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Why do you judge your brother or sister? (Rom. 14:10) God won't be asking you about the opinions and preferences of your brother. He'll be looking into your account on that day. So, get out of your brothers and sisters' business and tend to the business God calls you to.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week Beloved.
The more we police the behaviorof our brother and sister in
Christ and I'm talking aboutopinions and preference the more
we police each other, the moredangerous our own position
(00:23):
becomes.
Each other, the more dangerousour own position becomes.
Jesus said that it isfoolishness to point out a speck
of sawdust in your brother'seye if you have a two by four in
your own eye.
In Romans 14, verses 10 to 12,Paul is getting to the same idea
(00:45):
.
Here he says why did you judgeyour brother or your sister when
you know that each of us wouldgive account of himself to God?
Listen, God won't be asking youabout the opinion and
preference of your brother.
He won't.
He'll be looking into youraccount.
(01:05):
So, brothers and sisters, Don'tworry about your neighbor so
much, but keep a better, A closeeye on yourself.
Get out of other folks businessand tend to your own business.
Here's Pastor VotabalkinPreaching on passing judgment.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, as we've said before, there is a new John 3.16
.
The old John 3.16 was John 3.16.
That verse that everyone knew,that verse that was familiar to
all, that verse that you sawplastered all over the place,
(01:51):
that verse to which people wouldpoint, that verse that even
people who didn't know the lordhad somehow committed to their
memory John 3.16, it wasubiquitous.
John 3.16 is no longer John3.16.
The new John 3.16 is Matthew7.1.
(02:11):
Of course, the old John 3.16,people knew as John 3.16.
They could tell you the addressof the verse.
The new John 3.16, matthew 7.1,.
No one knows that it's Matthew7.1.
They just know the principlefound there in Matthew 7.1.
And they hold, not themselvesbut Christians, to this
(02:35):
principle.
It is judge, not that you benot judged.
And we have shorthand for thenew John 3.16.
And the shorthand is, quitesimply don't judge me.
That's the shorthand for thenew John 3.16.
(02:55):
Don't judge me, and that's whatwe believe both inside and
outside the church.
That's our attitude Don't judgeme.
In fact, we use this as abaseline for establishing
genuine love.
Genuine love is a love thatdoesn't judge.
(03:18):
Genuine love is a love thatreceives me just as I am, and so
if you are judging me, you arenot loving me.
Don't judge me.
Well, here in Romans, chapter 14, verses 10 through 12, we have
(03:40):
what could be considered acompanion passage to the new
John 3.16, which is actuallyMatthew 7.1.
If you join me there, in verses10 through 12, here we find
another compelling passage ofScripture that calls us not to
pass judgment, and it does sovery clearly, beginning in verse
(04:07):
10.
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother or you?
Why do you despise your brother?
For we will all stand beforethe judgment seat of God.
For it is written as I live,says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me and every tongue shallconfess to God.
(04:27):
So then, each of us will givean account of himself to God.
Amen, hallelujah, praise theLord.
Don't judge me.
It's there, is it not?
Well, I want to do a couple ofthings.
(04:47):
First, I want us to look atthis text and experience the
full weight of it in its context, and then I want us to balance
it against those areas inscripture where judgment is
clearly called for.
Folks, we pass judgment everyday.
(05:07):
We make judgments every day.
We could not survive if wedidn't do this.
What time do we need to leavein order to make it to church on
time it's judgment.
We judge whether or not we haveenough gas to make it where
we're going.
We judge whether or not whatwe're wearing is appropriate.
(05:28):
We judge whether to go to onechurch or another.
We judge the music.
We judge the sermon.
We even judge people.
Is she a good person?
Is he a good doctor or a baddoctor?
Is this a good accountant or abad accountant?
(05:48):
Is this a trustworthy salesmanor is this not a trustworthy
salesman?
We judge every day and we haveto.
This text is not about makingjudgments.
This text is about passingjudgment, and there is a
(06:09):
difference between makingjudgments and passing judgments.
See, passing judgment means youlook beyond what a person says
or does, into the very heart ofthe person, as though you have
the ability to discern, numberone, why they do what they do
(06:32):
and, two, the foundation fromwhich it is being done, ie
whether they are genuinely savedor not.
That's passing judgment.
Making a judgment.
This person is not a goodsalesman.
(06:53):
I want another salesman.
Passing judgment this person isnot a good salesman.
His heart is wicked.
His intentions are wicked.
He is trying intentionally toharm me and take advantage of me
, and I know this because I seewhat's in his soul.
(07:13):
There's a difference betweenmaking a judgment and passing
judgment, and we have a tendencyto do this, and nowhere do we
do this more.
The better we know people, themore likely we are to pass
judgment on them.
The closer a person is to us,the more likely we are to assume
(07:40):
that we know not just whetheror not what they did was wrong,
but where it came from, what theintention was and, more
specifically, what the intentionof the heart was.
That's passing judgment.
(08:03):
This text doesn't allow for that.
Why?
Well, first of all, we're notallowed to pass judgment because
we don't have the authority topass judgment.
Notice what he says here inverse 10.
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother?
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother?
(08:23):
You don't have the authority topass judgment on your brother.
You see, the brotherrelationship is a relationship
between equals.
Passing judgment is the act ofa superior.
It is the act of a judge, not abrother.
I pass judgment on you becauseI'm your judge.
Paul says here this is yourbrother.
(08:47):
I pass judgment on you becauseI'm your judge.
Paul says here this is yourbrother.
Who do you think you are topass judgment on your brother?
You have no authority to passjudgment on your brother.
This is your brother, this isyour sister.
It is not within the purview ofyour responsibility to pass
judgment on your brother or yoursister.
Make a statement about what wassaid, make a statement about
(09:12):
what was done, but to passjudgment.
You lack that authority.
We see this in other Paulinewritings.
Prime example Philippians 2, 1through 4.
Cravings Prime examplePhilippians 2, 1 through 4.
So, if there's any encouragementin Christ, any comfort from
(09:36):
love, any participation in theSpirit, any affection and
sympathy, complete my joy bybeing of the same mind, having
the same love, being in fullaccord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfishambition or conceit, but in
humility, count others moresignificant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not onlyto his own interest, but also to
the interest of others.
That's the relationship that wehave as brothers and sisters.
(10:00):
Here in Romans, chapter 12 andverse 10 love one another with
brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showinghonor.
12, 16.
Live in harmony with oneanother.
Do not be haughty, butassociate with the lowly.
Never be wise in your own sight.
(10:21):
14, 13.
After this Next week we'll lookat this.
Therefore, let us not passjudgment on one another any
longer, but rather decide neverto put a stumbling block or
hindrance in the way of abrother.
Romans 15.5,.
May the God of endurance andencouragement grant you to live
in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.
(10:45):
1570,.
Therefore, welcome one anotheras Christ has welcomed you for
the glory of God.
1570,.
I'm sorry, same verse, so againthere was a 16, but I left the
16 off.
This is the attitude that wehave toward one another.
We're brothers and sisters inChrist, and the act of passing
(11:08):
judgment on another is to assumesuperiority over another.
You don't have it.
You don't have the authority topass judgment on your brothers
or sisters.
More significantly, here Paulmakes it clear the one who has
authority to do so is Godhimself, in an ultimate sense,
(11:34):
and you are not God.
You don't pass judgment on yourbrothers and sisters because
you don't have the authority topass judgment on them.
