Logs, Dogs, & Hogs

Matthew 7:1-6

 

Well, last week we sort of opened the door

On this infamous and often quoted passage.

 

What is clear is that Jesus clearly commanded “Do not judge”.

 

What is apparently unclear to most of those who quote it

Is exactly what Jesus was talking about when He forbade it.

 

For the same Jesus who said here “Do not judge”

 

Also said in

John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

 

And also said to expel the immoral brother.

And also said to recognize false prophets by their fruit

 

And when you couple those truths with the fact that in 1 Corinthians

Paul told us that we do indeed judge those within the church.

 

We quickly understand that Jesus was not condemning

Any and all sense of confrontation amongst people.

 

In fact you remember as we laid the ground work last week for this text

We said that Scriptures seems to indicate three types of judgment.

 

1) WICKED JUDGEMENT THAT ONLY DESTROYS

Condemns based upon opinions and motives.

Condemns to make self look better.

Condemns solely to destroy.

 

2) BLIND JUDGEMENT THAT ONLY DECEIVES

Love to confront sin in others.

Can’t see sin in their own lives.

Obviously can’t clearly see anyone else’s sin either.

Only judgments given are faulty and deceptive.

 

3) TRUE JUDGEMENT THAT ONLY DELIVERS

Spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5 & Matthew 18

Demonstrated by Jesus (especially in John 8)

Purpose was to shame to repentance and thus deliver a brother.

 

We learn that judgment can be a good thing when done correctly,

Or it can be a horrible thing when corrupted.

 

And we also understand what kind of judgment

Jesus was talking about here in Matthew 7.

 

Jesus is confronting both wicked and blind judgment.

 

And the reason He confronts them here in the Sermon on the Mount

Is because these are both indicators of self-righteousness.

 

NOTHING INDICATES THE PRESENCE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

MORE THAN A CORRUPTED JUDGMENTAL SPIRIT

 

• If a person is unaware of any of their own flaws and can only see the flaws of others…

• Or if a person is only interested in tearing others down that he might look good…

You can be certain that self-righteousness exists.

 

And Jesus is in this text EXPELLING SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

He is here making the obvious observation

That self-righteousness is a major problem of mankind,

As evidenced by their corrupt judgment of one another.

 

And now that we have laid that groundwork last week,

This morning I want to get into this text a little more

And bring some insight through what Jesus said here.

 

What we see in our text this morning are three concepts about judgment.

#1 THE DANGER OF WICKED JUDGMENT

Matthew 7:1-2

 

Last week we talked about what wicked judgment looks like.

 

It was pictured in Romans 14 by those who condemned a brother

Simply because he ate different food than you did.

 

What the brother was doing was not sin, it was a matter of preference,

It was a matter of opinion, and Paul said

It was nothing short of wickedness to condemn your brother over it.

 

Such judging was only serving to destroy the church of God.

 

That was wicked judgment.

 

Here in our text Jesus shows us the danger of this wicked judgment.

 

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”

 

First off we notice that the main reason Jesus commands us not to judge

Is to protect someone; WHO?

 

“you”

He doesn’t tell you not to judge in order to protect those you judge.

He tells you not to judge in order to help you protect yourself.

 

So first and foremost you must understand that

Judging puts someone in immediate danger,

And that is the person who does the judging.

 

And that danger is even articulated here as Jesus says,

“so that you will not be judged.”

 

The implication is that the person who judges will be judged.

The person who condemns another will himself be condemned.

 

And let’s take it a little further to see why.

 

“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

 

Now notice here that Jesus indicates two attributes

About the way you judge another.

 

He speaks of “the way” you judge.

He speaks of “the standard of measure” you use.

 

And so let’s talk about each of those this morning.

 

FIRST

“the way you judge”

 

Perhaps the biggest problem with the judgment of Israel,

And even with the judgment of mankind is not that we judge,

But “the way” we judge.

 

For a better understanding of what Jesus is referring to,

Just look at Luke’s gospel.

 

Luke 6:35-37 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”

 

Jesus is obviously referring to judgment without mercy.

 

And Jesus insinuates that judgment is present because mercy is not.

 

And of course you will remember that is one of the key differences

Between wicked judgment and true judgment.

 

True judgment always looked to the redemption of a fallen brother.

Wicked judgment was without mercy and looked to destroy him.

 

And that is a horrible way to judge.

 

We remember from last week studying Matthew 18 and Jesus teaching that if your brother sins:

 

• You first go to him in private.

• Then you take 2 or 3 with you.

• Then you tell it to the church.

• Then you disfellowship him.

 

And each one of those was meant to be a check point where your brother

Could repent without any further embarrassment or punishment.

 

And the best circumstance would be if you privately

Went to your brother and he repented

And no one else ever had to know.

 

It was a merciful and wonderful act of deliverance.

 

James 5:19-20 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

 

And that is THE WAY in which Jesus said we should judge.

 

Yet commonly we do it exactly wrong.

Instead of going privately to the brother

And using public disclosure as an extreme measure.

 

We tend to tell everyone else first, and very rarely ever go to the brother.

 

It is judgment, but what is the purpose?

IT IS JUDGMENT DONE THE WRONG WAY.

 

It is judgment without mercy.

James 2:13 “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

 

IT IS AN EXTREME PICTURE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.

It is the picture of a man who doesn’t care about his brother,

He only cares that others see him as a righteous man who hates sin.

 

He was only out to condemn, and certainly felt qualified to do so.

 

And Jesus says:

If you judge in that way, then you will be judged in that way.

 

Because your lack of mercy indicates a self-righteous heart

And God will judge a self-righteous heart without mercy.

 

God is opposed to the proud yet gives grace to the humble.

 

Remember the beatitude?

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

 

The point is if you are so proud that you can

Willingly condemn another without mercy,

Then rest assured that you are self-righteous

And you yourself will be condemned by God.

 

“For in the way you judge, you will be judged”

 

And that is not all.

 

SECOND

“by your standard of measure”

 

WHAT IS THIS?

 

It indicates how strict you are in regard to your judgment.

 

Now we know that sin is clearly condemned in Scripture.

And if a person is sinning, then it really doesn’t matter why.

That is God’s standard, not ours.

 

Our standard comes in to play

When we want to take God’s standards to new extremes.

 

Anytime we judge someone for something that God does not.

 

For example:

Eating meat or not eating meat.

Worshiping on Sunday or another day.

 

It can also be seen any time we judge the motives of a man.

 

CAN ANYONE IN HERE SEE THE HEART?

 

You can’t say, “Well they came to church, but I know why they were there.”

You can’t say, “Well they just gave to get tax relief.”

 

The fact is you don’t know.

(side note: most relational squabbles I deal with involve motive judging)

 

Now, if what they do is sinful, then motives don’t matter.

If a man sleeps with another man’s wife, motive is irrelevant, it’s wrong.

But when what they do is not sinful, and you judge them

Based upon speculation that is pretty severe.

 

And that again is an indicator of self-righteousness.

In fact you have viewed yourself even more righteous than God.

For you condemned someone that God didn’t even condemn.

 

And again, your self-righteousness will be judged by God.

Your desire to condemn will be measured to you.

“by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

 

NEED AN ILLUSTRATION?

TURN TO: MATTHEW 18:21-35

 

If you judge someone without mercy and by a severe standard,

Then rest assured you will be judged by God the same way.

 

And so we see THE DANGER OF WICKED JUDGMENT.

 

It is not dangerous for them, it is dangerous for you.

It reveals a merciless self-righteous heart which God will surely judge.

