Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Years ago, my wife Christine
and I attended a training conference. As part
of this training, they put us in small groups,
separated us. I went with my small group to a
room. My wife Christine went to another small
group. And there were hundreds of people, I think,
many small groups in our room. And when we got
in the room, they announced, this is the bomb
shelter exercise. And the facilitator took over
and said, You are now in a bomb shelter, and
we're going to pretend the nukes are falling.
They haven't fallen yet. We have time to make
a few decisions before we're locked in here for
a long time. We went through these exercises.
I suppose the leaders were watching to try to
figure out what kind of character we had, how
we could manage group dynamics and things like
that. Went through the exercises, finished. came
out. I returned to the main meeting hall, maybe
as big as this space here, and met Christine,
and she was sobbing. The tears were going down
her face because someone in her bomb shelter,
not the facilitator, someone else kind of assumed
leadership and wanted to vote her out of the
room because she was only a nurse and there was
a doctor outside and they wanted to trade. And
I thought, What kind of guy is that? And I thought,
and she pointed out, there he is over there.
I didn't recognize him. He was a stranger to
me, but I studied his face. Memorizing features.
And I said to myself, self, if that guy ever
tries to work where I work, it ain't going to
happen. I didn't have authority to make that
decision. I would just do whatever I could to
keep someone like that. This was an incident
for me that is a milestone because God dropped
something on my heart. I had something I needed
to learn to judge or not to judge. Because if
there's one scripture, even people that do not
go to church, one scripture many know, it's Jesus'
words, do not judge. What many people don't know
is that within about five breaths, Jesus also
said, do not give what is sacred to dogs. Do
not throw your pearls to pigs. And by context,
he was talking about people. What? Jesus called
people dogs and pigs? He did call certain kinds
of people dogs and pigs. That's judgmental. Right.
Do not judge, but you need to judge. What's going
on here? So as we get into our study for today,
to judge or not to judge, I want to break this
down into three driving questions. First of all,
why is this not a simple question? Shouldn't
the answer just be, do not judge? Isn't that
what we've said to other people? Second driving
question, what kinds of judgment are there? And
third driving question, how do we discern what
kind of judgment to use and when to use it? All
right. So to judge or not to judge. Why is this
not a simple question? What kinds of judgment
are there and how do we discern what kind of
judgment and when to use it? Now, I'm sorry I'm
not doing fancy hand motions and certainly not
a dance, but you can engage in a new way today.
We're going to do some sanctified imagination.
So in a moment, I'm going to ask you to close
your eyes and picture your workstation. I call
it your workstation. For some of us, that's a
private study or an office desk. For some of
you, your workstation. involves more people.
You work mostly in group, maybe a conference
table, maybe a service counter. Some of you work
in an in and out place like a kitchen, a restaurant,
whatever. I need you to choose your common workstation
and I want you to go into your head right now.
Close your eyes. Picture it. You're standing
in it. This is the place you get stuff done.
Look to your left. What's there? Look straight
ahead. What kind of equipment is around you?
Look to the right. Remind yourself of this environment.
You may open your eyes. We will re -enter this
workstation a few times during our talk together,
and I'm going to ask you to rearrange some things.
So let's get into our ideas here. To judge or
not to judge. Why is this not a simple question?
Jesus said it this way. Do not judge or you too
will be judged. For in the same way you judge
others, you will be judged. And with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you. You see,
judgment invites judgment. In the same way you
judge others, it comes back. That can be positive.
If you're a kind person who practices charitable
judgment, when you hear part of a story, and
instead of constructing the rest of the story
with the worst possible scenario, you give them
the benefit of the doubt. That's what love does.
It chooses to think the best until there's evidence
to say otherwise. Old church doctrine called
that the doctrine of charitable judgment. We
can judge well. And that infiltrates. Must be
the beard. Can you still hear me? And that what
we put out as judgment helps create the atmosphere
because judgment invites judgment. And our example
gives other people permission. To do the same
thing. There's an English proverb that says.
