Opener:
Good morning Church ! We here this morning to celebrate our Lord! Today we are beginning a new 3 week series entitled Nuggets from the sermon on the mountain. This morning we are tackling an important topic that really permeates our culture. We hear about it on talk shows, we see ads during the election cycles, and social media is filled with it. The reality is that we live in a world that is looking and judging others.
During Jesus ministry, He often dealt with sin. We understand that Jesus loves the sinner but hates sin. One of the sins that Jesus often dealt with more directly than any other sin was not adultery (yes, He addressed this) was not taking drugs (we know drugs are wrong), but the sin He addressed a lot was the sin of self righteousness. Really this is one of the deadliest sins. You can find it anywhere you look. Whether a person is educated or uneducated, if they are wealthy or not, if they are a believer or not. Through all walks of life we see this attitude of judging others rampant in our society. I have heard Christians give excuses as to why they are judging other Christians and they have said something along these lines “ I am not judging you. I am just inspecting your fruit.”
Jesus gives us a warning about judging others. Let’s turn our bibles to Matthew 7:1-6 NKJV - 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
When you judge others, you basically are passing a sentence on to them, you are passing a verdict. You are condemning them. Judging others is the favorite past time of the self righteous. Jesus tells us that no one has the right to judge other people except for God.
I. Four qualities of a self righteous person
A. Using the wrong standard
a. Before we get any further, I believe that there are four qualities of a self righteous person that we can look into this morning.
b. The first quality that seems to always be present is that they always use the wrong standard while judging others.
c. This is when they compare others to themselves. It is the thinking and mentality that I am the one to set the standard.
d. The reality is that we all have blind spots or areas of weaknesses in our lives and the problem is that we simply don’t see these areas.
e. Many times we are able to see other people’s faults and point them out really easily but we are oblivious to our own faults.
f. The reality is and what I have seen in my life is that when I begin to judge others, I have the tendency to judge them for the things that I dislike about myself.
g. When we measure by the wrong standard, we are basically trying to play God.
h. The bible warns us is Romans 2:1-2 NKJV2 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
B. Excusing ourselves
a. The second quality of a self righteous person is that while accusing others of wrong doing, they are excusing themselves.
b. In other words, everybody else is guilty but I am totally innocent.
c. Someone that does this, we would call a hypocrite. A person whose actions does not follow what they believe.
d. By excusing ourselves, we forget the sin in our lives. It is like this person has amnesia but only for themselves and for others they remember every minutia detail of every wrong that they have committed.
e. So when people are self righteous, they label their own sin with a lesser degree. Oh, I am not gossiping , I am just sharing a concern that I have. I’m not being critical, I just have the spirit of discernment.
C. Making us feel better
a. The third quality of a self righteous person is that they think by judging others, it puts them in a better position.
b. The reason why we like to judge others is because it makes us feel better. It makes us feel superior to the person that we are judging.
c. There is some faulty logic here that we need to debunk.
d. Just because you are pointing at other people’s sin, does not take you off the hook for your own.
e. In fact, when you begin to point your finger at others, you have four pointing back at you.
i. Picture of fingers pointing back – tech team
D. Taking their blessings for granted
a. The fourth and final quality and I am sure you could list more but is that the self righteous person misinterprets God’s blessing on their lives.
b. They take the good things that God has blessed them with for granted and presume that God’s blessing is because they are so great and wonderful.
c. The self righteous person thinks that they have earned and deserve God’s blessings. They think that because everything is going smooth in their life that God must be very happy with them and that they are special and chosen.
d. What, they fail to realize that all these blessing are a result of God’s grace in their life.
e. They fail to realize that the motivation behind God’s goodness and kindness in our lives is what lead us towards repentance.
f. You have heard the saying that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
E. Foundational principle
a. The bible tells us in James 4:12 NKJV12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
b. There is a foundational principle here that we can take away with.
c. The way you bring people to the Lord is not by putting them down, not by telling them that they are no good and that they have problems. They already know this silly.
d. We win people over to the Lord by holding them up and encouraging them to have a relationship with Christ.
e. By showing them the benefits of following God, and showing them the goodness and kindness of God.
f. Letting them know, God loves them, He has a plan for their life and He is patient with you even when you are not so patient with yourself.
II. Only God has the right to judge
A. God’s right
a. This leads us to our second point today and that only God has the right to judge people.
b. The bible tells us in Romans 2:16 NKJV 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
c. Let me say this once again, Only God has the right to judge His people.
B. Stand before God
a. It is a pretty awesome and scary thought to think that one day, I will stand before my Creator and will need to give an accounting for every word that I have ever said.
b. I will need to give an account for every thought that I have had and every action that I have ever done.
c. This thought helps us to live our lives circumspectively.
d. When we receive this accounting, God will be just and fair with all. The bible tells us in Romans 2:6NKJV6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”
e. God is patient and kind and He understands and knows that we are only human.
