WEBVTT 00:00:24.939 --> 00:00:26.839 Matthew chapter 7, we're going to look at the 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:34.399 first six verses this morning. The words of the 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:39.179 Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking, he says, Judge not, 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:44.399 so that you be not judged. For with what judgment 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.460 you judged, you will be judged. And with the 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:52.000 measure you used, it will be measured back to 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.799 you. And why do you look at the speck in your 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.340 brother's eye and do not consider the plank in 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:02.920 your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:05.760 let me remove the speck from your eye and look, 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.959 a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite. First 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:13.819 remove the plank from your own eye, and then 00:01:13.819 --> 00:01:15.799 you will see clearly to remove the speck from 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:19.540 your brother's eye. Do not give what is holy 00:01:19.540 --> 00:01:23.480 to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine. 00:01:24.509 --> 00:01:27.709 lest they trample them under their feet and turn 00:01:27.709 --> 00:01:33.290 and tear you into pieces. Let's pray. Father, 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:36.849 Lord, we understand this is your word. Lord, 00:01:36.870 --> 00:01:40.010 it's for our profit, for our growth in the faith. 00:01:41.290 --> 00:01:43.769 And God, I pray that you would give us understanding 00:01:43.769 --> 00:01:45.569 this morning, Lord, spiritual understanding, 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:48.810 discernment, Lord. Father, open our eyes to behold 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:51.489 wondrous things out of your law. Lord, open our 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:54.030 eyes to behold even greater clarity the work 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:57.530 of our Lord and Savior Jesus, Lord. Show us Christ, 00:01:57.689 --> 00:01:59.590 Lord, this morning, we pray in his blessed name. 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:04.930 Amen. There are probably two Bible verses that 00:02:04.930 --> 00:02:07.290 I would say all Americans know, or most Americans 00:02:07.290 --> 00:02:09.530 know, and if they don't know them, they're at 00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:12.069 least familiar with them. Now, the first one 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:14.909 is John 3 .16. It seems as though everyone knows 00:02:14.909 --> 00:02:17.729 that. If you look around at any stadium or football 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:20.569 game or any large venue, you're going to see 00:02:20.569 --> 00:02:23.889 that verse posted on various signs. It seems 00:02:23.889 --> 00:02:26.909 like all people are familiar with John 3 .16. 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:29.810 However, the second verse that I have in mind 00:02:29.810 --> 00:02:32.949 is the one that is more often quoted. And that 00:02:32.949 --> 00:02:34.490 is our text this morning. It's actually verse 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:38.030 1. Here's what we hear all the time. Judge not, 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:41.710 lest you be judged. And of course, when it is 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:44.229 quoted, most often it is done out of context. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.180 A lot of times you have unbelievers quoting this 00:02:47.180 --> 00:02:49.120 verse and they're wanting to prove something 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:51.879 that Christians are hypocrites. So they're going 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:54.120 to cite this verse to bolster their argument. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.960 So when Christians rightly make a judgment call 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:03.159 on some ethical or moral matter, inevitably you're 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:06.099 going to hear protests such as, you're not supposed 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:09.159 to judge. Or you Christians, you're all so very 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:12.159 judgmental. You're hypocritical. You're supposed 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:15.169 to follow Christ and what did Jesus say? Judge 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:18.469 not. And that's really the mantra of our culture. 00:03:18.969 --> 00:03:22.250 Who are you to tell me that what I am doing is 00:03:22.250 --> 00:03:25.129 wrong? We love our independence. We love our 00:03:25.129 --> 00:03:29.169 autonomy. Judge not. You're not to be the one 00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:33.069 that's then passing judgment upon me. But is 00:03:33.069 --> 00:03:34.969 that really what our Lord was driving at in this 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:37.669 text? Was he really just saying, hey, live and 00:03:37.669 --> 00:03:41.710 let live. Don't judge anyone. Are we never to 00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:45.050 make a judgment call? Are we never? To place 00:03:45.050 --> 00:03:48.629 a verdict on what is right and wrong? Is that 00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:52.090 our call as believers? Of course not. So then 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:53.830 what did our Lord mean here this morning when 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:55.349 he told his followers, when he's looking them 00:03:55.349 --> 00:03:57.590 on that day and he tells them, you are not to 00:03:57.590 --> 00:04:01.509 judge. What is the context? Well, remember where 00:04:01.509 --> 00:04:03.389 we are in the scriptures. We're in Matthew 7 00:04:03.389 --> 00:04:05.569 and we're ending now, coming to the end of this 00:04:05.569 --> 00:04:07.990 great sermon known as the Sermon on the Mount. 00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:11.180 Jesus was preaching to a great crowd that assembled 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.240 because they wanted to be near him. They wanted 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.060 to hear him speak. And in the crowd there were 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:18.399 some who were devoted followers. They were his 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.860 disciples. There were some in that crowd who 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:23.019 were curious and they wanted to be around the 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:26.360 popular teacher. But there were also some gathered 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.300 in that crowd who were antagonistic and even 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:32.879 hostile to him. And we know such as the leading 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.959 religious officials, the scribes and Pharisees. 00:04:36.650 --> 00:04:39.050 So now in this sermon, the Lord is speaking about 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:43.350 what life in his kingdom looks like. That's really 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:45.930 Matthew 5, 6, and 7. What does life in the kingdom 00:04:45.930 --> 00:04:49.529 of God look like? Study this text. In his kingdom, 00:04:49.629 --> 00:04:52.269 he said, it is those who are poor in spirit and 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:56.029 who mourn are blessed. Doesn't make sense. Poor 00:04:56.029 --> 00:04:58.370 in spirit and mourn? Yeah, you're blessed if 00:04:58.370 --> 00:05:01.209 that is you. In the kingdom of Christ, he says, 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:03.870 it is the meek, not the powerful. It is the merciful, 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:06.579 not the ones who bring revenge. who are blessed 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:10.439 of God. The Lord was contrasting true righteousness, 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:13.720 which by the way is demanded by his kingdom. 