What goes around comes around. There's a Thai
proverb that says. Do good get good. Do bad get
bad. What kind of atmosphere do you want in your
workstation? Because Jesus is telling us. That
there is a kind of judgment. That we should not
be practicing. It's what you don't want to get
back. You don't want that harsh, they only heard
part of the story and then they decide they know
your character. You don't want that final summary
portrait of you that they're going to carry around
with bitterness for the rest of their life or
your life. You don't want that. There's a reason
that judges are few and far between and most
of us are not allowed to bang that thing and
declare people guilty. It takes a lot of study.
To control your own emotions, to look carefully
at a case, to decide what evidence is allowed
and what evidence is not allowed, and to decide
which laws apply and which don't, and who is
responsible. That is a huge mental and emotional
discipline to practice. So governments are careful
who they appoint, and judges don't always get
it right. But the idea that we can take someone's
character and say, I know all about them, therefore
they're this kind of person, and that's what
you imagine about them the rest of your life,
that's not our job. God has a gavel, and it's
bigger than ours. So, imagine the gavel, and
please enter your workstation. Close your eyes.
See whatever your workstation is. Whether you're
right -handed or left -handed, if you look, you
didn't notice it before, but you actually have
a gavel up in the corner by your dominant hand.
It's just human habit. It's there. But, keep
imagining, God, your Heavenly Father, enters
your workstation. He taps you on the shoulder.
And he holds out his hand. Now you have a choice.
Will you pick up the gavel and give it up to
him? You may open your eyes. To judge or not
to judge. Why is this not a simple question?
Because the consequences of judging are real.
What we give out can come back. That's not all.
Jesus also said, why do you look at the speck
of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention
to the plank in your own eye? Notice there's
really no action here. It's all just looking
and judging. You got this and you don't notice
anything about yourself. Jesus actually does
not answer the question. He probably thinks we
can figure it out, right? Maybe we're... Why?
Let's see. Why do we do this? Why? Maybe we're
insecure. We don't think well enough of ourselves
that we can admit what's not well about ourselves.
Maybe we're afraid to admit that we have faults.
If that's one of your whys, go watch Zootopia
2. There's a fantastic scene about oversharing.
I recommend it. Maybe we know we're guilty. We
know the log. My hair doesn't grow that fast.
Maybe we know the log is there. And so we're
deflecting attention to other people so people
don't notice. Maybe we think we have the speck
and they have the log. As Tim Pollard says from
Peacemaker Ministries, you may be only 2 % responsible
for a problem, but you are 100 % responsible
for your 2%. If that's something worth thinking
on, consider taking the study Resolving Everyday
Conflict. We offer it live here once, sometimes
twice a year, but it's also available through
RightNow Media. a video Bible study library that
ECB can offer to you. So look up the slides later,
scan the QR code. That will give a form where
you submit the email, and the church will reply
to you and show you how to access this and many
other studies. So, quick observation. Look at
the red boxes. Everything's about looking, noticing.
No intention to actually do anything. What kind
of people are those? But it's a contrast to what
Jesus said next. He kind of sort of repeats himself,
but a little change. How can you say to your
brother or sister, let me take the speck out
of your eye? Good. Now we have action. At least
there's an intention to help, right? It's not
the best case scenario, but at least the looker
wants to help. And so Jesus is helping us realize
that judging or not judging is complicated because
motives matter. Why does your heart want to talk
about them? So take this to your workstation.
It's a hand mirror. And let's close our eyes.
And if you want to do some movement, you can
move your hands as you and your Heavenly Father
have some transaction to do. See where the gavel
used to be. I hope you gave it up. God taps your
shoulder and he hands you a mirror. Reach out.
Take the mirror. Put it in the place of the gavel.
You may open your eyes. I'd like to invite my
daughter Susanna up. She's going to help me.
With this next text, as Jesus continues to help
us understand, this is not a simple question.
