Sermon Central
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Thank God For Broccoli
Contributed by Stuart Blount on Apr 20, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: We have all been ’judged’ wrongly, or have ourselves been guilty of wrongly judging people. The bible offers much practical guidance for us.
“THANK GOD FOR BROCOLLI”
Living free from judgement
We live in a world full of opinions. Yet there is a fine line between having an opinion and passing judgement.
Greek word for Judgement is ‘krino’ and is the same word used for Condemn
The Bible confronts the issue of judgementalism.
In fact the word of Jesus are very strong……………..LUKE 6:37-42
The context of v38 is not giving but FORGIVING.
MATTHEW 7:1,2 ….. ought to sober our thinking !
These truths result from what Jesus says ……….
IT IS ARROGANT TO JUDGE – LUKE 6:41,42
Arrogant because a judgemental attitude presumes perfection in the one who passes criticism.
We all know that an honest inventory of our own lives should be enough to convince us against critisizing others.
This little parable is not only humorous but powerful in what it illustrates.
IT IS BLINDNESS TO JUDGE – LUKE 6:39
When pointing the finger we easily forget how many are pointing back.
We have all met people who seem blind to their own imperfections yet they look at other people’s lives with binoculars.
IT IS DESTRUCTIVE TO JUDGE – LUKE 3:37,38 ; MATTHEW 7:1,2
Jesus says that we determine the degree of our own judgement by the way we judge.
It destroys relationship, trust and our own purity.
Jesus aims this teaching at those who considered themselves religious. So much of their lifestyle feel incredibly short of the words they read and preached.
It is said that on occasions when the Greeks had particularly difficult and important trial it was held in the dark so that the judge and jury would not even see the man on trial and would therefore only be influenced by the facts.
With the Jews Jesus teaches the facts were often irrelevant (as with the woman caught in adultery, the man is not heard of)
When Paul addresses the problem in the early Christian community in Rome his words are equally clear ……… ROMANS 14:1-12 “The Message”
Paul talks about two kinds of people, the weak and the strong. The way these two groups have been viewed and talked about seems quite the opposite to me.
THE STRONG – Paul says are those who believe that this new found liberty in Christ had banished all the old religious taboos, such as the food laws. They believed Christianity was a seven day faith and not for just one special day.
THE WEAK – Were those still full of false religious scruples, believing it wrong to eat meat and rigidly following old Sabbath laws. Paul says this makes them weak because ….
- They have not understood what freedom they now have in Christ
- They have not understood the power of grace.
These two groups disagreed, passing judgement on each other.
Paul advises the Roman Christians what to do in regard to Judgementalism.
AVOID IT – ROMANS 14:1-4
Accept each other, however weak you perceive your brother.
Accept we all live differently (Rom 14:2)
Because God does (Rom 14:3)
Each of us will be assessed by God (Rom 14:4)
There is a difference between living in sin, and living differently!
QUESTION IT – ROMANS 14:5
So often the issues that divide are not significant at all, in fact they can be trivial and unimportant.
Certain questions are good to ask before we judge……
- Is it my place to comment?
- Is this a vital issue?
- Is the report exaggerated?
- Could someone be hurt by me attitude or words?
UNDERSTAND IT – ROMANS 14:12
We are not ultimately answerable to one another but to the Lord.
Remember that if an issues in a brothers life is inappropriate or wrong, and that issue needs confronting, God has placed in His church both the people and the method for that being done with wisdom and godliness.
LIVE IT – ROMANS 14:19
‘make every effort’
One phrase in ‘The Message’ I find humorous.
‘If you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib ; if you’re a vegetarian , eat vegetables to the glory of God and THANK GOD FOR BROCCOLI” - ROMANS 14:6
It is not wrong to have convictions or even opinions, but it is when they become destructive and damaging to either an individual or church community.
God took a risk in granting us freedom from the law when he lavished grace upon us. The safeguard he introduced was the internal work of is Holy Spirit in the believer, who is the Spirit of Truth sent to guide us into all truth.