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:18.120 He's contrasting that with the pseudo self -righteousness 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.959 of the religious leaders. Now you have to remember, 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.379 at this time, the scribes and Pharisees were 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:25.759 seen really as the ultimate height. They were 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.560 seen as the pinnacle of righteousness. If you 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.339 would have asked anyone on the street of that 00:05:30.339 --> 00:05:33.220 day, scribes and Pharisees, they were it. They 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:36.060 were the ones closest to God. And the word Jesus, 00:05:36.180 --> 00:05:37.839 he's talking to those people who gathered and 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.519 he says, you must rise above them. Matthew 5, 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:45.639 20. For I say to you that unless your righteousness 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:49.160 exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:51.939 don't come into the kingdom. You will be excluded 00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:55.920 if you don't rise above them. Now, the scribes 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:58.120 and Pharisees, we know, although they were religious 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:01.720 figures, they had badly misinterpreted and badly 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:06.189 misrepresented the word of God. In fact, they 00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:08.709 had created their own traditions, man -made of 00:06:08.709 --> 00:06:11.089 course, and they were elevating them to a status 00:06:11.089 --> 00:06:14.110 that was at least on par, equal with or higher 00:06:14.110 --> 00:06:17.490 to God's law. That's what they felt. So they 00:06:17.490 --> 00:06:19.889 had laws on everything. Laws on how you should 00:06:19.889 --> 00:06:22.930 dress. Laws on how and when you should pray. 00:06:23.850 --> 00:06:25.810 Laws on how you should wash your hands before 00:06:25.810 --> 00:06:28.449 eating or having come in contact with a Gentile. 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:31.490 So for the scribes and Pharisees, in particular 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:34.519 for the Pharisees, For them, righteousness was 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:37.939 not a gift received from God. Rather, righteousness 00:06:37.939 --> 00:06:41.759 was earned what they presumably did for God. 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:46.079 This was their error. And so by elevating their 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:48.680 own rules and their own traditions, they began 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.680 to assume that if someone broke one of their 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.279 traditions, one of their interpretations of the 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:58.120 law, well, that was akin to breaking the law 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.370 of God. And because of that, These religious 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:06.290 leaders became very censorious. They were hypercritical. 00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:10.370 They were finding fault with everyone, including 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:13.569 Jesus, the sinless son of God. That's how far 00:07:13.569 --> 00:07:16.250 they had gone. They hypocritically condemned 00:07:16.250 --> 00:07:18.850 others who did not somehow live up to their own 00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:21.470 traditions. So if you didn't dress like them, 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:23.709 if you didn't eat like them, if you didn't pray 00:07:23.709 --> 00:07:26.250 like them and observe the ceremonies that they 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:28.730 thought you should observe, then you were condemned 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:32.290 by them. And Jesus said they were self -righteous 00:07:32.290 --> 00:07:35.610 hypocrites. The worst part of this is they were 00:07:35.610 --> 00:07:39.970 blind to their own sin. They would really severely 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:43.149 condemn others without ever taking the time to 00:07:43.149 --> 00:07:45.269 examine their own lives and see the sin that 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:48.649 was so very present there. Now what about us 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:52.490 today? Human nature has not really changed. The 00:07:52.490 --> 00:07:55.009 Lord knows human nature. He knows our tendency 00:07:55.009 --> 00:07:57.720 that each of us has. So to take the truth of 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:01.379 God and turn that into hypocrisy as well. See, 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:04.040 if not careful, you and I today easily become 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:08.800 just like the Pharisees, albeit not or unknowingly. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.939 It is far easier to apply the truth to other 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:16.860 people than to apply the truth to ourselves. 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:20.360 It is far easier. Therefore, the Lord in this 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:22.839 passage, he's commanding his disciples, you must 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.860 first apply the truth to yourself. before you 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:29.379 ever seek to apply it to anyone else. He does 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:32.659 not want modern day Pharisees. He does not want 00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:35.919 hypocritical disciples. Now therefore, he's using 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.980 the Pharisees and their hypocrisy as a backdrop 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:43.100 to teach his followers, how should you properly 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:47.559 relate to one another in his kingdom? In his 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:51.000 kingdom, he says, you are not to judge and condemn 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.700 your brother. Don't judge and condemn your brother. 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:55.929 Instead, and we're not there if you look down 00:08:55.929 --> 00:08:58.110 at verse 12, you see the golden rule, chapter 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:01.029 7, verse 12. Instead, you are to do unto others 00:09:01.029 --> 00:09:03.210 as you would have or want them to do unto you. 00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:06.889 This is life in his kingdom. But now, if we're 00:09:06.889 --> 00:09:08.750 looking at this, do not judge, the very first 00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:11.110 thing I want to begin with is, let's start with 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:14.830 what these verses do not mean. Clearly, Christ 00:09:14.830 --> 00:09:17.669 was not saying that we are never to pass judgment 00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:20.909 on anything. And there are many different ways 00:09:20.909 --> 00:09:24.080 this can be done. For example, judicially, we 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.700 know it is good for a judge to pass judgment. 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:30.899 Authority has been granted to the courts, to 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:33.659 the judicial system for this purpose. If not, 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.580 you have anarchy. But it's not just the courts. 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:39.620 Even you and I as individuals are called to make 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:43.600 judgment calls about people. Now that sounds 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.879 a little counterintuitive. But for example, take 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:51.139 Proverbs 13 .20. It says, He who walks with wise 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:58.679 men, Now, so what's that mean? You need to seek 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:01.940 out wise men and you need to avoid fools. But 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:04.200 how can you walk with wise men or steer clear 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:09.080 of the fools unless you first discern who the 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:12.220 wise are and who the fools are? You're called 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:15.720 to be discerning here. The church, it is also 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:19.639 called to then judge behavior and pass judgment. 