Judging Rightly
John 7:24
November 7, 2010
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Audio of this sermon can be heard at www.aberdeenwesleyan.org. Click on the "media" tab.
Me/We:
The fact of the matter is that we judge people all the time.
We all have our lenses we judge people and stuff through, and we all have our own personal “measuring sticks” that we hold up to people to see if they measure up to our standards as someone we be friends with or minister to or whatever.
How do we judge people?
Their appearance.
Their past (especially if it’s a bad one).
Their politics.
Their acquaintances.
Their education (or lack of one).
Their job.
What colors our judgments?
- Our own past, whether good or bad.
- Our church traditions.
- Our own beliefs as we read or mis-read Scripture.
- Our mood at the time.
Last week we looked at Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-5, where we find the most quoted words of Jesus in our generation, and those are, “Do not judge, or you, too, will be judged.”
Society likes to throw those words in our face when we confront them about things like immoral lifestyles or false religious beliefs.
“Who are you to judge? Jesus says don’t judge or you’ll be judged. So there!”
And we looked at the fact that Jesus wasn’t saying we throw out all thinking and discerning, because as we’re going to look at today, Jesus actually commands us to judge, as we’re going to look at today.
So what was He saying? He was saying we are not to judge others with:
• A critical spirit.
• An unexamined life.
God/You:
Why am I covering this stuff?
Because in our emphasis this year on developing healthy relationships that strengthen individual families and the family of God, this issue needs to be addressed – because Christians can be judgmental in the way Jesus condemns, and they can be ignorant of the kind of judgments Jesus wants us to be able to make.
That will help us in our relationships within the family of God and our relationships outside that family.
John 7:24 –
“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
Okay, so we see here that Jesus, rather than commanding us to not judge, is actually commanding us to judge. But it needs to be done rightly.
How do we do that? Let’s take a look at that for the rest of our time.
In this verse, we find two very distinct instructions that we would do well to take to heart, and the first one is…
“Stop judging by mere appearances…”
Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus had been accused of breaking the Sabbath because He was “working” by healing a guy.
To the religious leaders, Jesus appeared to be breaking the Sabbath. But Jesus is letting them know that their judgment of Him was erroneous because they didn’t have a proper understanding of the situation, or of the Scriptures.
What we see on the outside is often deceiving.
You know, I make fun of myself and my appearance sometimes, and I make note of the fact that I’m more likely to be compared to Hector Elizondo, the bodyguard/chauffeur from The Princess Diaries than I am to be compared to say, Zac Efron (sp) in High School Musical.
My point is that at first glance I don’t think I make that much of an impression. And if people were to judge me based merely on my appearance, they won’t get an accurate picture of who I am and what I’m all about.
Then they see my wife and they think, “Man, he’s got to have SOMETHING going for him to get that good of a wife.” And as they get to know me, they find out that I’m more than what my appearance alone would say.
That’s true for all of us, isn’t it? The problem is that we judge people by their appearance all the time, in spite of the fact that it’s not an accurate measure.
The principle found in 1 Samuel 16:7 describes the way God operates, and it’s a lesson for us as well –
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
This is from the story of God choosing David as the new king of Israel. And these were God’s words about David’s oldest brother who must have been a total stud because the prophet Samuel said, “Whoa – this guy must the new king. He just looks like a kingly kinda guy.
And God said, “Nope. Not him. Keep going.” And God chose the youngest one – David.
David didn’t look like a man of God or a king. He was young and inexperienced. He didn’t know anything about being a king. He probably came in from the field smelling like the sheep he was watching.
The stuff I talked about in the beginning of the message is all stuff that we see on the outside of the person and we judge them.
We look at their past, or their clothes, or their politics, or whatever, and we think, “they’re not good enough.” Or, “They must not be a Christian.” Or, “They must not be living for Jesus if they are a Christian.”
Or we think, “God could never save that person, much less use them for great things in His kingdom.”
We don’t take the time to find out what God’s doing in that person’s life, because that takes work.
So what’s the lesson here? Look beneath the surface. Don’t just assume that what is on the surface is all there is to know about someone or something.
The second piece of instruction Jesus gives us here is to…
“…Make a right judgment.”