It's just not all or nothing. Don't judge. It's
more complicated than that. Read for us. How
can you say to your brother or sister, let me
take the speck out of... Susanna! My goodness,
can you... Did you see that? That little bit
in her eye? Here, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay,
okay, look, look. My goodness, Susanna, you have
a huge, like, like log, a tree. Are you not aware
of the protrusion coming from your face? What
are you talking about? I look fine. I'm better
than fine, actually. It's so hypocritical. The
fact that you need a magnifying glass to point
out my flaws. It's huge. Girl, you need to get
that checked out. You need to look at a doctor
or a plastic surgeon. Not just for your eye.
You know what? You are always ruining everything.
And your ego gets in the way of everything. I
cannot get out. Can you believe her? She has
a log in her eye and she won't let me help. My
goodness. Jesus asks a question. How can you
say to your brother or sister, let me take the
speck out of your eye when all the time there's
a plank in your own eye? How can you do that?
Very, very poorly. You'll probably cause more
harm than good. Jesus also talks about when.
You hypocrite, he says to his disciples and the
thousands of people gathered for the Sermon on
the Mount, you hypocrite, first take the plank
out of your eye, and then you will see clearly
to remove the speck from your brother or sister's
eye. Sequence matters. Take care of your own
issues, and then your ability to help will be
there for you. Makes sense. Did he really have
to tell us this? We're an international crowd.
What do they tell us on the airplanes? This is
a seatbelt as if we've not seen those, right?
But they have to do it. And then they go on and
they talk about the oxygen mass falling. And
what do they say? Yours on first before you help
somebody else. And Jesus is saying the same thing.
Why does he even have to say this? Because of
what he gently called us. Or since he's Middle
Eastern, maybe he very just blatantly said, you
hypocrites. The word here means mask wearers.
It's the word for Greek actors. Hypocrite means
hippo means over. The crit is like the mask or
face. You put something over your face so you
can assume a character. And that's what you show.
And in a theater, the audience takes a cue from
the mask. Oh, he's that kind of character. But
Jesus said, hey. I'm not talking to theater people.
I'm talking to all of you. You're wearing masks.
We don't show our true face very often. And sometimes
we wear our masks so long, we begin to believe
ourselves that that's our real face. Why? Is
it not a simple question to judge or not to judge?
Because the sequence matters. You can't even
see properly if you haven't taken care of your
own issues. So I offer you this for your workstation.
Please close your eyes. Walk back into your space
where you get things done. I know giving up the
gavel is hard. Have you done it yet? You've replaced
it with a mirror. Giving up the gavel makes space
for the mirror. But now God, your Heavenly Father,
taps your shoulder again and holds out the coach's
whistle. Because we have a responsibility to
help our brothers and sisters, but only after
checking out yourself. So put the whistle. You
can reach forward if you need to. Reach forward.
Pick up the mirror. Slide the whistle underneath.
Lay the mirror down. Maybe tie the whistle to
the handle of the mirror so you'll remember the
sequence. You may open your eyes. One more reason
why judging or not judging is not a simple question,
and this is what we started to look at before.
Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw
pearls. Your pearls to pigs. If you do, they
may trample them under their feet and turn and
tear you to pieces. There are things that God
values so much. That's what sacred means. Something
he values so much, he claims it for himself,
and he only shares very carefully because it's
a treasure to him. After the passage we're reading
today, Jesus went on to talk about false prophets
and how you could know who they are by their
fruits. That's their patterns of behavior and
the words they say. And Peter, we know, was listening
to this sermon. He took a whole chapter in his
second letter to talk about false prophets. And
he describes their habits and the havoc they
play in your life. groups that they join, and
he ends the chapter by talking about false prophets
as dogs who return to their vomit and pigs who
go back to the mud. These are the kinds of people
who have no value for what you treasure. And
they don't care about you either. But they can
put on a good mask. So Jesus, warns us, there
is a kind of judgment you must exercise to protect
God's treasure that he entrusts to you. If you're
a pastor, a life group leader, an elder, a teacher,
a parent, your treasures are the people that
you guard and guide. If you're lucky enough like
me to have four beautiful daughters, or however
many you have, you understand this. We've always
joked in our family, I'm going to make a T -shirt
for each one of my daughters, and before you
date, you've got to wear the T -shirt. It's going
to have a QR code on the front and back. It says,
if you want to date me, fill out the form. Guess
who gets the form? I do. Guess what kind of questions
are on there? Who's your next of kin? Which body
part are you afraid of losing the most? I have
made the survey, and we've had one young man
fill it out. I gave my daughter to him in marriage,
my first daughter, because he proved he treasured
her as much as I did. And God says to you, you
have treasure. Things of value that you don't
give to just anybody. Why is judging not a simple,
just don't do it? Because the threats are real.