 

The Danger of Wicked Judgment

#2 THE DAMAGE OF BLIND JUDGMENT

Matthew 7:3-5

 

Here we are still on the concept of forbidden judgment.

 

There is also blind judgment.

 

Blind judgment is that hypocritical type of judgment

That is OBVIOUSLY BLIND because it cannot see it’s own sin.

It only sees the sin in the lives of others.

 

That is judgment without knowledge.

That is judgment without discernment.

That is blind judgment.

 

Jesus condemns that as well because of the damage it causes.

 

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

 

Here is a man with a massive beam sticking out of his eye,

And yet he has the audacity to recognize a splinter in the eye of another.

 

The implication is that he couldn’t possibly have seen the splinter,

Because his judgment was far too impeded.

That is why Jesus says, “Or HOW can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?”

 

How could you possible think that you are qualified to perform eye surgery when you can’t see?

 

And honestly, how many of you would agree to let a blind doctor root around in your eye for a splinter?

 

You know, he will cause more damage than he will good.

 

Luke 6:39-42a “And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. “Why do you look at 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, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?”

 

If someone is going to remove the speck from your eye,

Then you want it to be someone who is seeing clearly.

 

SO BEFORE YOU START PERFORMING EYE SURGERY,

MAKE SURE YOU SEE CLEARLY.

 

Anything else is spiritual mal-practice.

 

IF YOU START TRYING TO JUDGE WHILE BLIND,

YOU WILL DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

 

LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Matthew 13:24-30 “Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

 

Now first we need to evaluate the discernment of the servants.

• They obviously had no discernment to protect form the invasion of tares.

• They apparently had no discernment as to who planted the tares.

• And yet now they wanted to go on a wild tare hunt.

 

To which Jesus said:

“No, for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.”

It wasn’t that the tares were good, or that God would allow them to stay.

 

It was just that the servants obviously had no business being the judge

Because they had the discernment of a mole.

 

When they should have been repenting, they were trying to judge.

 

“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.”

 

Please notice that Jesus never intended

To allow that speck to remain in the brother’s eye.

 

That speck was sinful too.

Jesus wanted it gone.

 

Jesus wanted true judgment.

 

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH I AM DOING?

John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

 

There was no selfishness in Jesus’ judgment.

He just wanted to do what pleased God.

 

And this is the type of judgment we must have.

A judgment that sees all sin as the problem, even our own.

A judgment that declares war on sin, not sinners.

 

Make sure you see clearly before you attack other people’s sin.

 

The Danger of Wicked Judgment

The Damage of Blind Judgment

#3 THE DISCERNMENT OF TRUE JUDGMENT

Matthew 7:6

 

Now you notice that Jesus actually hinted at true judgment

There at the end of verse 5.

 

“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.”

 

But what we notice here is that even those with true judgment

Must exercise discernment about it.

 

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pears before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

 

Now we know from last week what true judgment looks like.

 

It examines self first, and then confronts a brother for their sin,

With the intent of helping that brother find deliverance.

(We saw that in 1 Corinthians 5)

 

But let me remind you of something else Paul said in that passage.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

 

Judge those within the church.

 

However, there are those outside that we do not judge,

God judges them.

 

And this is what Jesus is referring to here.

The reference to “dogs” and “swine”

Is a reference to the unclean Gentiles.

 

They were the wicked outside of the church.

They don’t claim to love God.

They don’t pretend to love God.

They could care less about God’s Laws.

 

AND EVEN BEYOND THAT,

THEY ARE THOSE WHO ARE OBSTINATE TO THE GOSPEL

 

Pigs and Dogs were both menaces and unclean.

A pig didn’t know what to do with pearls.

A dog didn’t know what to do with consecrated meat.

 

SO DON’T GIVE IT TO THEM.

 

And the picture here is that there are those in the world who,

Even after hearing the gospel, don’t want anything to do with it.

 

And it won’t do you any good to continue trying to evaluate their life.

They won’t value your assistance.

They won’t listen to your warnings.

 

You might as well give a strand of pearls to a pig.

 

SO DON’T KEEP BEATING A DEAD HORSE.

 

Proverbs 9:7-12 “He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.”

 

In those moments you must have enough discernment

To know that now is not the time.

 

Remember when Jesus sent out the disciples?

Matthew 10:12-15 “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. “If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

 

Remember what Jesus said about His parables?

Matthew 13:10-13 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

 

Jesus told us to stop, to do so anyway still exhibits arrogance.

Are you really going to save those who Jesus couldn’t?

 

The point is that our judgment is a tool of God

To rescue a wayward brother,

Not one to puff up ourselves or use to fight the dogs.

 

AND LET’S BRING IT ALL TO A CLOSE

 

When we judge to condemn – we are indicating a lack of mercy.

When we judge while in sin – we are indicating self-righteousness.

When we judge those Jesus couldn’t save – we are indicating arrogance.

 

AND THESE MUST GO,

FOR GOD WILL JUDGE THOSE THINGS IN OUR LIVES.

 

Friend it’s time for a little self-evaluation.

 

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

 

It does you no good to assume you’re fine and move on to judging others.

YOU MUST BE WILLING TO RECOGNIZE THE SIN IN YOUR OWN LIFE.

 

AND YOU MUST DEAL WITH IT FIRST

FOR THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS WILL BE JUDGED BY GOD.

 

Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

Don’t be like that tax collector.

Get real with God and let Him show you yourself.

 

And then cry out to Jesus.

 

How To Be Righteous

Matthew 7:7-12

 

Here we are again at the Sermon on the Mount,

And it is extremely honest to say that this is a very convicting sermon.

 

I can’t imagine anyone being able to listen to this sermon

And walk away feeling good about themselves.

 

I have yet to find a single verse in the entire sermon

That made me feel good about myself.

 

For which of the beatitudes can I claim to have mastered?

– Poor in spirit?

– Mourning over sin?

– Meekness?

– Hungering for Righteousness?

– Pure in heart?

 

Which of the missionary endeavors can I claim to have mastered?

– Can I honestly claim to be light?

– Can I honestly claim to be salt?

 

Which of the heart conditions don’t effect me?

– Can I honestly claim to never struggle with anger?

– Or lust?

– Or deception?

– Or commitment?

– Or loving my enemy?

 

Which of the religious functions can I claim to do well all the time?

– Can I say my motives in giving are always pure?

– How about my prayer life?

– Can I even claim to fast, let alone do it correctly?

 

And how about my love for the world?

– Can I honestly claim to have fully crucified the world to myself?

– Can I honestly claim to be fully free of greed or worry?

– Can I honestly say I always seek first the kingdom of heaven?

 

And how about my self-righteousness?

– Is my sin always the first I notice?

– Have I never set myself up as judge over another?

 

And before long I realize that this sermon has nailed me to the floor.

 

If I set down at the feet of the Master hoping to hear a sermon

That told me how good I was, then I am severely disappointed.

 

Because all Jesus has done to this point is show me that

I am anything but righteous, and God is the last person I am like.

 

If I put it another way, I could simply say, by my own merit:

I AM NOT RIGHTEOUS

 

I have proven the statements:

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;”THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

 

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

 

And this fact grieves me even more

When I contemplate other truths of Scripture:

 

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

 

Isaiah 33:13-16 “You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.”

 

The fact that I am not righteous only grieves me further

When I come to grips with the fact that

Only the righteous will spend eternity with God.

 

And when I go looking for bible characters to compare myself to,

The only one I can find is the tax collector in the temple

Who beats his breast and says, “God be merciful to me the sinner.”

 

You see thus far all the Sermon on the Mount has done

Is unequivocally proven to us that we do not measure up to God.

 

We are not righteous.

