Some of these pictures are going to be disturbing – if your children are with you, make sure you decide whether you want
them to see these things. There is no nudity or filth. But parents should decide if they want their children to see these
pictures. Each one will be on the screen for about 10 seconds. I want us to take a look at these pictures and mentally
keep track of your thoughts and responses about each one. JUDGING
We saw a prostitute, homosexual males, lesbian women, inmates and a drug user. All of us have differing responses to
even those identifying titles. Some of us may be grossed out. Some of us have compassion. Some are physically sickened
by the lifestyles. Some of us are thinking of talking to the elders about Mike showing those kinds of pictures in church.
Some may decide to not even come back here.
Our responses to those images are what they are. I hated to Google them on my computer – and, for your peace of mind,
I alerted Jim and Greg that I would be Google-ing them. One thing we have to agree on, no matter what our response to
those images, is that our world has those kinds of people in it. In fact, some of those kinds of people live in our
community.
Have you ever had these comments thrown at you – “You’re judging me!” “Christians are just judgmental!” “Judge not
lest YOU be judged!” Our society is resting so very heavily on the politically correct idea of “tolerance” that many of us
are afraid to venture into anything that points out the righteousness of God. We are afraid of being called “intolerant.” It is
more important for many today to not be labeled “intolerant” than to be right. It is more important for many today to not be
labeled “judgmental” than to be correct.
But sometimes we who follow Jesus know that we MUST step in and speak up about sin. We see Jesus tell us that if we
see a brother in sin, we should confront him about it. The New Testament books of 1 Timothy and Titus and several others
command us to hold tightly to sound doctrine – correct teaching. We are to live and speak and stand for the righteousness
of God in society. But Jesus says in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not lest you be judged.” How do we deal with these seemingly
contradictory statements?
There are some in our church family who deal constantly with people in their families or people in their neighborhoods – or
maybe even issues in their own lives – living in opposition to the clear teaching of Jesus that causes them to wonder if they
are judging if they speak up about it. And the response of others – and even the internal response of those who are living
outside of God’s plans – emphasizes the idea that they are being intolerant and judgmental.
We’re taking another Sunday to look at this issue today. The Lord Jesus Christ lived a real human life and often said things
to people that, in our day, would be called “intolerant” and “judgmental.” We want to follow Him, we want to be like
Him. We want our human lives to be like His human life – REAL. So we need to see if we can sort out this issue. We are
going to need help, so let’s call on our Teacher, the Spirit of God. PRAY.
In Luke 6:37,38 we see a direct statement about judging and also something that will help us define what judging is and
what it isn’t. READ. At the end of verse 38 is some indication of what we need to know. “With the same measure you
use, it will be measured back to you.” And we saw in Luke 6:31 the Golden Rule – Treat others the way you want to be
treated. How we treat people is how they will likely return treatment to us. The measure we use to talk to people is what
they will use to reply to us.
And in the following verses, Jesus talks about taking the speck out of your brother’s eye when you have a plank in your
own eye. He talks about good trees and bad trees and the kind of fruit they produce – we talked about this last Sunday. If
you missed that message, please listen to it on plattsmouthbiblechurch.org. Jesus brings these things up, for one reason, to
help us understand that our impact for eternity on the people around us will be directly related to our treatment of them. If
we are judgmental and condemning, we will likely have little eternal impact on them.
OK – so do we just ignore sin problems and not bring them up? If we just ignore them, isn’t that kind of giving the
impression that we approve of them? Is that what Jesus is saying we ought to do – just let people think everything they do
is OK with God. We know that is not what He is saying. Then how do we confront sin and NOT judge?
Let’s look at how Jesus, the REAL human being did it when He was here. We have several instances of times when He
was face to face with people involved in outright sin. We’ll look at a couple of them to see what we can learn.
