Weekly message: Judge not! By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Weekly message: Judge not!

 By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce                                                           Date: June 21,2024

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & Counseling

  Ø  Jesus says regarding judging – Don’t.

Matthew 7:1-3 says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ” Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things (Romans 2:1)

       The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual. Criticism is a part of the ordinary faculty of man; but in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism. The effect of criticism is a dividing up of the powers of the one criticized; the Holy Ghost is the only One in the true position of criticize, He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into communion with God when you are in a critical temper; it makes you hard and vindictive and cruel, and leaves you with the flattering unction that you are a superior person.  Jesus says, as a disciple cultivates the uncritical temper. It is not done once and for all. Beware of anything that puts you in the superior person’s place. There is no getting away from the penetration of Jesus. If I see the mote in your eye, it means I have a beam in my own. Every wrong thing that I see in you, God locates in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (Romans2:17-24). Stop having a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every man’s case about which we know nothing. The first thing God does is to give us a spiritual spring-cleaning; there is no possibility of pride left in a man after that. I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.  

Ø  God judges us through the marvelous Atonement of Jesus Christ.

 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall measured to you again (Matthew 7:2) This statement is not a haphazard guess, it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give, it is measured to you again. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus says that the basis of life is retribution-“with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the defects in others, remember that will be exactly the measure given to you. Life serves back in the coin you pay. This law works from God’s throne downwards. “ To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. (Psalm 18: 25-26)

 Romans chapter 2 applies it in a still more definite way, and says that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act, He looks at the possibility. We do not believe the statements of the Bible to begin with. For instance, do we believe this statement, that the things we criticize in others we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because they are all in our own hearts.  The great characteristic of a saint is humility—Yes, all those things and other evils would have been manifested in me but for the grace of God, therefore I have no right to judge.

  Jesus says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”; if you do judge, it will be measured to you exactly as you have judged.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say-- “My god, judge me as I have judged my fellow men? ” We have judged our fellow men as sinners; if God should judge us like that we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvelous Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Ø  Sin cannot be the master rules over me

Someone posted on Facebook timeline says, “Don’t tell me about your religion, but tell me how you treat others? Don’t tell your faith... but tell me how you treat your neighbors? ” This is what I think, and I must point out that “No matter what religion you are practicing? Without Jesus and the Spirit of Christ, you are an atheist; your soul will end up in hell, suffering for the second dead in the lake of burning sulfur. (Rev. 20:10). No matter how good or bad you treat others? Without Jesus’ atonement and Spirit of Christ in your life, you are a socialist as socialism; the group will be identified as a social club. Not the Christians church. Jesus said to Satan, “Away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” (John 15:12). Jesus didn’t submit to Satan, He refused to be contaminated by sin and temptation. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is a red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and as the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life. 

Ø  Don’t rob the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain

   If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching he is conceited and understand nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. (1Timothy 6:3-5) But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.( 1 Timothy 6: 6-10).  

 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (Titus 1:15-16)  For the grace of God that bring salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. While we wait for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. (Titus2:11-15).

                        Conclusion - In relation to judging and relation to others

  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? 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?  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. (Mattew7:3-5 NIV). So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12 NIV).  In King James Version says, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye; but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye… Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:3-5; 7:12KJV). 

 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong, let him who is vile continue to be vile, let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22: 11-13).

 

  Bibliography,           

Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3^rd Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2000.

Brown, Robert, Philip W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.

Chambers, Oswald. My utmost for His highest, NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. 1935.   

Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1^st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.

            King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company

                     

            Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 Strong, James. Strong’s: the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010.