 

Which brings us to our next and most obvious question.

HOW CAN I BE RIGHTEOUS?

 

• It is apparent that I have fallen short of God’s mark

• It is apparent that I have made a mockery of God’s commands

• It is apparent that I have offended God in every possible way

How can I possibly make it right?

How can I be righteous?

 

And this is the most mind-blowing fact in all of Scripture.

 

God listens to sinners asking how to be made righteous,

And the response of God is this: JUST ASK

 

If you want forgiveness, just ask for it.

If you want righteousness, just ask for it.

 

You see we have concluded the conviction portion of this sermon.

• God’s Righteousness Examined

• False Righteousness Exposed

• Self Righteousness Expelled

 

Now we get to the final point of Jesus sermon.

TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPLAINED

 

That is Jesus is now explaining to you and I

How to have the true righteousness of God in our lives.

And the answer is: JUST ASK

 

This is now the invitation portion of this great sermon,

And so let’s look at it together.

 

#1 THE PROMISE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 7:7-8

 

It is truly an amazing truth that is here revealed to us.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

 

Now obviously we know this is not

God promising to be a genie in a bottle.

 

For example:

We just finished talking about the danger of greed

And the warning not to seek wealth.

 

So we know Jesus us not saying “Ask for money and it will be given to you; seek, for money and you will find it; knock on the door of the vault, and it will be opened to you.”

Obviously Jesus has something specific in mind

That we are to ask for, seek, and knock to receive.

 

BUT WHAT IS IT?

 

This is where we find tremendous help from other portions of Scripture:

 

TURN TO: LUKE 11:5-13

 

And from that story we understand that Jesus is speaking about prayer,

But not just prayer for any and everything.

 

Jesus concludes with this statement:

(13) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

 

Jesus is not just talking about asking for anything,

He is talking about asking for “the Holy Spirit”

 

He is talking about asking for righteousness.

He is talking about asking for salvation.

 

And the point is obvious.

If you have come to grips with your sin and wickedness before God

But you now want to be righteous, then ask for it.

 

“Ask”, “Seek”, “Knock”

 

And focus on those for just a moment, because they indicate to us

The various degrees we may have to go to

 

“Ask”

This implies that the thing you want is right in front of you

And readily available.

 

And some have certainly found righteousness to be that easy.

 

Matthew was just sitting in his tax booth

When Jesus walked by and said, “Follow Me”

 

And this is the way it was for many of us.

Raised in a Christian home

Carried to church every possible opportunity

Taught Bible stories at a young age

 

We didn’t have to look far for righteousness

Our mommas were cramming it down our throats.

 

And for some it is really that easy.

 

Some have to “Seek”

This implies that the righteousness is available,

But it is not right in front of you.

 

You might have to go find it yourself.

 

I’m reminded here of Zaccheus climbing that sycamore tree to see Jesus.

I’m remind of the wise men traveling from the east.

 

And there are some like this today.

Maybe their parents aren’t Christians.

Maybe they never got taken to church.

 

It’s there, but to get it you have to seek it.

 

Some have to “Knock”

Righteousness is still readily available, but you may have to overcome a few obstacles in order to find it.

 

Like the four friends who had to tear a hole in a roof to get to Jesus.

Like the Canaanite woman who had to endure rejection.

 

And I think about people raised in Islamic nations

Or people raised in Hindu nations

Or people raised in atheist nations

 

For them the journey to righteousness will require

Pushing through some apparent barriers.

 

But the point is that even though we seek

Through varying degrees of difficulty and opposition,

Those who ask, seek, and knock are all successful.

 

(8) “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

 

You may indeed have to search a little harder than someone else,

But the promise is if you will seek, you will find.

 

“everyone who asks receives”

 

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

 

I know it sounds like a gimmick

I know it sounds like a trick

I know it sounds too good to be true

But straight from the mouth of Jesus,

If you have recognized your sinful state before God,

And yet desire to be righteous, then ask Him for it.

 

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

 

Righteousness is promised to all who will ask.

 

The Promise of Righteousness

#2 THE PROVIDER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 7:9-11

 

Now I don’t know about you, but I know that I am just enough of a pessimist to not yet be fully convinced.

 

I’ve often said I’m a little like Thomas

John 14:4-5 “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

 

And sometimes when you hear a promise that is too good to be true,

Like the one we just read it brings out a little pessimism in us.

What if I ask in the wrong way?

What if I seek in the wrong place?

What if I knock on the wrong door?

 

I mean God, you don’t realize all the ways that I could mess this up

And still fail to get the righteousness I so desperately want.

 

Well, take courage dear pessimist, and notice WHY

Righteousness is guaranteed to those who ask, seek, and knock.

 

Jesus just said that if you ask you will receive it.

 

Here He explains why.

(9) “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Of if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?”

 

Now here we just exercise a little common sense.

We may like to aggravate our children a little,

But we would never feed them rocks instead of bread,

Or give them a snake instead of a fish.

 

We like to give good gifts to our children.

 

(11) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

Did you catch that?

 

We are “evil” and yet even we know what is good.

 

And come on now, we know this is the case.

 

Suppose you are at home and one of your kids

Comes up and asks for a loaf of bread.

 

How might you respond?

You might say, “In a minute” (my time is more important than your hunger)

You might say, “Get it yourself” (I don’t care enough to get off the couch)

You might say, “Do without” (I don’t want to spend the money)

You might say, “Ask your mother” (which is a combination of all three)

 

Why do we respond like that?

Because we are selfish, and lazy, and greedy.

 

Face it, man is evil.

 

Yet even an evil man will eventually give what is good.

And if evil man will do it, how much further would God go?

 

You see, where man is evil, we also know that God is good.

(I miss Eldon, he always said that)

 

Psalms 86:5 “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”

 

Psalms 100:5 “For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

 

And the Bible promises that this good God

Gives what is good to those He loves.

 

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

 

Psalms 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

 

Psalms 84:11-12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts,

How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

 

I mean you get the point.

God is good and so He gives.

 

AND HERE IS WHY THAT MATTERS

 

You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to ask for it.

You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to seek for it.

You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to knock for it.

 

If that were the case, then salvation would be more available to:

• Slick salesmen who know how to ask.

• Private detectives who know how to seek.

• Jehovah’s witnesses who know how to knock

 

But righteousness is not given based on your ability to do those things.

I mean you could ask the devil for righteousness, but he won’t give it.

 

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS GUARANTEED

BECAUSE THE GOD WHO GIVES IT IS GOOD.

 

Righteousness is guaranteed because God likes to give it.

Regardless of how good they are at asking.

 

And this is foundational stuff.

Romans 4:1-8 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

 

We don’t earn it

We don’t achieve it

We don’t deserve it

God gives it

 

We even have a fancy word for it, we call it grace.

(you getting what you don’t deserve)

 

Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 

God gives righteousness to those who want it.

 

He is able to give it because Jesus purchased it

Having paid the ransom for sin on the cross.

 

That is why everyone who asks receives.

 

The Promise of Righteousness The Provider of Righteousness

#3 THE PROOF OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 7:12

 

We just read Ephesians 2:10

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 

What that reminded us of is that there is an expectation

That comes with the righteousness God gives.

 

He does not require you to earn righteousness,

But He does require you to practice righteousness.

 

Notice:

“In everything therefore…”

 

WHAT IS THE “therefore” THERE FOR?

 

It is there because Jesus is tying it back

To the previous statements on achieving righteousness.

 

He is pointing out that God expects you to display

And use the righteousness He freely gives.

 

And Jesus even explains what it should look like:

(12) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you,”

 

You and I know it as “The Golden Rule”

 

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;”

 

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”

It is the simple truth that you and I should love our neighbor as ourselves.

