Who's The Boss

SERMON NOTES: “WHO’S THE BOSS?”

Objections to judgment:

1. What about the Woman at the Well?

2. Who gave me the right?

3. ἀνακρίνω (discernment) vs. κρίνω (final legal)

Criteria for right judgment:

1. Right T_ime________:

a. Do I have all the information?

b. Wheat and the Tares (Matt 13:24 – 44)

2. Right P_erson_______:

a. Is it under my authority?

b. The Centurion’s Faith (Matt 8: 8 – 10)

3. Right C_riteria_______:

a. How does the Lord judge?

b. Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14 – 30)

Title: Who’s the Boss?

Text: 1 Cor 4:1-5

FCF: We do have the authority to render judgment when we are in line with Jesus’ heart.

Outline:

1. TV Judges & Why we love them

2. Objections to judgment

a. Didn’t Jesus say don’t judge? He said don’t render final, legal & binding (krino) judgment

b. What about the Woman at the Well? That was a set up by the Pharisees

c. Who gave me the right? 1 Cor 6 – You are going to judge the angels

3. Why is this important? In 1 Cor 5 we’re going to see Paul get down & dirty. If we are going to judge, we need to do it well.

4. Good judgment

a. Right Time – [Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes]

i. Wheat & the Tares (Tolerance, Discernment, Patience)

ii. Courts are rarely accused of going too fast. That’s Ok. [Many major cases took more than one term to decide]

b. Right Person – [It is the Lord who judges me]

i. Admittedly a little hard to understand, until you ask this question: Who are you working for?

ii. Doesn’t matter who you please if you don’t please your boss

iii. Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Brown – all controversial people – but they understood that as long as you had the President behind you, you still had a job.

iv. We are joint heirs with Christ, Again, we can judge

v. Centurion’s faith – we are delegated authority

c. Right Criteria – [It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy]

i. Stewards are delegated authority – they are only required to be faithful

ii. Well done, thou good and faithful servant

iii. We are worthy of trust when we see things the way the Master does

5. Conclusion: Brown v. Board of Education

Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, even Judge Albert Wapner – from the granddaddy of them all, The People’s Court.

There’s something fascinating about watching a good court proceeding. The cases always begin with lots of emotion, lots of passion, suits, counter-suits, and accusations all over. Everyone in the courtroom has an opinion. But in the end, the judge is the only one who has the authority to render an opinion – a binding judgment that ensures fairness.

There’s a lot of reason why judges can do what they do. They know how to make good judgments – they are trained to focus on key details, separating impressions from facts, motivations from legal ruling. They are not quick to enter into judgment, but neither do they shy away when a decisive ruling is called for.

In our lives, wouldn’t it sometimes be nice to be that judge? So often, we must make snap decisions on people. Is that car salesman going to sell me a car that I really need or just play to my wants? Is the guy at Seven Loaves really in need or just playing the system? Is the preacher actually bringing the Word of the Lord, or just his own pet peeves and hobby horses?

It isn’t enough to say to ourselves, “Judge not lest you yourselves be judged!” It’s the one verse that non-Christians always seem able to quote the minute you ever use words like “Right” or “Wrong.” Well, remember, that same Jesus was not afraid to separate people into sheep and goats. He was quick to divide right from wrong. The same Jesus said that we are to be as wise as serpents, even as we become gentle as lambs. If his message was just the one-trick pony of ‘Don’t judge’, then there’s a lot of explaining to do about the rest of the Gospels!

Developing the ability to judge the heart – to discern the truth of what’s really going on is vital to who and what we are as followers of Jesus. For the next two weeks, we need to tackle this issue of judgment head on, and I’m going to do my best to ensure that I’m following all of what Scripture says on this.

As we continue in 1 Corinthians this morning, we are up to chapter 4, and I have to tell you that I think chapters 4 & 5 are the most difficult parts of the book to understand – but they are understandable. The background is sort of hinted at in the first three chapters – there seems to be some division in the church that Paul started. Some people like this preacher named Apollos, others like Paul, and its tearing the church apart.