Saturday, August 1, 2015
Matthew 7:1-6 Judging Others
“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.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.
Jesus now moves on to a personal character issue. He says flatly that we are not to judge others. The reason for this is that we will be judged by the same standard we apply to others. We have sinned. Our neighbors and friends have sinned. If we condemn them without first acknowledging our own sin, our penalty will be just as severe.
Jesus illustrates this point with a humorous story about two people that have something in their eyes. You can't very well help your friend take a speck of sawdust out of his eye when you have a 2x4 in your own eye. Or, put another way, you cannot condemn your neighbor for flaunting his wealth when your heart is filled with envy and covetousness.
We need to tend to our own spiritual problems rather than point to the failures of others. Once we acknowledge those failures before the Great Judge, then maybe we can use what we have learned from the experience to help (not judge) our failing brother or sister rather than condemn them.
God has little patience for hypocritical, judgmental people, but at the same time, I think He wants us to use an enlightened discernment about others. there are those in this world on whom words of warning and judgement would be wasted. Even offering an opinion about their behavior might be dangerous. We need to steer clear of these people because they are not in a place where a call to righteousness would have any value to them. This is what Jesus is talking about in verse 6. You can't give a new car to a 4 year old to drive and you should not waste scripture on a reprobate mind. Neither makes sense and both could be dangerous. We have to wait until God has made them ready and receptive.
-So what do you think was going on in the Judaism of Christ's time that He felt He needed to address this issue of judging others?
It's what has always gone on among human and even among God's people. They were judging each other. In Judea, the religious leadership regularly passed judgement on others using their interpretation of God's laws. However, their interpretation and practice of God's law was, as Jesus pointed out time and time again, a sin itself. They were no more righteous then the people they condemned, except in their own minds.
-What was the result of the self-righteous attitudes of the religious leadership?
Rank and file sinners were barred from their only source of help and salvation. They were separated from God by the rule keepers. There was no place for them to turn.
-What did Jesus' illustration about eyes and bits of wood say to His listeners?
We all have sin in our lives. Some have a lot and some not so much, but it all separates us from God if we let it. Pointing out a brother's sin does nothing for the sin in our own lives. Instead, we should all look to clearing our own spiritual vision by removing the sin from our own lives and then helping - not judging - our brothers and sisters with their sin problems.
-Have you ever noticed, after reading the gospels, just how comfortable sinners were in Jesus' presence? Why do you think this is the case?
He did not judge them. He helped them. He helped them see for themselves what their problems were and He had compassion on them and He forgave them.
-Have you sen the opposite pattern in the gospels where the religious people were very uncomfortable in Jesus' presence? Why do you think this was the case?
He convicted them of their abject failure to keep their own rules, let alone God's law. See Luke 7:36-50 and John 8:1-11 for examples of this. These are amazing examples of how, without judging, Jesus led people to see their own sin. The sinners in the story were glad for God's grace. Those that considered themselves religious, sort of slunk away in horror.
-So what about today? Do you think unbelieving sinners would feel comfortable with us today as they did with Jesus?
If you are honest, can you really say yes to that question?
-Has the Church become a fortress to protect the "pure" and keep out sin? Should it not be more like a hospital, admitting the diseased and injured in search of a cure or healing?
These are worrisome questions. We do not want to become like our world's culture, but we do want to welcome them in when they are ready and not beat them up for their former lives. We want them to know they have a place with us in His kingdom if that is what they want. We must not put up barriers of prejudgment.
-So is there ever a time or place for judgement of others?
Check out Romans 2:1-4. Read about the situation in Corinth in I Corinthians 5. Then see the best policy about the matter in I Thessalonians 5:14-24.
If we avoid sin, we will likely NOT be judged by anyone - God or man. Barring that, I think we have to immediately throw ourselves on the mercy of God's court. Grace is available. Men may not be so generous, but God will take up for us if repentance is in evidence.
Bottom line...don't judge others. Just don't. It does not help them or you.
Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry...Really???
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So...If we are to seek and serve God and not pursue or store up material things, who is going to pay the bills? There are no free lunches right? We still need food and drink and clothing and a roof over our heads...and maybe some health insurance wouldn't hurt either now that I think about it.