00:10:19.950 --> 00:10:22.470 authority has been granted to the church for 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:25.070 this purpose. There is some ecclesiastical authority 00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:28.309 granted to her. Let me give an example. Let's 00:10:28.309 --> 00:10:30.409 say a member of the church is found out to be 00:10:30.409 --> 00:10:33.190 in an adulterous relationship and he then protests, 00:10:33.470 --> 00:10:36.769 hey, don't judge me, only God can judge me. And 00:10:36.769 --> 00:10:39.309 you will hear that at times. Friends, the scriptures 00:10:39.309 --> 00:10:41.830 have already judged the sinfulness of the act. 00:10:42.529 --> 00:10:45.039 We're not making a judgment on the act. God has 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.580 made a judgment call in the act. It is the responsibility 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.360 of the church, though, to go after that brother 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:53.679 and seek his repentance. This is what we must 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:57.139 do. Now, Paul dealt with this at Corinth. And 00:10:57.139 --> 00:10:58.679 I think it's so instructive because it helps 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:02.120 us understand what the text does not say. Because 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:05.580 it's been badly misinterpreted. In 1 Corinthians 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.159 5, you have a unique situation there at the church 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.080 at Corinth. You have a man who's a member of 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:11.899 the church, and he's having an affair, it says, 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:14.259 with his father's wife. It's his stepmother, 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:19.039 not his mother. Look at verse 1. It is actually 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.700 reported that there is sexual immorality among 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:25.139 you and such sexual immorality as is not even 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:28.879 named among the Gentiles that a man has his father's 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:32.799 wife. And you, church, are puffed up and have 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:34.559 not rather mourned that he who has done this 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.840 deed might be taken away from among you. Look 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.820 at verse 3. For I indeed, as absent in body, 00:11:41.539 --> 00:11:43.460 Present in spirit, now notice the next phrase, 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.580 have already judged, he said, as though I were 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:51.100 present, him who has so done this deed. Verse 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:53.440 4, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:55.019 you are gathered together, that's what we're 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.460 doing this morning, along with my spirit, with 00:11:57.460 --> 00:12:00.440 the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:04.799 a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:08.799 It seems harsh. Why? So that his spirit may be 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:13.159 saved in the day of the Lord. Your glorying church 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.299 is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:19.179 leavens a whole lump? Therefore purge out the 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:21.919 old leaven, that you may be a new lump. Since 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.259 you truly are unleavened, for indeed Christ our 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:30.460 Passover was sacrificed for us. The eminent apostle 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:35.360 Paul said, notice, he had already judged this 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.320 sinning man. He used the word, by the way, judge. 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:41.840 And he's calling for him to be excommunicated 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:44.179 from the church. He says, let him be taken away 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:46.620 from among you. And not only that, turned over 00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:50.779 to Satan. He's outside the kingdom of God. What's 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:55.799 the deal? The church cannot tolerate open, flagrant 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.240 sin. It is a stain upon the holy name of Christ. 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:04.320 Now, oftentimes, in attempt to argue and justify 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.779 symbol... sinful behavior, there are some immature 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:09.820 believers who will ask this question, and I've 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:12.039 been asked this before. Okay, so we're supposed 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.279 to get out the big sinners, right, Pastor? But 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:16.000 what about the other sinners? I mean, what about 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.279 the glutton? What about the man who overeats? 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:20.340 Are you going to kick him out as well? I mean, 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:24.580 after all, all sin is sin. Now, they're doing 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:28.139 this to justify their own behavior. But here's 00:13:28.139 --> 00:13:31.309 a lie. And some of you may really have never 00:13:31.309 --> 00:13:33.429 heard this before, but here's a lie that many 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:35.690 Christians, particularly today, have embraced, 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:39.190 and this is the lie, that all sin is the same. 00:13:39.649 --> 00:13:42.629 You hear it all the time. Sin is sin, Pastor. 00:13:43.509 --> 00:13:45.450 Yeah, you might have committed adultery, but 00:13:45.450 --> 00:13:49.990 you overate. Sin is sin. Well, it is true that 00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:53.250 all sin is breaking God's law. It is also true 00:13:53.250 --> 00:13:56.419 that all sin comes short of God's glory. All 00:13:56.419 --> 00:14:00.279 sin is an affront to the holiness of God. All 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:05.480 sin will be judged. However, the Bible clearly 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:08.980 shows that some sins are more consequential and 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:11.679 serious than others based upon their nature, 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.980 their consequence, and the intent behind them. 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:18.440 God clearly deals with different sins. And you 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:20.460 see this in the Old Testament, for example. The 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:25.419 adulterer, he died. He was stoned. The glutton 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:28.559 did not. We find this all throughout the scriptures. 00:14:28.820 --> 00:14:31.320 Some sins such as idolatry, we read about it 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.820 in Isaiah 2. Murder. Again, I've been just using 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.240 adultery as an easy one here. They cost you your 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:40.539 life. But other sins were dealt with by bringing 00:14:40.539 --> 00:14:44.460 an offering. You didn't die for them. Now Jesus 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:46.980 said in John 19, listen to the words of our Lord. