Illus: Makes me think of a young lady who occasionally walked through the park after work, stopped to have her picture taken by a photographer on this particular day. She was very excited about her picture being taken. As she walked out of the park, she looked at the Polaroid picture in total amazement. She turned and headed back to the cameraman. When she got there she stated, "This is not right! This is not right! You have done me no justice!"
The photographer looked at the picture and looked at her and stated, "Miss, you don’t need justice, what you need is mercy."
But one day when we stand before the Lord we are going to get JUSTICE and MERCY!!!
There are many scriptures in the Bible that are abused ignorantly by preachers and laymen.
If I had the time I would like to deal with some to these abused scriptures in the Bible. But it would take the whole service to deal with many of them…
Let me show you the favorite scriptures that some like to talk about.
(1)1 Timothy 5: 23 seem to be a favorite Scripture for some.
We read “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.”
Some take this scripture completely out of context.
For example, Paul had written to Timothy, who had a stomach condition, and he said to him to drink a little wine for his stomach condition.
Paul is not encouraging Timothy to start drinking as some would imply. Paul is talking about using it for medical purpose.
It is obvious from this verse of Scripture Paul is addressing a physical problem that Timothy had.
From what we read in the scriptures, it had to do with a stomach problem, but he also had other infirmities bothering him.
Notice, we all know we should drink water every day but he specifically told him, “DRINK NO LONGER WATER.”
Why?
Illus: Often, those who go to foreign countries have to buy water to drink because the water is so contaminated that if they drink it, it will cause some serious pain in their stomach and some other related problems.
This could be the situation with Timothy. Possibly the water was contaminated, and was causing Timothy some serious problems.
This seems to be the problem because Paul specifically said, “DRINK NO LONGER WATER.”
But generally when this verse is quoted by some you hear these words only “…Use a little wine….”
They never put this verse of Scripture in the context that Paul knew.
Let us put this scripture in context, the reason Paul recommend this …
(1)Timothy had a stomach condition (medical purpose)
(2)And he knew the problem of the sickenss was due to drinking contaminated water.
Alcohol in the days of Paul, like today, was used for medicinal purposes.
But those things that are used for medicinal purposes can also be abused.
Illus: For example, Nyquil is used by many for colds but it contain a lot of alcohol. (Humor)It can be abused, if you drink to much of it you can start to enjoy your cold!!!
Many medications are abused!
There are folks who do not care a thing about what the Bible teaches, but when it is convenient, they do not mind taking a Scripture out of context and using it to promote something they want to promote.
Another favorite verse of scripture that is used by some folks who know very little about the Bible is...
(2) Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
Yes, the Bible specifically states we are to “Judge Not”, we all agree on that.
But is that verse of Scripture teaching us that under no circumstances are we to pass judgment on anyone?
Absolutely not!!!
If that is what this scripture is teaching we have some serious contradictions in the scriptures, such as…
(1)If that verse is teaching that, the Lord could not be the sinless Son of God, because he often judged people to be hypocrites
(2)If that is what the Bible teaching the Bible contradicts itself because we are told in Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. to judge a false prophet. How could we beware of false prophets if we can not judge them to be false prophets.
(3)If that is what the Lord is teaching we are not to judge, it would be wrong for us to serve on a jury. Why? Because that is what a jury does, they take the evidence that is placed before them and they pass judgment on someone.
(4)Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, in 1 Cor. 5, about a morality problem within the church, and even though he was not there, he had heard enough evidence from credible christians of what was taking place that he said he already had judged this individual. If that is what the Bible is teaching he was wrong to past judgment on this man.
Also, the apostle Paul could not have been the man of God we think he was, because he often judged people as false teachers and spoke out against them.
There are those who do not care a thing about what this Bible teaches but when it is convenient, they are quick to quote Matthew 7:1 and say, “Judge not!”
WHAT DID THE LORD MEAN WHEN HE TOLD US TO JUDGE NOT?
As we look at this matter of judging we need to look at two different ways we can judge people.
One kind the Lord is pleased with, but there is one kind of judging the Lord speaks out against.
Let’s look at:
I. IMPROPER JUDGING
It is so easy for us to improperly judge someone.
Illus: A lady was at the airport checking in her luggage. After she had completed checking in her luggage, she had a couple of hours to wait for her departure. She decided she would go and get her a drink and a pack of cookies. She got her drink and a pack of cookies, and bought a magazine, and went and found a seat.
