Luke 6:37–42. Judging Others.
In these passages Jesus encourages the disciples to consider their own actions first. We cannot judge or condemn if our own behavior is not righteous. Instead of being critical, we are to forgive and become givers. The yardstick we use to measure others will be used to measure our own behaviors. The blessings we bestow on others will be returned to us in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
Second, being merciful means being quick to encourage people toward restoration after they fall. Mercy does not gloat over sin or take pleasure in pointing it out; it roots for the sinner to find a way home to spiritual health. Often after someone falls we are anxious simply to cut him or her off to keep the church body from being leavened or to show that we will not associate with deeds of darkness. The church is to be concerned about moral purity. But we also should be quick to help set up opportunities for repentance and restoration. We should be discerning about the presence of sin but not judgmental in dealing with it. To be judgmental is to rejoice in pointing out sin and to refuse to reach out to the sinner to restore him or her to spiritual health. Rather than leaving the sinner to wallow in sin and the pain of moral failure, we should encourage the sinner to find the right path. Perhaps no picture of this commitment is clearer than the career of Hosea. He called sin by its name but always stood ready to receive the sinner back, even after gross sin.
It is no accident that Jesus' words against judgmentalism come right after the call to be merciful as God is. An unwillingness to be judgmental is almost a requirement for those who face persecution. Without it, lines of battle would become hardened and the ability to love the enemy would be destroyed. God is interested not in polemics but in offering the hope of restored relationship to the lost.
Jesus does not say we should not examine the lives of others. But we should do so only with a careful eye cast toward ourselves. Galatians 6:1 is similar in tone. Jesus wants disciples to be a moral encouragement to one another, but there is a proper way to go about it. There is a crying need for humility, an awareness that all of us are learning to walk more closely with God. To help another see clearly, we need to wash out our own eyes first.
Jesus continues to work with the imagery of sight, only here he uses humor. Imagine, Jesus says, trying to see with a plank of wood sticking out of your eye. Just try seeing with a two-by-four as bifocals! A plank would prevent clear vision. How could you complain about dust in someone else's eye when a two-by-four was protruding from your own? Jesus' point is clear. It is important to clean up one's own act before offering advice to others. In fact, one way to examine ourselves for self-righteousness is to consider how often we are interested in correcting others rather than correcting our own attitudes and actions.
In fact, there is a reason we should be slow to judge and be careful whom we follow: we all have huge faults that we must deal with before we are in a position to help others. A judgmental spirit often reflects a self-righteous, unreflective, insensitive heart.
I am very quick to judge especially when I am in pain and low tolerance for things. I don't appreciate certain antics and actions from others. I talk too much at times about an issue that I should go to God in prayer first and foremost. He knows and He's waiting for me to sit on His knee and tell Him all about it.
We need to love our enemies, do what is good and lead expecting nothing in return.
My areas:
*Judging - examine myself first and show mercy as God has shown his faithfulness and mercy to us. Pray instead of thinking. Submit my mind and emotions to Christ.
*Be slow to speak, quick to listen, slow to anger [God is gracious and slow to anger]. Asking the Holy Spirit to remind and guide me in all truth.
* Do good and lend without expecting anything in return.
* Love my enemies
I can't do this without Christ. My heart desires to follow Him and practice and align with His Word.
Any areas you need to address and confess?
Warmly in Christ, TiC
In these passages Jesus encourages the disciples to consider their own actions first. We cannot judge or condemn if our own behavior is not righteous. Instead of being critical, we are to forgive and become givers. The yardstick we use to measure others will be used to measure our own behaviors. The blessings we bestow on others will be returned to us in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
Second, being merciful means being quick to encourage people toward restoration after they fall. Mercy does not gloat over sin or take pleasure in pointing it out; it roots for the sinner to find a way home to spiritual health. Often after someone falls we are anxious simply to cut him or her off to keep the church body from being leavened or to show that we will not associate with deeds of darkness. The church is to be concerned about moral purity. But we also should be quick to help set up opportunities for repentance and restoration. We should be discerning about the presence of sin but not judgmental in dealing with it. To be judgmental is to rejoice in pointing out sin and to refuse to reach out to the sinner to restore him or her to spiritual health. Rather than leaving the sinner to wallow in sin and the pain of moral failure, we should encourage the sinner to find the right path. Perhaps no picture of this commitment is clearer than the career of Hosea. He called sin by its name but always stood ready to receive the sinner back, even after gross sin.
It is no accident that Jesus' words against judgmentalism come right after the call to be merciful as God is. An unwillingness to be judgmental is almost a requirement for those who face persecution. Without it, lines of battle would become hardened and the ability to love the enemy would be destroyed. God is interested not in polemics but in offering the hope of restored relationship to the lost.
Jesus does not say we should not examine the lives of others. But we should do so only with a careful eye cast toward ourselves. Galatians 6:1 is similar in tone. Jesus wants disciples to be a moral encouragement to one another, but there is a proper way to go about it. There is a crying need for humility, an awareness that all of us are learning to walk more closely with God. To help another see clearly, we need to wash out our own eyes first.
Jesus continues to work with the imagery of sight, only here he uses humor. Imagine, Jesus says, trying to see with a plank of wood sticking out of your eye. Just try seeing with a two-by-four as bifocals! A plank would prevent clear vision. How could you complain about dust in someone else's eye when a two-by-four was protruding from your own? Jesus' point is clear. It is important to clean up one's own act before offering advice to others. In fact, one way to examine ourselves for self-righteousness is to consider how often we are interested in correcting others rather than correcting our own attitudes and actions.
In fact, there is a reason we should be slow to judge and be careful whom we follow: we all have huge faults that we must deal with before we are in a position to help others. A judgmental spirit often reflects a self-righteous, unreflective, insensitive heart.
I am very quick to judge especially when I am in pain and low tolerance for things. I don't appreciate certain antics and actions from others. I talk too much at times about an issue that I should go to God in prayer first and foremost. He knows and He's waiting for me to sit on His knee and tell Him all about it.
We need to love our enemies, do what is good and lead expecting nothing in return.
My areas:
*Judging - examine myself first and show mercy as God has shown his faithfulness and mercy to us. Pray instead of thinking. Submit my mind and emotions to Christ.
*Be slow to speak, quick to listen, slow to anger [God is gracious and slow to anger]. Asking the Holy Spirit to remind and guide me in all truth.
* Do good and lend without expecting anything in return.
* Love my enemies
I can't do this without Christ. My heart desires to follow Him and practice and align with His Word.
Any areas you need to address and confess?
Warmly in Christ, TiC