Secondly, you lack the insightnecessary to pass judgment on
your brothers and sisters.
You don't have the authorityand you don't have the insight.
(11:54):
First of all, you don't know hisheart.
You don't know why he did whathe did.
You don't know if hisintentions were evil or
otherwise.
You don't know if it was anerror or if it was on purpose.
You don't know if hisintentions were evil or
otherwise.
You don't know if it was anerror or if it was on purpose.
You don't know that.
You may think you know that,but you don't.
In fact, you don't even knowyour own heart.
(12:17):
How on earth can you know yourbrother's heart if you don't
know your own?
Your own heart is desperatelyand deceitfully wicked.
You deceive yourself all thetime and yet you have the
audacity to pass judgment onyour brother like you know
what's in his heart.
You don't, you absolutely donot.
(12:48):
1 Samuel 16, 7,.
For the Lord sees, not as mansees.
Man looks on the outwardappearance, but the Lord looks
on the heart.
The Lord looks on the heart.
You cannot, you can't.
Jeremiah 17, 9 and 10,.
(13:08):
The heart is deceitful, aboveall things, and desperately sick
.
Who can understand it?
I, the Lord, search the heartand test the mind to give every
man according to his ways,according to the fruit of his
deeds.
Hebrews 4.13,.
No creature is hidden from hissight, but all are naked and
(13:30):
exposed to the eyes of him, towhom we must give account.
That's God, luke 16.15,.
And he said to them.
You are those who justifyyourselves before men, but God
knows your hearts, for what isexalted among men is an
abomination in the sight of God.
(13:50):
Not only do you lack theauthority to pass judgment on
your brothers and sisters, youlack the insight necessary to
pass judgment on your brothersand sisters.
You cannot see their hearts.
You do not know why they dowhat they do, beyond what the
(14:12):
Scripture tells you.
So we can't pass judgment.
We don't have the ability topass judgment.
Here's the amazing thing Peoplecan do to you the same thing
that you do to them, but whenyou do it, you give yourself the
(14:35):
benefit of the doubt.
When they do it, you know thattheir intention was evil from
the start.
If you can't say amen, youought to say ouch.
That's precisely how we are,that's exactly the way we live
(14:57):
and that's exactly the way wetreat one another.
You did it to me because youwere evil.
I did it to you because I madea mistake.
You did it to me because youhate me.
I did it to you in spite of thefact that I love you and, of
(15:20):
course, you ought to know thatyou lack the authority to pass
judgment on your brother and youlack the insight to pass
judgment on your brother.
And you lack the insight topass judgment on your brother
Husbands, do you hear me?
Wives, do you hear me?
Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I forgot.
(15:43):
No, you didn't forget.
You're just evil, yeah, but yousee, but see, last year you
forgot, yeah.
Well, of course, I got a lot onmy plate.
You, on the other hand, you'reevil.
Somebody laughed too loud overthere.
(16:03):
Somebody laughed too loud overthere.
Thirdly, you lack the purity topass judgment on your brother.
You don't have the authority,you don't have the insight and
you don't have the purity.
Paul refers here to strong andweak, not right and wrong.
(16:25):
Do you catch that?
If you go back to the beginning, look at what he says here in
verse 10.
In verse 10, he says why do youpass judgment on your brothers,
or you, why do you despise yourbrothers?
Now go back to the beginning ofthis.
As for the one who is weak infaith, welcome him, but not to
(16:45):
quarrel over opinions.
One person believes he may eateverything, while the weak
person eats only vegetables.
Let the one who eats I'm sorry,let not the one who eats
despise the one who abstains,and then let not the one who
abstains, pass judgment on theone who eats?
(17:07):
Despise, pass judgment.
What does he say in verse 10?
Despise, pass judgment.
To whom is he referring?
The weak brother, the strongbrother?
He has not made a point aboutone being right and the other
being wrong.
One is weak and one is strong.
(17:28):
He doesn't say one is right andone is wrong.
There's a reason that the weakbrother is weak in the area
where he's weak.
There's a reason that thestrong brother is strong in the
area where he's strong.
By the way, if we talked aboutanother topic, they can switch
places and the brother who'sweak over here could be strong
over there, and the brotherwho's weak over here could be
strong over there, and thebrother who's strong over here
(17:49):
could be weak over there.
So this is not a statementabout one brother being
righteous and the other brotherbeing unrighteous.
So it's not that one of thesehas purity and the other does
not.
(18:10):
You're not righteous.
You cannot pass judgment onanother because you are not
righteous.
You cannot pass judgment onanother because you stand under
the same judgment and the samesentence.
You are not righteous.
(18:31):
God is the judge and you willhave to stand before that judge,
you who stand there passingjudgment on your brother,
because you know and can seeinto his heart.
You are going to stand beforegod on that day and what you
(18:54):
will not hear is you know what?
We can do this real quick,because you're righteous and
people have always wronged youIn spite of the fact that you
were righteous.
God bless you.
Move on so I can get to thosepeople who you had to deal with
all your life, who weren't asrighteous as you.
(19:17):
There are seven judgments,basically, that we see in
Scripture.
One, a series of judgments onthe earth in Revelation 6
through 11 and 15 through 16.
Two, the judgment of the beastand the false prophet Revelation
19, 20 and 20, 1 through 3.
Thirdly, a judgment of theGentile nations.
(19:37):
We see that in Psalm 2.
Four, a judgment of Israel.
We see that in Ezekiel 20.
The final judgment of SatanRevelation 20, 1 through 10.
The final judgment ofunbelievers at the great white
throne Revelation 20, 11 through15.
And a judgment of believers atthe judgment seat of Christ.
(20:00):
Listen to James Montgomery Boyce.
These judgments involve God'spunishments of individuals or
nations for those people'sspecific sins.
These punishments involvespiritual and eternal death and
hell suffering.
The last of these judgmentsstands apart from the rest
because it is a judgment ofbelievers, which means that it
(20:20):
is not for sin and does notinvolve spiritual death or
suffering.
Nevertheless, it is still areal judgment in which the
followers of Christ are to givean account for what they have
done in this life and are eitherrewarded or disapproved by God.
On that basis, you're going tostand before God.
That one that you are trying topass judgment upon is going to
(20:41):
stand before God and newsflash.
When you stand before God andwhen they stand before God, you
will not make a hundred Amen,because the fact of the matter
(21:03):
is oftentimes, when I judge themotives of another, the reason I
do so is because I'm wicked.
You did that to me becauseyou're wicked.
That's the spoken part.
Here's the unspoken part in theback of my mind that I may not
even realize.
(21:23):
I'm speaking and I know thatyou're wicked.
Because when I do that to you,I do it because I'm wicked.
You lack the authority, you lackthe insight and you lack the
(21:48):
purity to pass judgment on yourbrother.
And when you feel the need todo so, how about?
Instead of doing so, you take amoment and pause and think
about who you are and whatthat's going to look like before
(22:10):
Christ.
That will absolutely transformyour attitude toward your
brother or your sister.
Listen to this from JamesEdwards.
Listen to this from JamesEdwards on that day, all
(22:32):
pretense will be dispelled.
All moral judgments andaltruistic pronouncements will
be exploded as self-servingmasks of pride.
All gifts and sacrifices willbe seen in the light of their
real motives.
All strivings and hopes andgoals will be judged only from
the perspective of whateverfaith and love inspired them.
Finally, you lack the occasionto pass judgment on your brother
(23:19):
.