As she sat down and began to read her magazine, an elderly gentleman came and sat in the same row of seats, leaving an empty seat between the two of them. She opened her magazine and got into some heavy reading. She reached over to the empty chair and pulled a cookie out of the bag and began to eat it. In a few minutes however, she noticed the elderly gentleman sitting near her reached in the same bag an got himself a cookie also.
She thought to herself, “The nerve of this fellow”. She continued reading, and in a few minutes she reached over and got another cookie, and the elderly man looked at her and smiled at her. She hardly got her hand out of the bag, when he reached over and took another cookie also.
She thought to herself, “The nerve of this fellow, I am getting ready to tell this man what I think of him.” But she kept reading her magazine and never said a word to him, but gave him some awful mean looks.
Finally there was only one cookie left, and he reached over and took it. She was so aggravated that she got her purse and moved as far away as she could get from him.
When she got to her new seat, she sat down and she reached into her purse to get her glasses, and she discovered a whole bag of cookies. The cookies she had been eating belonged to the man who was sitting near her.
HOW EASY IT IS FOR US TO MISJUDGE SOMEONE WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE ALL THE FACTS!
Illus: Mahatma Gandhi (Gan-di) was a lawyer and the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule in South Africa who advocated the civil rights of the people.
He was a practicing Hindu, but Christianity intrigued him.
In his reading of the Gospels, Gandhi was impressed by Jesus whom Christians worshiped and followed.
He wanted to know more about this Jesus that Christians referred to as “the Christ, the Messiah.”
This is a true story: One Sunday morning Gandhi decided that he would visit one of the Christian churches in Calcutta.
Upon seeking entrance to the church sanctuary, he was stopped at the door by the ushers.
He was told he was not welcome, nor would he be permitted to attend this particular church as it was for high-class and whites only.
He was neither high class, nor was he white. Because of the rejection, he Mahatma turned his back on Christianity.
With this act, Gandhi rejected the Christian faith, never again to consider the claims of Christ. He was turned off by the legalistic Christian sin of segregation that was practiced by the church. It was due to this experience that Gandhi later declared, “I’d be a Christian if it were not for the Christians.”
Illus: A good Christian man (Don Smith) who had to work out of town on a Wednesday night and he was accustom to attending church for the mid-week service. He had no dress clothes with him only his work clothes he was wearing. He was met at the door by a usher who told him he was not properly dress and turn him away.
Illus: Today we hear a lot about RACIAL PROFILING. Life has become very difficult for many of the Arabs in this nation, because some folks can look at an Arab, and simply by the color of his skin he is assumed to be a terrorist.
Illus: When some people see a young man with long hair, they will judge him to be a dope addict, simply because he has long hair.
Now in my opinion it is fair to judge a young man with long hair as having bad taste, but just because he has long hair does not mean he is a dope addict. He may never have taken dope in his life.
Illus: We can hear about a politician that did some crooked deeds, and we judge all politicians to be crooks.
Illus: We can hear about a preacher that ran off with some woman in the church, and judge all preachers to be womanizers.
Listen, it is a dangerous thing when we take people and put them all in the same barrel and judge them to be no good.
The Lord said clearly, “Judge not”.
WHAT DID HE MEAN WHEN HE SAID JUDGE NOT?
He certainly was speaking out against IMPROPER JUDGMENT!
For example:
(1) IT IS IMPROPER TO JUDGE SOMEONE WITHOUT THE FACTS
In a court of law, a jury takes the facts that are laid out before them, and from those facts they judge if the person is guilty or innocent. And if he is guilty, they determine how severe his punishment should be.
If they are a good jury, the greater the crime, the greater the punishment.
But a jury that will ignore the facts that lean toward not guilty and render a verdict of guilty is considered to be a crooked jury.
This is IMPROPER JUDGING.
It is sometimes done in a court of law, but it is often done by individuals.
(2) SOMETIMES IT IS IMPROPER TO JUDGE SOMEONE WHEN YOU HAVE THE FACTS
• If the only reason you are doing something is to embarrass someone, YOU SHOULD NOT DO IT!
• If the only reason you are doing something is because you dislike someone, YOU SHOULD NOT DO IT!
• Just because something is true does not mean that it needs to be said.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
If there is no virtue in thinking about it, there certainly is no virtue in saying it.
(3) IT IS IMPROPER TO JUDGE SOMEONE THAT HAS A MOTE IN THEIR EYE, WHEN YOU HAVE A BEAM IN YOUR OWN EYE
Look at Matthew 7:3-5, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”
Illus: Can you imagine someone wearing a shirt covered in mud, going to someone who has a little spot on their shirt and pointing that spot out publicly to embarrass them?
