From His Heart

Speaker 1

Do you judge other people's actions? Is that really the Christian thing to do? Well, no. And yes.

Speaker 2

There is hope that you always dream of. He can heal every scar with truth. Real love, real hope from his home.

Speaker 1

Welcome to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, who today is going to help us understand when to judge and when not to judge. This lesson today comes from scripture that the world so often misinterprets. There's a verse that really jumps out, Matthew, chapter seven, verses one through three, that says, "Judge not that ye be not judged. For with that judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

That's a powerful verse. No doubt. We hear that verse quoted time and time again by people who really don't want to be held responsible for their sinful actions. And many Christians don't know how to respond to that. Are we supposed to judge them and be accused of ignoring the Scripture you claim to love? What does that verse mean? That is the question that we're going to investigate today in this edition of From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Now we're in part two of this lesson called "To Judge or Not to Judge" from the five-message series, "Discernment in the Days of Deception." This series is also our special gift of thanks to you for your support to From His Heart this month of any amount. You can get the series on a USB flash drive or on CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download. Just go to fromhisheart.org for details.

Now though, have your Bible open to Matthew, chapter seven, as Pastor Jeff clarifies what Jesus meant when he said do not judge.

Speaker 2

Hey, is it right or wrong for a Christian to judge? The answer is not yes or no. It's yes and no. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong. So those are the two things we wanna look at today.

Let's look at the times that it's wrong. It is wrong to judge when, first of all, we assume the place of God. God is the one who saves and who condemns. James said this in James 4:12: "There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" So it's wrong to judge, first of all, when we assume the place of God.

Secondly, it's wrong to judge when we judge someone's heart and motives. Man sees the outward; God sees the heart. Listen, you can't see the heart, I can't see the heart. You can't see the motives, I can't see the motives. God sees that. And so we get in trouble when we judge, when we put ourselves in the place of God, when we judge someone's motives, when we judge someone's heart, because you can't see that. Anytime we start judging someone's heart, we're in a bad situation there. We're on thin ice because the Lord is saying, "You don't know that. You don't know that." Judge with righteous judgment.

Thirdly, it's wrong to judge from a hypocritical and self-righteous heart. And then, number four, it's wrong to judge in gray areas. In gray areas, in matters of the conscience, those are things that the Bible doesn't clearly say yea or nay on. Watch out in the gray areas. The scripture says, "Don't judge in those gray areas." So that's when it's wrong to judge. That's when you can say, "Do not judge lest you be judged."

Now let's talk about when it is right to judge, when it is right to do so. The first instance is when you're judging yourself. Now let me tell you, in Corinth, they were having a problem with the judge and the other brother in the gray areas. They were also having a problem at the Lord's Supper. People were getting drunk at the Lord's Supper, and Paul was saying, "Hey, you gotta cut that stuff out. For this reason, some of you are weak and some of you are sick. And hey, you know what? Some of you are dead." Why? Because you're messing around in God's sacred area and you're not judging your body rightly. This is what he says in First Corinthians, chapter 11: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason, many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep, a number are dead." You gotta judge yourself. So that's the very first area, and that's really important.

Secondly, it's right to judge when we are helping another believer caught in sin. Now he talks about the log in your eye and the speck in your brother's eye. He says in verse five, "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." Does God want us to help our brother who's got a speck in his eye? Yes, he does. You gotta get yourself right before you can help your brother. But God wants you to help your brother.

Here's the thing, gang. Sin is not your friend. Sin is not my friend. We have to constantly remind ourselves of that because the pull of the world is strong. The ways of the world seem good and right. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life—the Bible says that's not from the Father, but it's from the world. That is pulling us away from the Lord.

So we have to constantly tell ourselves, "Yeah, but that's wrong." Sex before marriage, that's wrong. Cutting corners on a business deal so I can make a sale or get more money, that's wrong. Being dishonest, that's wrong. Taking things that don't belong to me, that's wrong. I have to constantly remind myself, "Yeah, but that's wrong. God's ways are right concerning everything."

When I see a brother in sin, when I see a brother going off the tracks, it's incumbent upon me as a believer, out of love, to go to that brother, go to that sister, and say, "Hey, hey, you're getting off base here. You need to come back to walking with God because you're never gonna find what you seek. You're never gonna find joy, you're never gonna find peace, you're never gonna find contentment."

