“2x4 In My Eye”
Luke 6:37-45
A sermon for 6/6/21
Pastor John Bright - Harmony & Swansonville UMC
Luke 6 “41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Before I tell you this – please remember that just because they call your contacts on Facebook you “friends”, that does not mean they are real friends. I always say that they could have called them “goats” and we would tell everyone how many goats we have on Facebook😊 So, over the last six or seven years, I have lost many “friends” on Facebook because I don’t hide my Christian beliefs. These days I can post a Christian article and get a few likes or post a funny meme and get lots of likes – but it’s not like it used to be. I used to get critical comments and, quite often, this – “Didn’t Jesus say do not judge?” It’s meant to be a conversation stopper when someone accused you of being judgmental. Of course, at that point most Christians back down and cower in the corner… NOT ME! What did I tell that person? “It’s not me judging your actions, it’s God’s Holy Word. So, you don’t have a problem with me, the one proclaiming God’s Word. You have a problem with God.” I have less of those kinds of “friends” today and many more Christians who stand on the Truth of God’s Word.
Jesus begins this section of Luke 6 (The Sermon on the Plain) with three short commendations - v. 37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” This is often referred to as the most misunderstood verse in today’s culture. It gets thrown around often in the ongoing battles raging in our denomination.
We ended the previous section with Jesus telling us how to treat those who mistreat us – “35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” It looks like Jesus is shifting to how we treat each other – uh oh!
The Law of Sowing and Reaping v.37-38
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
The terms that Jesus are using here sound like the court system – judge & condemn. There, you have a jury, and attorneys, and a judge to administer justice. How quick are you to pass judgement – becoming judge and jury? How do we do this so easily? We usually assume we know WHY someone did what they did or said what they said. There is only one way for you to know my WHY – talk to me.
In the past, there have been times that taking a stance for the Truth of God’s Word has upset parents in the congregation I served. Once or twice, I was even accused of being a “hater.” I always ask those parents to sit down with me. Then I request we talk – they tell me what they believe on the issue and why, then I tell them why I believe the Bible. You know what I told them – the Bible is God’s best for us and we are free to go God’s way or our own way. Whenever I have that kind of discussion it is not meant to change the mind of the other person and make them believe what I believe. Its purpose is to understand each other – a really foreign concept in the world today.
Verse 38 begins with “Give; and it will be given to you…” This is another way of saying a very, very basic principle found in God’s Word – the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Since everybody knows how much I despise The Prosperity Gospel, I won’t go into the ridiculous details of sending a TV preacher a “seed gift” so you can get a new car. SMH! But, this is a true law in the physical realm and every farmer or gardener knows it. I like my little container garden and I am never shocked when I plant lettuce seeds and up comes the lettuce.
This Law of Sowing and Reaping is also true in the spiritual realm – right here in the Church. Listen to how Paul explained it in Galatians 6:7-10 “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Does it matter how we treat each other in the Church? YES. If you ever come and tell me you are having trouble with someone in the fellowship, I will ask you how many hours you have spent praying for that person. Usual answer – none. Then I’ll send you off to pray. This is especially true for those in leadership.
All need to deal with their own sin – especially those who lead v.39-42
“39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Another basic concept – sin creates spiritual blindness. Let me illustrate with my favorite sin to talk about… GOSSIP. I’ll stop right here and make sure you know how I define gossip. Before you tell someone a story about another person (even disguised as a prayer request), it needs to pass all three of these tests:
1 – Is it 100% the truth? That means you heard it or saw it yourself. If someone told you this story, it fails the first test.
2 – Would you tell it to the person the story is about? Most of us have looked around before telling a really juicy bit of gossip. Well, at least preachers do!
3 – Would this story edify the person it is about? If you are sharing good news that the person told you and it leads to praising God for the blessing he or she received – SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP! If the story is not able to pass any of these tests – don’t you dare repeat it.
So, now that we are clear on what the sin of gossip is, let me tell you how it creates spiritual blindness. There are over 100 times gossip is mentioned in the Bible and it is always condemned. If you like to gossip, you will overlook every one of those verses and you are probably thinking my 3-part test is too severe. At the end of Ephesians 4 we find several verses that instruct us on how we should be speaking to each other:
“25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.”