 

And not just in some things, but “In everything”

 

What you and I must realize is that

Selfishness is the opposite of godliness.

 

That is why in order to follow Jesus we are told to “deny self”

And that is precisely what God did in sending His Son to save us.

 

And that is what makes treating others

The way you want to be treated a fruit of genuine righteousness.

 

In fact Jesus says, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

 

All the righteousness that they command.

All the righteousness that they demonstrate.

All the righteousness that they describe.

Can be summed up in this phrase to consider others

More important than yourself.

 

Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

 

That is the epitome of godliness, and that is the epitome of righteousness

And that is what God expects that you and I demonstrate.

 

AND WHAT A BLESSING THIS IS

 

God is willing to give righteousness to a thug sinner like me,

And the only thing He wants in return is for me to put it to use.

 

That is like someone giving a glass of water to a thirsty man,

Only if the thirsty man promises to drink it.

 

Or like giving a steak to a starving man,

Only if the starving man promises to eat it.

 

God will gladly give us righteousness if we ask,

He only desires that we put it to use.

And that is good news for all of us.

 

And let me say to you this morning.

If you have been condemned by the Sermon on the Mount…

If you have seen your sin and desired to be made new…

 

Then the solution is easy.

Ask God and He will give you righteousness.

 

David actually showed us a prayer to pray.

Psalms 25:8-11 “Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”

 

Isn’t that the heart of it?

God is good.

God gives righteousness

Pardon me please

 

That is exactly what Jesus wants you to know as well.

 

In and of yourself, you are not pleasing to God

Because you are not righteous.

 

But the great God that we serve will gladly give you righteousness

If you will ask Him for it.

 

And all He asks is that you put it to use.

 

 

 

And this morning that is what I encourage you to do this.

Ask God

Seek God

Knock on God’s door

 

And let God give what you cannot receive anywhere else.

 

Let Him give you His perfect righteousness

Made possible through the death of His Son.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

What is Judging?

Matthew 7:1-6

 

As we study through the Sermon on the Mount,

We are now to a new point in this great sermon of Jesus.

 

Chapter 5 = GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED

Chapter 6 = FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

 

And now we hit the third point of Jesus.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPELLED

 

And this point covers the smallest amount of text,

And yet may be the most penetrating in the entire sermon.

 

And yet again this point makes perfect sense.

 

• After revealing God’s perfect righteousness in order to prove that we do not measure up.

 

• Jesus then exposed how bad all the good things we do really are.

 

• And now He goes right to the heart of the matter, and that is that we have made a gross misevaluation of our lives.

 

Jesus is preaching to a people who were certain that they were righteous.

They were certain that they did things the right way.

They were certain that they were pleasing above everyone else.

 

Just listen to what Paul says about them in Romans.

Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

 

Jesus is preaching to a people who were certain that they were righteous,

And this morning He reiterates that their self-assessment is flawed.

 

Jesus exposes and then expels their self-righteousness.

 

And the way Jesus both exposes and expels their self-righteousness

Is by giving this powerful statement on judging.

 

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”

 

When seeking to address their self-righteousness

Jesus confronts their judgmental nature.

Nothing indicates self-righteousness

More than when we judge others.

 

At the very heart of judgment is the mindset that you are wrong,

Based upon the conviction that I am right.

 

And so when Jesus wishes to expose their self-righteousness

He does so by indicating that they were a judgmental people.

 

And so the point of the passage is clear,

However the application of this passage is often distorted.

 

This passage is extremely popular in the world.

 

In fact it is probably the banner verse for anyone

Who ever desired to commit sin and to live in it.

 

No matter if it is homosexuality

No matter if it is greed

No matter if it is abortion

No matter if it is gossip

No matter if it is adultery

 

The standard answer when confronting those things is “Judge Not”.

 

And so before we get into our text this morning,

I want to spend some time taking an exhaustive look at Scripture

To see exactly what judging is.

 

This sermon this morning is going to be quite a lot of information

And it will sort serve as a foundation for when we get further into the text

Next Sunday morning.

 

TO GET STARTED, let’s just set the foundation for judgment and judging.

 

Now you and I know that this world violently refutes

The notion of judgment.

 

If you seek to tell someone else they are wrong about anything,

They are quick to point out that you are not a judge.

 

THIS IS NOT A NEW SENTIMENT.

It is the same sentiment that we saw in Sodom in Gomorrah.

 

You may remember when the angelic messengers came to visit Lot, and the wicked men of the city came and tried to have homosexual sex with them.

Genesis 19:6-9 “But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.”

 

Even in the most wicked city of all time, people resented being judged.

And the mindset persists.

 

This world loves sin, & tends to reject any notion of being judged.

Sadly many even quote this verse in Matthew 7

As grounds that they will never be judged for their sin.

 

But here is the first thing a wicked world needs to know.

JUDGMENT IS CERTAIN

And wicked men are judged.

 

John 3:16-19 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”

 

When you read that passage, you quickly understand that it is not

That man is free, seeking to avoid being judged.

 

It is clear that man has already been judged wicked by God,

And unless man runs to the Savior, He will enter into the judgment.

 

John 5:21-29 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He isthe Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

 

And there we see it again.

 

And so I want you to see that judgment is certain.

 

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

 

So for those who are looking for a life without consequences,

You must know that it is not possible.

 

If you are seeking to quote Matthew 7:1 as some sort of license

To live any type of life you desire without repercussion,

Then you should know that such a life does not exist.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

 

The life you live will be judged by God.

And so don’t get the mindset from this verse that judging

Is somehow a bad thing, for God Himself judges.

 

Judging is an action of God, and therefore in and of itself it cannot be evil.

 

However, corrupted judgment is wrong.

And that is the next thing you need to know about judging.

 

As I studied the various passages on judging, it seems clear to me

That there are three types of judging that occurs in Scripture.

 

And I know that this comes to you as somewhat of a topical study,

But I just don’t know any other way to lay this foundation for you.

 

So let me show you these three types of judging,

And I promise they will pull together as we get into our study of Matthew 7.

 

#1 WICKED JUDGEMENT THAT ONLY DESTROYS

 

There is obviously a type of judgment

That is only meant to destroy another person.

 

It comes for the sole purpose of making oneself look good,

And securing another person as a condemned sinner.

 

And we see examples of it in Scripture.

 

TURN TO: ROMANS 14

 

When you look at the first verse, the entire context is laid out for us.

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith,

But not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.”

 

There you see that the judgment spoken of here

Was a judgment on the “opinions” of another person.

 

We are not dealing with evil actions.

We are not dealing with carnal living.

If you want to see specifically:

(READ VERSES 2-5)

 

So it all stemmed around what a person ate,

And which day to worship on.

Obviously neither decision was a sin.

Eat what you want.

Worship when you want.

 

WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH SINFUL CHOICES,

RATHER DIFFERENCES OF OPINION.

 

What is clear is that both make the choice they make

Because they feel that this is what their Lord requires.

 

(READ VERSES 6-9)

 

And so we have here believers who love God, and wish to please God,

They simply differ in their opinion of what it is that is pleasing to God.

(Does God like hymns or choruses?)

 

And obviously each group was judging the other.

So Paul says this:

(VERSES 10-13)

 

The judgment occurring here was a wicked judgment

That sought to belittle and condemn a fellow brother.

 

That is why Paul commands them to stop destroying one another.

 

(VERSES 14-15)

(VERSES 20-21)

 

And so clearly, we have a type of judgment that was meant to destroy.