When you go off, as the Prodigal Son did, to the far country, it's not there. The peace, joy, love, good things, favor, and blessings of God—they're not there in the far country. They're there when you're walking with God. So if you love somebody, you'll want to bring them back to a right relationship with God.

So when helping other believers caught in sin, it says in Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted."

Now, here's one of the difficulties we have. Nobody wants to be called a hater. I mean, we kind of... And people throw that out there.

Speaker 1

Oh, hater.

Speaker 2

If you ever call somebody out on something, well, you're just a hater. And they call you a bigot and a homophobe and all sorts of other things. You know, slurs and these things if you ever call somebody out. Now, there was a girl that was in our church some years ago, and she met with me a time or two, and she was talking about going into ministry and said, "Will you write a letter of recommendation for me? I'm trying to get into this school." And I said, "Sure, I'll do that." Well, some, I kind of lost track of her after time, you know, a couple of years; she was not in our church anymore. She moved away.

Well, I saw something on Facebook where she was all excited because she found the love of her life, another woman. And she was saying, "Oh, I'm just so happy," in pictures, you know, and all that stuff on Facebook. And, you know, I saw that and I thought, "Oh, man." And so I private messaged her and I just said, "Hey, I don't understand what's going on, but I just want you to know that you're not gonna find what you're looking for going in that direction." And I said, "This is wrong. I said, God's word is clear. This is wrong."

Well, she responded back, and then basically the response back was, "Only God can judge me. Who are you to tell me what is right and what is wrong?" And she didn't appreciate the fact that I private messaged her. But, you know, I said to myself, "Well, listen, if I really love her, I'm not just gonna let her keep going down a road that leads off a cliff. I'm gonna try and intercede and say to her, 'Listen, you are going in the wrong direction. You need to turn around.' Because you're never going to find what your heart yearns for by going against what God says."

And see, love really compels us to intercede there and to, if you see a brother that's going, a sister that's going off the rails, that you want, stop. You need to come back to the Lord. Why? Because sin is not your friend. Sin will wreck and ruin your life. And do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows this, he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Now, Galatians says, you do that in a spirit of gentleness. Now, I have to make sure I judge myself, but I got to get rid of the 2 by 4 in my eye before I go talk to somebody about a speck in her eye or a speck in his eye. So I gotta get right with God before I do that. And I always do it with gentleness. Now, I've told you before, preaching is different than talking to someone one on one. Preaching, we're to speak the truth in love. Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 15: "Speak the truth in love." When you're preaching, you're not talking to any individual. I'm talking to everyone. So if the shoe fits, wear it. I don't know your situation, perhaps.

And that's why I tend to look at the tops of people's heads. Cause if I look at people's faces and say, "Oh, I haven't seen so and so for a while," or, "What about this? What about this person?" And then I lose my train of thought. So I kind of look over the tops of people's heads and I just... It's just... You're throwing it out there. It's like chum in the water. Hey, if this, you know, hits you, then just know that God knows what's going on in your life. I didn't design this sermon for you. God is speaking to your heart.

And so it can be hard from the pulpit. It can be truth, guardrail, truth, that is in love. But the truth is out there. And some people, they don't like that. They're like, "Oh, I just want you to make me feel good." Well, if you're not going in the right direction, you're not gonna feel good. I am not gonna make you feel good. When you're going on a road that leads off a cliff, that would mean I would not care about you. And so preaching is speaking the truth in love. Lots of truth, lots of love. But you lead with the truth.

When you talk to someone one on one, and this is what I do, it's gonna be gentle. Especially somebody that you know is going off the rail, it's gonna be gentle. You don't beat them over the head with truth. You don't take the guardrail and start whacking them over the head. You're very loving and you're very gentle. You don't back down off the truth, but you love them back into the fold, so to speak, into walking with God. That's the emphasis. That's the goal.

And see, so it's different. And I learned that the hard way when I was growing up in Christianity as a young believer, because I listened to sermons and I said, "Man, this works really well." And so I started one on one with this girl, started, bam, bam, bam. And she didn't like me at all. And I learned, "Hey, you gotta do it a little different when you're just talking to someone," but the truth doesn't ever change.