C. How will God judge
a. Let’s turn our attention back to Romans 2:2 NKJV2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
b. God judges us according to His truth. It is not based upon hearsay!
c. Hearsay is not admissible in our courts of law nor is it admissible in the court of heaven.
d. Hearsay is information that is received from other people that cannot be substantiated.
e. God sees our every moment, from the moment that we have been born, to the moment that they put us in the grave.
D. Truth
a. The bible says in Hebrews 4:12-13 NKJV 2 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
b. There is nothing that escapes the eye of God.
c. While our judgment is only based on what we see, the superficial stuff.
d. God’s judgment is totally complete. Also, God does not show favoritism in His judgment.
E. Courts today
a. The courts today can be very partial. They are harsh with some people and yet soft with others.
b. If you are rich and famous, the courts today seem to be more lenient.
c. While if you do not have the money to hire a fancy attorney, the courts are tougher on you. They throw the book at you.
III. Things that God is looking at
A. Preparing for the test
a. When God judges us there are things that He is looking at.
b. I can remember when I was in college and the professor would let us know in advance when we would be taking a test.
c. Now there were some professors that just dropped this information the day before the test.
d. Most though would tell us a couple weeks, if not a month in advance. This gave me time to study and prepare.
e. It was even more helpful when the professor would let you know some of the important areas and topics to study. If this was not done, then you were grasping at straws and trying to remember everything which would make it way more difficult.
f. I remember a finance class that was so difficult. The professor was tough and I was not up to the challenge. From what I can remember, literally like half the class failed or dropped out because it was so hard. I ended up getting a D- in the class and I was so relieved that I got that. Usually with a grade like that, you would retake the class but I let it stand.
g. The tests were so hard that he graded on a bell curve. Which took the average scores of the class which set the mark for the grades. I would remember getting like a 35 percent on a test and that was a C.
B. The three C’s
a. When looking at Romans chapter two, the Word reveals to us three things that God is looking for in our lives.
b. The three C’s. Now if this sounds familiar to any jewelers out there, it is, although God’s C’s are a little different.
c. When assessing the value of a diamond, jewelers look at 4’c. That is Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat weight.
d. God C’s are a bit different, He is looking at Character, Conscious, Conduct.
C. First things first
a. God looks at the inside of people. What they are made of, their character.
b. C.S. Lewis said “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
c. When you choose to act in a honorable way, you will feel better about yourself and others.
d. Even the smallest acts of kindness can not only improve the lives of others around you, but yourself as well.
e. Choosing good and doing the right thing is not done so others can see you and you gain fame or acclimation, but because you are kindhearted and just truly care for others.
f. This kindness then speaks to your character. The kind of person that you really are.
g. This past week we passed out food to people in our community that really needed it. Some of you came Friday and helped bag the food up. Others came Saturday and passed out the food. Others prayed for people, other passed out bible tracts.
h. It feels good when you do the right thing when no one is watching. It speaks volumes about your character.
D. Your Conduct
a. The second C that God looks at is our conduct. What have we done with our life and did we live our lives according the will of God.
b. While we cannot control how people treat us or what they do to us, we can choose our response to them.
c. We are not accountable for what others do or don’t do, only ourselves.
d. As believers, we are not judged for our sins. Those have been forgiven. Hallelujah! Rather, we are judged according to our conduct. The deeds that we did for the Lord and from what heart these deeds were done.
e. Did we do God’s will for our lives or not? That is a question only you can answer.
E. A good conscious toward God
a. The third way God looks at us is in our conscious.
b. The conscious is a powerful force in people lives and being aware of and responding to your surroundings.
c. It is knowing the difference between right and wrong. Knowing the difference between what is of God and what is not of God.
d. Now there are some people in this world that do things to others that seem unimaginable, it is like their conscious is seared with a hot iron and they are cold harded. Somewhere deep down inside of even them is a conscious.
e. Speaking of having a conscious, I am not talking about following a list of do’s and don’ts, it is much deeper than that.
f. In fact, the bible says: James 4:17 NKJV17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
g. If you know to do good and do not, it is sin to you.
Closing:
As we wrap up our time here this morning, I understand that this is a challenging topic because it disarms us in a lot of ways in judging others. I think we can all agree that listing to God and His Word and obeying or doing it are really two different things. Many people go to church listen to the sermon and are interested in what is being discussed, but then go home and never apply what was being discussed. I remember preaching at a church in Hartford and there was a retired pastor there at the time. He had pastored a large church in Milwaukee. I was curious what he thought about the sermon and so I approached him and asked for some pointers. What he said kind a surprised me. I thought he was going to give me some advice on the content that I shared and maybe my delivery, etc. He simply said, just practice what you preach. What a novel idea I thought to myself! He was absolutely right! If we simply apply to what we already know what to do, it will bring a tremendous amount of benefit into our lives. We live in the information age and we have so many different version of the bible and many of us have read through the bible several times. Our problem is not being able to translate the bible or even knowing what it says. Our challenge is practicing what we have learned. Amen!