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.440 He's speaking to Pilate there on that fateful 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.559 day when he'd been arrested. He tells Pilate, 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:56.120 you can have no power at all against me unless 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.480 it had been given to you from above. Therefore, 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:03.840 the one who has delivered me to you has the greater 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:06.980 sin. There's more sin because I was turned over 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.700 than what you're doing to me. In Matthew 11, 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:11.759 Jesus speaking about these cities that had seen 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.860 his mighty acts. Then he began to rebuke the 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:15.580 cities in which most of his mighty works had 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.860 been done. Why? They didn't repent. They saw 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:20.299 the miraculous hand of God. The Messiah was sent. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:22.960 He does the impossible. They would not repent, 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:25.960 and he says, I tell you, it will be more tolerable 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:29.139 for Tyre and Sidon, he later says, for Sodom 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:32.259 and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment than for 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:34.600 you. You will be judged more harshly because 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:38.279 you had greater light. All sin, as I said, is 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:40.539 an affront to God. And yes, it will be judged, 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:44.039 but not all sin is as equally consequential, 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:47.399 which is why not all sin requires church discipline. 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:50.679 That's why we don't go after the person who ate 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:54.340 seven pieces of pizza. Yes, it's gluttony. Yes, 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:56.659 they ought not to do it. But let's not try to 00:15:56.659 --> 00:16:00.159 make a moral equivalency either. John 7, 24, 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:03.220 Jesus said this. He said, judge not according 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:08.100 to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:12.299 What? Okay, Matthew 7 .1, don't judge. John 7 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.539 .24, he says, judge righteous judgment. From 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:17.419 that passage alone, it is very clear that God 00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:19.779 does not forbid us from ever making a judgment 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:22.179 call. In fact, we are to judge. It just needs 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:24.500 to be done righteously. Well, how do you do that? 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.019 Let's look at the passage again. So what is our 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:29.440 Lord forbidding? What are you not to judge as 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.500 the people of God? First of all, you don't judge 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:36.799 motives. You can't. Only God can see the true 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:39.730 motives of someone's heart. Friend, let me say 00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:41.909 this. You may think you know why they did it, 00:16:41.929 --> 00:16:45.570 but you can never with assurance know why someone 00:16:45.570 --> 00:16:49.049 did or did not do something regardless of how 00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:52.090 much you think you know about them. You cannot 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:55.450 judge their motives. Instead, you and I as Christians 00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:57.509 are called to walk in love and we are called 00:16:57.509 --> 00:17:01.250 to give the benefit of the doubt. The Bible says 00:17:01.250 --> 00:17:03.590 in 1 Corinthians 13, love believes all things. 00:17:03.750 --> 00:17:06.250 That does not mean that love is naive, but it 00:17:06.250 --> 00:17:08.730 means love believes the best about our brother 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:10.670 and sister and I'm not going to judge their motives. 00:17:11.730 --> 00:17:15.410 I don't see the heart. Secondly we are not to 00:17:15.410 --> 00:17:17.609 judge merely by appearance. That's what Jesus 00:17:17.609 --> 00:17:20.849 said in John 7 24. For example those gathered 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:23.289 that day the most righteous looking people of 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:26.150 the day were the Pharisees. But Jesus said hey 00:17:26.150 --> 00:17:28.049 don't judge by appearance. These people only 00:17:28.049 --> 00:17:30.650 look righteous. In fact they're whitewashed tombs 00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:35.720 that only look good on the outside. Third. Don't 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:38.279 judge those who have conscientious scruples about 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:41.299 matters that are not right or wrong. This is 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:42.740 the weaker brother, stronger brother. And we 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:44.200 looked at this in the book of Romans, so I'm 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.539 not going to spend a lot of time there. But friend, 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:49.119 let me just say this. Don't judge your brother 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:52.519 who has a different preference than you. What 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:55.079 do you mean? It may be which version of the Bible 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.640 you carry. Don't argue. Walk in love. It may 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.720 be what someone should wear to church. Don't 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.799 argue. Walk in love. It may be whether someone 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.259 can watch TV on Sunday afternoon or not. Don't 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:11.759 argue. Walk in love. It may be what their view 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.299 of eschatology in the end times may be. Don't 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:18.319 argue. Walk in love. Paul is saying in Romans, 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:21.880 Jesus saying in John 7, don't injure one another 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:25.799 about non -essential things. You are not to judge 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.519 your brothers in these matters. You are to walk 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:32.190 in charity. You are to walk in love. Lastly, 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:35.950 what it does not mean. You need to stop magnifying 00:18:35.950 --> 00:18:39.009 the sins of others while minimizing your own. 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:42.210 And this is what the Lord is getting at. He is 00:18:42.210 --> 00:18:46.529 condemning a hasty, fault -finding spirit that 00:18:46.529 --> 00:18:49.869 the Pharisees possessed. He commanded his disciples 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:53.130 not to be censorious, not to be severely critical. 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:56.009 So in essence, don't be the person who finds 00:18:56.009 --> 00:19:01.240 fault with everyone. Discerning? Yes. Hypercritical? 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:05.099 No. Now this word judge is interesting. Judge 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:07.079 not. The word is actually in Greek. It's krino. 