John 8:3-11. READ. This woman was caught in the very act of adultery. I’m pretty sure that she was preparing herself
for the worst – stoning. The religious leaders could have stoned her, according to the Law of Moses. No one would have
given it another thought. Her judgment was already decided – guilty and convicted and worthy of death. But the religious
leaders, wanting to not only stone her, but also to make a fool of this Jesus, thought they would be able to trap Him in this
cut and dried situation.
Under the Law of Moses, sin was dealt with severely – there was not much room for grace. Under the system of the Law,
people needed to see that actions had consequences. But Jesus shows God’s heart – and it wasn’t a new thing. God had
always felt this way about sinners. 2 Peter 3:9 has always been true – God is not willing that ANY should perish, but that
ALL should come to repentance. Under the Law – a system that was in place to show us that we are sinners – severe
consequences resulted from sin. Under the New Covenant – GRACE – a better system is in place (see the book of
Hebrews).
Has no one condemned you? No one, Lord. What was it that moved these rock-throwing judges to leave quietly without
casting a single stone? Self-examination – who am I to judge you, when I am the same as you? And Jesus tells this woman
– Jesus, the one who really COULD have judged her – I don’t condemn you either. But here’s what I want you to do –
go and sin no more. He knew she was sinning. He made it clear to her and to us that this woman was involved in a sin
worthy of death under the Law. But He extended grace to her and forgiveness and mercy. Go and sin no more – go and
live under this grace and forgiveness and mercy. Extend the same to others.
Some things we can pick up on regarding what is judgment: Notice that these religious leaders did not care one bit about
this woman. They were more interested in proving their point than on helping her. Do we see that tendency in us? Lack of
concern for the restoration and reconciliation of a sinner to God?
Another thing we see is that the religious leaders tried to maintain an appearance of righteousness by following the Law.
The Law’s purpose (Romans 3:19,20) is to make it clear to us that we are sinners. That applies to everyone. Jesus used
that point to make His point – if you are without sin, go ahead and stone her. The leaders thought they were justified by the
Law – they thought they appeared to be in the right. Jesus showed them and us that the truth is, we are all in the same boat.
Let’s look at another circumstance with Jesus. Luke 15:1-7. READ. The religious leaders here are very judgmental –
speaking with disdain about the sinners Jesus is with. Jesus responds to the religious leaders with a parable – a story that
gives a comparison. He does not deny that these people are sinners – in fact He admits it. The way to reach sinners for
the Kingdom of God is not to judge them and condemn them, it is to engage them where they are.
No one has the ability to clean himself up so that he can come to God. God loves sinners – God wants sinners. God will
make sinners into saints. He doesn’t need us to fix them or make them clean up first. When we get to Luke 15, we’ll see 3
parables here as Jesus talks about His view of reaching the lost.
As far as judgment, the religious leaders saw sinners as people to avoid. The leaders placed themselves as more worthy of
honor than the sinners Jesus was hanging out with. Judgment is based on self-righteousness. Judgment relegates some
people to lower status because of those outward appearances. Jesus saw what these people COULD be – citizens of the
Kingdom of God.
Let’s look at our understanding of judgment. Whether we are judging or not seems to come down to what is our
motivation. Am I trying to prove my well-studied, long-held point of view of your sin. Trying to prove my point is clearly
self-centered. I understand this better than you, and you’re wrong, so straighten up.
Is it that we want to appear righteous in comparison to the other person – self-righteousness? We are better than those
people because we do this, that and the other thing. Or, I am better than you because I DON’T do this that or the other
thing. Self-righteousness always leads to judgment.
I think we are seeing a common factor – SELF. Judgment is based on concern for SELF rather than concern for the other
person. Jesus was not concerned with what the religious leaders thought of Him when He said – “Go ahead and stone her
if you have no sin.” He was concerned with the woman. Jesus didn’t care what His reputation looked like when He was
with the tax collectors and sinners. His concern was for finding His lost sheep.
When I address some issue of sin in someone, if my concern is ME – making ME look good, comparing ME with them,
proving MY point – then I am judging. Jesus says, “With the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” If
my concern in addressing someone else’s sin issue is ME, their response to me will be looking out for themselves. And that
is not the desired result God wants.
