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you you you you [Music] you you you you well good evening and welcome to the faithful remnant that has returned on this hot evening the end of july to worship the lord into the house of the lord no announcements for tonight that i've received anyways so if you just like to join me in turning to our call to worship for the night psalm 96 we'll read psalm 96 tonight as our call to worship psalm 96 oh come let us sing to the lord let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation let us come before his presence with thanksgiving let us shout joyfully to him with psalms for the oh i'm sorry i and above i'm reading psalm 95 which is a good one too let's start again we'll start with psalm 96 oh sing to the lord a new song sing to the lord all the earth sing to the lord bless his name proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day declare his glory among the nations his wonders among all peoples for the lord is great and greatly to be praised he is to be feared above all gods for all the gods the peoples are idols but the lord made the heavens honor and majesty are before him strength and beauty are in his sanctuary give to the lord o families of the peoples give to the lord glory and strength give to the lord the glory do his name bring an offering and come into his courts o worship the lord in the beauty of holiness tremble before him all the earth say among the nations the lord reigns the world also is firmly established it shall not be moved he shall judge the peoples righteously let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad let the sea roar and all its fullness let the field be joyful and all that is in it then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the lord for he is coming for he is coming to judge the earth he shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth may the lord bless his word this night so our first psalm if you want to turn in your psalter to psalm 22 d that's 22 delta and rise and we'll sing together unto the lord [Music] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] let's just go to the lord tonight in prayer and ask his blessings on our time together then father we come to you tonight and we thank you again for this opportunity to come into the house of the lord and the day of the lord to worship you and to praise you and we thank you that we come lord not because of anything that is in us that is any good that we are able to but we come in the righteousness of the lord jesus christ we we praise you and we thank you that we may come in and through the lord jesus christ to lift up our offerings the the calves of our lips unto you the praise and adoration to your holy name and we would pray that you would be with us this night that all that is said and done would be to your glory lord we thank you for that we we praise you that we can come at this time to lift up our concerns to you and even as in this morning hour we we came and prayed for our brethren in other local churches lord we do continue to pray for them to pray that you would be with them that the glorious gospel of the lord jesus christ would be sent forth from not only here but from burden and dryden and surrey and in honduras as well we thank you for the saints in each one of these places that you are faithful to watch over them even as you watch over us lord we thank you for that we as well just want to lift to you the people around this world as we have read this morning in our hour before worship of still the the persecutions and the sufferings that go on by many throughout this world and we thank you father that you are with them as you are with us you never leave nor forsake them we pray for your strengthening upon them for your grace to keep them through this time of trouble and in tribulation and we just thank you for that lord we thank you lord for your word that we hear each time we come we thank you for the word that we have received this morning as uh pastor jim preached to us this morning from from the book of john and about christ's authority lord that he had there he is the word of god he is very god and he speaks the truth of god we thank you for that we thank you as well that our understanding and our authority comes from god from you father son and holy ghost from your word and it doesn't come to us from academia as we have been shown but it comes to us as your word teaches us from above from heaven above by the blessed holy spirit as he ministers to us your word we thank you for that we thank you we of the lord jesus has said in what we've read this morning that he brings to us the true doctrine because it is been the doctrine that you have given to him and we would pray as well lord that that would be the doctrine that we would not only receive but that we would be bold to proclaim the doctrine that comes from your word we thank you for that and we thank you as well father from what we have heard today as well how the lord jesus christ has does and has done all things he's spoken uh that you be glorified in all things that everything should be done to your glory and we would pray lord for ourselves that that would be the case for us as well that all things be done both not only here but in our lives in word and indeed to the glory of god father son and holy ghost we thank you for that and we pray that you would strengthen us in that and we noted as well today and in so many places in your word how christ our lord was persecuted by those that followed after him to trip him up and that actually hated him lord and threatened him and he suffered this persecution even by seeming religious people wherever he went and so we pray that even as we are given to suffer persecutions from that we know that it is your will because christ has told us that a servant isn't greater than his master if he has suffered these things and likewise we shall too and we just thank you that you are with us in all these persecutions that we suffer lord whatever they happen to be that you would by your grace give us the words to speak that we might glorify you in all that is said and done and we just want to commit this night to unto you as we look forward to the preaching of your word again and we want to give you thanks lord for this time together and we just pray that uh the words of our mouth be acceptable unto you this night as we ask all these things committing them to you in the blessed and holy name of the lord jesus christ we pray amen our second song for tonight is number 436 436 you can stand and sing 436. uh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] uh [Music] my [Music] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] okay if you'd like to turn now for our scripture reading tonight is going to be from the book of numbers chapter 5 in the book of numbers numbers chapter 5. now reading