The consequences of not judging when you should
judge are just as real as the consequences of
judging too harshly. So I offer you one more
object for your workstation. A key to a treasure
box. Would you close your eyes, please, and walk
back in your mind to that place where you get
stuff done. The gavel is gone, right? That makes
room for the mirror. The whistle is tied to it
so you can remember the sequence. God taps your
shoulder and he hands you a key. And he says,
I've trusted you with treasures. Keep the key
safe. In your workstation, please decide where
are you going to keep the key. Put it somewhere
you can remember. So we see. You may open your
eyes. We see. To judge or not to judge, it's
not a simple thing. Consequences are real. Motives
matter. Sequence matters. And threats are real.
But what kind of judgments are there? Jesus has
kind of suggested it, but let me do a quick summary
using education and sports, kind of two parallel
domains here. I work in education. We talk about
judgment as assessment, and we talk about two
main kinds of assessment. There's summative assessment,
or you could call it final score keeping in a
sports. Summative assessment is when the term
is done. The exam is graded. The homework's all
handed in. No more chances to improve your grade.
We summarize. This is your performance on the
course. Done. When it comes to people's character
and destiny, we don't get to do that kind of
judgment. We don't get to say, When your life
is done, I know what kind of character you are.
That's why I asked you, give up the gavel. Not
our job. But there's another kind of assessment
in education we call formative assessment. And
that means while I'm teaching, I'm watching faces.
Are they tracking? I may pause in a lecture and
have them talk to each other, and I go around
and listen to what they're saying. Are they getting
it? I may give a little quiz. And it's not just
to get a grade for the grade book. It's so that
I can see what do they understand. And the good
teachers know to do formative assessment ongoing
throughout the lecture, throughout the activities,
constantly checking so that we are informed how
we might need to change the teaching so it reaches
the heart. And formative assessment also informs
the student. How do they need to change their
engagement so they can learn better? Formative
assessment. Or in sports, coaching. If you've
ever been on a good team with a quality coach,
you love the coach's whistle. I mean, you might
be irritated, but he does good things for you
and he makes you perform athletically or musically
or theatrically like you've never performed before.
You won. Formative assessment. The third kind
of, not assessment, but the third kind of judgment
that Jesus, sorry, for formative and coaching,
check the mirror, use the whistle. It's a good
thing. But the third kind of judgment is protective.
Keep the key safe. God has trusted you with treasure.
There's other kinds of judgment too. Might make
an interesting discussion at lunchtime as you
follow up. I'm not claiming to name everything,
but I'm trying to frame what Jesus is calling
us to pay attention to. So let's move on to the
final driving question. How do we discern? The
image up here, I did not pick it, but it worked
out great. There's an old preacher from the 20th
century for three decades. He preached at the
Westminster Chapel in London. His name was Martin
Lloyd -Jones. And his ideas help me understand.
Oh, look at this. There's a road. The road has
deep places off the side. We call them ditches.
And this passage we just looked at tells us,
hey, on one side of the road is harsh, unfair
judgment. And on the other side of the road is
neglect, not judging when we should judge. And
humanity has a habit of walking the road like
a drunk. You got it, right? You fall in one ditch.
Maybe you can crawl out staggered to your feet
just to fall again on the other side. And Jesus
knows this is our habit. So he gives us a way
to judge, choose the right kind of judgment,
know when to judge, but it's not a formula. It's
not a step -by -step method. It's so much better.
Watch this. Ask and keep asking. And it will
be given to you. Seek and keep seeking and you
will find. Knock and keep knocking and the door
will be opened to you. For everyone who asks,
receives. The one who seeks, finds. And to the
one who knocks, the door will be opened. Now,
let's get one thing off, out of our minds. This
is not a formula for getting what you want. This
is a description of a relationship with God.