We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We are called to love people – Jesus says to love one another (within
the family of God) and to love our enemies (hopefully NOT within the family of God – but soon to be!). It is by our love
for one another, Jesus says, all people will know we are His disciples (John 13:35). We are called to LOVE. So, knowing
that we have instructions on confronting sin and on standing for righteousness, we have to run those actions through the filter
of love.
In God’s kind of love, there is no ME. God’s kind of love always seeks the best for the other person no matter what the
cost to me. So to confront a person regarding sin – a brother or sister or a family member – the confrontation must be
based on love. A love basis will avoid the raising of the voice on your part, it will draw you to the person and not away
from. Love will cause you to pray for God’s rescue of that person.
If you have struggled or are struggling with things that you have said in the past to people, review how much “ME” was
included. If you know with certainty that your concern was for the other person’s restoration and reconciliation with God
and not proving your point or making yourself look good, that’s a good indicator of the basis of love. But if you see a lot of
“ME” in your interaction, I have to tell you – it’s not too late. Love works. It may be time to try again out of love.
Go back to Luke 6:27,28. READ. Love your enemies – you will have people in your life who consider you an enemy.
Love those people. Do good to those who hate you. Jesus is saying that there will be people who hate you. Do good to
them, based on love. Bless those who curse you. People will curse you. Don’t judge them, bless them, love them. And
pray for those who spitefully use you. Many of us have experienced the actions of others who have used us. Out of love,
pray for them – pray for them to come to know the forgiveness and freedom from sin God offers in Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to judge people who we are treating with love and good and blessing and prayer. In Luke 6:36, Jesus calls us
to be merciful as the Father has been merciful to us. He did not give us what we deserved, but instead, loved us. Instead
of judgment and condemnation, Jesus calls us to forgiveness and giving in Luke 6:37,38. Only by the power of God’s love
– seeking the best for someone else no matter what it costs me – only by that power can I forgive that person and give of
myself to them.
Jesus says in Luke 6:42 that our attention to faults in people should be focused on ourselves. Take care of the plank – the
issue in yourself that takes away your effectiveness for the Kingdom of God – before you enter into seeking to fix others.
He says that a good tree produces good and useful fruit. Be like that – let your life produce the good fruit of love and
forgiveness. And in Luke 6:45, Jesus tells us a good way to know if our fruit is based on love – “out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaks.”
If we call Jesus our Lord – our Master – we need to do what He says. If we are judgmental and condemning, we are not
under the lordship of Jesus Christ. If we are loving and forgiving, seeking God’s best for others, that is an indication that
Jesus is our Master. As we mentioned last Sunday, the life that is built on the solid foundation of obedience to the
commands of Jesus is a life that will last.
The word judge in Greek means “to render a final decision or opinion.” When we judge instead of love, we take God’s
place by rendering the final opinion on a person’s life. Unfortunately for those of us who do that, we can’t see the person’s
circumstances or heart or needs. We can’t see the ultimate plans God has for that person. Justin Giles and I were talking
the other night – judgment is defaming and discounting God’s plans for a person.
Remember the pictures we started with? What was your response? God looks at each one of those people as a potential
child of His. Jesus saw each one of those people in their sin and He took their sin upon Himself. He looked at you the
same way. And He looked at me the same way. He had mercy on us. James 2:13 says that mercy triumphs over
judgment. God treated you and me and the people in those pictures and everyone of all time with LOVE by sending the
Lord Jesus.
Love seeks the best, no matter what the cost to me. Love believes the best. Love is patient and kind and does not envy.
Love does not parade itself and is not puffed up. Love does not behave rudely and does not seek its own. Love is not
provoked and does not think evil. Love certainly does not rejoice in iniquity, but instead rejoices in the truth. Love bears
all things, love believes all things, love hopes all things and love endures all things. Love never fails. This is how God treats
us. This is what God calls us to. Are we answering?