It would be hard to imagine that someone would do such a thing. But so often, people pass judgment on others, while they have far worse things in their own life.
Illus: We find in the scriptures a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery and they were ready to stone her and Jesus said to them HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE.
After this the Bible tells us they threw their rocks down and walked away! Why? Because in condemning her they knew they were condemning themselves.
God’s Word calls these people HYPOCRITES. WHY DOES GOD CALL THEM HYPOCRITES?
Illus: Suppose someone stood before a judge, and their sins were pointed out to them. And when he sentenced them, he gave them everything he could give them.
But suppose this same judge who was so harsh on others in his court room, had done some things that were far worse.
This judge would be classified as a HYPOCRITE! And likewise so often those who are so harsh in their judgment toward others have a lot worse things in their own life. THESE ARE HYPOCRITES!
They want to public judge others for the purpose to make themselves look like saints and they ain’t!!!
Someone said, “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones!” Unless you are living the perfect life, you ought to learn to keep your mouth closed about others. (Do I hear an Amen?)
There are times when we must not judge. This is IMPROPER JUDGING.
But there are times when we must judge.
Let’s look at-
II. APPROPRIATE JUDGING
There are times when we must judge. There are times when it is appropriate to point out the faults in others.
WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR US TO JUDGE SOMEONE?
A. IT IS "AFTER" WE HAVE CORRECTED OUR OWN FAULTS
We must remove the "beam" from our own eye. Look at Matthew 7:5, we read, “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”
"The law of Christ" requires us to (first) do this before judging others.
Look at Galatians 6:1-2, we read, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Notice, these two verses teach that only those who are spiritual (who have removed the beam from their own eyes) have a right to go to others and try to help them.
Listen, a man that can not swim can not help a drowning man.
And a man in sin can not help a man in sin.
Illus: That is like when former President Bill Clinton was going through his ordeal with Monica Lewinsky and was being counseled by Jesse Jackson, who has been known to be guilty of the same thing. (He admitted on national television on Jan. 18, 2001 that he had had an affair and is the father of a 20 month old daughter).
B. WE MUST LEARN TO JUDGE THOSE WHO ARE "WORTHY" OF JUDGING
Look at Matthew 7:6, we read, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Some people have built their lives around people that are a waste of time.
Life is time, and when you give someone an hour of your time, you have given them an hour of your life.
We only have one life, and we need to be selective about who we are going to spend these precious hours with.
• There are some folks you can go to and talk to them about things that are wrong in their life, and they will accept it and profit from it.
• There are some folks you could spend the rest of your life trying to talk to about why they do what they do, BUT IT IS A WASTE OF TIME!
Giving your time to such people is like taking a valuable diamond and casting it before a hog to trample on. Some people are not worthy of our time or judgment.
• With those who are receptive, we are to be long-suffering in trying to help them come out of their error.
• But for those who are not, we are not to waste what is good and holy on them!
In Matthew 10:12-15, we read, “And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”
Some believe that when we shake the dust off of our feet, that the dust particles will be evidence against them on the judgment day, showing that a spiritual person tried to help them but they rejected the truth.
In this sermon I have tried to show you from the scriptures there are two kinds of judging, PROPER and IMPOPER.
But one day when we stand before the Lord Jesus we will have PURE JUSTICE.
For example, when we judge we do not know all the facts.
God knows all the facts about us and He can judge us with PURE JUSTICE.
Illus: It was F.B. Meyer, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are three things for us to consider:
• We do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin (God does!)
• We do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her (God does!)
• We do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances (God does)
God takes under consideration all the facts and when we stand before Him we all will get true justice.
No one will:
(1) Get any punishment they do not deserve.
(2) No one will get any rewards they do not deserve.
We all will get PURE JUSTICE!!!
Conclusion:
Illus: In his little book, Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter. "He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's all right, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has already been up here and left his for the same reason!'" (Our Daily Bread)
We have to be careful in judging others improperly, because to do so we may be judging ourselves.
The Lord said it this way in Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
Now you can be harsh in your judgment toward others if you so choose. But the Word of God makes you a solemn promise, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
I. IMPROPER JUDGING
II. APPROPRIATE JUDGING
When we stand before the Lord we will receive TRUE JUSTICE AND MERCY!!!
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Neither Do I Condemn Thee
1K views · Apr 23, 2020
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