Let’s look at 5 ways to help us do that:
1. Slow down.
Don’t be in a rush to judge.
Proverbs 20:3 –
It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
People are very quick to jump on something, especially if it’s their “pet” issue or something.
They’re like a lion just waiting to pounce on someone if they say the right (or wrong) thing.
But it’s much wiser to just hang back a bit and listen and look. You might just be surprised that your initial impressions were wrong.
So slow down. Second…
2. Do some research.
Don’t just assume anything about someone or their position on an issue, or about their actions.
Why is this important? Because your “knowledge” might be faulty.
So you need to do some research. Here are some things you need to do:
Make sure Scripture backs up your position.
I mentioned last week that we need to be careful to not call something sin that Scripture doesn’t call sin, and we also need to be careful that we don’t excuse something that Scripture does call sin.
Be in the Word constantly by reading it, listening to it, studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it, and applying it.
Then you’ll be in a better position to apply Scripture to your judgments to make sure you’re judging rightly.
Gather your facts.
One thing I can guarantee – I’m not the only one here who gets most of his exercise by jumping to conclusions. Right?
One of the most humbling and embarrassing things I’ve had to deal with is making a judgment about somebody before I found out all the facts and then having to revise my judgment, and even having to go back to that person and ask for their forgiveness for judging them based on inaccurate information.
Make sure you actually know what’s going on in that person’s life before you pronounce a judgment about them or what they’re doing.
By the way, this might be a good spot to tell you that a lot of what I’m sharing with you today is from a sermon I borrowed from the internet.
I know that bothers some people who think pastors should have to think up everything they say each Sunday.
Rick Warren quotes a pastor who said, “I’ll be original or I’ll be nothing.” And he was both.
Oh – the sermon I borrowed was one of my own that I gave on this very passage about 5 ½ years ago.
So yes, I borrowed a sermon from the internet. But it was my own.
Stay away from stereotypes and labels.
You want to get my blood boiling? Say something negative about an ethnic group.
I may have related this story before, but let me tell it again, just in case.
When the beef plant was first being proposed, what was one of the biggest reason people opposed it?
Mexicans moving in and ruining the neighborhoods. Seriously.
Apparently every single Mexican is lazy slob who drives down the property values where they live.
I had an older Christian man tell me he was afraid of what the Mexicans would do. And he said to me, “What would you think if they moved into your neighborhood?”
I just about popped him in the mouth. I’m serious. But Scripture says we’re not supposed to pop older Christians in the mouth, so I didn’t.
I simply responded, “I’d think I have a great opportunity for ministry.”
This person was judging an entire ethnic people group based on some stereotypes.
That is ungodly and it’s sin. If you harbor negative stereotypes in your life, you need to repent of that.
Do some research and you’ll find out that while there are some who fit the stereotype, most are hard-working people who want what’s best for their families – no matter what their ethnicity.
Do some research, folks. Learn to think based on what you’ve found by studying the Scriptures instead of stereotypes, labels, or whatever.
You know what I’ve found? I’ve found that the people who have done the least amount of research and thinking scream the loudest.
People who call themselves followers of Christ, who are called to be people of good judgment and discernment, and who Jesus said were to love God with all our heart, soul, MIND, and strength, are terrible at actually taking the time to think through an issue any more than reading the press releases and talking points from their favorite public policy group or preacher.
And because that’s all they know how to do, they make up for their lack of knowledge by raising the volume of their voice, and this leads me to third way to go making right judgments…
3. Communicate your position in a reasoned and reasonable manner.
Did you know that it’s okay and even appropriate to discuss things in a calm and collected manner, even when discussing things that God has called sin in the Bible?
If you can’t communicate your stances on things without screaming, ranting, or just using tired and worn clichés, then don’t expect people to listen.
Paul was great at communicating in a reasoned and reasonable manner. No matter who he talked to, he was able to help them see the truth.
2 Timothy 2:24-26.
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
A firm position does not need to be communicated with the volume level of a ranting maniac. But it does need to be communicated reasonably, in a reasoned manner.
4. Allow other Christians to live in freedom.
This will be the hardest point for many Christians.
So often when we talk about the issue of judging, we tend to think of social issues and sins like homosexuality or theft, or gossip. But what about judging other believers?