You see, the occasion ofjudgment being passed on your
brother is the occasion whenyour brother stands before
Christ.
That's when judgment will bepassed on your brother.
You lack the occasion to do so,you lack the authority, you
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lack the insight, you lack thepurity, and you lack the purity
and you lack the occasion.
Because you are not Christ whowill judge the living and the
dead on the last day, and foryou or me to stand in his stead
(24:02):
and to prematurely pass thejudgment that only he can pass
is an act of blasphemy and anattempt to rob Christ of his
very glory by taking from himwhat is rightfully his and his
alone on that day and that dayalone.
(24:24):
Therefore, we must not Passjudgment On our brothers, but we
have to judge.
How do we balance that?
(24:51):
Several things.
One remember the context here.
Remember that paul is talkingspecifically to the church in
rome, and specifically a church,church where Jewish and Gentile
believers are coming togetherin the first century.
(25:11):
Now let me just put a littlecaveat here.
He's talking about two thingsin particular.
One he introduces later, it'snot the major part of the
context, but the two things thatyou're talking about.
Number one, eating of meatsacrificed to idols.
And number two, the observationof certain holy days.
The third one is drinkingalcohol or abstaining from the
(25:35):
drinking of alcohol.
It doesn't fall into the samecategory as these two We'll
explain that when we get to itbut the two main ones in the
context here is that he'stalking about abstaining of meat
sacrifice to idols and two, theobservation of certain holy
days.
Now let's bring this contexthome a little bit more.
(25:56):
He's talking about this in thechurch of Rome that is mixed
with first century believers,some Jewish and some Gentiles,
and none of them have a NewTestament.
Let me say that again, none ofthem has a New Testament.
So he's saying to the Gentilesnewsflash that Jewish believer,
(26:22):
who's been a Jew all his life,who's eaten a certain way all
his life, has come to faith inChrist and put everything on the
line by coming to faith inChrist, has been baptized
publicly, signing perhaps hisown death warrant because the
Jews and the Greeks will nowwant him dead.
That individual has eaten acertain way his whole life and
(26:46):
it pricks his conscience if hewalks away from that, not
because he doesn't love Jesus,but because, in his love of God,
based on the very text thatpointed to the Messiah who would
(27:06):
come, this is the way that helearned his whole life to show
his fidelity to God.
And it's more than a notion tojust roll out of bed one day and
not do that, and it is notsomething that has been clearly
set forth as being sinful.
(27:33):
Do you see the context here?
And so he says to both of themhe says to the one who abstains
he says listen now, okay, we getit, I get it.
I'm a Jew, I understand, I getit.
I get where you're coming from,but let me help you understand
the way that you operate inrespect to your brothers when it
(27:56):
comes to this.
They're Gentiles.
Don't expect them to have thesame convictions about this
peripheral issue that you do.
Don't despise them To theGentiles.
Listen.
You know their background andwhere they come from.
Don't judge them.
(28:16):
Don't judge them Because thefact of the matter is there's
some practices in your past thatare going to be problems for
you too.
So don't look at your brotherand say look at him Eating that.
Can you believe he's eatingthat?
(28:36):
What sinful behavior, whatgodless behavior To sit there
knowing that that was sacrificeto an idol.
How does he not just get up andrun out of that place?
He can't be a real Christian.
Passing judgment that's thecontext.
(29:02):
That's different than these twoissues.
Let me raise them.
Number one rebuking sin.
We're commanded to rebuke sin.
By the way, these are notperipheral issues.
There's a difference between aperipheral issue and an issue
(29:25):
that is a sin issue.
Abstaining from those meats wasnot a sin issue.
Eating those meats was not asin issue.
Eating those meats was not asin issue.
By the way, could they becomesin issues?
Yes, they could become sinissues.
If I'm abstaining from thesemeats and I believe that I'm
gaining some merit before Godbecause I abstain versus my
brother, now, that's a prideissue.
(29:47):
It's a sin issue.
So, yes, it can become a sinissue.
Matthew 18, 15 to 20.
If your brother sins againstyou, don't judge him.
No, if your brother sinsagainst you, not if your brother
(30:07):
has a preference that isdifferent than your preference.
And, by the way, in order forus to make this sort of tangible
and put the cookies on thebottom shelf because I've been
thinking about this okay, let'sput the cookies on the bottom
shelf and talk about an issueright here in GFBC that's about
to come up very quicklyChristmas, fbc that's about to
come up very quickly.
(30:27):
Christmas.
There's a group of people inthis church who do not and will
not celebrate Christmas.
I'm one of them.
Christ's Mass, any other Mass,not going to do it.
There's another group of peoplein this church Never even
thought about it that way.
(30:48):
It is the tradition whichthey've grown up.
They don't mean it as any sortof mass.
They don't mean it as any sortof active worship.
It is almost a completely andutterly secular observance.
By the way, just a footnotehere Do you know the most
expensive Christmas tree in theworld last year was in Abu Dhabi
(31:11):
, a Muslim country in the MiddleEast, because they see
Christmas as having nothing todo with Christ.
There are people in this churchwho are going to go all out,
already started decorating, yougot your stuff.
I mean you're going to go allout.
There are other people in thischurch who are not going to do
(31:35):
anything.
They don't celebrate Christmas.
They don't love Jesus.
They don't celebrate Christmas.
They don't love Jesus.
They don't want to celebratehis birth.
That's passing judgment.
They're celebrating Christmas.
(31:56):
They're pagans, don't?
They know where thosetraditions come from?
Probably not, probably not,probably not, probably not.
That's a real right here, rightnow application of this
(32:18):
principle in Romans, chapter 14.
In Romans, chapter 14.
But there's a differencebetween this principle and the
way that we deal with thingsthat are sinful and clearly
lined out in Scripture.
If your brother sins againstyou, go and tell him his fault
between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you havegained your brother.
(32:39):
But if he does not listen, takeone or two others along with
you.
That every charge may beestablished by the evidence of
two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.
If he refuses to listen even tothe church, let him be to you
as a Gentile or a tax collector.
Well, sounds like you'repassing judgment.
Actually no, watch this Truly.
(33:03):
I say to you whatever you bindon earth should be bound in
heaven.
Whatever you loose on earthshould be loosed in heaven.
Again, I say to you if two ofyou agree on earth about
anything they ask, it will bedone for them by the Father in
heaven.
For where two or three aregathered in my name, there am I
among them.
Folks, that's about theauthority of the church, which
is the body of Christ.
Notice that you as anindividual don't have the right
(33:29):
to excommunicate another person.
You got to go, bring othersfrom the church and then it goes
before the authority of thechurch itself.
See, you lack the authority andeven then, even then, the
church is exercising theauthority that it has.
But the church can't exercisefinal judgment on a person.
He can put you out of thechurch, but not out of the
(33:52):
kingdom, if you're truly saved.
1 Corinthians 5,.
We find the same thing, andPaul even uses the word about
the man who is shagging up withhis stepmother.
Paul says I passed judgment onhim already.
When you guys get together,follow suit, kick him out and
(34:17):
then listen to this Beginning inverse 9.
Often we stop reading at verse8.
Verse 9 of 1 Corinthians 5.
I wrote to you in my letter notto associate with sexually
immoral people, Not at allmeaning the sexually immoral of
this world, or the greedy andswindlers or idolaters.
Since then you would need to goout of the world.