 

James also speaks of this type of judgment

 

TURN TO: JAMES 4:11-12

 

Without giving any specifics,

James mentions the same types of things going on here.

 

They were speaking against their brother and judging him.

 

And you will notice that James takes their wickedness even further.

 

“He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law;”

 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

 

It means that if you condemn a brother for something

That Scripture doesn’t condemn him for,

Not only are you condemning your brother,

But you are also saying that the Scripture is incomplete.

 

(I think this happens all the time today in regard to alcohol.)

 

AND THIS IS A WICKED JUDGMENT.

• It doesn’t judge man’s sin, it judges his opinions.

• It doesn’t judge man’s actions, it judges his motives.

• And it does so with the intent to destroy.

 

And so it is obvious why God would forbid such a judgment.

 

And that is one type of judgment.

Let me give you another.

 

Wicked Judgment that only Destroys

#2 BLIND JUDGMENT THAT ONLY DECEIVES

 

Not only is their a wicked judgment that destroys.

But there is also a type of judgment that is rooted in blindness.

 

And the danger of it is deception.

Self deception & Deception of others.

 

Let’s first look at the self-deceived.

 

TURN TO: ROMANS 2

 

If you have read Romans 1,

You know that Paul has just outlined the wrath of God and sin.

 

He has shown the wrath of God on idolatry.

He has shown the wrath of God on Homosexuality.

He has shown the wrath of God on Apathy.

 

They are sins, they are heinous to God, and they are being judged by God.

 

So the issue here is NOT someone is being wrongly condemned

For something that is not sin.

 

Earlier that was the case.

Here that is not the case.

 

We are dealing with sinful people who are choosing a lifestyle

That deserves the judgment of God and in fact is already receiving it.

 

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH JUDGING THEM?

THEY THOUGHT JUDGMENT WAS PARTIAL

 

(READ 2:1-2)

 

You clearly see here that we have people who actually condemn others

For doing something that they do themselves.

 

It is a blind judgment that cannot see the problems in their own life.

 

They assume that God won’t punish them for the same things.

(READ 2:3-11)

 

And so you can see these self-deceived people

Who are aware everyone’s sin but their own,

And as a result are blind to their own punishment.

 

It is no wonder God opposes such judgment.

It makes Him look wishy-washy, and it deceives people.

 

But people with this judgment don’t just deceive themselves,

They also deceive others.

 

TURN TO: LUKE 6:37-45

 

Now you will notice that much of what Jesus says here

Is the same thing He will say in Matthew’s gospel.

 

But we turn here because the order is different

And we how Jesus is tying things together a little differently.

 

First we notice the command. (37-38)

 

And so instead of condemnation Jesus commands forgiveness.

Don’t be eager to destroy your brother, instead be eager to forgive him.

 

And then He speaks more about judgment.

 

(READ 39-42)

 

Now we are familiar with the whole

“take the log out of your own eye” concept.

 

But do you notice that Jesus first speaks of blind men leading blind men?

 

The idea here is that when you judge in blindness,

Even the direction you give is not good direction.

 

Here we have a man living in sin and loving sin,

And obviously blinded to the truth,

Yet taking it upon himself to give someone else spiritual advice.

Jesus wants to know “How can you do that?”

 

It’s like what He said to the Pharisees.

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

 

It is a blind judgment, and it only leads to deception.

It cannot deliver, it cannot redeem, it cannot guide.

 

And that is why Jesus immediately goes form there

To the false prophets who do this every day.

(READ 43-45)

 

He couldn’t see the path for himself, let alone for anyone else.

 

And so you see another bad type of judgment.

• It is blind to the impartial nature of God.

• It is blind to it’s own sin.

• Therefore it is blind to help anyone else either.

 

The idea here is that if you won’t deal with the sin in your own life,

Then don’t try to deal with the sin in someone elses’.

 

It is hypocrisy, and Jesus is opposed to it as well.

 

 

But there is a third type of judgment.

 

A Wicked judgment that only destroys

A Blind judgment that only deceives

#3 TRUE JUDGMENT THAT ONLY DELIVERS

 

This true judgment is what Jesus spoke of:

John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

 

And so it is clear that not only does Jesus condemn faulty judgment, but He actually commands righteous judgment.

 

WANT SOME EXAMPLES?

2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

 

Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”

ARE NOT BOTH OF THOSE A TYPE OF JUDGMENT?

Yet both are commanded in Scripture.

 

And let me show you why

TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 5

 

When you read the first two verses we see the problem.

There was a specific type of immorality occurring that had to be stopped.

 

And notice Paul’s response.

(VERSE 3-5)

 

So Paul actually judged this person.

Paul actually handed him over to Satan (kicked him out of the church)

 

And then Paul chastises the Corinthians for not doing this sooner

(VERSES 6-8)

 

Allowing this sin to go unchallenged

Will only bring negative consequences to the church.

 

(VERSES 9-13)

 

Paul actually says we are required to judge those within the church.

 

That seems strange doesn’t?

TURN TO: MATTHEW 18

 

Now you also must know that this passage

Is all about saving people from sin.

 

In fact verse 7 talks about making little ones stumble.

Verses 8-9 talks about keeping yourself from stumbling.

Verses 10-14 talks about how God wants to save one who does stumble.

 

Verse 15 says, “If your brother sins”

 

So we are talking about one who has stumbled.

We don’t know how he fell, but we know God wants him back

 

HOW DOES GOD PURPOSE TO GET HIM BACK?

(VERSES 15-20)

 

God wants other brothers to confront him and turn him back to the truth,

And He has given them authority to do so.

 

And there again we see that judging is not only biblical,

But is actually commanded by God.

 

SO HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST TWO TYPES OF JUDGMENT WE SAW?

 

The first two sought to destroy, this one seeks to redeem.

 

The first two are for the benefit of the judge,

This one is for the benefit of the sinner.

 

And so we see that we have to qualify

What Jesus is saying in Matthew 7 with the rest of Scripture.

 

We have to understand that what Jesus is condemning is

That self-righteous attitude that seeks to destroy another person.

 

Let me give you an example of how Jesus did it.

 

TURN TO: JOHN 8

 

Here we have all three types of judgment on display.

• The Wicked who wanted her dead.

• The Blind who couldn’t see their own sin.

• The True who told the woman, “go and sin no more”

 

And you see the difference.

 

Jesus never condoned her sin, in fact He never condoned anyone’s sin.

His judgment was true.

His judgment was righteous.

His judgment was redemptive.

 

And when you see this

You understand what we are talking about in Matthew 7

 

When Jesus says, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged”

 

It is clear that He is referring to those blind and wicked judgments

That seek to condemn a person in their sin.

 

This must be avoided, for it reveals self-righteousness in its finest form.

 

I would close in telling you here, that if you feel as though

You are under the judgment of God, that there is redemption.

 

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

 

The Sin of Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

 

As you know we are presently studying the Sermon on the Mount,

And we are knee deep into Jesus’ second point.

 

Chapter 5 was GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED

Chapter 6 is FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

 

Jesus is dealing with “good people,

And is revealing to them the problems with their “goodness”.

 

We have already seen that their religion was pointless,

For their giving, prayer, and fasting was all done for the wrong reasons.

 

That reason was for earthly glory and treasure,

Instead of for the glory of God and eternal reward.

 

And this hypocritical religion was only consistent with their greedy hearts

 

They loved the glory and praise of men because they loved the world,

And that is why Jesus moved from hypocritical religion to greed.

 

You see the sins are very similar.

Both seek to attain the world.

Both love the praise and reward of the world.

Both sacrifice the eternal to obtain it.

 

Greed and hypocritical religion come from the same root problem

And that is a heart that loves the world.

