REVIEW
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness ….” (Mt. 6:33a).
The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show new “Perfect Righteousness” chart explaining steps to coming to Christ (As a worm, mourning, meek, spiritual hunger/thirst with the result of legal righteousness). Explain: moral righteousness, immediate moral change at conversion, gradual change through life’s challenges and speeding up moral change via CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving). Key verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14).
FLIP CHART: John Stott’s outline of SOM.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)
REVIEW:
“Judge” (krino) in Mt. 7:1-5 has many shades of meaning, e.g. separate, choose – that must be decided by the context. Mt 7:1-5 is one of the most misquoted, misapplied and misinterpreted passages in the Bible. It certainly does not mean that we are not to judge in the common sense for Mt. 7:6 tells us to judge between dogs and pigs and we are commanded to judge in many other Scriptures.
The command is against judgmentalism, a condemning spirit that springs from a self-righteous heart and shows itself as censorious, hypercritical and fault-finding, generally of another’s motives. The antonym for judgmentalism is generous, big-hearted, accepting.
We must remember that Christians, although delivered from the eternal, final judgment that the unsaved will face at the Great White Throne by the sacrificial death of Christ, still experience corrective judgment while in the body (I Cor. 11:27-32) and after death will give account at the Judgment Seat of Christ for things done in the body (II Cor. 5:10).
Christ will judge us based on the law of love, the ethical content of the NT, our conscience, for not living as he lived and finally with the “measure” or “standard” or “rule” we use for others.
INTRODUCTION:
Today we focus on Mt. 7:3-5 which tells us to remove planks from our eyes before we focus on specks in the eyes of others.
READ: Mt. 7:3-5
We are told to “. . . remove the speck for our brother’s eye.”
There must be corporate responsibility for growth in grace of all members of the body.
ILL: John Wesley’s Accountability Discipleship Groups: “Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another…” “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Some of the questions proposed to every one before he is admitted among us may be to this effect: 6. Do you desire to be told your faults?
7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults? 8. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning you? 9. Consider! Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, concerning you? 10. Do you desire that, in doing this, we should come as close as possible, that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom? All are responsible to: To reprove all that sin in your sight, and that in love and meekness of wisdom.
“Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees . . . make every effort to live in peace with all men . . . . . . (you) see to it that no one misses the grace of God . . . .” (Heb. 12:12-15).
“. . . admonish one another . . . ” (Romans 15:14, KJV); “. . . teach and admonish one another . . . (Col. 3:16).
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” (Romans 14:19)
“. . . then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Mt. 5:5).
Brotherly love forbids censoriousness and judgmentalism but does not excuse us from helping remove a speck from a brother’s or sister’s eye. “A bit of dirt in his/her eye is, after all, rightly called a ‘foreign’ body. It doesn’t belong there. It is always alien, usually painful and sometimes dangerous. To leave it there, and make no attempt to remove it, would hardly be consistent with brotherly love.” (Stott, 179)
One of the most loving things a Christian can do is help a person remove a “speck” from his life, something that counter-productive in his character.
We much prefer to “not get involved” and “avoid anything that might cause conflict.” We even consider this the higher road. But it is not Scriptural!!!!
The real question is how to do this, how to practice “The Fine Art of Speck Removal.”
OUTLINE FOR TODAY:
THE CHRISTIAN MUST JUDGE
I. Defining the word “judge”
II. The Christian is Commanded to Judge
III. The Christian is not Commanded to Abandon His Critical Faculty
AVOIDING JUDGMENTALISM
I. Definition of Judgmentalism
II. Marks of a Judgmental, Censorious Spirit
THE CHRISTIAN WILL BE JUDGED
I. God is the Only True and Righteous Judge
II. God’s Judgment is Both Present & Future
A. The Great White Throne Judgment
B. Judgment While in the Body
C. The Judgment Seat of Christ
GOD’S “STANDARDS” OF JUDGMENT
I. The Divine Law of Love
II. Lists of Ethical Guidelines in the NT
III. The Life of Christ, the Way He Lived
IV. Our Conscience
V. The Measure We Use to Judge Others
THE FINE ART OF SPECK REMOVAL
I. With Self Criticism First
II. With Humility
III. Without Bias / Not According to Appearance
IV. With Mercy
V. With Gentleness
THE FINE ART OF SPECK REMOVAL
VITAL GUIDELINES IN PRACTICING THE FINE ART OF SPECK REMOVAL
I. START WITH SELF-CRITICISM
Mt. 7:3-5a deals with log-toting speck inspectors; people who have lumber yards in their eyes.