But now I'm writing to you notto associate with anyone who
(34:40):
bears the name of brother if heis guilty of sexual immorality
or greed or is an idolater,reviler, drunkard or swindler.
Not even to eat with such a one.
For what have I to do withjudging outsiders?
Is it not those inside thechurch whom you are to judge?
God judges those outside.
Purge the evil person fromamong you.
(35:04):
So you can't just ignore thatand go with the new John 3.16 of
our day don't judge me.
As though there's no contextand as though every time one
person says to another that'swrong, you've violated the
ultimate principle ofChristianity, which is don't
judge me.
Don't judge me Not only notonly sin, but also heresy Heresy
(35:37):
In 2 John.
John tells us if somebody comesto you and they're denying the
essential doctrines of the faith, don't let them in your house.
And I believe he's speakingspecifically there about
hospitality and a certain kindof hospitality, but regardless
(36:03):
of our interpretation of what itmeans and how far that goes,
the statement's pretty clearwhen people are holding to
damnable heresies, we don'tassociate.
That's judging.
But it's judging based on whatI'm not judging, based on my
ability to look into your souland to tell you about your
(36:26):
standing before God and wherethat comes from.
I don't know where that comesfrom.
I don't have to know where itcomes from.
All I have to know is that it'sthe exact opposite of what the
Bible teaches concerning theessential doctrines of the
Christian faith.
Not sure where that comes from,don't have to know where it
(36:47):
comes from.
Don't have to pass judgment onyou as an individual in order to
say that what you're teachingis heresy.
It's unacceptable.
I can't accept it, not based onmy authority, not based on my
insight, not based on my insight, not based on my purity, but
based on what I'm commanded fromthe word of God.
(37:08):
Now here's the problem.
The problem is when we takethose preference issues and
treat them like sin issues orheresy issues.
Come on, junior.
We can't associate with them.
Why?
Because they're sinners.
(37:29):
Why Because that girl has onpants?
Shame on you.
They have a television.
Shame on you.
(37:52):
There's a difference, andhere's what's ironic there are
people who will associate withothers and ignore significant
doctrinal issues if all thepersonal preferences line up.
We've talked about that before.
(38:15):
I can't tell you.
There are a number of occasionswhere people have said, yeah,
we're going to get together andwe're going to, and we hear
about this all the time.
You know, we're going to gettogether, we're going to have a
family, integrated church andhalf the people are paedobaptist
and half the people arecredobaptist.
Baptism that's significant.
People have died over the issueof baptism that's significant.
(38:38):
And people say, oh, no, no, no,we'll ignore the question of
how someone enters the church aslong as we can all agree on how
long skirts have to be and whatyour position has to be on
television and so on and soforth.
See, as long as we can gettogether on these peripheral
issues, we can overcome thosedoctrinal things.
(38:59):
See, that's getting itcompletely backwards, utterly
backwards.
That would be in romans 14, likesaying listen, okay, all, all
(39:23):
right, you're wrong on theperson and work of Christ, but
you agree with me on thismeat-eating thing.
So I'm going to associate withyou, not them, because what's
really important is that we havethe same preferences.
Here's what you just said.
If you really want to know aperson standing before God and
(39:45):
their rightness and theirrighteousness, you look at the
preferences, and not all of them, just the ones that matter most
to me, because God knowsthere's areas where I'm
inconsistent.
But hey, don't judge me, thatdoes not honor Christ.
(40:11):
Nor am I saying that we don'ttalk about preferences, even
argue, in the right sense of theword, respectful disagreement
about preferences, pointing oneanother sense of the word,
respectful disagreement aboutpreferences, pointing one
another back to the word.
That's wonderful.
(40:33):
We need to do more of that, Ibelieve.
(40:54):
But where we jump ship is whenwe elevate our preferences to
the essentials and relegate theessentials to peripheral status,
to peripheral status.
Folks, what holds us togetheras a body of believers is the
essentials, the peripherals.
(41:17):
That's what gives us flavor andthat's what teaches us how to
live like Christians with ourbrothers and sisters.
But the fact of the matter iswhat most of us want?
What most of us want is a groupof people who look, taste,
smell and act just like we do,so that we don't have to learn
(41:42):
how to love.
Don't have to learn how to love.
It's easy to love your neighboras yourself when your neighbor
is a mirror reflection of youand all your preferences.
It's quite a different thingwhen you love Christmas and they
won't put up a tree.
(42:02):
Amen, somebody.
That's when we get down to it,that's when we're exercising
Christian brotherhood, whenthere are things that we prefer
(42:26):
and again we use that word soloosely.
Again, I'm a Jew and I've grownup a Jew and I'm just I'm meat
sacrifice to idols.
I just there's no way in theworld that I'm going to eat meat
sacrifice to idols.
And I'm sitting in church nextto a Gentile who didn't just eat
meat sacrificed to an idol, itwas pork.
(42:47):
I mean that could probably makea person.
You know what Paul says aboutthat.
Don't judge him.
That's where he says it.
(43:14):
Don't judge him.
Just close your eyes for aminute and listen to him sing.
And as you close your eyes fora minute and listen to him sing,
and as you close your eyes fora minute and listen to him sing,
think about who he's singing,to Think about the fact that
(43:36):
this Gentile, who did not growup with all the things that you
grew up with, who was a paganpracticing pagan beliefs.
Pagan religion, far away fromGod, has come to know and
worship the Messiah, just likeyou have come to know and
(43:59):
worship the Messiah.
Worship the Messiah.
Yes, there's things that hedoes that are just going to turn
you and tie you up in knots,but do you not realize that this
(44:21):
is a fulfillment of the promisethat God made to Abraham when
he said all the nations of theearth were going to be blessed?
Did you not think that therewould be some pork coming with
that?
That's when don't judge meapplies.
(44:44):
That's when don't judge meapplies.
Christ will judge, and if yourbrother's heart is wrong on the
meat thing, christ will judgehim.
But I guarantee when thathappens, you won't be rejoicing.
(45:05):
You won't, because in thatmoment you will have a clearer
understanding of how selfish,arrogant, ignorant, prideful and
(45:26):
absolutely ridiculous you wereIn the way that you held
yourself up before others.
That's what's coming.
That's what's coming and that'swhat ought to be on our minds
when we attempt to peer into thesouls of others and pass
judgment.
Heresy must be called out andthere's a responsibility to do
(45:53):
that.
Time and a place and a way todo that.
Sin must be called out.
There's a responsibility to dothat.
There's a time and a place anda way to do that.
But even when we do that, buteven when we do that, we're not
passing judgment on our brotherand sister, but we are holding
up falsehood and sin to thelight of Scripture as it has
(46:14):
been revealed clearly.
There's a difference.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver difference.
A church member's child is ill.
You want to help, but where doyou begin?
Author and counselor, michael BEmlitt outlines a model of one
another ministry based on howGod sees and loves His people,
primarily as saints, whilebringing comfort to the
sufferers and faithfullyspeaking truth to the sinner.
(46:57):
Filled with everydayillustrations as well as
counseling examples, emlittdemonstrates what it looks like
to approach fellow believerssimultaneously as saints,
sufferers and sinners.
Emlett unpacks scripture anddraws on his many years of
counseling experience to helpcounselors, pastors and friends
love others wisely and well.
This book is scripturesaturated.
(47:19):
Michael Emlett has given us atreasure in this book.
For any amount of donation toBiblical Talks, we will send you
the book.