Did you know that there are believers in the world who actually think that it’s okay to go to movies? (Gasp!)
Did you know that there are believers in the world who actually think it’s okay to only eat vegetables? (Gasp! Gasp!)
And did you know that there are believers in this world who actually think that it’s okay to listen to rock music and dance? (Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!)
But wait! There’s more! There are some believers who think it’s okay to listen to country music!
There are some believers who think that all sports are worldly and should be avoided by Christians – either participating or watching.
None of these are addressed in Scripture, and finding principles governing them is hard, and Bible-believing people who love Jesus will disagree about them.
So what do we do? We choose to let it go.
Romans 14:10 –
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
Then down to verse 13 –
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Ahh, now there’s something we don’t think about very much. Rather than just looking critically at someone, why don’t we make sure that we’re not in the way of someone’s walk with Christ?
So allow believers to live in the freedoms they believe they have. If they are not in sin (according to Scripture, not your opinion), then you need to let it go.
Let’s move quickly to the last way to make good judgments and that is to…
5. Let God be the ultimate judge.
God will judge both the unbeliever and the believer.
It’s not our job to send people to hell or to convict them of their sin. Those jobs don’t belong to us.
Folks, Scripture is very clear that God is the ultimate judge. You will not stand before me in the end, nor will I stand before you.
All people will stand before God, and it’s ultimately up to him as to what is acceptable and what is not.
Yes, we’re to make judgments about things, using the word of God as our standard. But ultimately, people will stand before God and answer to him, not to us.
And don’t forget – Jesus says we’re supposed to start with ourselves before looking critically at other people.
We: Folks, Scripture doesn’t tell us to not judge. Scripture tells us to make sure that as we judge, we’ve got a firm foundation for making right judgments.
Too many Christians judge the way Jesus does condemn: with a critical spirit and an unexamined life.
But I think that if more Christians would understand what Jesus was communicating about judging and we really put it into practice in our lives, then we would see that we’re slower to judge, quicker to give the benefit of the doubt, and much more of accepting of people because we don’t just see the outside.
And let’s be honest. That’s what we want others to do for us, right? Then let’s make that a reality in how we judge.
And watch God to do some wonderful things in the relationships you have, both inside the church and outside of it.
Amen.
Communion
Today as we take Communion, I want you to think on the fact that the Righteous Judge has looked up on you and has judged you.
He has judged you as unclean and unworthy to enter heaven because only the perfect get to go to Heaven.
And then Jesus came. And if He’s come into your life, God actually judges you another way: as perfect.
Perfect? Yup. Because He sees you now through the lens of Jesus. And because of what Jesus did, and because you have put your faith in Him for forgiveness and a home in heaven, He looks at you and He sees Jesus.
And Jesus is perfect.
You don’t deserve that. None of us do. But He loves you so much that He made that possible for everyone who will take Him up on that free offer.
Before we take Communion I want to offer the invitation I offer frequently here: to put your trust in Jesus, asking Him to come into your life to wash away the sin and filth and crud that we all bring into the deal.
Without Jesus you face an eternity in hell. Jesus came to help you escape that so you could face eternity in heaven, and have Him living in you and transforming you life to be more like Him while you’re still on earth.
Because just because He views us as perfect in terms of where we’ll spend eternity, we still need to allow Him to transform our lives to be more holy while on earth. He desires to change us to be more like Him.
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Take the gift. It’s yours for the taking.
If you want to walk out of here today knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have a home in heaven, then you can express your desire to trust Jesus right now.
And what do I mean by putting your trust in Jesus? What I mean is this: you see where you’re headed without Him, and you don’t want to go there, so you’re saying, “Jesus, You’re my only hope, so I’m trusting in You and what You did on the cross, and rising from the grave so I could have eternal life. I’m trusting you like a skydiver trusts His parachute – I’m all in because outside of You there is no heaven.”
That’s what trusting Christ is all about.
I’m going to say a prayer right now that you can pray along with me in your heart. All you’re doing is expressing your trust in Him. The prayer doesn’t get you to heaven – only Jesus gets you to heaven. The prayer is just for you to vocalize that in your heart.
So if that’s you today, let’s pray.
(Rest of communion service)