Martin Lloyd-Jones notes that a blind optometrist is worse than a blind guide. If a blind guide can not lead a blind man what more a blind optometrist remove a speck from an eye.
Jesus is not condemning criticism or judging sin in others but only when there is no self-criticism first.
“The standard of Jesus for relationships in the Christian counter-culture is high and healthy. In all our attitudes and behavior towards others we are to play neither judge (becoming harsh, censorious, condemning), nor hypocrite (blaming others while excusing ourselves), but the brother, caring for others so much that we first blame and correct ourselves and then seek to be constructive in the help we give them.” (Stott, 179-180)
Jesus does not encourage a “laissez-faire” (lessay fair / def = leave alone) attitude toward fellow believers. The Lord Jesus does want us to discern the sins and short-comings in others, but he wants us to see them through clear, self-judged eyes – eyes that are tender and compassionate.” (Hughes, 232)
We need to first judge ourselves by using the five rulers / standards we talked about earlier: Are we living according to the Law of Love, the ethical standards of the NT, imitating the life of Christ, obeying our conscience? By asking these questions carefully we will be able to spot and remove any planks in our own eyes.
“Examine your attitude towards other people; face the truth about yourself. Take the statements you make about another person; sit down and analyze them, and ask yourself what you really mean. It is a very painful and distressing process. But if we examine ourselves and our judgments and our pronouncements honestly and truly, we are on the high road to getting the beam out of our eye. Then having done that we shall be so humbled that we shall be quite free from the spirit of censoriousness and hypercriticism.” (MLJ, 181)
DISCOVERING PLANKS
“. . . in spiritual optics, a beam in the eye generally renders a man quick sighted in discerning other men’s faults and blind only to his own” (Thomas Scott).
“Plank in the eye” is a hyperbole (an extreme exaggeration to make an effect).
The Greek word for plank indicates a log or a rafter in a house.
QUESTION: What sin of the Pharisees did the plank/log represent?
We need to realize that it may be harder to identify planks then specks.
CLASS ACTIVITY: Read Matthew 23:1-36 in “The Message.” Have the class listen carefully for planks/sins sin of the Pharisee that Jesus refers to in the reading.
READ: II Samuel 12:1-7 – David: Forget someone else’s speck – look at the log in your own eye.
Martin Lloyd-Jones feels the beam/plank/log is the spirit of hypercriticism, censoriousness. “The spirit of judging and hypercriticism and censoriousness that is in you is really like a beam, contrasted with the little mote in the other person’s eye. ‘You know,’ says our Lord in effect, ‘there is no more terrible form of sin than this judging spirit of which you are guilty. It is like a beam. The other person may have fallen into immorality, some sin of the flesh, or may be guilty of some little error here and there. But that is nothing but a little mote in the eye when compared with this spirit that is in you, which is like a beam.’” (MLJ, 180-81)
“The wretched and gross sin that is always blind to its own sinfulness is self-righteousness, the sin that Jesus repeatedly condemns in the scribes and Pharisees, not only in the Sermon on the Mount but throughout His ministry. Almost by definition, self-righteousness is a sin of blindness, or of grossly distorted vision, because it looks directly at its own sin and still imagines it sees only righteousness. The log in this illustration represents the same foundational sin of self-righteousness that Jesus has been condemning throughout the sermon.” (MacArthur, 435)
II. WITH HUMILITY
“ . . . you should be humble, . . . you should be so conscious of your own sin and your own unworthiness, that when you find it in another, far from condemning, you feel like weeping.” (MLJ, 181)
The soul, like the eye is super sensitive. We need to take the mote out in a spirit of great humility.
“The right balance of humility and helpfulness is reflected in Psalm 51. David first prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me . . . . Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then,” he is able to say, “I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee” (Ps. 51:10, 12-13).
Peter tells us to “clothe ourselves with humility toward one another. . .” (I Peter 5:5).
All of us know it is easier to receive help from a broken, humble person then from a proud, arrogant person.
III. WITHOUT BIAS, NOT ACCORDING TO APPEARANCE
Jesus said to them . . . “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (John 7:27).
“If there is bias, if there is personal feeling and animus (animosity: a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility), we are no longer true examiners. Even the law recognizes this. If it can be proved that there is some connection between any member of a jury and the person on trial, that member of the jury can be disqualified. What is desired in a jury is impartiality. There must be no prejudice, there must be nothing personal, it must be unbiased, objective judgment.” (MLJ, 179)
William Barclay (Pg. 265) claims that sometimes when the Greeks held important and difficult trials they would so in the dark so that they would be impartial.
QUESTION: What are some of the things that could cause “bias” in our hearts when we are seeking to help another person remove a speck?