Asking admits we need things only he can give.
Seeking means he gives us perspective and answers.
Knocking means we need to make some effort. If
he opens that door, are we going to walk through?
Now, here we also see process and results. Asking
is the process. Receiving is the result. Seeking
is a process. Finding is a result. Knocking is
a process. Having it opened is a result. And
your father oversees both process and results.
When my kids were little, in about eight months,
they were learning to crawl. And sometimes we
would take a toy and put it in front of them,
just out of reach. Because when the baby's first
learning the crawl, they're down on all fours
and they're kind of rocking back and forth. And
then they lift up that one hand and they fall
over. Right? And they do it again and they lift
and they fall over. But with something out of
reach, they've got that little bit of motivation
to get that hand up and hang in there. Right?
Did we want them to have the toy and have some
fun? Sure. We were half -decent parents. What
did we want more? Muscle development, endurance,
coordination. So we honored the process and let
them struggle sometimes under our supervision.
Your Heavenly Father oversees your process of
asking, seeking, knocking. And if He's making
you wait for results, it means He knows the process
is shaping you. Most important thing God wants
to give you is himself. And the second important
thing he wants to give you is a new you. So he
oversees that process. How do we discern how
to judge? Because that's the context of asking,
seeking, knocking. How do we discern? Don't walk
alone. Have an ongoing relationship. Jesus goes
on. Which of you, if your son asks for bread,
will you give him a stone? How's that work, kiddo?
Go ahead, gnaw on that for a while. Or if he
asks for a fish, do not be alarmed. Would you?
Would you give him a snake? That's going to be
distracting. Of course not. You know how to give
good gifts to your children, even if you don't
have children. I bet you know how to give good
gifts. And Jesus says, yeah, you know how to
do that. But I left out part of the text here.
We're going to contrast those of us who know
how to give gifts with another giver. Watch this.
Jesus actually said, if you then, though you
are evil. Ouch. If you then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children.
Back up. Just stop there on the ouch. Jesus is
being gently honest. He already called us hypocrites,
mask wearers. He's going a little deeper and
saying, let me tell you what happens with the
mask. Because the word for evil here is the kind
of corruption that actively causes corruption
in others. Let me use a more familiar term. Though
you are contagious. He actually already talked
about this, didn't he? Do not judge or you will
be judged. In the way that you judge, you will
be judged. By your sin, he's repeating himself
but with a different picture. Our judgment done
wrong is a contagion, an infection that we're
spreading. And yet, Jesus admits, we know how
to give good gifts, not stones and snakes. But
he draws the contrast. How much more? Read those
three words. How much more? Say it again. How
much more your Father in Heaven give good gifts
to those who what? Ouch! You mean the guy I want
to judge because he really is an idiot? Oh no,
I gave up the gavel. Yeah. Though we are contagious
mask wearers, He gives good gifts to us. And
though our opponents and the people we disagree
with are also contagious mask wearers, He gives
good gifts to them too. How do we discern when
and what kind of judgment to use? Don't walk
alone. Have an ongoing relationship with God
as your Father. Now, we could switch that out.
Jesus could have said judge. The problem with
a relationship with God where judge is the primary
role is that in your asking and seeking and knocking,
if judge is God's primary relationship with you
and you're asking, seeking and knocking, you
will get what you deserve. Pure, mechanical,
unfiltered karma. But Jesus calls us to let the
primary relationship with God be one of Father.
So in our asking and seeking and knocking, we
get what we need. Personalized, tender mercy
that shapes us to be the person he means us to
be. Now, I didn't know how to picture this. You
can make your own picture. And if any of you
come up with something, tell me or send me an
email or just stop me downstairs. Scott, I got
a picture. Use this next time you preach a sermon
or whatever. Judge your father. Jesus is the
difference maker there because Jesus is the only
one who could submit to total life summative
judgment and God the judge could look and say,
good on you. Totally right. I am so proud to
call you my son. You already were, but you've
proven it. Everything you do, everything you
said, Jesus, hey everybody, this is my son. I'm
delighted with this guy. None of us can receive
that kind of verdict if we go to God. And yet,
Jesus offers a switch. He says, at the cross.