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:09.680 And it has a variety of meanings, a variety of 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.700 nuances. It can mean to pronounce an opinion 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:15.440 concerning something right or wrong. But the 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:17.900 way it's being used here, it also has the idea 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:22.700 of condemning. Don't condemn. And the idea that 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:24.339 Jesus is getting at, because remember, who's 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:28.190 gathered? Scribes and Pharisees. The idea is 00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:30.869 do not be like these Pharisees who condemned 00:19:30.869 --> 00:19:34.609 those who did not follow their own way. So this 00:19:34.609 --> 00:19:36.430 could literally be translated, and it would be 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:39.470 a fine translation, don't condemn so that you 00:19:39.470 --> 00:19:42.490 be not condemned. That would be a good translation 00:19:42.490 --> 00:19:45.750 as well. Now earlier in the sermon, Jesus has 00:19:45.750 --> 00:19:49.470 already told us the one who shows no mercy receives 00:19:49.470 --> 00:19:52.829 no mercy. The one who will not forgive others, 00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:55.390 Jesus said this, not your pastor, Jesus said 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:57.650 the one who does not forgive, will not be forgiven. 00:19:58.349 --> 00:20:02.990 The one who condemns you too will be condemned. 00:20:03.630 --> 00:20:06.529 In fact he said the measure that you use to judge 00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:10.170 someone else that very same standard that very 00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:11.890 measure will be used against you in the day of 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:16.289 judgment. Robert Mount said this Jesus does not 00:20:16.289 --> 00:20:19.410 ask us to lay aside our critical faculties but 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:22.089 rather to resist the urge to speak harshly of 00:20:22.089 --> 00:20:25.059 others. The issue is serious in that God will 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:27.180 judge us by the same standard that we apply to 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:30.960 others. This rather frightening truth should 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:32.779 change the way in which we tend to view other 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:36.559 people's failings. Friends, we need to take seriously 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.839 the words of our Lord. Our Lord is very concerned 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:42.799 about the attitude that finds fault with others 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.119 while being oblivious and blind to your own. 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:50.279 That's the problem here. What really lies behind 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:54.579 this sin of judging others? It's self -righteousness. 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.220 You somehow think you're more righteous than 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:00.099 they. Martin Lloyd -Jones, he said, if we ever 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:02.400 know the feeling of being rather pleased when 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:05.380 we hear something unpleasant about another, that 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:08.599 is the wrong spirit. If we are jealous or envious 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:11.640 and then suddenly hear that the one of whom we 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:13.779 are jealous or envious has made a mistake and 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:15.920 find that there is an immediate sense of pleasure 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:20.400 with us, that's it. That's the condition which 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.990 leads to this spirit of judgment. It's when you're 00:21:23.990 --> 00:21:25.650 happy that someone kind of just rubbed you the 00:21:25.650 --> 00:21:27.289 wrong way, when you find out they're not doing 00:21:27.289 --> 00:21:29.670 well, and you're like, ah, you kind of take joy 00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:32.750 in that. Now there's a consequence to this. Look 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:35.589 at verse 2. For with the judgment you judge, 00:21:35.769 --> 00:21:39.329 you will be judged. And with the measure you 00:21:39.329 --> 00:21:42.109 use, it will be measured back to you. Can you 00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:43.450 imagine saying it before the Almighty on the 00:21:43.450 --> 00:21:45.769 day of judgment? What do you want from him on 00:21:45.769 --> 00:21:50.390 that day? You want mercy. But he's going to use 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:52.109 a measure that you've used against other people? 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:54.990 See, you're not the final judge and you're not 00:21:54.990 --> 00:21:58.589 in the final court. That's reserved for God alone. 00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:02.750 James says, there is one lawgiver who is able 00:22:02.750 --> 00:22:07.930 to save and to destroy. Who are you than to judge 00:22:07.930 --> 00:22:12.390 another? Who are you? David Gusick in his commentary, 00:22:12.549 --> 00:22:15.069 he says, we judge others by one standard and 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:17.470 ourselves by another standard, being far more 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:21.039 generous to ourselves than others. With the measure 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:23.900 you use, it will be measured back to you. This 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.839 is the person that when they're found out, they're 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:27.259 like, okay, yeah, I might have been wrong, but 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:29.119 I didn't really mean it that way. God knows my 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:32.220 heart. See, you want mercy. You want people to 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:34.700 be understanding of you. But you don't offer 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:38.519 that back to them. When we judge others, Jesus 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.839 said, God will judge us by the very standard 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:45.670 we used. And that's very serious to me. Weber 00:22:45.670 --> 00:22:47.890 says, do not judge others until you are prepared 00:22:47.890 --> 00:22:52.569 to be judged by the same standard. If you judge 00:22:52.569 --> 00:22:56.769 harshly, you will be judged harshly. But if you 00:22:56.769 --> 00:23:00.170 judge others generously, then the idea is God 00:23:00.170 --> 00:23:03.609 will judge you generously. In James, that second 00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:06.529 chapter, which is a thorn in the flesh for many, 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:10.950 James chapter 2, verse 13. Here we hear the words 00:23:10.950 --> 00:23:15.410 coming from God through the writer. For judgment 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:19.329 is without mercy to the one who has shown no 00:23:19.329 --> 00:23:24.869 mercy. Those who receive mercy from God show 00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:28.069 mercy to others. Friends, it's all throughout 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:31.410 the New Testament. Matthew 5, 7, blessed are 00:23:31.410 --> 00:23:33.890 the merciful. Why are the merciful blessed? He 00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:36.869 said, for they shall obtain mercy. Now, does 00:23:36.869 --> 00:23:40.069 that mean then that somehow we earn? Before God 00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:43.470 merit by showing mercy? Does showing mercy gain 00:23:43.470 --> 00:23:46.650 us an entrance into the kingdom of God? No. Of 00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:49.509 course not. We're saved by grace through faith. 00:23:49.710 --> 00:23:51.829 And that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. 00:23:51.849 --> 00:23:55.650 Not of works. So that no man may boast. But what 00:23:55.650 --> 00:23:57.690 it does mean is those who have entered into the 00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:00.490 kingdom by God's grace. They reveal their change 00:24:00.490 --> 00:24:03.450 of nature. They reveal the new birth. How? By 00:24:03.450 --> 00:24:07.069 being like their Lord in showing mercy. And those 00:24:07.069 --> 00:24:09.900 who are not like that. have not been born again 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:15.220 of grace. Listen, this is to us. Jesus is saying, 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:19.599 this is life in my kingdom. Well, what do I do? 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:23.799 Consider yourself. Look at verses 3 and 4. Why 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:25.220 do you look at the speck in your brother's eye 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:26.980 and do not consider the plank in your own eye? 