 

And so, we have seen the false righteousness of man exposed.

Jesus is revealing a heart problem.

 

Most recently we looked at greed from the perspective of the rich.

Those who save money, seek money, and serve money.

 

And this greed reveals a corrupt heart for, as Jesus said:

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

Your heart cannot nourish two crops at once.

Love for God and Love for the World have never been able to coexist.

 

In fact they are enemies of one another.

 

That is why John said:

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

 

That is why James said:

James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

And that is also why Jesus unequivocally said

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”

 

You cannot love God and the world.

Your treasures will pull your heart away from God.

And so we saw the problems associated with wealth.

 

But as we said last week, when you talk about wealth, much of the time those who don’t have it tend to let themselves off the hook.

 

“Well, I don’t have to worry about it, because I don’t have the world.”

 

But that isn’t true.

In fact, the poor can suffer from the sin of greed

Even greater than those who are rich.

 

Their greed is not measured by their WEALTH.

Their greed is measured by their WORRY.

 

And obviously this is not biblical.

1 Timothy 6:8-11 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

 

Scripture is clear that contentment is the intention of the Christian life,

Not a desire for more.

 

Now I will be the first to admit to you that this is a tall order.

• We live in a material world.

• We live in arguably the most “consumer friendly” nation ever conceived.

• We are flooded with temptations called advertisements.

• We live next to people who continually get more stuff.

 

Contentment is a tall order, only possible through the power of Christ.

 

In fact, would it surprise you that the most quoted passage on Christian empowerment in Scripture is actually a passage related to contentment?

 

Philippians 4:12-13 “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

 

When Paul wanted to give an example of Christ’s power in his life,

He didn’t speak of the time he raised the dead,

Or the miracles he worked,

Or the endurance he showed.

 

When Paul wanted to give an example of Christ’s power,

Paul cited his ability to live content in the world.

 

Because it is only by power of a transformed life

Can we learn to say no to the things of the world.

 

And that is what makes it an indicator of a redeemed heart.

Furthermore, that is what makes a lack of contentment

An indicator of a carnal heart.

 

And that is why Jesus uses it here in His famous Sermon.

 

And having already seen the problems of wealth,

This morning we look at the sin of worry.

 

And this morning Jesus gives us three truths about worry.

#1 WHAT WORRY REVEALS

Matthew 6:25-26, 28-30

 

When you read the passage you see that Jesus

Immediately links this concept to the previous one.

“For this reason”

 

Jesus has just said that you cannot serve God and wealth.

It is impossible.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried”

 

 

And so it is obvious that worrying about money

Is a type of service to wealth.

 

If you spend time fretting or worrying or dwelling

On what you do not have, it is obvious that wealth

Has become a sort of master that has consumed you.

 

Clearly put.

The presence of worry indicates

That you are serving the wrong master.

 

Now you will also notice that the passage we study today

Indicates worrying about three different things.

 

(25) “do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you drink”

 

We could probably sum this up as concern for basic necessities.

We all know that the human body has to eat and has to drink.

We can’t go long without them.

 

And because they are necessary for life to continue,

We tend to focus on them more than we should.

 

(25) “do not be worried…for your body, as to what you will put on.”

 

And we could also throw this into a basic need category

Since we do require covering to survive as well.

 

But also in this mix is a concept of vanity,

In which we tend to want more and better clothing.

 

(25) “do not worry about tomorrow”

 

This is really the combination of the two,

Only here the problem has really escalated.

 

This indicates a person who has food and covering for today,

But doesn’t know where it is coming from tomorrow.

 

All three of which Jesus tells us not to do.

For if we are worried about any of these things

It indicates that we are serving the wrong master.

 

But let’s get more specific about what it reveals.

1) A LOVE OF SELF (25)

 

After telling us what not to worry about, notice His subtle rebuke.

 

“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

In other words, what do you think the purpose of life is?

What do you think the purpose of your body is?

 

Do you think your only objective for this life is to preserve it?

Do you think your only objective for this body is to cover it?

 

That is an animal mentality.

A wild beast will live with those passions and desires.

They live to eat, and they live to find shelter from the weather.

 

What is the purpose of your life?

What is the purpose of your body?

 

We can look at what Scripture says about our life.

Colossians 3:3-4 “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

 

Remember this passage?

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

 

How about this one?

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

 

And you understand, that this life is about far more

Than just self-preservation.

We are not here just to figure out how to stay alive.

 

Does it not strike you that this life is for a greater purpose?

 

Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

 

This life is not about us, it is about Him.

This life is but a small opportunity to please Him, and to glorify Him,

And to lead others to Him.

 

If all we do in this life is prolong it,

Then we have drastically missed the point.

 

HOW ABOUT THE BODY?

What is the purpose of the body?

 

Is it just to cover it?

Is it to keep it from pain?

Is it to exercise it and sculpt it into something beautiful?

 

What does Scripture say?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

 

Scripture says that the purpose of this body is for us to glorify God.

 

Remember this passage?

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

 

That is why Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:27 “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

This body is the means by which we live this life for the glory of God.

 

2 Corinthians 5:8-9 “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

 

And so we know why God gave us life.

We know why God gave us a body.

 

But the person who lives only for the preservation of that life

Or the comfort of that body indicates a backward attitude.

 

That person is not serving God, that person is serving self

And they reveal that because instead of worrying about the things of God,

They are worried about how they will preserve life and comfort the body.

 

Worry reveals a love for self.

 

2) A LACK OF FAITH (26, 28-30)

 

Now notice the two examples Jesus gives.

(26) “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”

 

And again Jesus is not condemning work, work is of God.

Jesus is condemning worry.

 

And birds are not worried, for God feeds them.

 

Then notice the question.

“Are you not worth much more than they?”

 

I mean, let’s just see things logically for a moment.

Birds don’t share the gospel,

Birds don’t feed the poor,

Birds don’t comfort the bereaved.

 

In the grand scheme of things birds are expendable,

But humans aren’t.

 

God has chosen to use humans in His great work of redemption.

We are more valuable than birds.

 

Yet, if God feeds the birds, don’t you think God will feed us?

 

Look at the next example.

(28) “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”

And then here comes the logic.

(30) “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?”

 

And what logic!

 

Now I’m guessing that everyone in here buys paper towels.

They are certainly useful, we like them.

 

But how many of you wash your paper towels in order to reuse them?

 

None, because they are a dime a dozen, and they won’t last.

 

But not so with your real towels. We wash them until there is barely any towel left. There were times growing up that I had to put 3 towels together just to keep them from being see through.

 

The point is that we don’t put much energy into what won’t last,

But we put much greater energy into the things that will.

 

And God does the same.

He puts far more greater energy into the things that last

Versus the things that won’t.

 

And if God would clothe grass which is here today and gone tomorrow,

Then how much more would God take care of an eternal human being?

 

And so to worry about it, reveals what you think about God.

• Either you think God has His priorities all mixed up.

• Or you think God doesn’t know any better.

• Or you think God just doesn’t care about you.

 

All three indicate a lack of faith in God,

And that is why Jesus says, “You of little faith!”

 

And I don’t know if you’ve ever realized this or not,

But worry is a slap in the face to God.

 

Worry is an extreme lack of faith.

 

How many of you with kids, when you get in the car, do your kids grill you about having enough gas, or about knowing where you are going?

 

No, they climb in go to sleep, wake up and ask if we are there yet.

They trust you.

 

But we often don’t afford such trust to God.

 

 

Remember the children of Israel?