ILL: We have difficulty judging because we tend to be impartial even when we think we are not impartial or non-biased. Read illustration from last chapter in “Blink” about women playing in the orchestra.
ILL: In Luke 7:36-50 Simon the Pharisee who entertained Jesus in his home judged the woman with the alabaster box, maybe an immoral woman, wrongly because he was biased. He did not see her heart, her motive, her love for the Lord. He judged her based solely on her reputation and outward appearance.
IV. WITH MERCY
“. . . judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:13)
A citizen of the Kingdom of God who lives by The Beatitudes will be merciful. Remember Beatitude # 5 – “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Mt. 5:7).
“To sum up, the command to judge not is not a requirement to be blind (to the faults and sins of others) but to be generous.” (Stott, 177)
Remember that the antonym of judgmentalism, censoriousness, a condemning spirit is generous, big-hearted, accepting.
It is impossible to judge in the spirit of love unless you first love in the spirit, embrace the generosity of spirit that is evident in the qualities of love listed in I Cor. 13:4-7, e.g. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
V. WITH GENTLENESS
Last week before we closed Dan shared that one new truth that really impacted him from “The Truth Project” was the fact that God is gentle. Mt. 11:29 reads: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
The Greek word for gentle is praus or praos and the lexicon defines it as a mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit. Matthew 5:4 in The Beatitudes uses the same word but translates it as meek (Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.) Referring to Jesus when riding into Jerusalem on a donkey we read: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey . . . “ (Mt. 21:5). Peter counsels women to focus on inner adornment, that is “. . . the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. . . “ (I Peter 3:4).
One of the attributes of God is His gentleness. We are told that with great gentleness we are to correct others. Paul counsels Timothy that the Lord’s servant is to “gently instruct” those who oppose him” (II Tim. 2:25). Paul appealed to the Corinthians “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ . . . . “ (II Cor. 10:1).
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1).
ILL: While a young, arrogant Bible School student I was taking the train from Calgary to Toronto for a summer of ministry. On the train I was sharing with someone about the Gospel. My loud voice was heard by all I am sure. Sometime later an old Anglican priest wearing his white robe came and set beside me. We chatted a bit and then he opened his Bible to Galatians 6:1 and shared it with me. I thank the Lord for that old man and his willingness to minister to me, which he did with a true spirit of kindness and grace.
The word “restore” is a Greek word for the setting of a broken bone. Obviously setting a broken bone needs to be done carefully and gently.
Removing a speck from the eye demands delicate and gentle action and so also does helping a brother see a spiritual flaw in his life.
ILL: Our attitude in such matters should be the attitude of my dentist. I am one of those people in whose system the drug Novocaine diffuses so slowly that the discomfort that comes from drilling is often only fully eliminated after the teeth have been finished. I do not find it a great discomfort, but it bothers my dentist nonetheless. One day when he could tell that I was feeling the drilling, he asked, “Are you still feeling pain?” I said, “Oh, I feel it a little bit, but it doesn’t bother me.” “Well,” he said, “it bothers me.” Then he quit for another five or ten minutes until the anesthetic became more effective. (Boice, 227)
ILL: Once the leader of WEC International USA really dressed me down, reproved me in front of others for my attitude while traveling with missionaries. It happened in Tucson. I was so devastated by what he said that I almost decided to leave the tour, leave the mission, get on a bus and return home and not become a missionary. I was staying with a Chinese family in Tucson for a couple of days and I don’t think I talked with them at all. One day later I was to give my testimony in a church and I could hardly do it. Later, after the meeting, the leader came to me an apologized. He realized that he had a problem with being too harsh and said that sometimes when he corrects people (tries to remove the speck from their eyes) they are so busy licking their wounds that they don’t hear what he had to say.
The Assistant Leader of the mission was just the opposite. He was kind and gentle but also never failed to correct me. When I left to go overseas I remember just shaking hands with the leader who reproved me harshly. When I bid farewell to the other man tears came to my eyes. I always remember that I worked to appease the one brother while I worked to please his assistant.
SO WHAT???
1. We have a corporate and individual responsibility for the spiritual and moral growth in grace of every member of the body of Christ.
2. We must do careful self-evaluation and self-criticism before we try to aid another in removing a moral speck from his/her life.
3. The major plank we always need to be aware of and deal with is self-righteousness and a judgmental/censorious spirit. The presence of these planks in our eyes disqualifies us from being able to serve a brother/sister in speck removal.
4. We must possess a gentle, unbiased spirit that is full of mercy and grace when seeking to help others confront moral flaws and sin in their lives.