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:30.180 How can he say to your brother, let me remove 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:33.200 that speck from your eye, and yet the whole time 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:36.160 you have a plank in your own? The word speck 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:39.640 there, it means twig. The word plank, it's a 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:43.079 log. I mean, do you see, now obviously Jesus 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.420 is speaking in hyperbole, but can you see the 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:48.660 absurdity of the situation? You have a man with 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.559 a log protruding from his eye, and he sees a 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.460 man over here with a little splinter in his, 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:55.099 and he says, hey, let me help you with that. 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:57.200 Let me help you get that splinter out of your 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:01.000 eye. Jesus is saying, the obvious answer, if 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.119 you really want to help someone else, the best 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:05.900 thing you can do is get that big log protruding 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:09.480 from your own eye out. So then you're going to 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.180 see more clearly to be able to help your brother 00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:14.859 with his problem. Here's what Jesus is saying, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.140 and let's not miss it. The sin of the one who 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:21.400 judges is much larger than the sin of the one 00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:24.519 being judged. The sin of the one who judges is 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:26.759 the one with the log. And the sin of the one 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.400 being judged is the one with the twig. Again, 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:32.000 what our Lord is aiming at, it's self -righteousness. 00:25:32.430 --> 00:25:34.690 At the core, the self -righteous person will 00:25:34.690 --> 00:25:37.630 always do this. Minimize their own sin and magnify 00:25:37.630 --> 00:25:40.049 the sins of other people. They have to do that 00:25:40.049 --> 00:25:41.750 because they have to look good in front of others. 00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:44.730 And Jesus is saying, here's the key in my kingdom. 00:25:44.869 --> 00:25:47.490 You have to deal first with your own sin before 00:25:47.490 --> 00:25:49.630 trying to help someone else deal with theirs. 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:54.130 Only, it is only after you have dealt with your 00:25:54.130 --> 00:25:58.250 sin that you will be sufficiently humble to be 00:25:58.250 --> 00:26:00.970 able to help someone else with their sin. See, 00:26:01.009 --> 00:26:03.759 the Pharisees were not. They looked good, but 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.319 they weren't really interested in helping others. 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:07.640 They were interested in condemning others. Why? 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.980 Because in condemning others, it made a comparison 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:12.980 point, and they looked so much brighter. They 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:15.240 looked all the better. And that's what their 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:20.259 goal was. Verse 5, hypocrites, Jesus said. First, 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:22.400 get the plank out of your own eye. That's what 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.920 these Pharisees were. They were just simply hypocrites, 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:28.200 pretending. Pseudo -righteousness is what they 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:31.420 had. The problem with the hypocrite is that he 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.259 fails to apply the same judgment to his own life 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:36.740 that he willingly applies to his brother's life. 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:41.319 That is wrong. Far more interested in finding 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.680 fault than actually helping. If these people 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:46.859 had been interested in righteousness, they would 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:49.920 have seen that they too had fallen so far short 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:52.099 of God's glory and would also have cried out 00:26:52.099 --> 00:26:56.309 for mercy. But they didn't do that. This is what 00:26:56.309 --> 00:26:58.250 I believe is the key to life in the kingdom. 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.690 It is only when you and I have been humbled before 00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:06.630 a holy God, truly humbled, that we are in a position 00:27:06.630 --> 00:27:09.250 to help other people with their sin. Because 00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:12.369 you understand your own depravity. If you and 00:27:12.369 --> 00:27:17.089 I could truly see what we are before God, apart 00:27:17.089 --> 00:27:20.950 from Christ. Imagine standing before him apart 00:27:20.950 --> 00:27:23.900 from Christ. I don't believe we would ever judge 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:26.359 anyone again realizing we have no foundation 00:27:26.359 --> 00:27:30.420 on which to stand. Oswald Chambers wrote this, 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:33.480 and I love this quote. Here's a pious, godly 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:36.880 man. He said, I have never met the man that I 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:39.559 could despair of after discerning what lies in 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:44.279 me apart from the grace of God. He's not just 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:46.980 saying that, by the way. He feels that. He knows 00:27:46.980 --> 00:27:49.210 that to be true. See, if you're going to remove 00:27:49.210 --> 00:27:51.710 the log from your own eye, this is to realize, 00:27:51.890 --> 00:27:53.609 friends, this is to realize you have the same 00:27:53.609 --> 00:27:57.589 capacity to sin as your brother. It could be 00:27:57.589 --> 00:28:00.569 you. So what's the answer? What's the conclusion? 00:28:00.710 --> 00:28:03.190 Look at verse 6. Now this seems a little disjointed. 00:28:04.890 --> 00:28:08.089 Don't give what is holy to dogs, and don't cast 00:28:08.089 --> 00:28:11.670 your pearls before swine. How does that fit in? 00:28:12.950 --> 00:28:15.329 Well, Jesus has told his followers, don't judge, 00:28:15.549 --> 00:28:19.140 right? They are not to judge. But that did not 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:22.740 preclude them from being discerning. Although 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:24.599 you're not called to judge, you are called to 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:27.420 be discerning. The Lord commanded. Now notice 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:29.059 what he's commanding here. Don't give what is 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:33.079 holy to dogs and don't throw your pearls to pigs 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:36.299 is what he's saying. First of all, think about 00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:40.539 this. How can you obey this command, just like 00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:44.019 earlier, unless you discern who is a dog and 00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:46.099 who is a pig? Because that's what he's talking 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:49.410 about. Now again, we have to learn to be discerning 00:28:49.410 --> 00:28:52.609 of others without ever becoming hypercritical 00:28:52.609 --> 00:28:55.529 or censorious. We don't want to do that. Now 00:28:55.529 --> 00:28:57.509 the dogs that Jesus was referring to, these are 00:28:57.509 --> 00:28:59.450 not domesticated pets like you and I have today, 00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:01.950 but they were wild animals that terrorized towns 00:29:01.950 --> 00:29:04.490 and villages. They were unclean to the Jews. 00:29:04.849 --> 00:29:08.470 Pigs were also vile and unclean animals before 00:29:08.470 --> 00:29:11.009 the Jews. They were off limits. And Jesus is 00:29:11.009 --> 00:29:13.569 purposely using these two types of animals to 00:29:13.569 --> 00:29:16.410 convey a point. But he speaks of holy things. 