Exodus 15:24 “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

 

Exodus 16:3 “The sons of Israel said to them, ” Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

 

Numbers 21:5 “The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

 

Folks, when we worry about those things,

It sends a message to God that either we don’t think He can

Or we don’t think He will.

 

One insults His power, the other insults His love.

 

And so we see what worry reveals about us.

It reveals a love of self

It reveals a lack of faith

 

That is what worry reveals.

#2 WHAT WORRY ACCOMPLISHES

Matthew 6:27

 

Stuck in the middle of the passage we just studied,

Jesus throws in a little more logic.

 

(27) “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

 

In other words, even if you are consumed with preserving this life,

Do you suppose that worry will help you do that?

 

What doctor has ever said “We have found that a healthy diet, daily exercise, and ample amounts of time spent in worry have been found effective to add years to the average person’s life”?

 

On the contrary, doctors will tell you that stress is not good for you.

When is the last time you ever visited someone ill in the hospital and said, “I think the only thing that will save you is if you would start worrying.”

 

I mean you get the point.

Worry accomplishes nothing.

 

Remember Martha?

Luke 10:41 “But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;”

 

Martha was worried, but the meal wasn’t going any faster as a result.

That is why Paul said:

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

 

Worry accomplishes nothing, so you might as well not do it.

 

What Worry Reveals

What Worry Accomplishes

#3 WHAT WORRY CAUSES

Matthew 6:31-34

 

Here again Jesus states the command not to worry.

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’”

 

“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things”

 

There is another one of those indicator statements again.

A godless world seeks the things of the world.

 

Again Jesus reminds that worry reveals a love of self.

 

And again worry reveals a lack of faith.

“for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

 

Jesus has just reiterated His point.

Worry indicates a love of self and a lack of faith.

 

It accomplishes nothing, so trust God.

(33) “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

 

Here is the passion of a child of God.

Here is the heart of Jesus.

 

If you want to be worried about something,

• Then worry about the millions of souls headed to hell.

• Be worried about righteousness.

• Be worried about growing God’s kingdom.

 

WE CALL IT PRIORITY

A natural man seeks natural things,

But a spiritual man is more concerned with spiritual things.

 

“Seek first”

“His kingdom and His righteousness”

 

And God will take care of all those other things.

 

Remember the passage Jesus quoted during His temptation?

Deuteronomy 8:2-6 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. “Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

 

God wants you to know that He provides,

Because God doesn’t want you spending your short time

In the body worrying about food.

 

He wants you to spend your short time in the body on mission for Him.

 

And yet how many of us forsake or neglect our spiritual mission on a daily basis because we are too worried about meeting our own physical needs.

 

We got so consumed with worldly needs that we forget why we are here.

Oh, we could take off and go…

Oh, we could take off and serve…

Oh, we could give more of what I have…

 

But if I do that, “I’m worried that I might not have enough when I need it.”

 

(34) “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.”

 

The point is God has put you here to serve Him today,

But you can’t serve Him today

If you are constantly worried about tomorrow.

 

And that is the danger of worry.

It causes us to miss our mission.

It causes us to fail to store treasure in heaven.

 

And that is why Jesus calls worry a sin.

• Worry REVEALS a love of self and a lack of faith.

• Worry ACCOMPLISHES nothing.

• Worry CAUSES us to miss what really matters.

 

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

 

Testing For Greed – part 2

Matthew 6:19-24

 

Last time we met we started this penetrating text of Jesus

As He continued to address the importance

Of not storing up treasure here on earth.

 

Jesus opened the chapter by saying:

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

 

He told us that there is a real danger that you and I

Could achieve something here on earth, but be a pauper in heaven.

 

He then revealed this danger in a spiritual sense through:

Hypocritical Giving

Hypocritical Prayer

Hypocritical Fasting

 

All of which accumulate treasure here, but gain no reward there.

 

But those aren’t the only areas in which we store earthly treasure.

We also do it with our money.

 

And so last week Jesus left the concept of religion

And introduced the concept of GREED.

 

And again, I don’t have to spend any time trying to convince you that

Greed is a sin and that is heinous in the sight of God.

 

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

 

So we don’t have to spend any time this morning

Trying to drive that point home any harder than that.

 

Instead the issue before us is not determining what greed is,

Or even if greed is bad.

All we are trying to do is determine if we have greed in our own lives.

 

And for that we find here three scenarios

By which we can evaluate our lives.

(Three questions regarding money)

 

We saw the first last week, – DO YOU STORE IT?

 

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

And as we said then, the Greek word for “store up”

And the Greek word for “treasures” is the same word.

Only once it is used as a verb and once it is used as a noun.

 

Literally Jesus was saying, “Do not treasure your treasure.”

 

It is not that having treasure is wrong.

It is not that having a savings is wrong.

The danger comes when you get in to protection mode.

 

And Jesus even gave His reasoning

As to why you should not treasure this treasure.

 

The reason is because you can’t keep it.

“moth and rust destroy, and…thieves break in and steal”

 

And we talked about that in Jesus’ day wealth was measured in three main ways, GARMENTS – GRAIN – GOLD.

 

If you put your wealth in garments, the moth will eat it.

If you put your wealth in grain, the varmints will eat it (rust translates brosis – “to eat”)

If you put your wealth in gold, thieves will steal it.

 

Your treasure isn’t secure here,

And Jesus wants you to keep your treasure.

 

Furthermore living solely to protect this treasure

Will cause you inevitably to pass over someone who genuinely needed it.

 

And God’s instruction to the rich has been clear.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

 

Which is of course exactly what Jesus said.

 

If you want your treasure to be secure, then store it up in heaven.

Be generous, share, so that you can store up treasure in a place

“where neither moth nor rust destroys,

and where thieves do not break in or steal;”

 

And so we remember why Jesus told us not to treasure our treasure here.

 

And then He revealed the danger

That comes along with treasuring our treasure.

 

(21) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Your heart follows your treasure.

And if you store up treasure and begin to treasure it,

Then eventually it will pull your heart away from God.

 

And we saw the rich young ruler who could not follow Christ

Because his treasure had already stolen his heart.

 

And that was the first scenario.

 

Do you wonder if you have greed, then ask yourself this question in regard to your money: “DO I STORE IT?”

 

If so, then greed is present, and it must be dealt with.

 

But as you noticed, there are two more scenarios by which we evaluate our lives.

 

Do you store it?

#2 DO YOU SEEK IT?

Matthew 6:22-23

 

Supposing you passed the first test, lets look at the second.

 

And the reason for another test is that the first one is incomplete.

 

The first test is designed only to reveal greed in the life of the rich. In fact a poor man reads that statement and instantly says,

“That’s not me”.

 

A poor man doesn’t even have money, let alone money set aside.

And so to talk to him about storing his treasure is without application.

 

And a poor man can breeze through that first test and say,

“I passed with flying colors, I haven’t stored anything.”

 

But that doesn’t let the poor man off the hook.

 

Because the second scenario can apply to any heart,

No matter if that person is rich or poor.

 

Now we are not dealing with the storage of treasure,

We are dealing with the desire for it.

 

And Jesus even gives a unique analogy for desire.

(22) “The eye is the lamp of the body”

 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

 

WHAT DOES A LAMP DO TO A ROOM?

It brightens the room.

It illuminates what could not otherwise be seen.

And so initially we learn that our eye is an indicator of our heart.

Our eye provides insight into our heart.

 

WHY THE EYE?

It is with the eye that we SEE and RECOGNIZE and even SEEK.

 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “His eyes lit up when he saw…”?

It indicates that he liked or wanted what he saw.

 

Maybe you have heard the concept of

Something making someone’s eye twinkle.

 

It is the concept of revealing desire.

