In the last couple of weeks we looked at Matthew 7: 1-5 and established that the imperative “Judge not..” was given to believers. Last week I ended by stating that the example given my Christ of 'removing the Plank out from our own eye so that we can see clearly' was a call for self examination.
Let’s now take this a step further.
Matt 7: 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. " NIV
WOW! So after Jesus gives the imperative not to judge your brothers (or fellow believers) he makes a moral judgment telling whom to give the gospel message to. To those that don't study this is a major contradiction, to those that do study it is clear that the imperative “Don’t judge” applies to believers, not unbelievers, and is in fact a call to all to clean up their own act before noting somebody else’s faults. When one understands that this whole section of scripture is a call to believers for self examination, we remove any tension or contradiction. In the culture of the days of Jesus, this was understood, so this is a case where knowledge of cultural context is important.
We are called upon daily to make moral judgments. Keep in mind though, before confronting a brother or sister with their sin, we must examine ourselves first before we run our mouths.
Remember what James wrote:
James 3 7-8
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. NIV
The next time somebody rails to you about being judgmental and uses “Whatever happened to “Judge not lest you be judged…” “you Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites”, you now know the answer.
The best way to attain this lofty goal of self examination and daily repentance is to be in fellowship and to read the word everyday. Use the “One Year Bible” as a guide. I have done this year after year and I keep learning more and more every time through. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, there is an eternity of knowledge in the bible and we have only a lifetime to learn what we can.
Until next the next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Judge Not….Part II
Last week I tried to establish the point that the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to his disciples, that Matt 7 1-6 was part of the Sermon on the Mount and that the imperative “Do not judge” was specific to his disciples (believers).
Also important in understanding that this section of scripture applies to believers is Matt 7 verses 3 – 5:
3 “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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” NIV
To reiterate the point made last week, Jesus uses the term “brothers”, meaning fellow believers.
Let’s attempt to flesh out the concept behind these verses out a bit by using a personal example.
How often have you encountered somebody quick to accuse or gossip about one of your failings and yet had some major failings of their own?
I had a conversation with a relative not that long ago, who got all self righteous when he bragged that when he was first saved the first major change was that he quit cursing. As for me, it is still a thorn in my flesh, but I am well aware of this and I let him know I was aware of the problem. Regardless, he kept railing at me as if he didn’t believe I was saved simply because of my occasional slip up. The problem really is that this male relative is a notorious womanizer who has had many wives and continues his adulterous behavior to this day. He bemoaned the speck in my eye in a haughty self- righteous way yet he would bowl people over with the beam in his eye every time he changed direction. He struggles to remove that beam in his eye to this very day.
When you think about it many of us have a problem seeing our own faults. So one of the things we can say is that Jesus is calling believers to be better examples to the world. But how do we do this when we have trouble seeing our own faults?
Through self examination to remove "the plank from your own eye so you can see clearly...."
Think about that for now, there will more on this next week as we have just scratched the surface. I will attempt to put a bow on this then when we will look at Matt 7: 6
Until the next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.
Also important in understanding that this section of scripture applies to believers is Matt 7 verses 3 – 5:
3 “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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” NIV
To reiterate the point made last week, Jesus uses the term “brothers”, meaning fellow believers.
Let’s attempt to flesh out the concept behind these verses out a bit by using a personal example.
How often have you encountered somebody quick to accuse or gossip about one of your failings and yet had some major failings of their own?
I had a conversation with a relative not that long ago, who got all self righteous when he bragged that when he was first saved the first major change was that he quit cursing. As for me, it is still a thorn in my flesh, but I am well aware of this and I let him know I was aware of the problem. Regardless, he kept railing at me as if he didn’t believe I was saved simply because of my occasional slip up. The problem really is that this male relative is a notorious womanizer who has had many wives and continues his adulterous behavior to this day. He bemoaned the speck in my eye in a haughty self- righteous way yet he would bowl people over with the beam in his eye every time he changed direction. He struggles to remove that beam in his eye to this very day.
When you think about it many of us have a problem seeing our own faults. So one of the things we can say is that Jesus is calling believers to be better examples to the world. But how do we do this when we have trouble seeing our own faults?
Through self examination to remove "the plank from your own eye so you can see clearly...."
Think about that for now, there will more on this next week as we have just scratched the surface. I will attempt to put a bow on this then when we will look at Matt 7: 6
Until the next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Judge Not......
One of the most used and most misunderstood passages of scripture is Matthew 7: 1-5.
It is often used by unbelievers to decry the hypocrisy of Christians, yet, by them criticizing Christians, they are being judgmental themselves. Oh the irony, but they speak from ignorance as most of them have probably never even opened a Bible.
Matthew 7: 1-5
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. NIV
Let’s start from the beginning. Matthew 7 is part of The Sermon on the Mount and it was addressed to believers. Yes, that is correct, his disciples.
Matt 5:1-2
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them." NIV
Also notice in Matt 7: 3 Jesus talks about people who judge their brothers(other believers) “Why do you look at the at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye”.
So, one can conclude that Jesus was discussing judging other believers. There is no doubt that we need to make moral judgments on a daily basis so where else could the Lord have been heading?
This is a lot to take in and it will take several weeks to flesh this out so bear with me. In the meantime, go back and read the Sermon on the Mount and meditate on these passages and see where the Lord leads you. If you are reading the ONE YEAR BIBLE, and I suggest that everybody do, you are in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount right now. Compare it to what I lay out over the next few weeks and then we will discuss it.
Until the next time: May the LORD Bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.
It is often used by unbelievers to decry the hypocrisy of Christians, yet, by them criticizing Christians, they are being judgmental themselves. Oh the irony, but they speak from ignorance as most of them have probably never even opened a Bible.
Matthew 7: 1-5
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. NIV
Let’s start from the beginning. Matthew 7 is part of The Sermon on the Mount and it was addressed to believers. Yes, that is correct, his disciples.
Matt 5:1-2
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them." NIV
Also notice in Matt 7: 3 Jesus talks about people who judge their brothers(other believers) “Why do you look at the at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye”.
So, one can conclude that Jesus was discussing judging other believers. There is no doubt that we need to make moral judgments on a daily basis so where else could the Lord have been heading?
This is a lot to take in and it will take several weeks to flesh this out so bear with me. In the meantime, go back and read the Sermon on the Mount and meditate on these passages and see where the Lord leads you. If you are reading the ONE YEAR BIBLE, and I suggest that everybody do, you are in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount right now. Compare it to what I lay out over the next few weeks and then we will discuss it.
Until the next time: May the LORD Bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.
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