So where is all that going to come from? It stopped raining manna in the desert centuries ago. The answer, according to Jesus, is simple and obvious. If you seek and serve God, He is going to take care of you.
What does Jesus say? "Don't worry". Worrying about your personal or financial condition is a waste of time and energy. After all, do the birds eat? Who feeds them? It's God. And what about the flowers? Do they worry about what they will wear? The answer is no. God made them and they are already beautiful.
So what's Jesus' point? If God cares so much about flowers and birds that are here today and gone tomorrow, then how much more must He care about us - right? It's just not productive to worry about material things or what might happen tomorrow. God knows what we need and He knows what we will need. He will take care of us.
So, rather than worry, we need to spend our time seeking Him and pursuing His righteousness. If we do these things, then all that other stuff that preoccupies us so much of the time will be taken care of by Him. As Jesus says, "each day has enough trouble of its own." We need to leave tomorrow in God's hands.
-Do you believe that? Do you practice it...or do you worry?
It takes some faith not to worry, but as Jesus said, worrying will not fix a problem. God did give us all brains. There are things we can take care of ourselves. But there are also things that are totally out of our control - things that we must leave in God's hands - things that we cannot change of our own power.
-So should we prepare for tomorrow - for the future? Is being willing to dress like flowers and eat like birds enough to get us through this life, especially in our time?
Again, God gave us brains and the ingenuity to help us take care of our selves in cooperation with His gifting. If we genuinely seek Him and His righteousness, we will be all right.
-But what if it kills me?
Silly Christian. What if it does?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So...If we are to seek and serve God and not pursue or store up material things, who is going to pay the bills? There are no free lunches right? We still need food and drink and clothing and a roof over our heads...and maybe some health insurance wouldn't hurt either now that I think about it.
So where is all that going to come from? It stopped raining manna in the desert centuries ago. The answer, according to Jesus, is simple and obvious. If you seek and serve God, He is going to take care of you.
What does Jesus say? "Don't worry". Worrying about your personal or financial condition is a waste of time and energy. After all, do the birds eat? Who feeds them? It's God. And what about the flowers? Do they worry about what they will wear? The answer is no. God made them and they are already beautiful.
So what's Jesus' point? If God cares so much about flowers and birds that are here today and gone tomorrow, then how much more must He care about us - right? It's just not productive to worry about material things or what might happen tomorrow. God knows what we need and He knows what we will need. He will take care of us.
So, rather than worry, we need to spend our time seeking Him and pursuing His righteousness. If we do these things, then all that other stuff that preoccupies us so much of the time will be taken care of by Him. As Jesus says, "each day has enough trouble of its own." We need to leave tomorrow in God's hands.
-Do you believe that? Do you practice it...or do you worry?
It takes some faith not to worry, but as Jesus said, worrying will not fix a problem. God did give us all brains. There are things we can take care of ourselves. But there are also things that are totally out of our control - things that we must leave in God's hands - things that we cannot change of our own power.
-So should we prepare for tomorrow - for the future? Is being willing to dress like flowers and eat like birds enough to get us through this life, especially in our time?
Again, God gave us brains and the ingenuity to help us take care of our selves in cooperation with His gifting. If we genuinely seek Him and His righteousness, we will be all right.
-But what if it kills me?
Silly Christian. What if it does?
Matthew 6:19-24 Is It a Sin to be Rich?
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Jesus expounds on the proper attitude toward wealth and again, He sets the bar high. His concern is that we should not be greedy, by hoarding our wealth, and further, that we should not become dependent on money or the many luxuries it can buy. Most of this has to do with the passing nature of material things, including money. They just do not last over the long haul. Stuff gets broken. Things get stolen or moth eaten or they fall apart with corrosion or rot. It's all just stuff anyway. For the most part, you can't eat it or drink it and clothes come and go over time.
Beyond all this, money has no eternal or lasting value. Jesus says that if we have an interest in storing up things - hoarding things - they should be things of spiritual value. These things can be stored up securely in the heavenly record - things like good works, generosity, honesty and compassion. These things do not rot. Moths do not eat them. They will not rust and they will not get stolen.