Please go to biblicaltalkscomand click the Donate here tab.
Thank you for listening toBiblical Talks.
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week Beloved.
The more we police the behaviorof our brother and sister in
Christ and I'm talking aboutopinions and preference the more
we police each other, the moredangerous our own position
(00:23):
becomes.
Each other, the more dangerousour own position becomes.
Jesus said that it isfoolishness to point out a speck
of sawdust in your brother'seye if you have a two by four in
your own eye.
In Romans 14, verses 10 to 12,Paul is getting to the same idea
(00:45):
.
Here he says why did you judgeyour brother or your sister when
you know that each of us wouldgive account of himself to God?
Listen, God won't be asking youabout the opinion and
preference of your brother.
He won't.
He'll be looking into youraccount.
(01:05):
So, brothers and sisters, Don'tworry about your neighbor so
much, but keep a better, A closeeye on yourself.
Get out of other folks businessand tend to your own business.
Here's Pastor VotabalkinPreaching on passing judgment.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, as we've said before, there is a new John 3.16
.
The old John 3.16 was John 3.16.
That verse that everyone knew,that verse that was familiar to
all, that verse that you sawplastered all over the place,
(01:51):
that verse to which people wouldpoint, that verse that even
people who didn't know the lordhad somehow committed to their
memory John 3.16, it wasubiquitous.
John 3.16 is no longer John3.16.
The new John 3.16 is Matthew7.1.
(02:11):
Of course, the old John 3.16,people knew as John 3.16.
They could tell you the addressof the verse.
The new John 3.16, matthew 7.1,.
No one knows that it's Matthew7.1.
They just know the principlefound there in Matthew 7.1.
And they hold, not themselvesbut Christians, to this
(02:35):
principle.
It is judge, not that you benot judged.
And we have shorthand for thenew John 3.16.
And the shorthand is, quitesimply don't judge me.
That's the shorthand for thenew John 3.16.
(02:55):
Don't judge me, and that's whatwe believe both inside and
outside the church.
That's our attitude Don't judgeme.
In fact, we use this as abaseline for establishing
genuine love.
Genuine love is a love thatdoesn't judge.
(03:18):
Genuine love is a love thatreceives me just as I am, and so
if you are judging me, you arenot loving me.
Don't judge me.
Well, here in Romans, chapter 14, verses 10 through 12, we have
(03:40):
what could be considered acompanion passage to the new
John 3.16, which is actuallyMatthew 7.1.
If you join me there, in verses10 through 12, here we find
another compelling passage ofScripture that calls us not to
pass judgment, and it does sovery clearly, beginning in verse
(04:07):
10.
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother or you?
Why do you despise your brother?
For we will all stand beforethe judgment seat of God.
For it is written as I live,says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me and every tongue shallconfess to God.
(04:27):
So then, each of us will givean account of himself to God.
Amen, hallelujah, praise theLord.
Don't judge me.
It's there, is it not?
Well, I want to do a couple ofthings.
(04:47):
First, I want us to look atthis text and experience the
full weight of it in its context, and then I want us to balance
it against those areas inscripture where judgment is
clearly called for.
Folks, we pass judgment everyday.
(05:07):
We make judgments every day.
We could not survive if wedidn't do this.
What time do we need to leavein order to make it to church on
time it's judgment.
We judge whether or not we haveenough gas to make it where
we're going.
We judge whether or not whatwe're wearing is appropriate.
(05:28):
We judge whether to go to onechurch or another.
We judge the music.
We judge the sermon.
We even judge people.
Is she a good person?
Is he a good doctor or a baddoctor?
Is this a good accountant or abad accountant?
(05:48):
Is this a trustworthy salesmanor is this not a trustworthy
salesman?
We judge every day and we haveto.
This text is not about makingjudgments.
This text is about passingjudgment, and there is a
(06:09):
difference between makingjudgments and passing judgments.
See, passing judgment means youlook beyond what a person says
or does, into the very heart ofthe person, as though you have
the ability to discern, numberone, why they do what they do
(06:32):
and, two, the foundation fromwhich it is being done, ie
whether they are genuinely savedor not.
That's passing judgment.
Making a judgment.
This person is not a goodsalesman.
(06:53):
I want another salesman.
Passing judgment this person isnot a good salesman.
His heart is wicked.
His intentions are wicked.
He is trying intentionally toharm me and take advantage of me
, and I know this because I seewhat's in his soul.
(07:13):
There's a difference betweenmaking a judgment and passing
judgment, and we have a tendencyto do this, and nowhere do we
do this more.
The better we know people, themore likely we are to pass
judgment on them.
The closer a person is to us,the more likely we are to assume
(07:40):
that we know not just whetheror not what they did was wrong,
but where it came from, what theintention was and, more
specifically, what the intentionof the heart was.
That's passing judgment.
(08:03):
This text doesn't allow for that.
Why?
Well, first of all, we're notallowed to pass judgment because
we don't have the authority topass judgment.
Notice what he says here inverse 10.
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother?
Why do you pass judgment onyour brother?
(08:23):
You don't have the authority topass judgment on your brother.
You see, the brotherrelationship is a relationship
between equals.
Passing judgment is the act ofa superior.
It is the act of a judge, not abrother.
I pass judgment on you becauseI'm your judge.
Paul says here this is yourbrother.
(08:47):
I pass judgment on you becauseI'm your judge.
Paul says here this is yourbrother.
Who do you think you are topass judgment on your brother?
You have no authority to passjudgment on your brother.
This is your brother, this isyour sister.
It is not within the purview ofyour responsibility to pass
judgment on your brother or yoursister.
Make a statement about what wassaid, make a statement about
(09:12):
what was done, but to passjudgment.
You lack that authority.
We see this in other Paulinewritings.
Prime example Philippians 2, 1through 4.
Cravings Prime examplePhilippians 2, 1 through 4.
So, if there's any encouragementin Christ, any comfort from
(09:36):
love, any participation in theSpirit, any affection and
sympathy, complete my joy bybeing of the same mind, having
the same love, being in fullaccord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfishambition or conceit, but in
humility, count others moresignificant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not onlyto his own interest, but also to
the interest of others.
That's the relationship that wehave as brothers and sisters.
(10:00):
Here in Romans, chapter 12 andverse 10 love one another with
brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showinghonor.
12, 16.
Live in harmony with oneanother.
Do not be haughty, butassociate with the lowly.
Never be wise in your own sight.
(10:21):
14, 13.
After this Next week we'll lookat this.
Therefore, let us not passjudgment on one another any
longer, but rather decide neverto put a stumbling block or
hindrance in the way of abrother.
Romans 15.5,.
May the God of endurance andencouragement grant you to live
in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.
(10:45):
1570,.
Therefore, welcome one anotheras Christ has welcomed you for
the glory of God.
1570,.
I'm sorry, same verse, so againthere was a 16, but I left the
16 off.
This is the attitude that wehave toward one another.
We're brothers and sisters inChrist, and the act of passing
(11:08):
judgment on another is to assumesuperiority over another.
You don't have it.
You don't have the authority topass judgment on your brothers
or sisters.
More significantly, here Paulmakes it clear the one who has
authority to do so is Godhimself, in an ultimate sense,
(11:34):
and you are not God.
You don't pass judgment on yourbrothers and sisters because
you don't have the authority topass judgment on them.
Secondly, you lack the insightnecessary to pass judgment on
your brothers and sisters.
You don't have the authorityand you don't have the insight.
