The people of the world have some favorite Bible verses, or at least portions of Bible verses …
One is that Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you.”
What Jesus actually said was, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”
The other one is “Do not judge.”
And, what it actually says in Matthew 7:1-5 is,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Now, it’s true that sometimes the world sees Christians like this
(photo of angry man) - as judging their sin.
The world says -
“The people who profess to be Christians are as bad as anyone else.”
The church says - “Don’t look at people, look at Christ.”
The Bible says to the Christian - “Be like Christ.”
The bottom line here is that God hates hypocrisy even more than you do! Really!
Luke 6:37-38 (NASB)
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
So, jumping back to Luke 6:37 (NASB)
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”
We see that all three of these actions in verse 37 in the original text indicate an action that will be done continuously in the future. In the case of the “do not judge” and “do not condemn” it implies that these activities have been happening and that they should no longer happen in the future.
In the case of “pardon” it is a command for an action that should be started and continued.
Just look at those words, judge and condemn. It is obvious from the context (even in English) that the “you” in this passage is a singular you and not a “group” you.
So, what this verse is saying is that the individual person has set himself up as judge and jury, producing a verdict of guilty and he also has passed sentence; judge and condemn.
That is the natural condition of fallen humanity, isn’t it? But, we are no longer that way!
2 Corinthians 5:17 says
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ”
If we are “in Christ” it means a total disconnect from the world regarding:
1) our identity
2) our source of nourishment
3) our behavior
You remember this old “sinner” sign from a couple of weeks ago? When we are in Christ we are still capable of sin but “sinner” is no longer our identity, Christ is. Sinning should no longer be our normal way of life, and, if we are living in perpetual sin we had better check to see if we are really “in Christ” or not!
In Romans 11 Paul writes about us being broken off from a wild olive tree and being grafted onto the true olive tree which is Christ. While in Matthew 22 Jesus speaks about Christians being a branch on a grape vine.
In both cases our identity is “in Christ” so we should become more and more like Christ and less and less like the world.
OK. So we are part of the body of Christ and we are supposed to behave like Him? How do we do that?
In Colossians 3:12 it says,
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
So, here’s the thing … even if we are speaking to an unbeliever with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience the convicting movement of the Holy Spirit on their heart may make them accuse us of being judgmental! And, that’s OK!!!
So, we just keep speaking the Truth of God, the Gospel, with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience!
And, why do we do this?
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
“And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
If we have the mind of Christ - “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind …”
If we “… love our neighbors as ourselves …”
If we “speak the truth in love” with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience!
It STILL may be taken as being judgmental by those who are in rebellion against God and they may very well say, “The Bible says that you shouldn’t judge other people.” Well, that’s OK because we are ambassadors for Christ saying, “Be reconciled to God!”
Now, that’s the interaction between the believer in Christ and the unbeliever.
What about interaction within the Body of Christ? What about the people who worship within these walls? Should it be any different?
Should we not speak the truth in love with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience with each other?
Should we not speak the truth in love with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience when we speak about each other to other folks in the Crossroads family?
Now, let’s leave the words “Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” up at the top of the screen. As we look at these verses let’s check ourselves to see how we’ve treated other Crossroads family members lately.
This is not about any person or persons in particular and it’s not about any event that I know of, it’s just a check up …
In 2 Corinthians 12:20 it speaks of
“…discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder …”
Actually, variations of the word “slander” are found 24 times in the New Testament and it is grouped in with other sins such as, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance, folly, drunkenness, swindling, bitterness, filthy language …
Titus 3:1b-2 says,
“… be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”
So, wrapping it all up, we should not judge others inside or outside of the church in a way that makes us the judge, jury and executioner because that is not our place, and, there are some severe consequences for such actions.
Luke 6:37-38 (NASB)
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Did you get that last sentence? For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return!
We see this all demonstrated for us in Jesus Christ!
God loved the wicked, rebellious people of this planet so much that He sent His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into this world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him! (The ministry of reconciliation!)
Are we following that example today with those who do not know Jesus as their Savior?
Are we following that example today with those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Finally, if anyone is accusing you of judging them and you truly are not, just remember:
1 Peter 3:8-9
“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love one another as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it.”
Communion