I'll take your judgment. You take mine. That's
where our confidence comes from. In discerning
how and when to judge. We don't walk alone. We
have an ongoing relationship with God as our
Father, the example. And I say that because I've
learned As I see selfies, man, I'm looking more
and more like my dad. That could be a good thing.
The more time you spend with your heavenly father,
the more you're going to look like him. The more
time you're under his influence and fatherhood
is the primary role he plays in your life, the
more the family resemblance will grow. Confidence
for you, friends. That's what he wants. That's
what Jesus offers. So Jesus summarizes with another
very familiar thing. We call it the golden rule.
So in everything, do to others what you would
have them do to you. That so could also be translated
therefore. So let's use the therefore to review.
Therefore. Because fatherhood, not judge, is
the primary role God wants to fill for you as
you ask, seek, and knock. Therefore, because
Heavenly Father gives you good gifts even to
contagious mask wearers like us. Therefore, because
we have the opportunity to coach others to be
better people in God's family. Therefore, because
we have the duty to protect our treasures. Therefore,
because in the same way we judge, it will come
back. Therefore, in everything, do to others
what you would have them do to you. There's actually
more to the golden rule that we often miss. For
this sums up the law and the prophets. He's talking
about scriptures, the law. God is still judge.
He wrote the law. That is his standard of measure.
He holds the gavel. Which is another reason we
can have confidence because when someone hurts
us and it looks like they get away with it, no
they didn't. God is judge. Their time is coming.
Prophets sent by the Heavenly Father to invite
us to receive the fatherhood role. But if people
reject the fatherhood role, God is still judge.
And that's what's left. So how to discern? Click
for me, please. How to discern? Don't walk alone.
Have an ongoing relationship with God as your
father, example, and judge. So back to the bomb
shelter. It was later, maybe not that day, but
within the training conference time, I was walking
and getting some exercise, and God brought that
incident back to my mind, and he made me learn
something. Because the message that landed on
my heart was this, Scott, Jesus' cross was good
enough for you, but not good enough for him?
Jesus' cross was good enough for this infectious
hypocrite and not for a guy honestly doing an
exercise in a training conference. I understand
now that if I held on to my planned punishment
for him, I had the gavel and I didn't trust God
to use his. But that day, God, my Heavenly Father,
saw my contagious mask and he gave me a good
gift anyway. He led me to the cross where I could
repent. One more visualization. And actually,
it's... Sorry, back one. Go to your workstation.
Close your eyes, please. This time, imagine your
workstation on a screen. This is a photo editor,
and I'm going to ask you to change it. I want
you to take your finger, whichever tapping finger
you use. You can do this physically right now
if you want. Reach forward, tap the workstation
so the workstation is activated so that you can
edit the workstation. Now take two fingers, grab
the workstation in the middle, spread sideways,
stretch it sideways so it's big enough to add
another person. Now walk into that stretched
workstation. This is your new spot. Turn to your
Heavenly Father and invite Him to take His place
next to you. You can trust Him. Some of the gavel
giving up, the mirroring, the whistling, some
of you are not used to that. You can trust your
Heavenly Father. He can tap your shoulder when
you reach for the gavel. He can say, hey, what
are you doing? When you reach for the whistle
and forget the mirror, he can give you a little
elbow. When you have the whistle but you're afraid
to blow it, he can assure you he is with you.
And he gave you that whistle for a purpose. And
when someone else comes in your workstation and
they want your treasure, God can nudge you and
say, hey. Where's your key? You may open your
eyes. We've had three driving questions. Why
is it not so simple? You got it? It's complicated.
It's not just do not judge. Three kinds of judgment.
Summative, not your job. Formative, your job.
Protective, your job. How do we discern? I can't
give you. a checkbox of criteria, but I can offer
you the fatherhood of God because he gave it
to me and he wants you there too. Thank you for
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