we'll read the whole chapter beginning in verse 1 and the lord spoke to moses saying command the children of israel that they put out of the camp every leper everyone who has a discharge and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse you shall put out both male and female you shall put them outside the camp that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which i dwell and the children of israel did so and put them outside the camp as the lord spoke to moses so the children of israel did then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel when a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the lord and that person is guilty then he shall confess the sin which he has committed and he shall make restitution for his trespass in full plus one-fifth of it and give it to the one he has wronged but if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong the restitution for the wrong must go to the lord for the priest in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him every offering of all the holy things of the children of israel which they bring to the priests shall be his and every man's holy things shall be his whatever any man gives the priest shall be his and the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel and say to them if any man's wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him and a man lies with her carnally and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and it is concealed that she has defiled herself and there was no witness against her nor was she caught if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife who has defiled herself or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife although she has not defiled herself then the man shall bring his wife to the priest he shall bring the offering required for her one-tenth of an ifa of barley meal he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy an offering for remembering for bringing iniquity to remembrance and the priest shall bring her near and set her before the lord the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water then the priest shall stand the woman before the lord uncover the woman's head and put the offering for remembering in her hands which is the grain offering of jealousy and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse and the priest shall put her under oath and say to the woman if no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband's authority be free from this bitter water that brings a curse but if you have gone astray well under your husband's authority and you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse and he shall say to the woman the lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach and make your belly swell and your thigh rot then the woman shall say amen so be it then the priest shall write these curses in a book and he shall escape or he and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water and he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman's hand shall wave the offering before the lord and bring it to the altar and the priest shall take a handful of the offering as its memorial portion burn it on the altar and afterward make the woman drink the water when he has made her drink the water then it shall be if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter and her belly will swell her thigh will rot and the woman will become a curse among her people but if the woman was not defiled herself and is clean then she shall be free and may conceive children this is the law of jealousy when a wife well under her husband's authority goes astray and defiles herself or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man and he becomes jealous of his wife then he shall stand the woman before the lord and the priest shall execute all his law upon her then the man shall be free from iniquity but that woman shall bear her guilt and the lord bless her word his word let's just go to the lord in prayer before her last song father we thank you for this your word and lord by it we see again through your word how you are a holy god separate from sinners and how that you cannot in your holiness and your separateness dwell with sin and with sinners and how none of us who are unclean can enter into your presence and lord for that as believers in the lord jesus christ we give you thanks and praise you again that we come not in our own righteousness not in in ourselves thinking of ourselves to be clean in thy sight but we come cleansed by the precious blood of the lamb the lord jesus christ who has gone to the cross to there make atonement for our sin we thank you for him we thank you there that we have been washed and cleansed with his precious blood and made every wet whole and that you father are the one that has made us accepted in the beloved not because of anything in ourselves but because of what he has done on the cross because of his righteousness there lord and his passive righteousness in his act of righteousness obeying you and going to the cross in our stead as our substitute we thank you that now we have this blessed privilege of coming before you and to worship you and to praise you and to learn of you and we pray now before the preaching of the word that you would cleanse our conscience of fresh lord if we have anything that darkens our mind or souls that you would be pleased to cleanse up by the precious blood of the lord jesus christ that we might receive your word as it is in truth and we just want to give you thanks now for this time as we ask these things in jesus christ precious and holy name amen okay our last song before the preaching of the word is number 242 242 you want to stand and we'll sing [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh well you can turn with me in your bibles to matthew chapter 7. matthew chapter 7. this is a bit of extended application from the message this morning remember the jews accuse jesus of being demon-possessed and in that particular context he defends himself he refutes them by pointing out his miracle rot in bethesda he appeals to moses to show that what he had done was not an infraction or transgression of the law and then he laid down that principle concerning judgment he says in john 7 24 do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment so that it be helpful for us to look at matthew 7 verses 1 to 5. i'll read the passage and then we'll pray judge not that you be not judged for with what judgment you you judge you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye 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 hypocrite first remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye amen well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the word of god we thank you that it's given by inspiration of you it's profitable for doctrine reproof correction and for instruction and