But we have to be careful because our eyes can lead us astray. If we use our eyes to seek good things - spiritual treasures - we can store these things in heaven. Our eyes will be full of light. However, if we allow our eyes to be distracted by material or fleshly things; if we let our eyes lead us into covetousness, envy and greed, then we will be filled with darkness - spiritual darkness that can overwhelm us.
Jesus' point in all this is that no one can serve two gods. We cannot serve both the one true God and also money and material possessions. We will either ignore God and love money or we will be devoted to Him and the pursuit of wealth will take a back seat. There is no middle ground. Greed and the love of money and material things is idolatry.
-So how do you store up treasures in heaven?
Through good works. By using the wealth that God gives us to help others. By being compassionate, generous, honest and forgiving.
-What does Jesus mean in verse 21 hen He says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"?
The things that we value in life say much about who we are and what our priorities might be. If our jobs or our personal property or our hobbies or accumulation of wealth are more important than loving God and our neighbors - that reveals much about where our hearts are. It says much about where we put God in the great schemes of our lives. I tells us who we love most. Is it ourselves or is it the Lord? The answer will be obvious.
-So is it a sin to be rich then?
That's a fair question. It again depends on how you view the things you have and what you do with them. For myself, I would say that God gives us everything to one degree or another. It is by His grace that I have anything at all, so it behooves me to share what He has made me the steward of.
Jesus tell three stories about rich men in the gospel of Luke that create a compelling answer to this question.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells a story of a rich man that had a bumper crop and decided to build bigger barns and sit back and live off his wealth. The plan was to eat, drink and be merry. Enjoy a life of leisure. Do what others only dream of. The problem was that there was no place for God in this plan. There was no place for sharing the wonderful wealth that God had so graciously given. There was only blatant self interest. It was obvious that the only god the man had was himself, so God took his life and others enjoyed the fruits of his treasures.
In Luke 16:19-25, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a poor, lame beggar covered in sores named Lazarus. Daily, the rich man would see Lazarus by his gate begging. Daily Lazarus was ignored. Though the rich man had been given much by God that could have been shared with Lazarus to help with his health issues and make him productive in his life again, the rich man did not see it that way. What was his was his.
When the time came that both men died, Lazarus went to paradise, to the bosom of Abraham and to eternal comfort, but the rich man went to hell and eternal torment. He begged for relief. He begged that Lazarus be allowed to bring him water to quench his torment. Abraham advised that would not be happening.
Had the rich man's attitude toward his wealth been different when he was alive, his situation might be different after his death. As it was, he was in torment. He loved his wealth more than God.
In Luke 18:18-30, Jesus meets a rich, young ruler; probably a member of the Sanhedrin. The man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life and he assures Jesus that he has kept all the commandments since he was young (which is probably a lie). Jesus advised him that he lacked just one thing. He needed to sell everything he had and give to the poor so that he could have treasure in heaven. This made the rich young man very sad. He had much and even though Jesus had not advised that he give it all away, he was still deeply disturbed by what Jesus had said.
When Jesus was questioned about it, He advised that is was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. The crowds then wondered out loud if anyone could possibly get into heaven and Jesus said, "what is impossible with men is possible with God."
I think Jesus' point in all these stories about rich men is about their attitude toward their wealth.
If we see our wealth as things that God gives us, things that He has made us stewards over, then we will be on the right path. So how can we be proper stewards over the wealth God gives? By sharing and caring in our actions as well as our words.
This is not a Marxist ideology. This is simple sharing and caring for our fellow human beings. We need to be helping each other in the material sense and in the spiritual sense with what ever talents and treasures God gives us. He will bless those efforts accordingly, maybe now and most definitely in the Kingdom that is to come. There is nothing wrong with being rich. Money wealth and talent are gifts to us from God who owns everything. We must use them wisely as His stewards for His glory until He returns.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Jesus expounds on the proper attitude toward wealth and again, He sets the bar high. His concern is that we should not be greedy, by hoarding our wealth, and further, that we should not become dependent on money or the many luxuries it can buy. Most of this has to do with the passing nature of material things, including money. They just do not last over the long haul. Stuff gets broken. Things get stolen or moth eaten or they fall apart with corrosion or rot. It's all just stuff anyway. For the most part, you can't eat it or drink it and clothes come and go over time.