“29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
“31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Spiritual blindness to our own sin is what allows us to point out a single bit of sawdust in the eye of another while we have a big ol’ 2x4 in our own eye – that’s crazy! Jesus used a similar analogy in Matthew 23:24 when He told the Pharisees that they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel – that’s crazy!
Listen to this explanation from Dr. Ralph Wilson: “Psychologists have a term for this kind of distortion in perception. They call it "projection," where you project onto others your own sins and weaknesses. It works this way. A person struggling with sexual temptation, for example, will loudly and harshly denounce someone else who has fallen in that area. In the 1990s, a prominent televangelist harshly denounced another televangelist for the latter's sexual failures. A few months later, it came out that the first televangelist was struggling with his own temptations. The result of trying to correct someone else's failings without dealing first with your own is a harshness and judgmental character that is un-Christlike -- and ineffective in producing change in the other person. Certainly we are not to close our eyes to sin in the Body of Christ, especially by leaders (1 Timothy 5:19-20), but we are to not to rush to judgment. We are to look with eyes of mercy and forgiveness, quick to redeem and come to the aid of a fallen brother, rather than to stomp on him further.” Copyright © 2021, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved.
So how can we deal with the one in the Church, especially the leader, that causes others pain and heartache? Matthew 18:15-17 provide a means to help heal the hurts that can so easily lead to division and result in folks leaving the fellowship.
Matthew 18 “15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” Now, this can work for any kind of Church or fellowship because 9 times out of 10 it all depends on the first step – go talk to the person. We have a bad habit in the Church and the world to go tell a bunch of folks what that person did to me so we can get them on “our side.”
Way back when I lived on the Eastern Shore, I found out several folks in the Church were talking about (gossiping) about how the pastor had not spoken to someone in the grocery store. So, I went to that person and asked to be forgiven. She said it wasn’t a big deal, but remember – she had told several people the day it happened. I asked her to explain when it had happened. In my mind, I imagined that I had passed her on the cereal aisle and ignored her right in front of the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – nope. She told me she was on her way to check out and I was all the way over in the produce department just starting to shop. How many times do we get our feelings hurt and it was all a misunderstanding? That first step takes care of these and so many others.
In teaching this Matthew 18 process to folks, I always mention that you need to be able to speak the truth in love as we read in Ephesians 4:15. To do this, we take a long, hard look at ourselves. This is the time to check for sin in my own life. I need to see if this person’s actions are offending me because I have A 2X4 IN MY EYE. Maybe even more than one! I can never go to my brother and speak words of grace and mercy in the correction if I am spiritually blind.
Our sin will always be exposed – in our words and actions v. 43-45
“43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
There is an old saying – “The fruit of the tree reveals the root of the tree.” So, if tell me you are gossiping about Sister Suzy and then you tell me you love Sister Suzy – which one should I believe? They can’t both be true. We read the same thing in James 3:8-12.
James 3 “8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”
There is many a local church leader who would not want a tape recorder around at work or at home. Just imagine that kind of recording being played in here on a Sunday morning. Hey, wait a minute, PJ, that’s a bit judgmental. If that is how this makes you feel, let me repeat what I said earlier - “It’s not me judging your actions, it’s God’s Holy Word. So, you don’t have a problem with me, the one proclaiming God’s Word. You have a problem with God.”
Nobody can escape the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Nobody can deny that the fruit of the tree reveals the root of the tree. These are God’s Principles. These are God’s Truth. They are God’s best for you and me – the ones who have the spiritual blindness due to the 2x4 of sin in our eyes. Hear the good news – Jesus died for that 2x4 and you don’t have to go one more day stumbling around in the darkness of sin and spiritual blindness. Hey, I’m talking to all the “good people” out there. That good news of forgiveness of sin is for you!
We can keep wearing our “I’m a pretty good person – compared to a bank robber or serial killer” masks and keep telling ourselves – “I’m about as good as I will ever be.” I’ve got more good news for you – we will never be compared to the bad people in our world. We are made in the Image of God and redeemed to become more and more like Christ! Today is your day to get back on track and move forward in the love and grace God gives you.
There is a freedom to be found that we read about in God’s Word:
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 “17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
AMEN!