righteousness and certainly this passage addresses a tendency in in in all of your people in all of creation to to have a judgmental attitude and spirit with reference to others give us wisdom concerning what the text says and means and help us god by the power and the presence of the holy spirit to put these things into practice in our own daily lives to bring glory to you in a manner that is consistent with your your revelation forgive us now for our sin and unrighteousness cleanse us afresh and that precious blood of the lamb and god fill us now with your holy spirit and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well this is part of the sermon on the mount of course the lord jesus goes up onto a mountain and there he teaches and we have all kinds of people drawing nigh to him there's those who are unconverted and so he preaches in a manner to show them the law and to show them their need for him but as well his disciples are attending also so he is instructing the christian and how he ought to live concerning his life before a holy god and here in verses 1 to 5 he is making a prohibition against judgmental ism as i mentioned this morning he is not saying there is never to be judgment this is one of those misunderstood passages that we have in the bible in fact pastor kirkpatrick and surry i think preached this one this morning he's doing a summer series on commonly misunderstood bible texts and matthew 7 1-5 is certainly one of them so i want to look first at the prohibition itself in verse one secondly the explanation in verse two and then thirdly the illustration in verses three to five so let's look first at the prohibition and there's a few things i want to consider first the abuse of the text i think j.c rile hits the nail on the head when he says the first portion of these verses is one of those passages of scripture which we must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning it is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion it is possible to press the words of the bible so far that they yield not medicine but poison how many times have we heard this text bandied about to try and teach that there are never to be judgment oh you christians are so judgmental your own bible says you're not supposed to judge well again we need to properly understand what jesus is addressing so that we can understand this tax and understand this emphasis on judgment throughout scripture now in terms of the scope of the text notice in verse 1 judge not that you be not judged if we lifted that out of the context if we lifted it out of the bible if it was the only statement regarding judgment then perhaps the opponents of christianity would be right judge not that you be not judged it's so simple and so obvious you're never supposed to ever render any kind of judgment whatsoever you see the issue is is that this text is not disconnected from the rest of the bible it's not disconnected from the books of genesis to revelation this text is consistent with biblical teaching all throughout and so we need to understand it in that larger context so this cannot mean that a christian is to never exercise judgment in the world and i want to just give you various examples wherein it is right and where it is necessary for christians to offer judgment in the first place look at the next verse verse 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 brethren that's a judgment call at some point in our evangelism of a particular sinner we ought to conclude that they're either a dog or a pig and no longer cast our pearls before them we are not to continue in a pattern of abuse we're too as as far as we're able to live at peace with all men as paul says in romans chapter 12 but if a man is an expressed enemy of the gospel of our blessed lord after several attempts after trying to win him over after trying to argue him into the kingdom or tell him the truth there is that emphasis that jesus says do not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast your pearls before swine it's not talking about actual canines he's not talking about actual pigs he is talking about human beings that display those characteristics that are at odds with the god of the scriptures that are at odds with the people of god and that are not to be entreated and so there is a judgment involved and we in the fact that we are called the judge who may be a dog or a pig secondly we are called to judge in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy look at matthew 7 at verse 15 beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves that's a judgment call how do we discriminate how do we understand how do we identify that well we hold them up to the scripture we judge them in light of the scripture we judge they're prophesying they're teaching they're preaching in light of god's holy truth if they come up short if they are wanting if they are lacking then we judge them to be false prophets notice in verse 16 you will know them by their fruits do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit a good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire therefore by their fruit you will know that by their fruits you will be able to judge them you will be able to discern you will be able to understand where they're coming from and if they are false prophets have no truck with them turn over the book of galatians another place where we see that we're called the judge in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy in galatians chapter one at verse six the apostle comes out of the gate and he says i marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of christ to a different gospel which is not another but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of christ but even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let him be accursed as we have said before so now i say again if anyone preaches any other gospel to you then what you have received let him be a curse but paul that sounds judgmental absolutely positively it is judgmental we are not to let heretics into christian pulpits and distort the doctrine of justification by faith alone or to chase them out we're to have no truck with them we're not to listen to them we are to refuse and reject that that is a judgment call turn over the book of philippians philippians chapter 3 philippians chapter 3 verse 1. finally my brethren rejoice in the lord for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but for you it is safe beware of dogs again he's not arguing he's not warning you against the canine down the street it's not suggesting that pit bulls are always violent and dangerous and they're going to chew you up and they're going to chew your children up no the judaizers or rather the jews would refer to gentiles as dogs so paul takes up this moniker and describes the judaizers those who want to add works to faith he calls