Dec. 4, 2016 Afternoon Service Beatitudes Part 21 by Pastor Josh Sheldon

The Sermon on the Mount and the Context of Matthew 7:1-6

Well, we continue now with the Sermon on the Mount, this great message preached by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter five through chapter seven. It's been our topic here in the afternoon portion of our service for quite some time.

And we come to a text now, which I'll read in a moment. But as we come to it, you're gonna recognize this, is one I preached not long ago here as a text for the morning service. Matthew seven, one through six.

And it's also very relative to a text I preached not long ago here. The last time I preached Matthew seven was about two and a half years ago almost. But a few weeks ago, from Romans chapter two, I preached again about judging.

It's one of those subjects like forgiveness that comes up quite a bit in the scriptures. But we will take, as we go through this, a little bit different tact than we have taken a scriptural message, which the text that we have here will support as Lord willing you will see.

But a little different angle at it than what we've taken. Because as I said, having preached this text not too long ago and something similar from Romans very recently, I wanted to see if we can find a new, not totally new application like we're doing something innovative, but just a different angle to come at it.

So let me read to you Matthew seven, verses one through six, the word of God from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ. Judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there's that log in your own eye?

You hypocrite. First, take the log out of your own eye. And then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them under feet and turn to attack you.

May God bless the reading and the hearing of his word. Let's go to him again in prayer as we consider this text. Heavenly Father, again we pray for your spirit and your help in understanding what is before us, in preaching and hearing this text, in finding the glory of Jesus Christ as we understand what you, Father, would have of us.

And so, Father, I do pray that the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart would be acceptable in your sight for you are our redeemer. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, I said a couple of weeks ago that a church that refuses to judge, a church that takes that idea that, well, judge not, therefore we judge nothing, therefore I don't judge you, you can't judge me, we don't judge anything, we just get along together, is not a valid way to take any of the texts about judging in the scripture.

We do have to judge. And I still believe quite strongly what I said a couple of weeks ago, that a church that refuses to judge is really no church at all, for how would we judge sin? How would we obey Matthew 18, 15 to 22?

How would we ever uncover sin? Even the speck that Jesus speaks of here in Matthew 7, one through six. If there's not some judgment involved, if we don't take the word judgment and the way it's used, and when we're told not to judge and told other times to judge in the proper context, and we don't have to be clever or footloose or fancy free with the text, may it never be that we are that, we just take the text at its meaning.

What Jesus is saying to us here, we must judge. In fact, the whole business of specks and logs requires discernment, judgment. How would we ever know that the speck is a speck that needs to be removed if we don't have some level of this kind of judgment and discernment?

The Beatitudes as the Character of a Kingdom Subject

Well, this afternoon, I want to focus on, and I want to consider the sort of person who fulfills what Jesus is speaking to here. The type of person who fulfills what Jesus is speaking to. We know already, and I'm just by way of reinforcement, that when you see a speck in your brother's eye, by the time you get the log out of your eye, you can then be fairly sure that the speck that you still see in your brother's eye or your sister's eye, for that matter, is really a speck.

It's really something that needs to be removed. The log seems to be of the same type, by analogy, as the speck. We do this business with our Lord. We open the scriptures. We ask him to reveal to us our fault.

We repent of that before God. We do the hard, violent business with our own souls, and then we go gently, softly to that brother or sister and still remove that speck that is in there. It does require discernment.

It requires judgment. It requires humility, all these things. But I wanna consider, again, what kind of person, how are we to be, what sort are we to be if we're going to fulfill what Jesus says? Let me give you a quick list, a bullet point list, and you'll recognize exactly where this is coming from.

Who fulfills this one who can gently remove that teeny speck that needs removing, that does need removing? It's one who is poor in spirit, which is a condition which would allow for clear vision. It's one, those who mourn, whose tears for their own sin more easily acknowledge the log that they must first remove.

It's the meek that means that they approach a brother or sister in a gentle spirit along the lines of Galatians 6 .1, that spirit of gentleness that Paul speaks of. It is those who hunger and thirst for God's righteousness, and you might ask, how does this help in this operation that we are called to here in Matthew 7, one through six?

It means, among other things, that they are students of God's righteous standards, God's word, students of God's righteousness and lovers of his righteousness. They know how to discern between someone who simply made a mistake and someone who's an error.

Very, very important. Someone has a speck, maybe they just made a mistake. They just need to splash some fresh water on it and it'll come right out, it's just a speck. Maybe they are an error and the speck is the spiritual speck that Jesus speaks of.