(11:54):
First of all, you don't know hisheart.
You don't know why he did whathe did.
You don't know if hisintentions were evil or
otherwise.
You don't know if it was anerror or if it was on purpose.
You don't know if hisintentions were evil or
otherwise.
You don't know if it was anerror or if it was on purpose.
You don't know that.
You may think you know that,but you don't.
In fact, you don't even knowyour own heart.
(12:17):
How on earth can you know yourbrother's heart if you don't
know your own?
Your own heart is desperatelyand deceitfully wicked.
You deceive yourself all thetime and yet you have the
audacity to pass judgment onyour brother like you know
what's in his heart.
You don't, you absolutely donot.
(12:48):
1 Samuel 16, 7,.
For the Lord sees, not as mansees.
Man looks on the outwardappearance, but the Lord looks
on the heart.
The Lord looks on the heart.
You cannot, you can't.
Jeremiah 17, 9 and 10,.
(13:08):
The heart is deceitful, aboveall things, and desperately sick
.
Who can understand it?
I, the Lord, search the heartand test the mind to give every
man according to his ways,according to the fruit of his
deeds.
Hebrews 4.13,.
No creature is hidden from hissight, but all are naked and
(13:30):
exposed to the eyes of him, towhom we must give account.
That's God, luke 16.15,.
And he said to them.
You are those who justifyyourselves before men, but God
knows your hearts, for what isexalted among men is an
abomination in the sight of God.
(13:50):
Not only do you lack theauthority to pass judgment on
your brothers and sisters, youlack the insight necessary to
pass judgment on your brothersand sisters.
You cannot see their hearts.
You do not know why they dowhat they do, beyond what the
(14:12):
Scripture tells you.
So we can't pass judgment.
We don't have the ability topass judgment.
Here's the amazing thing Peoplecan do to you the same thing
that you do to them, but whenyou do it, you give yourself the
(14:35):
benefit of the doubt.
When they do it, you know thattheir intention was evil from
the start.
If you can't say amen, youought to say ouch.
That's precisely how we are,that's exactly the way we live
(14:57):
and that's exactly the way wetreat one another.
You did it to me because youwere evil.
I did it to you because I madea mistake.
You did it to me because youhate me.
I did it to you in spite of thefact that I love you and, of
(15:20):
course, you ought to know thatyou lack the authority to pass
judgment on your brother and youlack the insight to pass
judgment on your brother.
And you lack the insight topass judgment on your brother
Husbands, do you hear me?
Wives, do you hear me?
Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I forgot.
(15:43):
No, you didn't forget.
You're just evil, yeah, but yousee, but see, last year you
forgot, yeah.
Well, of course, I got a lot onmy plate.
You, on the other hand, you'reevil.
Somebody laughed too loud overthere.
(16:03):
Somebody laughed too loud overthere.
Thirdly, you lack the purity topass judgment on your brother.
You don't have the authority,you don't have the insight and
you don't have the purity.
Paul refers here to strong andweak, not right and wrong.
(16:25):
Do you catch that?
If you go back to the beginning, look at what he says here in
verse 10.
In verse 10, he says why do youpass judgment on your brothers,
or you, why do you despise yourbrothers?
Now go back to the beginning ofthis.
As for the one who is weak infaith, welcome him, but not to
(16:45):
quarrel over opinions.
One person believes he may eateverything, while the weak
person eats only vegetables.
Let the one who eats I'm sorry,let not the one who eats
despise the one who abstains,and then let not the one who
abstains, pass judgment on theone who eats?
(17:07):
Despise, pass judgment.
What does he say in verse 10?
Despise, pass judgment.
To whom is he referring?
The weak brother, the strongbrother?
He has not made a point aboutone being right and the other
being wrong.
One is weak and one is strong.
(17:28):
He doesn't say one is right andone is wrong.
There's a reason that the weakbrother is weak in the area
where he's weak.
There's a reason that thestrong brother is strong in the
area where he's strong.
By the way, if we talked aboutanother topic, they can switch
places and the brother who'sweak over here could be strong
over there, and the brotherwho's weak over here could be
strong over there, and thebrother who's strong over here
(17:49):
could be weak over there.
So this is not a statementabout one brother being
righteous and the other brotherbeing unrighteous.
So it's not that one of thesehas purity and the other does
not.
(18:10):
You're not righteous.
You cannot pass judgment onanother because you are not
righteous.
You cannot pass judgment onanother because you stand under
the same judgment and the samesentence.
You are not righteous.
(18:31):
God is the judge and you willhave to stand before that judge,
you who stand there passingjudgment on your brother,
because you know and can seeinto his heart.
You are going to stand beforegod on that day and what you
(18:54):
will not hear is you know what?
We can do this real quick,because you're righteous and
people have always wronged youIn spite of the fact that you
were righteous.
God bless you.
Move on so I can get to thosepeople who you had to deal with
all your life, who weren't asrighteous as you.
(19:17):
There are seven judgments,basically, that we see in
Scripture.
One, a series of judgments onthe earth in Revelation 6
through 11 and 15 through 16.
Two, the judgment of the beastand the false prophet Revelation
19, 20 and 20, 1 through 3.
Thirdly, a judgment of theGentile nations.
(19:37):
We see that in Psalm 2.
Four, a judgment of Israel.
We see that in Ezekiel 20.
The final judgment of SatanRevelation 20, 1 through 10.
The final judgment ofunbelievers at the great white
throne Revelation 20, 11 through15.
And a judgment of believers atthe judgment seat of Christ.
(20:00):
Listen to James Montgomery Boyce.
These judgments involve God'spunishments of individuals or
nations for those people'sspecific sins.
These punishments involvespiritual and eternal death and
hell suffering.
The last of these judgmentsstands apart from the rest
because it is a judgment ofbelievers, which means that it
(20:20):
is not for sin and does notinvolve spiritual death or
suffering.
Nevertheless, it is still areal judgment in which the
followers of Christ are to givean account for what they have
done in this life and are eitherrewarded or disapproved by God.
On that basis, you're going tostand before God.
That one that you are trying topass judgment upon is going to
(20:41):
stand before God and newsflash.
When you stand before God andwhen they stand before God, you
will not make a hundred Amen,because the fact of the matter
(21:03):
is oftentimes, when I judge themotives of another, the reason I
do so is because I'm wicked.
You did that to me becauseyou're wicked.
That's the spoken part.
Here's the unspoken part in theback of my mind that I may not
even realize.
(21:23):
I'm speaking and I know thatyou're wicked.
Because when I do that to you,I do it because I'm wicked.
You lack the authority, you lackthe insight and you lack the
(21:48):
purity to pass judgment on yourbrother.
And when you feel the need todo so, how about?
Instead of doing so, you take amoment and pause and think
about who you are and whatthat's going to look like before
(22:10):
Christ.
That will absolutely transformyour attitude toward your
brother or your sister.
Listen to this from JamesEdwards.
Listen to this from JamesEdwards on that day, all
(22:32):
pretense will be dispelled.
All moral judgments andaltruistic pronouncements will
be exploded as self-servingmasks of pride.
All gifts and sacrifices willbe seen in the light of their
real motives.
All strivings and hopes andgoals will be judged only from
the perspective of whateverfaith and love inspired them.
Finally, you lack the occasionto pass judgment on your brother
(23:19):
.
You see, the occasion ofjudgment being passed on your
brother is the occasion whenyour brother stands before
Christ.