them dogs notice verse 2 beware of dogs beware of evil workers beware of the mutilation those who are seeking to get you to be circumcised in order to complete the transaction betwixt you and god this is a judgment call brethren and if persons say well that's not kind that's not loving that's not fair we are to judge in the manner that god calls us to turn over to the book of revelation revelation chapter 2 the church in ephesus the first letter to the seven churches of asia minor they are commended by christ for having rendered judgment we often remember the church at ephesus for their problem which was leaving their first love but we don't often remember what they're commended for and we should notice in 2 1 to the angel of the church of ephesus wright these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands i know your works your labor your patience and that you cannot bear those who are evil which in and of itself is a judgment call we're rendering the verdict that these persons are evil and therefore we're going to avoid that but he escalates it notice and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my name's sake and have not become weary so going back to matthew 7 judge not that you be not judged is not a universal statement it is conditioned it is contextual it is in the life or in the in the orbit of the rest of god's word in a third manner we are called the judge and matters of church discipline so not only orthodoxy with reference to sound doctrine but orthopraxy with reference to life and practice in christ church turn over to matthew chapter 18. there we see detailed instruction on how to deal with somebody that has sinned against us now i know the default position in the church is to avoid them to never have any dealings with them again but that's not god's word that is not the command of scripture we're supposed to fix our relationships if we go to the altar and there we want to present our gift and we remember that somebody has a problem with us we go fix that relationship because what happens horizontally affects the vertical relationship with god and in the same token if somebody sins against me i'm not to just avoid them i'm not just to write them off i'm not just to think in my own head they're dead to me and i'm not going to have any dealings with them no i need to man up and do what god most high commands me to do and i need to go after them such that they can repent of their sin and have a right relationship horizontally and thus vertically this is a judgment call notice in 1815 moreover if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between him and you him between you and him alone if he hears you you've gained your brother but if he will not here take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established and if he refuses to hear them what do you think they're doing they're rendering a judgment they're witnessing the process they have heard the the events and details and they're saying yeah this guy is unrepentant this guy is found wanting this guy is not doing what he's supposed to do so notice in verse 17 and if he refuses to hear them tell it to the church but if he refuses even to hear the church let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector that's a judgment we render a judgment upon a sinning brother that does not repent we treat him like a heathen and a tax collector you see this in first corinthians chapter 5 as well the apostle upbraids the corinthian church because there was an instance of a man who had his father's wife and the apostle says you knew about this and you were arrogant about it paul says get him out of the midst if he's unrepentant remove him from the life and contacts of the local church that is a judgment call fourth we are called to judge in matters concerning the sins of the eldership turn over to first timothy chapter five again focusing on what the text does not teach it does not teach that there ought never to be any sort of judgment rendered whatsoever we are called to judge who may be a dog or a pig we are called to judge in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy we are called to judge in matters of church discipline we are called to judge in matters concerning sins in the eldership look at first timothy 5 17. let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially those who labor in the word and doctrine for the scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the green and the laborer is worthy of his wages do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses again what's in view there's a judgment call that's going to be made upon this particular elder it must be done with due process it must be done in the light of biblical redemption it must be light and done in light of the laws of witnesses in deuteronomy 17 and 19 and then notice what happens in verse 20 those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all that the rest also may fear that's a judgment brethren the church renders on a sitting elder and then finally we are called to judge in civil disputes both in the church and in the civil sphere turn back to first corinthians chapter 6. first corinthians chapter 6 just to see an emphasis on the judgment that the church is supposed to render when there is a dispute among brother brothers within that church notice in first corinthians 6 1 dare any of you having a matter against another go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints do you not know that the saints will judge the world and if the world will be judged by you are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters do you not know that we shall judge angels how much more things that pertain to this life if then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge i say this to your shame is it no is it so that there's not a wise man among you not even one who will be able to judge between his brethren but brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers don't go to the pagan judge don't go the heathen rather the church ought to be able to render sufficient judgment in these particular matters so again an odd emphasis by the apostle paul if judge not lest you be judged is a universal statement that requires never judging anyone and then of course uh romans chapter 13 romans chapter 13 verses 1 to 4 let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from god and those which exist are appointed by god therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of god and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil do you want to be afraid unafraid of the authority do it is good and you will have praise from the same free is god's minister to you for good but if you do evil be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain for he is god's minister an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil brethren generally this applies