And listen, you know, sometimes I was thinking about this. You know, the question is, well, if you had... And we all have people in our lives, people in our families, people friends that have given themselves over to a homosexual lifestyle. And you know, it's God forbid if you say anything about that. Somebody said one time, "Well, my pastor must hate my son because he talks bad about homosexuality." Truth is, the pastor doesn't even know the son. He's just telling you this is true and this is false. This is what God says and this is what he says not to do.

But see, you go out in that direction and then people say, "Well, what if they invited you to their wedding? Would you go to their wedding?" People are, "Ah, that's a puzzler. I don't know." Cause you wanna support the person, you wanna love the person, but then you got the scripture and you don't... Let me give you a scripture for that. First Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 6: "Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. It rejoices only in the truth." You can't go to a wedding that would be celebrating unrighteousness and say, "Well, I'm gonna be a part of that." Cause that's not love. Love doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness. It rejoices only in the truth.

And so we tell people the truth not cause we are mean, not because we wanna hurt them. It's because we love them and we wanna pull them back into the fold. So it's right to judge when we are helping another believer caught in sin. Thirdly, it's right to judge when we're examining teachers and teaching. When you're listening to a message, it's right to be judging in your mind. Is this true or is this not? When the Apostle Paul preached in Berea, these were more noble-minded, speaking of the Berean Christians than those in Thessalonica. For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

So this is Paul preaching. And these people were saying, "Hey, Paul, we're receiving what you're saying, but we're going to check you out to make sure that it lines up with scripture." Hey, we give you sermon notes. And why do we give you sermon notes? Well, cause I want you to take notes and I put scriptures in there. Cause I want you to look that stuff up to make sure what I'm telling you is true. And I want you to check me out so that you know, "Hey, Pastor Jeff's telling me the truth." And don't just take it without checking it out. Examine the scriptures daily to see whether these things are so.

So you need to do that. If they were doing that with the Apostle Paul, you definitely need to do it with me. Cause hey, I'm a flawed human being. And I hope I don't ever tell you something that's wrong. But you can check me out and see, "Hey, and you can challenge me on stuff. Hey, you said this. And I don't know if that's right." And so I'll go back and I'll say, "Well, you know, you might be right, I might not have been right." And so I'll say, "Thanks for bringing that to my attention."

I heard that John MacArthur would preach sermons and they'd be on cassette tapes. That was back in the day. And if he ever said something wrong and he started rethinking that, "Hey, I didn't get this passage right," he would rerecord the message, he would edit it to fix it. Cause he didn't want error going out there. And he's open enough to say, "Hey, I don't always make the right call on everything." Nobody's got all of the truth. And so we have to be open to the fact that we need to fix it if we're wrong. But you gotta examine teachers and teaching.

And in this series, we're gonna talk about how to recognize a false teacher, how to recognize false teaching. Cause it abounds too. And then lastly, when we're dealing with mockers. Dealing with mockers, verse 6: "Do not give what is holy to dogs. And do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces." Isn't it interesting that in the passage that so many people quote, "Judge not lest you be judged," it talks about judging in there. And you're required to judge. You're required to judge yourself if you got a two by four in your eye. And then you judge your neighbor, you try and help them take the speck out of his eye. And then you judge the mockers. You judge those who are considered dogs and who are considered hogs.

Don't throw what is holy to the dogs. Well, how do you know who a dog is? He's not talking about an actual dog; he's talking about spiritual dogs. And he's talking about don't throw your pearls before swine. He's talking about spiritual hogs. Spiritual dogs. Spiritual hogs. How do you know who's a spiritual dog and who's the spiritual hog? You have to judge, you have to discern. You have to take in the information. And you have to judge with righteous judgment.

And hey, the dogs that they're talking about. And when you read in Scripture about dogs, don't ever get the idea that he's talking about a nice little lap dog. They're not nice lap dogs when he's talking about dogs. They're the scavenger, mangy, diseased dogs that would kind of roam in packs. You didn't want to get around everybody, garbage piles and stuff like that. Outside of the dogs. Paul said he was talking about the false teacher, the dogs. And don't take what is holy. Don't take something off the altar of God that's holy and throw it to the dogs. That would be horrible.