That's when judgment will bepassed on your brother.
You lack the occasion to do so,you lack the authority, you
(23:40):
lack the insight, you lack thepurity, and you lack the purity
and you lack the occasion.
Because you are not Christ whowill judge the living and the
dead on the last day, and foryou or me to stand in his stead
(24:02):
and to prematurely pass thejudgment that only he can pass
is an act of blasphemy and anattempt to rob Christ of his
very glory by taking from himwhat is rightfully his and his
alone on that day and that dayalone.
(24:24):
Therefore, we must not Passjudgment On our brothers, but we
have to judge.
How do we balance that?
(24:51):
Several things.
One remember the context here.
Remember that paul is talkingspecifically to the church in
rome, and specifically a church,church where Jewish and Gentile
believers are coming togetherin the first century.
(25:11):
Now let me just put a littlecaveat here.
He's talking about two thingsin particular.
One he introduces later, it'snot the major part of the
context, but the two things thatyou're talking about.
Number one, eating of meatsacrificed to idols.
And number two, the observationof certain holy days.
The third one is drinkingalcohol or abstaining from the
(25:35):
drinking of alcohol.
It doesn't fall into the samecategory as these two We'll
explain that when we get to itbut the two main ones in the
context here is that he'stalking about abstaining of meat
sacrifice to idols and two, theobservation of certain holy
days.
Now let's bring this contexthome a little bit more.
(25:56):
He's talking about this in thechurch of Rome that is mixed
with first century believers,some Jewish and some Gentiles,
and none of them have a NewTestament.
Let me say that again, none ofthem has a New Testament.
So he's saying to the Gentilesnewsflash that Jewish believer,
(26:22):
who's been a Jew all his life,who's eaten a certain way all
his life, has come to faith inChrist and put everything on the
line by coming to faith inChrist, has been baptized
publicly, signing perhaps hisown death warrant because the
Jews and the Greeks will nowwant him dead.
That individual has eaten acertain way his whole life and
(26:46):
it pricks his conscience if hewalks away from that, not
because he doesn't love Jesus,but because, in his love of God,
based on the very text thatpointed to the Messiah who would
(27:06):
come, this is the way that helearned his whole life to show
his fidelity to God.
And it's more than a notion tojust roll out of bed one day and
not do that, and it is notsomething that has been clearly
set forth as being sinful.
(27:33):
Do you see the context here?
And so he says to both of themhe says to the one who abstains
he says listen now, okay, we getit, I get it.
I'm a Jew, I understand, I getit.
I get where you're coming from,but let me help you understand
the way that you operate inrespect to your brothers when it
(27:56):
comes to this.
They're Gentiles.
Don't expect them to have thesame convictions about this
peripheral issue that you do.
Don't despise them To theGentiles.
Listen.
You know their background andwhere they come from.
Don't judge them.
(28:16):
Don't judge them Because thefact of the matter is there's
some practices in your past thatare going to be problems for
you too.
So don't look at your brotherand say look at him Eating that.
Can you believe he's eatingthat?
(28:36):
What sinful behavior, whatgodless behavior To sit there
knowing that that was sacrificeto an idol.
How does he not just get up andrun out of that place?
He can't be a real Christian.
Passing judgment that's thecontext.
(29:02):
That's different than these twoissues.
Let me raise them.
Number one rebuking sin.
We're commanded to rebuke sin.
By the way, these are notperipheral issues.
There's a difference between aperipheral issue and an issue
(29:25):
that is a sin issue.
Abstaining from those meats wasnot a sin issue.
Eating those meats was not asin issue.
Eating those meats was not asin issue.
By the way, could they becomesin issues?
Yes, they could become sinissues.
If I'm abstaining from thesemeats and I believe that I'm
gaining some merit before Godbecause I abstain versus my
brother, now, that's a prideissue.
(29:47):
It's a sin issue.
So, yes, it can become a sinissue.
Matthew 18, 15 to 20.
If your brother sins againstyou, don't judge him.
No, if your brother sinsagainst you, not if your brother
(30:07):
has a preference that isdifferent than your preference.
And, by the way, in order forus to make this sort of tangible
and put the cookies on thebottom shelf because I've been
thinking about this okay, let'sput the cookies on the bottom
shelf and talk about an issueright here in GFBC that's about
to come up very quicklyChristmas, fbc that's about to
come up very quickly.
(30:27):
Christmas.
There's a group of people inthis church who do not and will
not celebrate Christmas.
I'm one of them.
Christ's Mass, any other Mass,not going to do it.
There's another group of peoplein this church Never even
thought about it that way.
(30:48):
It is the tradition whichthey've grown up.
They don't mean it as any sortof mass.
They don't mean it as any sortof active worship.
It is almost a completely andutterly secular observance.
By the way, just a footnotehere Do you know the most
expensive Christmas tree in theworld last year was in Abu Dhabi
(31:11):
, a Muslim country in the MiddleEast, because they see
Christmas as having nothing todo with Christ.
There are people in this churchwho are going to go all out,
already started decorating, yougot your stuff.
I mean you're going to go allout.
There are other people in thischurch who are not going to do
(31:35):
anything.
They don't celebrate Christmas.
They don't love Jesus.
They don't celebrate Christmas.
They don't love Jesus.
They don't want to celebratehis birth.
That's passing judgment.
They're celebrating Christmas.
(31:56):
They're pagans, don't?
They know where thosetraditions come from?
Probably not, probably not,probably not, probably not.
That's a real right here, rightnow application of this
(32:18):
principle in Romans, chapter 14.
In Romans, chapter 14.
But there's a differencebetween this principle and the
way that we deal with thingsthat are sinful and clearly
lined out in Scripture.
If your brother sins againstyou, go and tell him his fault
between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you havegained your brother.
(32:39):
But if he does not listen, takeone or two others along with
you.
That every charge may beestablished by the evidence of
two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.
If he refuses to listen even tothe church, let him be to you
as a Gentile or a tax collector.
Well, sounds like you'repassing judgment.
Actually no, watch this Truly.
(33:03):
I say to you whatever you bindon earth should be bound in
heaven.
Whatever you loose on earthshould be loosed in heaven.
Again, I say to you if two ofyou agree on earth about
anything they ask, it will bedone for them by the Father in
heaven.
For where two or three aregathered in my name, there am I
among them.
Folks, that's about theauthority of the church, which
is the body of Christ.
Notice that you as anindividual don't have the right
(33:29):
to excommunicate another person.
You got to go, bring othersfrom the church and then it goes
before the authority of thechurch itself.
See, you lack the authority andeven then, even then, the
church is exercising theauthority that it has.
But the church can't exercisefinal judgment on a person.
He can put you out of thechurch, but not out of the
(33:52):
kingdom, if you're truly saved.
1 Corinthians 5,.
We find the same thing, andPaul even uses the word about
the man who is shagging up withhis stepmother.
Paul says I passed judgment onhim already.
When you guys get together,follow suit, kick him out and
(34:17):
then listen to this Beginning inverse 9.
Often we stop reading at verse8.
Verse 9 of 1 Corinthians 5.
I wrote to you in my letter notto associate with sexually
immoral people, Not at allmeaning the sexually immoral of
this world, or the greedy andswindlers or idolaters.
Since then you would need to goout of the world.
But now I'm writing to you notto associate with anyone who
(34:40):
bears the name of brother if heis guilty of sexual immorality
or greed or is an idolater,reviler, drunkard or swindler.