right civil government has the right and prerogative given to it by god to render judgment and then to punish in light of that violation of law up to and including the death penalty christians can function as civil magistrates we're not anabaptists if you get a job in the civil government and your job is to render judgment god's not at war with you that is not a problematic situation that is not something that he will say is a wicked endeavor on the part of god's people what we have in matthew 7 verse 1 is not an unqualified and universal prohibition to never engage in judgment we've just seen the opposite it is rather a prohibition against a particular activity that we are all prone to do when dealing with our brothers in christ he's condemning judgmental ism he is condemning our everyday conduct with one another that's the context of the sermon on the mount turn back to matthew chapter 5 to see the sermon on the mountain this way notice in chapter 5 at verses 38 to 42 you have heard that it was sad an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but i tell you not to resist an evil person but whoever slaps you on your right cheek turn the other to him also if anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic let him have your cloak also and whoever compels you to go one mile go with him too give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away this is not a prohibition against locking your front door it's not a prohibition against telling a criminal offender that i'm not going to allow you to rape my wife or my daughters the common understanding or misunderstanding of this text would do away with locks would do away with guard dogs would do away with alarm systems i mean after all we're supposed to turn the other cheek right you're done with my daughter the you know the wife is down at the end of the hallway that's not what's in view it is a petty vindictive judgmental spirit in day to day life that was exhibited by the pharisees and the scribes the religious people are the ones that jesus has issues with in the sermon on the mount with reference to everyday ethics yeah as far as you're able don't be vindicate vindicatory don't be a petty judgmental individual don't be that person that's always exact exacting a pound of flesh but if you are brutally assaulted if you are mugged on the way home from church tonight which i hope doesn't happen jesus doesn't condemn you calling the rcmp jesus doesn't condemn you sitting with the artist that's going to sketch out a picture of the bad guy and jesus doesn't condemn you if you go into court and you swear and tell the whole truth concerning this particular barbarian and he ends up getting the uh thrown in prison or or executed christ is not at war with that christ is at war with the kind of judgmental spirit exhibited by the pharisees and oftentimes exhibited by god's people in churches today calvin says these words of christ do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging but are intended to cure a disease which appears to be natural to us all we see how all flatter themselves and every man passes is a fear censure on others this vice is attended by some strange enjoyment for there is hardly any person who is not tickled with the desire of inquiring into other people's faults it's a fault-finding methodology that christ is denouncing you see that again in verse five hypocrite first remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from who from your brother's eye this has to do with your daily interpersonal relationships it has nothing to do with the rendering of the judgment by the church in an ecclesiastical setting on a man's doctrinal or unorthodoxy or heterodoxy or heresy or his uh continual patterns of sin it has nothing to do with that so if a church excommunicates a sinful offender it is not legit for outsiders to well that's not right you're not supposed to judge you have no understanding whatsoever of what the bible says and yet you're going to try to beat us up with bible verses that you don't know now in terms of the meaning of the text very clearly the command forbids a nitpicking fault-finding petty approach to our brother's shortcomings judge not that you be not judged again we see this in the illustration in verses four and five or three uh three to five and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye that is a nitpicky petty fault-finding mindset it's inconsistent with that principle of love in first corinthians 13 7. love bears all things it believes all things it hopes all things it endures all things and the mandate given by the apostle paul in colossians 3 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another see the apostle says that we're supposed to forgive one another even as god in christ forgave us if god has forgiven us of a multitude of sin and transgression we ought to be forgiving toward our brethren now again there may be those instances where we have to employ matthew 18. but for the most part brethren we can let love cover a multitude of sins that is a legitimate option that presents itself to the people of god that will hopefully protect us from the mindset that is condemned here again ryle says what our lord means to condemn is a censorious and fault-finding spirit a readiness to blame others for trifling offenses or matters of indifference a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors and make the worst of them this is what our lord forbids it was common among the pharisees osborne adds this he says the key component is the absence of love so the command is contextually conditioned by the reality that on your day-to-day life you're not supposed to be the fault-finding sensorious person that imitates the pharisees instead of has had god's word lodged in their hearts so the prohibition is not universal it is not unconditional but rather it finds itself in the context of the larger emphasis in scripture now back to verse 1 judge not that you be not judged look at chapter 7 and verse 12. therefore whatever you want men to do to you do also to them for this is the law and the prophets we call that the golden rule and it goes man to man how i want to be treated i should treat you how i don't want to be treated i shouldn't treat you that way well the judgment in verse 1 judge not that you be not judged it doesn't mean horizontally it means god word and as we move through this particular passage that's the one who brings chastening upon the brother that engages in this particular sin and that's a great sort of a stimulus isn't it judge not that you be not judged don't be the nit picker don't be the fault finder don't be the pharisee don't be the guy that has to see himself as the policeman for every single individual in the life of christ's holy church that's not your job that's not your area of competence that is not what you have been called to do and