That is what the eye does.

 

The eye is a revealer of the heart.

If the eye wants it, then it is clear that the heart wants it.

 

The eye also signifies our focus and our purpose.

It is in an indicator of what we are seeking.

 

“That really caught my eye”

(Well it wouldn’t have caught your eye if your heart wasn’t interested)

 

And so it helps us understand what Jesus is talking about here.

 

“The eye is the lamp of the body”

In other words, what your eye desires

Is an indicator of what your heart desires.

And is therefore an indicator of what type of heart you have.

 

Then Jesus continues.

“so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

 

“clear” translates HAPLOUS

“simple” or “single” – some see it as meaning “pure”

 

The man who only seeks the things of God with his heart,

Will therefore only want the things of God with his eyes.

 

If your eye is only looking for the things of God…

If your eye is only looking for opportunities to serve God…

If your eye is only looking for opportunities to grow the kingdom…

If your eye is only looking for opportunities to store up treasure in heaven…

 

Then rest assured your heart is clean.

Rest assured “your whole body will be full of light.”

 

If all you are looking for with your eyes is spiritual treasure,

Then you can know your heart is in the right place.

(23) ”BUT if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.”

 

This brings the opposite connotation.

 

“bad” translates PONEROS

“toilsome” or “laborious”

 

Instead of an eye that is singular wanting only the things of God.

This is an eye that is greedy wanting everything it sees.

 

It is an eye that literally wares itself out seeing all the stuff it wants.

 

It is the eye that no sooner gets what it craved,

Than it is already craving something new.

The advertising industry thrives on this type of eye.

 

Ever sat with a child while watching Saturday morning cartoons?

Every commercial will feature some new toy,

And your child will want every toy that is featured.

 

And the problem is that the eye that is “bad”

Or laboring to achieve everything else

Indicates a heart that desires the world.

 

An eye that wants all that stuff indicates a corrupt and idolatrous heart.

 

And that is dangerous, for notice what Jesus says next.

 

“If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

 

In case you missed it,

That is a thought provoking statement.

 

Jesus knows that if He simply asked the people

About the condition of their heart, they would all say, “My heart is good”.

 

No one would say, “I’ve got a corrupt heart.”

 

Jesus knew that by in large everyone thought they had a good heart.

 

And so Jesus gives a piece of penetrating logic.

 

If your eye is bad, that is in an indicator that your heart is bad.

But you thought your heart was good.

 

So if what you thought was good was really bad, how bad are you?

 

AND DO YOU SEE THE DANGER THERE?

 

First we learned that your greed will pull your heart away from God.

Here we learn that greed will blind you

To your true spiritual condition.

 

Let’s go again to the rich young ruler.

 

Matthew 19:16-20 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

 

Is that not fascinating?

Here is a man who rejected Christ.

Here is a man who chose sin over righteousness.

Here is a man who refused to submit his life to Christ.

 

Yet, when he evaluated his own life, he thought he was good.

 

It is obvious that he had absolutely no spiritual discernment.

His greed had blinded his true spiritual condition.

He couldn’t even see what he was.

 

And so you see why greed is so dangerous.

Not only will it lead you away from God,

But it will lead you away from God without you even realizing it.

 

1 Timothy 6:7-10 “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

 

DID YOU CATCH THAT?

“some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

 

REMEMBER GEHAZI?

That servant of Elisha who decided to go ahead

And charge Naaman the leper for his cleansing.

Gehazi was inflicted with Naaman’s leprosy until the day of his death.

 

AND YOU SEE GREED ISN’T LIMITED TO THE RICH.

Here we are not talking about people who have money.

We are talking about people who want money.

And we definitely see it in our day.

 

Sometime go to Allsups and watch the poor line up to buy lottery tickets.

(Don’t be shocked like you though buying lottery tickets was a spiritual thing)

Sometime go to one of these cities of legalized gambling and watch the poor feeding slot machines.

 

WHY DO THEY DO THAT?

For the chance dream of winning a million.

 

Friend you would be far better off to put your dollar

Towards feeding the poor, or towards funding missions,

For there you are guaranteed to get a treasure.

 

But it is just another indicator of a carnal greedy heart.

 

AM I GREEDY?

 

Well, let’s ask a couple of questions about money.

Do you store it?

Do you seek it?

 

If you are forced to answer yes, then greed is present in your heart.

And again Scripture says that is idolatry.

 

#3 DO YOU SERVE IT?

Matthew 6:24

 

What do you mean, do I serve it?

Well, is it your master?

 

Are you continually caught having to shift your life

In order to make money to obtain the things you want?

 

Or even better yet, are you continually having to shift your life

In order to pay for the things you already have?

 

All of a sudden your treasure has become your master.

 

Now I know this one is tricky, and I don’t want you to misunderstand me here.

 

Scripture does not say that work is wrong.

Nor does Scripture say that it is wrong to work

In order to provide for your family.

 

In fact Scripture places a high value on work.

 

DO YOU REALIZE THAT WORK WAS INITIATED BEFORE THE FALL?

Genesis 2:15 “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”

 

God has always intended that you and I work.

Proverbs 6:6-11 “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest” — Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.”

 

Proverbs 14:4 “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.”

 

Proverbs 12:11 “He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense.”

 

We even see this in the New Testament.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”

 

Furthermore Scripture teaches that one of the reasons we work

Is to provide for our families.

 

1 Timothy 5:4 “but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.”

 

1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

 

2 Corinthians 12:14 “Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”

 

And so I am not saying that if you have to work to provide

Then you are somehow a servant to your money.

No, work indicates a service to your family.

 

The problem occurs when you have to work more than necessary,

Because aside from providing for your family,

You are also trying to obtain the world.

 

And I don’t think it is all that hard to tell the difference.

 

Does your work keep you away from your family?

Does your work prohibit you from serving God?

 

Work is a gift from God as His way of providing for us,

But when we are so intent on obtaining the world

That we become a slave to it, then we have a new master.

 

And that again is obviously idolatry.

 

And it is impossible to be there and be a servant of God.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

And isn’t that true?

 

Have you ever had your money cause you to despise God?

 

Let me give you an example.

 

You have something you want to buy,

Maybe you have started saving, maybe you are about to.

 

And all of a sudden some mission offering comes up at the church,

Or some benevolent need arises.

 

And now you are mad

Because God wants you to give to those causes

And it means you might not get that thing you wanted.

 

It caused you to despise God.

 

You see, you can’t have it both ways.

If you are serving wealth, then you are not serving God,

Because it is impossible to do so.

 

That is what Jesus said in the parable of the soils.

Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

 

And there one more time we understand the danger of greed.

 

• It pulls your heart away from God.

• It clouds your own spiritual discernment.

• It not only renders you incapable of service, but will also cause you to hate God.

And how do I know if I have greed?

• Do I store money?

• Do I seek money?

• Do I serve money?

 

And friend if greed is found present in your life,

Then you need to run to Christ and not only ask for forgiveness,

But also for cleansing.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

Jesus will fix your heart.

 

And now I want to close with what I think is one of the greatest lessons on the struggle with money in all of Scripture.

 

Many of you are already familiar with it.

 

TURN TO: PSALMS 73

(we obviously can’t cover it in extreme depth, but we can get the point)

 

This morning if greed is present in your life,

Then you need what Asaph needed.

 

You need to spend time in the sanctuary of God

And let God show you the “end” of the greedy.

 

And when you see that,

You will wonder why you ever wanted to be rich,

And you will see the tremendous value it is in knowing Christ.

 

So this morning, draw near to God, and let Him change your heart.

 

Until you and I can say with Asaph:

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”