00:29:16.970 --> 00:29:20.069 And pearls. He said don't throw holy things to 00:29:20.069 --> 00:29:23.650 the dogs. Don't cast pearls to swine. What are 00:29:23.650 --> 00:29:25.789 the holy things? What are the pearls he's referring 00:29:25.789 --> 00:29:29.750 to? He's talking about life in his kingdom. And 00:29:29.750 --> 00:29:33.450 he's really rebuking the Pharisees here. The 00:29:33.450 --> 00:29:36.109 pearls and the holy things are the truth of the 00:29:36.109 --> 00:29:39.549 gospel. It is the gospel of Christ's kingdom. 00:29:40.309 --> 00:29:44.089 Those who persistently reject the gospel. Those 00:29:44.089 --> 00:29:48.640 who mock the truth of Christ. are the dogs and 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:51.680 pigs Christ is speaking of. Now this does not 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:54.839 refer to all unbelievers. It's referring to the 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:57.900 active enemies of the gospel. In this case, the 00:29:57.900 --> 00:29:59.700 self -righteous Pharisees, why were they there? 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.900 They just wanted to trip him up. They wanted 00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:03.460 to catch him in something. They wanted to see 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:05.180 if he's going to make a mistake with his words. 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:08.660 They're his enemies here. How do you see the 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:10.640 Lord responding to them? In the scriptures, if 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:12.859 you read through the New Testament. When the 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:14.779 Lord Jesus had to deal with these self -righteous 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:17.940 leaders, he did so often with harsh denunciations 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.299 because they hated the truth and they did not 00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:25.500 want it. He did not reveal truth to them. He 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:28.640 excluded them from it. We also, though, see the 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:31.599 very same Lord dealing with extreme compassion 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:35.779 with a scandalous woman at a well there in John 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:40.039 4. Why? She was open to the truth. To the self 00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:44.990 -righteous? Harsh judgment. To the humble or 00:30:44.990 --> 00:30:47.029 one seeking the truth, there was compassion and 00:30:47.029 --> 00:30:49.529 mercy. You see the same thing in the book of 00:30:49.529 --> 00:30:51.769 Acts. The apostle Paul, when he would take the 00:30:51.769 --> 00:30:54.269 gospel, where did he go first? To the synagogues. 00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:56.289 He would go to the synagogue and he would always 00:30:56.289 --> 00:30:58.470 preach, he said, to the Jew first and then to 00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:00.710 the Greek. He would always go take the gospel 00:31:00.710 --> 00:31:04.049 to his own people first. But what happened? By 00:31:04.049 --> 00:31:06.289 and large, they rejected his message and they 00:31:06.289 --> 00:31:08.190 would often even beat Paul because of what he's 00:31:08.190 --> 00:31:11.720 preaching. And what do you see Paul do? You see 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:15.559 him get up, shake the dust from his feet, and 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:17.339 turn around and proclaim, your blood be upon 00:31:17.339 --> 00:31:22.559 your head. He doesn't go back. He would not cast 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:25.779 his pearls before swine. You don't want the truth, 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:29.519 you won't have the truth. Again, I want to quote 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:32.599 Lord Jones here. He says, here you see a people, 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:34.720 or people, to whom the truth has been presented. 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.299 It's not ignorant people. But they did the very 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:40.779 thing our Lord prophesied. Just as dogs and swine, 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:43.559 they turned again, they opposed, they blasphemed, 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:45.920 and they stamped the truth under their feet. 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:49.460 Friends, this is the saddest of all indictments 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:51.519 against these religious leaders. The ones who 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:53.420 are supposedly leading in the truth are the ones 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:55.440 whose truth is being hidden and excluded from. 00:31:56.220 --> 00:32:01.220 The gospel is for all people. But there are some 00:32:01.220 --> 00:32:03.920 who are so hardened in heart, so blinded by their 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:06.680 sin, that they hate the gospel, they hate the 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:09.980 Christ, they hate the truth, and they just use 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:13.420 it as an opportunity to blaspheme God. That's 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:16.380 all they do. It's a mockery. We don't keep casting 00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:19.259 our pearls before them. We don't keep casting 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:21.240 our pearls before those who hate Christ and his 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:24.559 kingdom. We don't hate them. God forbid, absolutely 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:28.099 not. But we do not spend all of our time giving 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:30.240 them holy things that they will not appreciate. 00:32:31.619 --> 00:32:35.420 Matthew 10. Notice what Jesus said. He sends 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:37.440 out his disciples. He said, now whatever city 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:40.819 or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy 00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:43.700 and stay there till you go out. And when you 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:46.640 go into a household, greet it. If the household 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.680 is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if 00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:50.700 it's not worthy, let your peace or blessing return 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:52.920 to you. If it's not worthy, don't bless them. 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:56.380 But verse 14. Notice the words of Christ. This 00:32:56.380 --> 00:32:58.019 may sound harsh, but it's the words of Jesus. 00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:02.119 And whoever will not receive you, how are they 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:03.559 not receiving? They are not going to hear your 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:06.019 words. When you depart from that house or you 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:09.420 depart from that city, shake off the dust from 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:12.380 your feet. You're done. You did what you could. 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:16.779 Our job is we pray that God and his infinite 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:18.839 mercy and grace might bring them to repentance, 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:21.980 but we don't keep giving the enemies of God a 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:25.079 reason to blaspheme. Don't cast your pearls before 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:28.900 swine. Why? The pig has no ability to appreciate 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:32.839 the value of a pearl. They don't ever stop. And 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:35.660 a dog is not concerned with holy meat that only 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:38.799 priests should eat. What he's saying is don't 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:41.180 keep giving things to people who have no appreciation 00:33:41.180 --> 00:33:44.039 for the truth that you're telling. Don't keep 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:47.539 doing it. God's gifts are not to be laid open 00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:50.460 to abuse, R .T. Franson's commentary, or his 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:53.799 truth to mockery. Some people are just mockers. 