understand that if that is the tact that you take you will be judged for it by god most high that right there should lead all of us to consider and ponder the emphasis in the text so that we don't fall prey to engaging in an abuse of our place now notice secondly the explanation the explanation that he gives so he gives a prohibition verse one judge not that you be not judged and then in verse 2 4 with what judgment you judge you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you notice the standard of judgment we saw this this morning jesus says in john 7 24 do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment that text itself assumes that we will judge that text assumes and commands that we judge it just demands that we judge in a manner that is consistent with god's holy word that we judge with a righteous judgment it's not our feelings it's not our emotions it's not our offense it's not oh we don't like that it's what god's word has to say that's the standard of judgment that we are to employ in the various ways we are called to judge and with reference to interpersonal relationships we're not supposed to do it at all fault-finding nitpicking petty approaches to our neighbor so the prohibition in john 7 24 do not judge according to appearance i cited a few passages exodus 23 don't give deference to a poor man in your courtroom judge him based on the facts of the case don't give deference to a rich man in your courtroom judge him with reference to the facts of the case and then the several emphasis in the old testament and knew that god does not show partiality i cited a particular commentary commentator he says to show partiality in a judgment is not to give a judgment that is just because of love or deference or fear or the status of a person which things have nothing to do with the case that doesn't i mean if if you love somebody that doesn't change the contours of the case as lovers of god and lovers of men we want justice to be served and so we don't defer or we don't prefer or we don't engage in partiality so that's what christ is saying here he says in verse 2 for with what judgment you judge you will be judged and i take that as by god and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you it doesn't mean that god's going to enter into a nitpicking fault-finding petty attitude but he is going to judge you based on that particular sin that you undertake on your own behalf in other words when you violate god's holy law expect judgment expect chesma chastisement expect god to come to deal with you that's the focus in verse two for with what judgment you judge you will be judged if you're a nitpicking fault-finding petty individual that jesus is denouncing here judgment is going to come your way and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you you get rid of the word of god you let your preferences reign supreme you let feelings and emotions call the day well then god is going to deal with you not that way but according to his law against the sin that you have undertaken and then notice thirdly the illustration in verses 3 to 5. now this illustration is typical of our blessed lord he used kind of you know hyperbolic things to illustrate points remember in matthew 23 when he's upbraiding the scribes and the pharisees and he says you strain out the gnat but you swallow the camel brethren i have to believe somebody in the crowd smiled i have to believe that somebody in the crowd got tickled when he said that you you can envision it you can see it you can see these pharisees trying to to strain their wine because they didn't want any impurities in there and so they take great pains to make sure not a little gnat falls into their wine and yet you swallow the camel again brethren he uses that hyper hyperbola to illustrate the point and he does the same thing here masterfully notice what he says in verses three to five first you have the illustration proper verse three why do you look at the speck the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank or the log in your own eye now that right in of itself should give all of us cause to pause this type of fault finding takes effort on the part of the fault finder certainly you have better things to do than look for specs in your brother's eyes don't you yes possibly you see this takes effort to be this kind of a sinner it actually means more work than just obeying jesus at this particular point this type of fault finding is a betrayal of the law of liberty james invokes the law of liberty in james 2 12-13 in a context dealing with partiality he says specifically so speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy mercy triumphs over judgment thirdly with reference to the illustration proper why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye this type of fault finding is a rejection of biblical procedure you're not supposed to do this you're supposed to understand that when it comes to matters not only in the law courts but when it comes to matters in our daily interaction one with another proverbs 18 17 is binding upon all men everywhere the first to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him earlier in proverbs 18 he says he who answers the matter before he hears it this is folly it is wickedness and so you're going after the speck in your brother's eye all the while you've got a beam you've got a log you've got a pull hanging out of your eye it is absolutely ludicrous that we engage in this sort of thing fourth this type of fault finding is a failure to come to grips with one's own shortcomings failures and sins the guy with the spec understands your issue but you don't understand it you've got a beam hanging out of your eye and you've come after him for a piece of sawdust in his eye okay let's deal with the sawdust brother but let's deal with that beam let's try to extricate that log that's hanging out of your eye that you're swinging around indiscriminately at everybody around us john stott says we have a fatal tendency to exaggerate the faults of others and minimize the gravity of our own sin yeah that's absolutely positively true and then screwtape to wormwood in c.s lewis's book screwtape letters he says aggravate that most useful human characteristic the horror and neglect of the obvious the guy's got a pull hanging out of his eye right he says you must bring him to a condition in which he can practice self-examination for an hour without discovering any of those facts about himself which are perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house with him or worked in the same office that is what this text is dealing with this fault-finding nitpicking attitude where you've got bigger issues than the person you're actually coming after and then oftentimes this type of fault-finding may involve what psychologists call projection right i'm going to come after the sawdust