Those who hunger and thirst for God's righteousness, those who are students of that righteousness, I would argue, are better able to discern these things. They are the merciful, a quality so obviously necessary that it almost warrants no comment.

They are the pure in heart, which here would mean that there's no ulterior motive, that their heart is united to fear the Lord, that the love for the saint is because of their love for Jesus Christ. And they're not trying to lord it over on anyone, not trying to put anyone down.

No ulterior motive whatsoever, no dross. That's when I say, thank you. They are peacemakers, they wish for all impediments to a peaceful, vibrant, Christ-honored relationship to be removed, even if it's just a speck.

They are those who are willing to be persecuted for the kingdom if necessary. For the sake of the other's good, they'll hazard reprisal. Now we know where I got that from, correct? This is the way Jesus started this very sermon and we must remember as we go through, and we're coming to the last few messages in this Sermon on the Mount.

And you know how many times I've turned us back to the very beginning, for theirs is the kingdom of God, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Whose is the kingdom of God? The people that he's describing throughout this sermon.

People who know what to do with their anger, because anger is murder, calling a brother a fool is murder against him. People who, because they are those described in the Beatitudes, those first eight descriptions, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, who would recognize lust of the heart as being as evil in God's sight as lust actually fulfilled.

As those who would see God's standard for marriage and in the Sermon on the Mount against divorce, and it'd be those who, because they are the ones described in those first eight Beatitudes, would say, no matter what, I work this out.

I stay because that honors God, and so on. We cannot get away from the Beatitudes, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And that's described throughout the rest of this sermon. And we can go through almost every portion of it, just like I did a moment ago, just like this.

And there's been this growing description as we follow Jesus' words here, this growing description of the kingdom's subjects, and no part of it can be divorced from the other. We have to hang on to every bit of it.

We can't ignore specks, we can't be easy on divorce, we can't be easy on ourselves in terms of lust, none of those things. It's a whole sermon describing a whole person who is a kingdom subject. It is that important.

Matthew 18 and the Difference Between Correction and Offense

There is one admonition that I would want to make about this speck, and going to our brother and sister and showing them the speck. This is not, this is not Matthew 18, Matthew 18, 15 to 22. If your brother has sinned against you, or has offended you, go to him, just the two of you, and show him his fault.

And then on to the two or three witnesses telling the church if he won't repent. This is not that. This is an entirely different matter. You've noticed something in them. They've not offended you. You've noticed something in them.

It's for their good to remove this thing that you've noticed. Now, Matthew 18, 15 to 22 is also for our good, but the context is different. That's all I'm saying. Your motive here is for the good of that person, for their sanctification, for their growth into the image of Christ.

Jesus calls it a speck. Now, does he mean that you literally have a speck or a piece of dust in your eye? Well, of course not. It's a metaphor for something. We're not to run around staring at each other's eyes until we spot something.

Jesus is saying that before we go to help them, that we consider ourselves as being in far worse shape. We consider ourselves as being in much worse shape. It's a mindset that he demands of us here. Our self-exam, which is required.

Now, understand this. It's required before we do this. It's required preparation. It must reveal to us that we are not qualitatively better. We are not qualitatively better than the one we go to. Galatians 6, one again, in a spirit of gentleness.

Gentleness. We could even say in the spirit in which Christ came to us and showed us his forgiveness. He didn't hit me with a baseball bat, though metaphorically we could say he did some violence to our souls, but he is a gentle savior.

Nor does Jesus insist that the speck finder be a better Christian, whatever that would be. He is insisting that humility rule. If you think about it, the speck holder and the speck extractor both need to match up here.

Humility, Motive, and the Golden Rule in Brotherly Correction

In chapter six, the Lord insists that our motive for charity, for prayer, for religious duty, all this be done to please God and not men. Those who impress their fellow man have a reward now in this life.

Those whose sights are set on God have a reward coming, a great reward. The one who's noticed something in the eye of the other, remembering it to be a metaphor, is not showing off how discerning they are or how sensitive to sin they might be.

Concern for the other's good is exceeded only by concern for God's glory. It's concern for the other's good exceeded only by concern for God's glory that has to rule this whole transaction. So how do we do this?

How do we do this? Many of us shy away here for the same reason many of us shy away from Matthew 18, 15 and the rest of it because it's hard to go to a brother. It's hard to go to a sister and tell them they sinned because we're so afraid that they're just gonna blow us off, say, what are you talking about?

Oh, that's so silly. Didn't you understand what I really meant? Or in this case, you know, who are you, Mr. Ophthalmologist or something like that? We're afraid. And so we hold off and we go back to the judge not and what do we do?