00:33:54.619 --> 00:33:56.359 They hate Christ, they hate his kingdom, they 00:33:56.359 --> 00:33:59.940 hate his gospel. They're not interested in the 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:04.259 truth. So don't keep going. They have judged 00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:07.119 themselves unworthy of the kingdom. And there's 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:08.960 not a thing you can do apart from the supernatural 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:12.579 work of God in their hearts. So what do we do 00:34:12.579 --> 00:34:14.739 in light of this passage as we close? Now what? 00:34:16.360 --> 00:34:18.500 Life in the kingdom seems to be very demanding. 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:21.619 It is. He said, unless you're righteous and succeed, 00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:25.739 scribes and Pharisees, you don't come in. What 00:34:25.739 --> 00:34:28.440 hope do you and I have? Now listen, just careful. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:31.039 Listen to the demands of his kingdom. You must 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:33.659 be merciful or you don't receive mercy. You must 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:36.119 forgive or you will not be forgiven. You must 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:38.440 show proper judgment or you too will be condemned. 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:42.960 All of us right now, myself included, we all 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:44.719 feel, I know that I'm going to fail in this. 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:52.539 Lord, how can I do this? I'm going to fail. And 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:55.699 that's the whole point. You know you can't do 00:34:55.699 --> 00:34:58.980 it. And my prayer is that it does lead you to 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:02.199 despair. But I want you to just turn back to 00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:04.800 chapter 5 verse 3. And as we close. The very 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:07.659 first beatitude. The very first that the Lord 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:09.400 pronounced when he began this sermon. The very 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:11.320 first one. And it's the first one by design. 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:17.360 Jesus said this. Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:35:18.889 --> 00:35:22.829 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You know, 00:35:22.909 --> 00:35:25.630 friend, you know, I hope you know, you can't 00:35:25.630 --> 00:35:27.610 do this. You can't live up to the demands of 00:35:27.610 --> 00:35:32.030 the kingdom. You fall short. So what do you and 00:35:32.030 --> 00:35:35.750 I do today? We cast ourselves upon the mercy 00:35:35.750 --> 00:35:39.710 of God and find salvation's rest. Blessed are 00:35:39.710 --> 00:35:43.070 the poor in spirit, the ones who are bankrupt, 00:35:43.250 --> 00:35:46.110 patakos, patokos. You know you don't have it. 00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:48.860 Abject poverty of spirits, what he's saying. 00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:52.380 That's a good place. Because the kingdom of God 00:35:52.380 --> 00:35:55.480 is yours. This is life in the kingdom. It's to 00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:58.380 the one who recognizes his own inability. And 00:35:58.380 --> 00:36:00.340 I close with this text right here. This is our 00:36:00.340 --> 00:36:03.059 last scripture here. Jesus told a parable and 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:05.300 it helps us. And I love this parable. May it 00:36:05.300 --> 00:36:07.199 be stamped upon our minds and upon our hearts 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:10.980 forever. In Luke chapter 18. Two men went up 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:13.380 to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, a self 00:36:13.380 --> 00:36:15.659 -respected leader of the people. The other a 00:36:15.659 --> 00:36:18.000 tax collector, a publican, a despised person. 00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:20.800 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. 00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:23.039 God, I thank you that I'm not like other men. 00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:26.039 I'm pretty good. I'm not an extortioner. I'm 00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:28.500 not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not even 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:32.480 like this guy here. I fast twice a week. I give 00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:35.360 tithes of all that I possess. And it could go 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:37.139 on. And all those things are probably true, by 00:36:37.139 --> 00:36:40.000 the way. And here you have that tax collector 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:42.539 who's hated by his own people, standing afar 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:44.719 off knowing he's not worthy, he's poor in spirit. 00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:47.260 He wouldn't even raise his eyes to heaven. Why? 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:49.000 Because he knows I don't have a right to even 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:51.920 look up to heaven. Instead, he beat upon his 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:54.880 breast saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 00:36:56.219 --> 00:37:00.179 Listen to the words of Jesus. I tell you, this 00:37:00.179 --> 00:37:02.960 man, that latter one, he went down to his house 00:37:02.960 --> 00:37:06.820 justified rather than the other. For everyone 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:09.920 who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:14.599 who humbles himself will be exalted. You must 00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:19.079 understand, friends, your own depravity and inability 00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:22.480 before a holy God. You do not have what it takes. 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:26.139 Life in this kingdom is too demanding. You need 00:37:26.139 --> 00:37:30.300 the grace of God to rescue you. You and I, the 00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:33.280 ones who have seen our sin, and we've cast out... 00:37:33.289 --> 00:37:36.110 our sin upon him and beg for the mercy of God. 00:37:36.570 --> 00:37:40.190 Today, right now, you're invited. Jesus invites 00:37:40.190 --> 00:37:42.269 us to go share a meal with him. We're invited 00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:44.650 to come to the table and share a covenantal meal 00:37:44.650 --> 00:37:47.650 with him. This is a family meal. It's those who 00:37:47.650 --> 00:37:49.750 know their own depravity, who've come to Christ 00:37:49.750 --> 00:37:51.929 for salvation, who've received the covenant sign 00:37:51.929 --> 00:37:54.710 of baptism, testified before a dying world that 00:37:54.710 --> 00:37:57.130 they are marked out for Christ. Jesus has come 00:37:57.130 --> 00:38:00.710 today. In your weakness? Yeah. In your sin? Yes. 00:38:01.250 --> 00:38:04.909 Because why? Today, at the table, you and I remember 00:38:04.909 --> 00:38:08.409 our Lord's death, but we also proclaim something. 00:38:08.489 --> 00:38:11.809 We're preaching something at this sacrament here. 00:38:12.550 --> 00:38:15.949 The entrance into the covenant, entrance into 00:38:15.949 --> 00:38:20.670 the kingdom, is blood bought. It came by the 00:38:20.670 --> 00:38:23.469 broken body and shed blood of the Son of God. 00:38:24.510 --> 00:38:27.750 Let's feast today, church. Not by your righteousness, 00:38:28.150 --> 00:38:31.130 but that which is given to you as a gift of grace. 00:38:31.949 --> 00:38:34.329 Let's pray. Father, thank you this morning, Lord. 00:38:34.489 --> 00:38:38.190 What a wonderful God, richly kind and merciful 00:38:38.190 --> 00:38:39.010 you are to us.