that's in your eye all the while neglecting the log that's in my own they both come from the same place brethren they both come from the same tree and so with reference to this it is absolutely ludicrous and jesus condemns it by way of this illustration notice he then makes this indictment based on this illustration verse 4 5. he says hypocrite hypocrite now that is applied to unbelievers in chapters 6 2 5 and 16. so in chapters 6 2 5 and 16 it's applied to unbelievers but it's not confined to them jesus calls these nit-picking fault-finders these censorious souls these do-gooders for all that is good and holy when it comes to the policing of sawdust but have no concern whatsoever with reference to beams he calls them hypocrites spurgeon says jesus is gentle but he calls that man a hypocrite who fusses about small things in others and pays no attention to great matters at home in his own person why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye 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 imagine going for eye surgery and your eye surgeon happen to be blind that might give you cause to reflect this isn't the best place for me or perhaps you are able to go to arizona and you're going to go visit the grand canyon and you're going to shell out the doe to get the guided tour down to the the bottom of the canyon and the guy shows up with his burrow his team of burros and he happens to be blind and he says saddle up partner we're going to shimmy down right into the bottom of the canyon i'd say i don't think so man i am not going to do this i wouldn't trust a blind man to pack my parachute i wouldn't trust a blind man to fly my plane and with reference to a blind man doing eye surgery on me nope it's not going to happen again that's a judgment call too judge not lest you be judged i'll take the i'll take the uh effort on that one or i'll take the the liability on that one do you see what jesus is saying you've got this beam hanging out of your eye and you're you're coming over here and saying brother let me get that sawdust out of your eye that is hypocrisy now notice the corrective in verse five hypocrite first remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye now there's a couple of ways that this could go the plank has a general reference to sin deal with your own sin so you're in the right posture to deal with the sins of others that doesn't mean you're sinlessly perfect it doesn't mean you're without blemish it doesn't mean you're holy harmless and undefiled but in terms of a general comportment and and pursuit of holiness you got it together and so you're in a better position to police the sawdust in the eyes of your of your lesser fellows or the plank has a specific reference to the attitude condemned in verses one and two you're a nitpicker you're a fault finder if the goal is to try to fix your brother's eye it's not good to have sawdust in the eye either it's a good corrective it's a good help it's a good ministry for us to undertake it's just hypocritical when you happen to have a log hanging out of your eye and so the emphasis may be on deal with yourself in this particular way and then come to your brother in a spirit of gentleness and love lloyd jones says if you really do want to help others and to help them help rid them of these blemishes and faults and frailties and imperfections first of all realize that your spirit and your whole attitude has been wrong this spirit of judging and hyper criticism and sensoriousness that is in you is really like a beam contrasted with a little moat in the other person's eye again most of us are open to correction i hope we're god's people we're blood bought we have the holy spirit we hopefully will say with a hearty amen the proverb that says faithful to the wounds of a friend so when a friend comes to us a brother comes to us a wife comes to us a husband comes to us it's not always easy initially to hear that but hey they're after my good they want my betterment they want my growth in grace they want me to live a sawdust free life that's a blessing but if their attitude is one of sensoriousness and nitpickiness and pettiness and judgmentalness that is absolutely offensive i'm okay with the sawdust in my eye i'm going to be all right with that france says on verse 5 while it is possible that the critic here is to be understood as aware of his own failings but concealing them it is more likely that he is criticized for failing to apply the same standards to himself that he applies to others like david in his response to nathan's parable in 2nd samuel 12. remember that oh david is incensed david is outraged david wants the death penalty for that rich man who took the little you lamb from that poor man and he cooked him up and barbecued him so that his friends would have something to eat oh david's just incensed and outraged he says and thus being aware of the inconsistency of his behavior the tendency is there to never deal with anyone else's sin because we're cowards but when we do deal with other people's sins let us do it from the posture of not having a beam hanging out of our eyes when we come to correct the sawdust eye of our fellows in conclusion first of all the manifestation of judgmentalism that's what's condemned it's judgmental ism it's not the idea of judging in those contexts specified earlier the origin of this particular sin it's adam and our condition in adam but even as believers we have remaining corruption and typically it's pride typically it's arrogance typically it's virtue signaling typically it's a better than thou attitude that we manifest and it's manifested particularly in pettiness fault-finding being hyper-critical brethren it's tough to live under a hypercritical situation parents remember this particular task as you're rearing your children yes lay down the law of god yes lay down the rules that you have instituted in your home but understand brethren that a hypercritical spirit is something that exacerbates people exasperates people excessive eagerness curiosity and peevishness secondly the gravity of judgmentalism the gravity of this particular scene it's very curious to me that in the context of a local church if the brother stood up in a prayer meeting and said you know i went out and visited a prostitute last night we'd be outraged and we'd call for church discipline or a brother stood up and he said you know jesus is a creature the watchtower is right i'm gonna deny the the triunity of god most high we would be incensed and outraged and yet judgmentalism it's just part and parcel of church life it's just the way it is it's right there with gossip it's right there with slander it's right there with that hypercritical attitude somehow that doesn't you know get on our radar screen in terms of those things that we condemn and show outrage concerning but with reference to the gravity it is the arrogant