissuade others from judging their behavior, the verse actually does not mean we cannot ever judge another person. Let’s look at this verse in context, and you will see what I mean.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

After reading this verse in context, it should be apparent that what Jesus is addressing here is not all judgment, but hypocrisy. He was after the Pharisees who judged others without first dealing with their own sin.

In these verses, we see first, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees by telling them to “Judge not.” Then, He tells them “the measuring stick they used to measure the lives of others will be the same measuring stick held up against their lives by God Himself” [2]. After which, we are told that the Pharisees sin is greater than the sin of those they were judging. They had a log in their eye, which is by far greater than a speck.

The key to these set of verses comes in verse 5 when Jesus tells them to remove the log in their eye first before dealing with the speck in their brother’s eye.

Essentially, Jesus is giving them two commandments:

  1. Stop judging others in a hypocritical fashion.
  2. Get the sin out of your own life [3].

So then, Jesus is not telling us that we cannot judge others. Rather, He is telling us that we are not to be hypocritical. We are not to judge others, when there are massive sins in our lives that we are not willing to deal with.

It is like a father chastising his daughter for her suggestive and scandalous dress, then after she leaves, he looks at pornography. His actions are hypocritical. He is not dealing with his own sin before dealing with the sin of his daughter.

Can We Judge?

The answer is yes. In fact, it is our duty to judge others, so that they will grow in their Christian life. We are to spur one another on to growth and godliness, and we are to keep each other accountable. Hebrews 10:24-25 says,

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

In order to stir one another up and hold them accountable, we have to look into people’s lives and make judgments about how they are living.

However, if we are not humbly submitting our own lives to the Word of God for review, and if we are not willing to allow others to help us in that task, then we are not to judge others. If we are examining our own lives, and we are dealing with our own sins, living a life of genuine repentance, then we can judge others.

So then, we can judge others, but not before we deal with the sin in our own lives.

The Proper Way to Judge

When we judge others, we must do it in a loving way. We are not judging them in order to make ourselves look better. We don’t come at them from a morally superior position. No, we approach them in love, humbly recognizing we are all sinners, we have all fallen short of God’s glory, and we all need Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we approach people from that position, then we have a right, neigh a duty, to speak into their lives, so that we may wage war on the flesh together.

Conclusion

Jesus did not say these words, in order to keep us from ever making any moral judgments about others. Nor is He giving us this verse so we can shield our own sin from review. Rather, He is attacking the Pharisees, who were hypocrites because they did not deal with the massive amount of sin in their lives (log) before passing judgment on others, whose sin was not as great (speck). So then, when we look at this verse in context, we see that we can judge others, as long as we are first judging ourselves, and as long as we are approaching them in a loving manner.

Resource

[1] Eric Bargerhuff, The Most Misused Verses in the Bible, 26.
[2] Ibid., 27.
[3] Ibid.

Image

The Cost of Following Jesus

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

I am following a read through the Bible in a year plan. My readings this morning were in the gospel of Matthew chapters 15 and 16. At the end of chapter 16, Jesus begins to tell His disciples He must go to Jerusalem to suffer many things, be killed, after which He will raise on the third day (vs 21). To this news, Peter rebukes Him, telling Him this will never happen (vs 22). Instead of agreeing with Peter, Jesus rebukes him along with Satan. He tells Peter he is being a hindrance to Him and that he is setting his mind on the things of man, not the things of God (vs 23).

The Cost of Following Jesus

After this brief dialogue with Peter, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach his disciples what it means to follow Him. The text says,

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

The cost of following Jesus is to daily take up our cross and follow Him. In other words, we are to be willing to give up our life for the sake of following Christ.

Hard Words

These are hard words to stomach. Even harder words for me to know the true meaning of as I live here in the United States free from religious persecution. We, in the United States, often want Christ and the world, but Jesus tells us we are to set our mind on the things of God, not the things of this world (vs 23). We are to sacrifice for the sake of Christ, even if it means we are uncomfortable, poor, or killed. Again, these are hard words for us, who live in comfort and have plenty. Even so, they are true and what we must be willing to do, if we want to be a follower of Jesus, because to follow Him is to take the road less traveled.

Follow Jesus: It is the only thing that matters

Gaining the world will not profit our soul. No matter how much worldly wealth or fame we have gained. In the end, all that matters is that we have counted the cost of following Jesus, recognizing it is much greater than anything this world can ever offer us, and we followed Him.

Image: chrisroll / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are You Using Your Talents?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

There are many in the church today, who are not using their gifts. There are many who sit on the sidelines week after week instead of getting in the game. For many, the reason they sit watching idle, as the pastor and other staff members feed the flock, is because they do not understand we are all to be doing the work of ministry (Eph 4).

However, there are others who are sitting by watching idly because they are fearful, not knowing the love, mercy, and grace God has extended to those who are His people. Since they are ignorant of God’s love, mercy, and grace, they see Him as one who deals out wrath on those who do not perform up to His standard. So then, instead of trying to exercise their gifts, they freeze, like a deer in the headlights, not realizing what God has given them is theirs to be used for the furtherance of the kingdom. In not realizing what God has given them is theirs to use, they prove they do not understand their masters actions.

The Parable

We meet a man like this in the parable of the talents. It is found Matthew 25:14-30 and reads accordingly:

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (ESV)

Explanation

The point Jesus makes here in this parable is that those who are Christs must work diligently with the gifts entrusted to them. Everyone of Jesus’ followers have been endowed with a gift to be used in service to the body, those gifts differ according to ability, but, nevertheless, they must be put into service. In the kingdom of God, there is no room for benchwarmers.

Those who take what they have been given, such as the men in the parable, and put it to use, prove they believe their master is loving, merciful, and gracious because there is a chance they will fail and lose his money, but they take the risk nonetheless. They also recognize that what God has given them is theirs to use.

However, the man who does not put his gifts to use, proves he does not truly know God. For if he did, he would understand that God expects much from His people, while at the same time He is also loving, merciful, and gracious when they fail. He would also understand that what God has given him is his to use.

So then, as God’s people, we must put our gifts to use in His church and world. If we do not, we may prove to be like the last man in the parable, an unbeliever.

Questions

So then, I ask: How are you putting the gifts God has entrusted to you to work? How are you participating in the ministry of the church? If you are not participating, are you disregarding what God has called you to do out of ignorance, or are you not participating because you are afraid of God, not recognizing He is a loving, gracious, and merciful God?

Image: hinnamsaisuy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net