Beyond all this, money has no eternal or lasting value. Jesus says that if we have an interest in storing up things - hoarding things - they should be things of spiritual value. These things can be stored up securely in the heavenly record - things like good works, generosity, honesty and compassion. These things do not rot. Moths do not eat them. They will not rust and they will not get stolen.
But we have to be careful because our eyes can lead us astray. If we use our eyes to seek good things - spiritual treasures - we can store these things in heaven. Our eyes will be full of light. However, if we allow our eyes to be distracted by material or fleshly things; if we let our eyes lead us into covetousness, envy and greed, then we will be filled with darkness - spiritual darkness that can overwhelm us.
Jesus' point in all this is that no one can serve two gods. We cannot serve both the one true God and also money and material possessions. We will either ignore God and love money or we will be devoted to Him and the pursuit of wealth will take a back seat. There is no middle ground. Greed and the love of money and material things is idolatry.
-So how do you store up treasures in heaven?
Through good works. By using the wealth that God gives us to help others. By being compassionate, generous, honest and forgiving.
-What does Jesus mean in verse 21 hen He says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"?
The things that we value in life say much about who we are and what our priorities might be. If our jobs or our personal property or our hobbies or accumulation of wealth are more important than loving God and our neighbors - that reveals much about where our hearts are. It says much about where we put God in the great schemes of our lives. I tells us who we love most. Is it ourselves or is it the Lord? The answer will be obvious.
-So is it a sin to be rich then?
That's a fair question. It again depends on how you view the things you have and what you do with them. For myself, I would say that God gives us everything to one degree or another. It is by His grace that I have anything at all, so it behooves me to share what He has made me the steward of.
Jesus tell three stories about rich men in the gospel of Luke that create a compelling answer to this question.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells a story of a rich man that had a bumper crop and decided to build bigger barns and sit back and live off his wealth. The plan was to eat, drink and be merry. Enjoy a life of leisure. Do what others only dream of. The problem was that there was no place for God in this plan. There was no place for sharing the wonderful wealth that God had so graciously given. There was only blatant self interest. It was obvious that the only god the man had was himself, so God took his life and others enjoyed the fruits of his treasures.
In Luke 16:19-25, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a poor, lame beggar covered in sores named Lazarus. Daily, the rich man would see Lazarus by his gate begging. Daily Lazarus was ignored. Though the rich man had been given much by God that could have been shared with Lazarus to help with his health issues and make him productive in his life again, the rich man did not see it that way. What was his was his.
When the time came that both men died, Lazarus went to paradise, to the bosom of Abraham and to eternal comfort, but the rich man went to hell and eternal torment. He begged for relief. He begged that Lazarus be allowed to bring him water to quench his torment. Abraham advised that would not be happening.
Had the rich man's attitude toward his wealth been different when he was alive, his situation might be different after his death. As it was, he was in torment. He loved his wealth more than God.
In Luke 18:18-30, Jesus meets a rich, young ruler; probably a member of the Sanhedrin. The man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life and he assures Jesus that he has kept all the commandments since he was young (which is probably a lie). Jesus advised him that he lacked just one thing. He needed to sell everything he had and give to the poor so that he could have treasure in heaven. This made the rich young man very sad. He had much and even though Jesus had not advised that he give it all away, he was still deeply disturbed by what Jesus had said.
When Jesus was questioned about it, He advised that is was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. The crowds then wondered out loud if anyone could possibly get into heaven and Jesus said, "what is impossible with men is possible with God."
I think Jesus' point in all these stories about rich men is about their attitude toward their wealth.
If we see our wealth as things that God gives us, things that He has made us stewards over, then we will be on the right path. So how can we be proper stewards over the wealth God gives? By sharing and caring in our actions as well as our words.
This is not a Marxist ideology. This is simple sharing and caring for our fellow human beings. We need to be helping each other in the material sense and in the spiritual sense with what ever talents and treasures God gives us. He will bless those efforts accordingly, maybe now and most definitely in the Kingdom that is to come. There is nothing wrong with being rich. Money wealth and talent are gifts to us from God who owns everything. We must use them wisely as His stewards for His glory until He returns.
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