assertion of authority over others who made you the judge and jury over other people solomon says keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life i don't know of a proverb by solomon where he says keep the heart of your fellows with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life they need your constant surveillance to make sure they're always on the the alert secondly it is an expression of self-righteousness isn't it you got a beam in your eye and you're coming after the sawdust of other i think there's problems there and those problems are self-righteousness it is thirdly a demonstration of a lack of charity it's not loving to do it in that manner again it's good to be the sawdust extractor from the eyes of your brethren if you do it in a spirit that is charitable if you're doing it with a remedial attitude if you're just criticizing incessantly your wife or your husband to the point where they want to go live on a roof or live out in the wilderness that's not the right attitude or the right spirit and then as well it is a practical denial of the doctrine of remaining corruption the doctrine of remaining corruption while we don't justify sin while we don't justify sawdust in the eyes we understand that that will always be the case it's like jesus said concerning the poor the poor you will always have on this side of heaven the remaining corruption we will always have and then finally the prevention of judgmentalism and this isn't you know jim butler guru giving you all the things that you should do just some encouragements some suggestions some ideas to ponder so that we guard against this idea of judgmentalism i'd suggest first of all we seek the gracious influence of the holy spirit if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body then you shall live romans chapter 8 and verse 13. we need the holy spirit brethren he's the holy spirit we're not we need his influence we need his gracious presence in our lives to hopefully keep us from this attitude condemned by our lord secondly seek to apply biblical law to all matters of judgment that's the reality do not judge according to appearance to to wins to preferences to to emotions to dreams no you judge with righteous judgment which is the word of the living and true god thirdly pursue humility and kill pride the pursuit of humility by killing pride is a helpful way to minimize the logs so that you can deal faithfully with the sawdust or so that you can minimize the tendency or the temptation to engage in this kind of fault-finding endeavor and then fourthly understand the biblical doctrine of sin and how it is true of you okay you and i have remaining corruption you and i may have a tendency or proclivity i don't want to offend but we could actually have some self-righteousness in us we could actually have a judgmental attitude in us we could actually be the fault-finding nitpickers that jesus here condemns we need to understand the limitations of our own heart that we may not be the best police officer to go about on this particular task we need to understand remaining corruption in ourselves spurgeon said instead of beholding with gratified gaze the small fault of another we should act reasonably if we penitently consider the greater fault of ourselves but then fifthly understand the biblical doctrine of sin or remaining corruption and how it is true of others right are we demanding something that we ourselves can never pony up that was the problem with the pharisees they lay burdens upon you that they themselves cannot carry it is absolutely crucial that we not only understand that we're in this boat of remaining corruption ourselves but so are our wives so are our husbands a child who confesses faith in our lord jesus doesn't go through some time warp and start exhibiting himself as 30 he's still going to be childish he's still going to have foolishness in him oh how could you ever claim to be a christian brethren guard against that tendency there is remaining corruption here there is remaining corruption there and we do well to remember that of our fellows and then i would suggest finally value esteem and love your brother value esteem and love your brother don't be a judge or a hypocrite but be a brother encourage love exhort be kind if it is something that you feel constrained to go to them go with the spirit of gentleness and defection and with a genuine desire to see them one for our lord jesus christ not in this sort of celebratory manner wow i can't believe you know smirk smirk giggle giggle that you actually did that i can't understand that i'm just so holy and righteous and pure and i've never done that that's the attitude that christ herein condemns and so by god's grace may we conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent with his word i suggest it sins at this level that oftentimes do far more damage in the churches of jesus christ than does a minister or a person standing up and saying you know let's just all deny the deity of jesus and become unitarians let's all deny the deity of jesus and become aryans no that's usually i mean it happens to be sure but it's this kind of a mindset it's this kind of an attitude it's gossipy slanderous judgmental people that do positive harm and destruction to the churches of christ let us deal with our own logs before we go to the sawdust of others and of course we ought to praise god for christ because we're gonna sin we are going to be nitpicky we are going to be judgmental perhaps you're thinking now man i did this to my wife or i said this to my husband i kind of do this on a regular basis i really need to stop well you're not going to go to heaven because you stop i mean you certainly need to stop because if you don't that evidence is that you've never come to the savior but we go to heaven based on the fact that christ never sinned this set that christ was not nitpicking that christ was not petty that christ was not a fault finder in the manner that he condemns in this particular passage it is his righteousness it is his death it is his resurrection by which we stand so not to minimize the import of the text to call us to a pursuit of those things that are pleasing in his sight but at the end of the day let us rejoice in the gospel of our salvation well let us pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity and the consistency of it and i pray that you'd give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and bless us and our families bless us as individuals as a church and help us to function properly as citizens in civil society we ask now that you would go with us that your you would cause your face to shine upon us that we would know your peace and presence in our own hearts and lives and that you would keep us by your grace and for your glory in the coming week and we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you