Don’t Judge?

“DON’T JUDGE?”

Mt. 7:1

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Missing the Target is the Goal

1. Patrick McSherry told about how his Navy Dad always bragged about the gunners on his ship. Once during target practice, an unmanned drone flew past an anti-aircraft cruiser. The cruiser opened up, shells furiously flying all around the drone but not hitting it.

2. Then came Dad’s ship’s turn. The gunners’ very first shot sent the drone into the water! Forty years later, Dad met the man responsible, and he told him how impressed he had been.

3. “Yeah, I got in a lot of trouble for that,” the gunner said. “Turns out we were supposed to shoot around it, not hit it.” (Some people think we’re supposed to miss the mark!) R.D.

B. TEXT & THESIS

1. I want to talk about the subject of “Judging” tonight. Recently a Christian I know was pressured to approve of a person’s lifestyle which the Bible says is sinful. (A woman sleeping with a man wanted her to say it was ok.) The Christian simply pointed out what God says in His Word about sex outside Christian-marriage.

2. The person who was rebuked went on social media and accused the Christian of judging them and quoted several scriptures like “Judge not, lest you be judged” and “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

3. The Bible DOES say we’re not supposed to judge:

a. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" Matt. 7:1.

b. "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another" Rom. 14:13.

c. "But you -- who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12.

4. So it looks like Christians are really out of step when they speak out on culturally sensitive points.

5. So we’re going to look at: a. Our Culture’s Perception, b. What the Bible says about Judging, and c. Publicly Speaking Your Beliefs.

6. The title of tonight’s message is, “Don’t Judge?”

I. OUR CULTURE’S PERCEPTION

Everybody from Hollywood to Washington D.C. have endorsed sexual freedom, including almost every expression of it. Even people with Christian backgrounds seem to think it’s out of the church’s purview to condemn some sexual behavior. Case in point:

A. IGNORING THE WORD

1. Dan Haseltine, lead singer for Jars of Clay, once said in a Tweet, "I don't particularly care about Scripture’s stance on what is 'wrong.' I care more about how it says we should treat people." he said. “[Resisting gay marriage] feels akin to women's suffrage. I don't think scripture "clearly" states much of anything regarding morality.” What mindless drivel!

2. Many people who claim to be Christians are “living” with someone, i.e., having sex with them, and they talk about “God putting them together,” etc. Nothing could be clearer, if one reads the Bible, that God considers all sexual behavior outside of Biblical marriage to be sinful, excluding them from Heaven (Lev. 18:6-23,29 spells it out; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).

3. THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE!

a. Either the Bible IS the Word of God, the unchanging standard by Almighty God, whom we’re to fear and obey, or it’s not. If it’s NOT the Word of God, then let’s jettison this whole religious thing from our lives and live for pleasure and for ourselves.

b. But if the Bible IS the Word of God, then there’s a heaven and a hell, there’s a Judgment Day coming where we’ll all stand before God and be judged by God’s Word. If that’s true, we must pay careful attention to what it says!

II. WHAT EXACTLY IS JUDGING?

A. IS JUDGING A SIN?

1. Dolly Parton, who has 7 Grammys, said on October 24, 2014: “But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment [on gays], they're already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing.”

2. So is all judging a sin? No!

B. THREE WAYS WE’RE TOLD TO JUDGE

1. NECESSITY OF PRIVATE, UNOFFICIAL JUDGMENT

a. Jesus did command us to examine other's fruits ("By their fruits you shall know them,” Mt. 7:6). This means to form judgments about their character. This can’t be a violation of the previous command (7:1) not to judge, since He said it within the same passage.

b. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has put up checkpoints throughout the state to stop invasive bug species. They want to inspect people’s fruit! (What they meet are a lot of nuts!)

c. Unger's Bible Dictionary (621) says, “We must constantly form estimates of the conduct and character of others for our own guidance and safety."

2. WE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD, ANGELS, BELIEVERS

“Do you not know that the saints will judge the WORLD? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge ANGELS? ...Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between BELIEVERS?” 1 Cor. 6:2-5.