FBC Morning Light – March 10, 2023

Well, a good Friday morning to you. Here we are looking forward to another weekend and gathering on the Lord's Day with God's people. I hope you're looking forward to that. I know I am. I always enjoy our times together of worshiping the Lord, a fellowship that we can enjoy.

It's been great the last couple of months, just seeing people hang around after church is over and just chatting and just enjoying the fellowship. That's always a great blessing. Today, in our Bible reading plan, we're reading in Numbers 19 and 20, Luke 6, and Psalm 50.

The Meaning of “Judge Not” in Luke 6

There's this passage or section in Luke 6 that is often misunderstood, and one verse in particular that is quoted to try to make it say something that it doesn't say. I'm speaking of verse 37, which says, Judge not and you shall not be judged.

How many times have you heard people say that? Don't judge. You're not supposed to judge. The Bible says, Judge not lest you be judged. Let's clarify what that means. What that does not mean is that you cannot discern sinful behavior and call it out as such.

After all, just a few verses later, in verse 43, Jesus says, A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Of course, he's speaking symbolically here, because he says next, Every tree is known by its fruit.

For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth evil.

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. What is he talking about? He's talking about being able to discern and judge whether or not behavior, a heart is good or bad, based on what's coming out of it, what's coming out of a person's mouth, what's coming out of his life.

You can make an evaluation if a person is spouting off evil stuff, if a person is practicing sinful behavior, you can draw the conclusion that this person's heart has a problem. He's got a sin problem in his heart.

When Jesus says, Judge not that you be not judged, in verse 37, he's saying this, Don't be the judge and jury that reaches a verdict and then issues a sentence for that violation. He clarifies it in the next statement where he says, Condemn not, and you will not be condemned.

It's not our place to be the judge and jury, if you will, determining the punishment or determining the deserving of punishment for certain behavior. It is our place to discern. We have that responsibility.

We can discern between good and evil, but it's not our place to determine the consequences of that good or evil. Here's another way of applying this or thinking about this. It's not our place to determine whether or not somebody's calamitous experience of life is due to sin.

For example, I've heard people come to that conclusion. They've made that judgment. So-and-so is suffering, therefore they have sin in their lives. They're like Job's friends. In Job and his malady, they conclude that, Job, you've got to have some kind of sin.

There's something sinful going on in your life. This happens in the church too often, it happens in the lives of too many people. This is what Jesus is talking about. It's not your place to look at another person's calamity or difficulty or challenge and conclude that that's because you've sinned.

God's judging you for your sin. Don't do that, don't go that way. Jesus further elaborates later on in verses 41 and 42 with a tendency that we all probably have. He says in verse 41, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye and do not perceive the plank in your own eye?

I read recently, I've been reading a book on the true measure of a man, and in that book he talks about the critical importance of having humility. He says, a lot of men think, I don't have a pride problem.

I don't have a pride problem, but they turn around and they look at all these other guys who are just filled with pride and arrogance and so forth. They conclude that. They judge that they are proud critters, they're filled with pride and arrogance.

The author points out the fact that that individual has a pride problem that he doesn't even see. It's a plank in his eye that he doesn't even see. Jesus says, get rid of the plank out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly.

Deal with the sin in your own heart, deal with the problems of your own life that are dragging you down spiritually, and then you are in a position where you can help somebody accurately, more precisely.

This is a passage of Scripture, especially the way it begins. It's not understood well and applied properly too often. It's important for us to get the big picture that Jesus is saying here. His big picture point is, look at your own heart, deal with your own heart, deal with the sin in your own heart, and don't be as concerned about everybody else's sin as you are about your own.

There's the point. Father in heaven, I pray that we would take this lesson and take it to heart, that before we spout off in condemning someone else, we would consider our own heart. What's going on in my own heart?

Why am I so critical? Why am I so caustic? Why am I so ready to condemn? Help us to think these things through. We pray it in Jesus' name. Have a good rest of your Friday and a wonderful weekend. If you're in the Sterling Rock Falls area and looking for a good church to come to, come to Faith Baptist.

We'd be glad to have you. If you're part of another Bible-believing church, be faithful in your church, but always welcoming of those who come. So, Lord bless you. Have a great day.