"Shooting The Saints"
Matthew 7:1-6 July 27, 2003
Chester FBC, Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them when they attacked the city.
a Phipps’ navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships’ cannons.
b No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the "saints."
B Today’s I want to share with you a message entitled "Shooting the Saint’s"
a The text were going to read (Matthew 7:1-6) is part of Jesus greatest sermon. The Sermon on the Mountain.
*This entire sermon was a full out assault on teachings and practices of the Jewish Pharisee’s and Scribes.
*These church leaders had developed their own set of standards of religion...morality...they even began to judge people by those self-made beliefs & standards.
MT 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. [2] For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 "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? [4] 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? [5] 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. 6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
b Jesus told his disciples how careful they had to be when considerng the lives of other believers. (ETS)
C The motives of our hearts must be pure when we bring others sins to light. (ETS)
a I hope you will carefully examine your motives when you consider the lives of other Christians. (Objective)
b Who is taking deadly aim on the saints? (Probing Question)
T.S.: Let’s look at the two motives that drive us when we consider the lives of others.
I The first motive that drives us when we consider the lives of others is..CONCEIT.
A Jesus was debunking the self-righteous junk that was coming from the pharisee’s.
a The pharisees had elevated their traditions to such a level that their traditions actually where more closely followed than God’s Word.
MT 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. [2] When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
MT 12:9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, [10] and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" [11] He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? [12] How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
b These pharisees became self-righteous. (CONCEITED & ARROGANT)
The pharisees were doing everything they could to make themselves look better in their own eyes, including acting as the spiritual judge by condemning others who didn’t live up to their standards.
If you didn’t do all the things they did. . .they judged you.
If you didn’t believe the way they did. . .they judged you.
If you didn’t belong to their group. . .they judged you.
If you didn’t follow their rules. . .they judged you.
They were unmerciful, unforgiving, unkind, uncompassionate and ungracious.
B Okay, So what? Have you ever criticized somebody because they did not do things "your" way? Play by your "rules"? That is conceited driven judgment.
a JAS 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?
b When you die, YOUR ways die with you. Be careful when you blast somebody for not doing things YOUR way.
When you die, YOUR rules no longer apply. Be careful when you blast somebody for playing by YOUR rules.
C [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ [13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ [14] "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Put on Screen only)
a When you lift yourself up as something special. . .everyone else is lowered accordingly. (You can’t hold a man down w/o staying down w/ him.)
Ever put somebody down because they don’t give as much as you do? Go Sunday School? Not where your commitment level is yet?
You have now become their spiritual judge. (Be careful.)
b You are only where you are spiritually because of God.
- "Only by the grace of God I am what I am. . ." I Cor. 15:10
II The second motive that drives us when we consider the lives of others is. . . CONCERN.
A Do not judge does not mean do not judge. (Doesn’t mean ZERO CONFRONTATION)
Many have mistaken this passage to mean that Jesus didn’t ever want his disciples to evaluate/criticize anyone for anything. (Zero Confrontation)
a v.6 "Don’t give to dogs or hogs. . ." If that ain’t judging then the Pope isn’t Catholic! Jesus isn’t saying to turn a blind eye to everything. He isn’t saying Zero Confrontation is the way to go.
Jn. 7:24 "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." *Jesus is telling you to make a right judgment.
1 Cor. 5:[11] But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
*Make the Right Judgement. .concerning someone living in perpetual sin.
1CO 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. [2] And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? [3] Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. *Make the Right Judgement. . concerning a church member who is publically, unashamedly sinning.
Rms. 16:17-18 (Make the Right Judgement. . .concerning troublemakers at the church)
Gal. 1:8 *Make the Right Judgement. .concerning your pastor’s preaching
b DO NOT JUDGE DOES NOT MEAN DO NOT JUDGE!!!
B Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah Confronted sin. Jesus, Paul, 12 confronted sin. *The Protestant Reformation wouldn’t have happened if Martin Luther wouldn’t have exercised right judgement by when he nailed his 95 Treaties on the doors of the Catholic Church.
*The 1st & 2nd Great Awakening wouldn’t have occurred if God’s people who have taken a wimpy, passive, mealy mouth, stance on sin.
a How do you consider someone’s life w/ concern?
1 You must personally purge. [5a] You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye,
Take care of the gigantic visible sin in your life before you start worrying about my large sin.
(IL.) Equivalent of Don making calling me "four eyes" because I wear contacts when he’s wearing Coke Bottles.
2 You must carefront with concern. [5b] and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
The believer is warned to guard against being critical, hypocritical, mean, hateful, self-righteous, arrogant...but never is the believer taken off the hook from removing the speck from their brother’s eye.
*Restoration is always the GOAL!!!
b Matt. 18:5 "If your brother sins go & reprove him. . ."
*If I’m constantly messing up my life with sin and you don’t try and confront me, your not being faithful to me, to God or the Word of God.
Conclusion:
***Notice: I have used Sermon Central sermons for a very long time. If this or any of my sermons are similar to a sermon that is currently already on Sermon Central by another pastor or teacher.....chances are I have used it. Actually, there is probably absolutely nothing in this sermon that hasn’t been preached before! If I used your sermon and haven’t given you credit, please write me and I’ll give you credit by name. I have in no way intentionally withheld credit to any work I’ve used/borrowed from. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF I HAVE "USED" YOUR WORK IT WAS BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU HAD A SUPER SERMON! I prefer to preach with an outline and just rearranged your sermon. My intent is to make sermons relevant and easy for outline guys to use. If you use MY work, feel free to claim it. I do not care!!! Simply realize that I have borrowed from other preachers, too.
Mike Fogerson, Pastor, Chester’s First Baptist Church
