| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net "Judge not, that ye be not judged." How many times in your life have you heard that? Perhaps, you have used it or maybe you do use it on a regular basis. Do you even know where in the Bible this is or what is the context? I am kind of in tune to this phrase and it's misuse, so I hear it literally every day. Most of the time, when someone uses this phrase, what they mean is: "Shut up. You can't tell me what to do"; followed by a heavy dose of: "Don't you even try to pull the plank out of my eye, until your eye is perfectly clear (till you are sinless)". They may believe (or want you to believe) that unless the rebuke comes from Jesus Himself, it is null and void. Sad thing is, many weak Christians have either bought into this lie, or are simply weary of the good fight ("Ye are Salt and Light") while they complain or lament about the deterioration of society. I heard Bill Oriely say: "Even the deity (he loves that word) wouldn't condemn the woman caught in adultery" The reason is, according to John 3:18 and 36, we are condemned by our sins already, and absent the intervening of Jesus' redemptive work via Grace and Faith in Christ alone, we remain in that condition. What they, (the willingly ignorant) leave out is where Jesus says to this sinner: "Go, and sin no more". Nugget: In the Bible, there are 191 uses of the word "judge" as a verb, and most of them are in the positive or telling us to judge. We are told to "Examine" (judge) ourselves to see (verify) if we are in the faith - 2nd Cor. 13:5, and to judge ourselves w/regard to eligibility to partake in the Lord's Supper in 1st Cor. 11, but the majority of the admonitions to Judge are external. In Luke 17 and Matt. 18, we are told - "If thy brother sin, rebuke him." In Eph. 5:11, we are encouraged to: "have no fellowship with works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them". How do you avoid or expose if you can't judge? We are told to judge the spirits, choose the good way, flee evil, all of which call for a judgment. Yes, Christianity is mostly a mirror to examine ourselves rather than a window to examine everybody else, but we are to tell people when they are in sin. "So preacher, who decides?" That's a great question. The Judge in the opening statement is the condemning judgment, or better Sentencing, and we don't get to have any part of that. "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:" John 5;21 So how do we fit in? "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." - 2nd Cor. 5:11 That may be a good motivator, but the #1 reason is God tells us to. What? "God was in Jesus Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, ...... and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though Christ did beseech you by us: We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2nd Cor. 5:19-20 We aren't the sin police, and we don't decide what is and is not sin, It has already been decided. God determines what is sin. Nugget: All the "judge nots" of the New Test are w/regard to fighting between Christians about dress codes, makeup, hair covering, food, Sabbath days, circumcision, observances, festivals and all the other things Christians like to fuss about. This is where He tells us to "work out our own salvation" which is not to say "find your own new and unique way to God". It's all about a relationship with Jesus. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: ..." John 3:36. And my favorite, ".......There is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved" - Acts 4:12. That established, when I see a woman trailing four or five young women wearing their hair in a bun and long denim dresses, I don't laugh, I think it's beautiful, so long as they don't believe that in itself is going to get them to heaven - Romans 2:8-9. "So preacher, is there no dress code?" Sure there is, and here is the mark. If you cause your brother to stumble, you are sinning. If you dress provocatively (or if someone else finds it provocative), you are sinning, so stop it. Show some respect for your Lord and some concern (love) for your brother. "Come out from among them" and "Let the redeemed of the Lord Say So!!" |
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