And don't throw your pearls before swine. God's not into calling the hogs. I'm just going to tell you he's not into that. And he likes longhorns. Now you gotta go check that out to see. Just preaching the word. But he doesn't like the hogs. And so, you know, the Jews didn't mess with pigs because they were considered unclean. The story of the prodigal son. What makes that so horrible in the ears of the listener of Jesus' day is that the kid was longing to fill his stomach with the pods from the pigs. I mean, it's like, can you get any lower than that? No, it's awful.

And so you don't take what is holy and give it to the dogs. You don't take pearls and say, "Here, little piggy," and throw those before the pigs. And the pig's thinking, "You're giving me something to eat." And then when he figures out, "I can't eat this," he turns around, he tramples it under his feet. And he turns around and tears you to pieces. Cause you've made him mad, you've teased him. He doesn't like that. And God says, "Don't do that."

Hey, when it comes to those who are anti the gospel, I'm not talking to the average person who is not necessarily anti the gospel. They just don't know the gospel. Before I got saved, I wasn't anti the gospel. I just didn't know Christ. I didn't know the gospel. I didn't know what it meant to be saved. I wasn't anti. I wasn't on a campaign to destroy Christianity. He's talking about the mockers and the scoffers. Those are the people. Don't spend too much time on those and don't take the holy things of God and give it to them. Why? Because it's like throwing pearls before swine.

Jesus spoke to Pilate and he never spoke to Herod. Herod wanted Jesus to engage him. And the Bible says that Jesus wouldn't speak to him. Why? Because it would have been throwing pearls before swine and he didn't do that. So as we close up today, talking about judging, to judge or not to judge, sometimes it's right and sometimes it's wrong. But let me tell you, it's right. When we close out a message for you to judge your heart, it's right to say with David, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful, evil way in me."

You know, that's what a lot of people don't like to do. They don't like to stand in the mirror of God's viewpoint or the mirror of God's Word and really examine themselves. But hey, there are two areas. The Bible says to do that, examine yourself to see whether you be in the faith. That's not something you need to do every day. But there are a lot of people who come to church that are lost and you think you're okay because you're a member of the church. It doesn't make you okay. What makes you okay before God is you've received Christ as Savior and Lord, you've really turned from sin and turned to the Savior.

Examine yourselves and then examine yourselves not to see if you're in Christ, but to see if you're walking in the light. Because we live in a day and age of deception. And the devil is smart and he's trying to get you and me to, as the Bible says, don't turn to the right or turn to the left. Turn your foot from evil. And so if we're walking with the Lord and it's a straight path and he wants to get you to kind of veer off and veer off and veer off. And one day it's just one step and the next day it's the next step, and the next day it's the next step. And pretty soon, after six months, you find how far you've gone from the Lord.

So now's a good time to search your heart, say, "God, show me if there's any evil hurtful way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."

Speaker 1

Well, we've heard today how important it is to make proper and biblical judgments. These are thought-provoking and emboldening insights for us to consider. The lesson on From His Heart was called "To Judge or Not to Judge." You heard part two today. Part one aired yesterday, and as we've learned today, there's a lot of misunderstanding and confusion concerning this verse in Matthew 7:1, which says, "Judge not lest ye be judged."

We've learned that proper Godly judgment is critical to a successful life, especially the Christian life. How then can you and I know when Godly judgment is necessary? Pastor Jeff shares the truth about when it's right to judge and when it's wrong to judge, and a lot more in his series "Discernment in the Days of Deception." It's five messages that will help you be able to biblically and accurately discern between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and error.

This series is also our special gift of thanks to you for your support of From His Heart this month. You can request it on either USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download when you make your gift at fromhisheart.org or call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE). Please know that God is using you and many others to come alongside Pastor Jeff to broadcast these messages on radio, television, and online around the world to bring Biblical light and discernment into these dark days.

So thank you for investing in Kingdom work through From His Heart. Again, call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org to request the series "Discernment in the Days of Deception." God bless you, and thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, inviting you to be here next time for the next powerful and practical message from the series "Discernment in the Days of Deception," when we'll again be reminded to look at ourselves deeply, honestly, and humbly to see if we are falling for the deceptions of the devil to our own detriment and pain.

Join us next time for the lesson "Sour Grapes and the Justice of God," right here on From His Heart.

Speaker 2

There is tremendous truth. There is love. There is hope that you always dream Love he can heal every scarce From.

Speaker 1

His Heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life Find out more@fromisheart.org.