We leave the person with the speck. And if I can keep working on that metaphor a little bit, the piece of dust that gets in there, if you don't get it out, attracts another piece and another and another and another.

And we could have done something back when that little speck, when the Lord pricked us a little bit and said, look at this brother now, work on the log. Let's get this log thing going with you because there's some good you need to do for this other.

So how do we approach? How do we do this? I think if we go all the way down to Matthew 7, 12, which is a sermon for another day, but we can use it for now. So whatever you wish others would do to you, says the Lord Jesus, do also to them for this is the law and the prophets.

So how do we approach? How do we answer when we are approached? For the one as you wish you would be approached in the same circumstance and for the other, we give a fair hearing as we would wish to have ourselves.

It's really very simple. Approach the person the way you would want them to approach you. And on the other side, be approachable the way you would want others to be for your sake. You know, there's a great scene in the old movie Exodus with Paul Newman and they've got the, there's this old ship and it's in a harbor somewhere.

I can't remember where it is in the Middle East. And Paul Newman's playing the part of an Israeli, a Jewish freedom fighter, but he's basically being a spy for a little bit. He's got a British uniform on and he's working with some British officers trying to find a way to get that ship out of harbor and get those refugees from the Holocaust to Israel.

And one British officer, I can't remember the name of the guy who played him, but he's obviously prejudiced against Jews. He says something to Paul Newman, who he thinks is a fellow British officer about, they act funny and they got that money thing.

And you know what? They smell funny. And Paul Newman, being a Jew, he right away says, oh, oh, I have something, can you help me? I've got something in my eye. And the guy gets about this close to him and can't see the speck.

Could he help him remove it? Well, he gets so close, he looks right at him. No, he can't find anything. Maybe his log was in the way, but in any case, he didn't notice any untoward odor, but was quite happy to get very close to him.

The point of that is simply this. Once we notice the speck, what is our preparation for? It's to get that close. It's to get that close. Here in that scene I described, there's a man getting right there, eye to eye with him to help him get that speck out.

Back to our text. This is the way we need to view it. We're coming to someone, we're gonna talk to them about an issue that they have that we've discerned, something we've done business with ourselves before the Lord, before we've come to them.

We've gotta get that close. We've gotta be that gentle. I think that's exactly why Jesus uses the I here, because we have to be that kind about it. We're not lumberjacks with chainsaws. You're a brother or sister with a gentle hand led by a loving spirit.

It seems that the person doesn't even know the speck is even there. You've been given discernment from God. Use it with care. Approach as we'd want to be approached. If you're of a strong, somewhat dominating personality, most of us who are of that ilk know it.

Tune it down. Just ramp it down. There are very few of us who are that double A or triple A, whatever we call that personality, who don't know we're that. We know it. We use it to our benefit sometimes.

We know that too. Ramp it down. Just that simple. And then use discernment, use judgment, so you don't negate all the log rolling that you did for yourself by driving them away. All this is a holy duty.

It's a holy duty that Jesus gives. He calls us hypocrites for not seeing the log. Once we see the log, he says, now get it out. Get it out, he says, now. Go to your brother, go to your sister. It's not optional.

In a manner of speaking, it's an advancement in holiness for you as you rid yourself of the log and for the other as the speck is removed and you both grow that much more into the image of Christ. And this is why I think the language that follows up, pearls and holy things and dogs and pigs is so severe.

The one who refuses gentle correction, who denies it, that might even have a speck, is akin to these unclean beasts. So the duty here to both parties is great, but what's the goal? To be like Christ. What are we driving for?

Sanctification, holiness, brotherly love, mutual edification. Let no corrupt words proceed out of your mouth except what is good for necessary edification. And we all need edification. We all need each other to help us out, to show us our faults, even if it's not a personal fault and sin against you that might lead to the rest of that in Matthew 18, even if it's not that.

Even if it's just something we're brother, sister. I see so much good in you, but you're being held back. I see so much more Christ that can be formed in you. But this little thing you haven't noticed, I think the Lord's given me some vision.

Let's work together, let's pray together. Let's work this thing out and both come closer to the image of Christ as we do so. Then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Both of you will have benefited.

Your log's gone and their speck's gone, but you both get to rejoice before God together and say thank you, Father, for your spirit, which gives us such a ministry as this. May we be those found seeking each other's good.

May we be those who simply look for each other's good. And when someone comes to us, trust that they're coming to us for what? For our good. And what is our good? It's the image of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And may we be those who are trusting anyone who comes to us, a brother or sister, to have a good and godly intent. I think that's the upshot of this whole passage here. Amen? Let's just take a few moments as I come down and prepare to serve the table.