Not even to eat with such a one.
For what have I to do withjudging outsiders?
Is it not those inside thechurch whom you are to judge?
God judges those outside.
Purge the evil person fromamong you.
(35:04):
So you can't just ignore thatand go with the new John 3.16 of
our day don't judge me.
As though there's no contextand as though every time one
person says to another that'swrong, you've violated the
ultimate principle ofChristianity, which is don't
judge me.
Don't judge me Not only notonly sin, but also heresy Heresy
(35:37):
In 2 John.
John tells us if somebody comesto you and they're denying the
essential doctrines of the faith, don't let them in your house.
And I believe he's speakingspecifically there about
hospitality and a certain kindof hospitality, but regardless
(36:03):
of our interpretation of what itmeans and how far that goes,
the statement's pretty clearwhen people are holding to
damnable heresies, we don'tassociate.
That's judging.
But it's judging based on whatI'm not judging, based on my
ability to look into your souland to tell you about your
(36:26):
standing before God and wherethat comes from.
I don't know where that comesfrom.
I don't have to know where itcomes from.
All I have to know is that it'sthe exact opposite of what the
Bible teaches concerning theessential doctrines of the
Christian faith.
Not sure where that comes from,don't have to know where it
(36:47):
comes from.
Don't have to pass judgment onyou as an individual in order to
say that what you're teachingis heresy.
It's unacceptable.
I can't accept it, not based onmy authority, not based on my
insight, not based on my insight, not based on my purity, but
based on what I'm commanded fromthe word of God.
(37:08):
Now here's the problem.
The problem is when we takethose preference issues and
treat them like sin issues orheresy issues.
Come on, junior.
We can't associate with them.
Why?
Because they're sinners.
(37:29):
Why Because that girl has onpants?
Shame on you.
They have a television.
Shame on you.
(37:52):
There's a difference, andhere's what's ironic there are
people who will associate withothers and ignore significant
doctrinal issues if all thepersonal preferences line up.
We've talked about that before.
(38:15):
I can't tell you.
There are a number of occasionswhere people have said, yeah,
we're going to get together andwe're going to, and we hear
about this all the time.
You know, we're going to gettogether, we're going to have a
family, integrated church andhalf the people are paedobaptist
and half the people arecredobaptist.
Baptism that's significant.
People have died over the issueof baptism that's significant.
(38:38):
And people say, oh, no, no, no,we'll ignore the question of
how someone enters the church aslong as we can all agree on how
long skirts have to be and whatyour position has to be on
television and so on and soforth.
See, as long as we can gettogether on these peripheral
issues, we can overcome thosedoctrinal things.
(38:59):
See, that's getting itcompletely backwards, utterly
backwards.
That would be in romans 14, likesaying listen, okay, all, all
(39:23):
right, you're wrong on theperson and work of Christ, but
you agree with me on thismeat-eating thing.
So I'm going to associate withyou, not them, because what's
really important is that we havethe same preferences.
Here's what you just said.
If you really want to know aperson standing before God and
(39:45):
their rightness and theirrighteousness, you look at the
preferences, and not all of them, just the ones that matter most
to me, because God knowsthere's areas where I'm
inconsistent.
But hey, don't judge me, thatdoes not honor Christ.
(40:11):
Nor am I saying that we don'ttalk about preferences, even
argue, in the right sense of theword, respectful disagreement
about preferences, pointing oneanother sense of the word,
respectful disagreement aboutpreferences, pointing one
another back to the word.
That's wonderful.
(40:33):
We need to do more of that, Ibelieve.
(40:54):
But where we jump ship is whenwe elevate our preferences to
the essentials and relegate theessentials to peripheral status,
to peripheral status.
Folks, what holds us togetheras a body of believers is the
essentials, the peripherals.
(41:17):
That's what gives us flavor andthat's what teaches us how to
live like Christians with ourbrothers and sisters.
But the fact of the matter iswhat most of us want?
What most of us want is a groupof people who look, taste,
smell and act just like we do,so that we don't have to learn
(41:42):
how to love.
Don't have to learn how to love.
It's easy to love your neighboras yourself when your neighbor
is a mirror reflection of youand all your preferences.
It's quite a different thingwhen you love Christmas and they
won't put up a tree.
(42:02):
Amen, somebody.
That's when we get down to it,that's when we're exercising
Christian brotherhood, whenthere are things that we prefer
(42:26):
and again we use that word soloosely.
Again, I'm a Jew and I've grownup a Jew and I'm just I'm meat
sacrifice to idols.
I just there's no way in theworld that I'm going to eat meat
sacrifice to idols.
And I'm sitting in church nextto a Gentile who didn't just eat
meat sacrificed to an idol, itwas pork.
(42:47):
I mean that could probably makea person.
You know what Paul says aboutthat.
Don't judge him.
That's where he says it.
(43:14):
Don't judge him.
Just close your eyes for aminute and listen to him sing.
And as you close your eyes fora minute and listen to him sing,
and as you close your eyes fora minute and listen to him sing,
think about who he's singing,to Think about the fact that
(43:36):
this Gentile, who did not growup with all the things that you
grew up with, who was a paganpracticing pagan beliefs.
Pagan religion, far away fromGod, has come to know and
worship the Messiah, just likeyou have come to know and
(43:59):
worship the Messiah.
Worship the Messiah.
Yes, there's things that hedoes that are just going to turn
you and tie you up in knots,but do you not realize that this
(44:21):
is a fulfillment of the promisethat God made to Abraham when
he said all the nations of theearth were going to be blessed?
Did you not think that therewould be some pork coming with
that?
That's when don't judge meapplies.
(44:44):
That's when don't judge meapplies.
Christ will judge, and if yourbrother's heart is wrong on the
meat thing, christ will judgehim.
But I guarantee when thathappens, you won't be rejoicing.
(45:05):
You won't, because in thatmoment you will have a clearer
understanding of how selfish,arrogant, ignorant, prideful and
(45:26):
absolutely ridiculous you wereIn the way that you held
yourself up before others.
That's what's coming.
That's what's coming and that'swhat ought to be on our minds
when we attempt to peer into thesouls of others and pass
judgment.
Heresy must be called out andthere's a responsibility to do
(45:53):
that.
Time and a place and a way todo that.
Sin must be called out.
There's a responsibility to dothat.
There's a time and a place anda way to do that.
But even when we do that, buteven when we do that, we're not
passing judgment on our brotherand sister, but we are holding
up falsehood and sin to thelight of Scripture as it has
(46:14):
been revealed clearly.
There's a difference.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver difference.
A church member's child is ill.
You want to help, but where doyou begin?
Author and counselor, michael BEmlitt outlines a model of one
another ministry based on howGod sees and loves His people,
primarily as saints, whilebringing comfort to the
sufferers and faithfullyspeaking truth to the sinner.
(46:57):
Filled with everydayillustrations as well as
counseling examples, emlittdemonstrates what it looks like
to approach fellow believerssimultaneously as saints,
sufferers and sinners.
Emlett unpacks scripture anddraws on his many years of
counseling experience to helpcounselors, pastors and friends
love others wisely and well.
This book is scripturesaturated.
(47:19):
Michael Emlett has given us atreasure in this book.
For any amount of donation toBiblical Talks, we will send you
the book.
Please go to biblicaltalkscomand click the Donate here tab.
Thank you for listening toBiblical Talks.
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