as you're taking out your Bibles and turning to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 6, as we're finishing this two-part series, Judge Not, from Matthew 7, 1 to 5. And while you're turning there, the connections that I was making this week in my study as I was preparing this message for today is realizing that tomorrow we'll experience something that we haven't experienced in this country for 99 years. We will have our our total eclipse of the sun at 127 in the afternoon to 129, I believe. And that hasn't happened since night with this whole country experiencing the total eclipse hasn't happened since 1918, which, interesting to me anyway, was the end of World War I, the last annular eclipse that Nashville was able to experience. happened in 1865, which is the end of the Civil War. So just thinking through some of these things, this idea of the path of totality and the total darkness that we experience in the middle of the day, how symbolic that is to the children of God and what that means. And thinking over just the past week, past few days of the week, as that relates to the message that we've been on with regard to the self-righteous judgmentalism of man, mankind, and his fallenness, and thinking about this total eclipse in the darkness, and thinking about the relationship as we reflect on the darkness that fell over Barcelona on Thursday as 14 people were killed and over 120 suffered injury in two heinous acts there. Certainly, that was a dark day. That was an eclipse. Darkness fell over last Saturday when we started this series over Charlottesville five days earlier than that, as hate manifested itself, and rioting, ugly rioting, and hate-filled violence. And we saw those images that were hard to look at there, and Maurice Jones, the city manager of Charlottesville, saying those words that really got me to thinking, hate came to our town today. Hate came to our town today. And I noticed that the Washington Post online had, who had castigated for the President for not saying the right thing or not saying it quick enough or whatever their problems were with it, had this byline under their name. It's simply read, democracy dies in darkness. So all of these things are coming together for me as I'm working through the Lord's Word with regard to this issue of not to judge one another. So the connection there was not lost on me this past week or so. Democracy dies in darkness. Actually, democracy dies whenever truth is silenced. and hate prevails. That's when democracy dies. Whenever open discourse and a civilized debate are shut down, that's when the democracy dies, when it's stifled, when the free exchange of ideas is disallowed, is met with a violent interruption. When, you could say from Romans 1.18, when truth is suppressed in unrighteousness, that's when democracy dies. when angry mobs shout down free speech, when opposing views are intimidated and threatened with physical violence, which is, in fact, where we experience what the definition of fascism is in our time. It's amazing how quickly that can happen. So the real fact is hate didn't come to this man's town. Hate was there all right, but Whenever hate shows up in town, the answer to deal with it is not for it to be met with hate. Hate will only and ever always beget hate, even to the point of violence, because sin, as we know as Christians, exists in the heart of man. So hate exists not in any particular philosophy, political party, ideology, worldview. Hate exists in the heart of fallen man. It isn't any particular creed or ideology that we can identify and say they're the problem, they're the ones. Listen very carefully to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. That is a profound statement. Hate shows up in a town, and the answer to that is show up with greater, more overwhelming hate? It will never resolve the problem until man faces what God has clearly said in His word is man's problem. We will make no progress over these kinds of things. How tragic. Jesus actually identified the hate group. It's mankind. That's what we do. You don't have to teach us how to hate. We're born fussing and arguing and demanding things that we want and having things our own way. No, Jesus identified it clearly where this hate group is when he said in Mark 7, 21 to 23, for from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile the person. Greater words were never spoken. But our culture, our society does not want to hear it because they suppress the truth and unrighteousness. So hate will only ever and always beget more hate. And more identifying of what those groups are that are different from me that I can now castigate and express my hatred toward. That's the problem. Like a total eclipse that we're going to experience tomorrow, it's the same thing. Darkness pervades when the lamp of truth is snuffed out. It's blocked or removed. Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to town. Love came to town. As you two and B.B. King sang, right? Jesus came to earth and he was the light of the world. He is the truth. The voices of darkness and deception shouted him down. They pinned him to a tree. Hate killed him because it had to stop the voice of truth. It had to stop love showing up because it came with too much light, which exposed the darkness in men's hearts. That had to be put out. That had to stop. The Pharisees and scribes said, he is not of us. And they hated him with a vicious hatred. He whose name is love, in him was life. And the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. It never will. When the light shows up, that's truth or love. Hate is dispelled and the lie evaporates. It shines a light on things that is the truth of God's Word. Hate is a darkness that will remain in the heart of man. Only love can overcome it. And so we wait for love to return and the eclipse has ended and the light is restored forever. That's our hope. And it's coming. It's coming. But meanwhile, we endure hate, producing more hate, producing more hate, and they continue to circle the drain until all are drawn down into the sewers of man's hatred and lies. And so the Latin phrase in the Reformation period, the Renaissance, the rebirth of the classical past in the art realm. The Reformation was a rebirth of our theology. It was freedom that showed up with the Reformation. The phrase post-Tenebrous Lux became popular. After what? Anybody know? After darkness what? Light. And back then they would have been referring to the dark ages, the dark way in which people were not allowed to read the Word of God. It was kept in the hallowed halls, in the cloistered halls of the priesthood. And people weren't allowed to have the truth that would set them free. I hope you see the connection that God has provided for us just providentially and where we happen to be in this text. Judge not. Indeed, that's the issue. That's what we do. We look at who somebody is, what they believe, where they belong, and we neatly put them into tightly fit categories so we can identify them. Are they of us or are they not of us? That's what we do. So after two chapters of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus correcting all of this falsehood, trying to dispel the darkness of that religious age, which used the law as a measuring stick in a billy club, judging mankind was rife. It was a daily occurrence. Pharisees walking around with their robes, with their phylacteries tied to their forehead and on their wrist, making sure everybody's measuring out their mint and cumin for sacrifice, bringing their lambs, their goats, their oxen to be sacrificed. Be sure that you are doing those outward religious things or we will judge you. It's the same thing that happened in Charlottesville, folks. It's the same thing that's happening in Barcelona, or London, or Paris, or anywhere else. You see, this is a common problem. If it isn't rightly identified, we've no hope of ever getting it resolved. It gets resolved one way, folks, and that's through the cross of Jesus Christ. It's the only way man can be reconciled, not only with God, but with man. It was for unity's sake that he died. Read Ephesians 2. He took away the hatred between men, between people groups, different nations, and they can dwell together under the cross and the cross of Christ alone. So after two chapters, he's still dealing with the same issue, self-righteous, legalistic, judgmentalism, and religious hypocrisy. That's what he's been dealing with. It's the fundamental issue that he addresses in the Sermon on the Mountain. It hasn't changed. He's just gotten more practical now. He's gone from correcting the theology in chapter 5 to getting into our devotional life with God in chapter 6. Now he's gotten right down into very, very practical issues of our human relationships. That's why the subtitle of the series is How to Have Happy, Healthy, Harmonious Human Relationships, because this is the key. It is judgmentalism, it is self-righteousness that prevents harmonious human relationships. They only come together in recognizing that no one is perfect and that grace must be given. And that's what we were extended. So he's dealing with this issue of self-righteous judgmentalism, but the scriptures overall present two major problems as it relates to that topic. Number one is self-righteous judgmentalism, which is very overt. It's a sin of commission. You're getting judged face-to-face in your relationship. Or it's a more covert sin it's selfish negligence to love which is a sin of omission because if you love someone you will go to them you will judge the situation in their life and you will confront the sin that destroys them so we last week we separated this issue in the two camps those two categories the self-righteous judgmentalist and the loving, caring advocate. And we had just began the loving, caring advocate to see what that advocacy looks like. It's someone who comes alongside, somebody who supports somebody else, somebody who's using the Word of God not to judge, but to help. So this self-righteous judgmentalist comes from the first two verses. Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured for you. So Jesus is correcting or attempting to correct this unseemly hypercritical nature of the self-righteous judgmentalist. John Calvin said, these words of Christ do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging. We're going to look at that because that's the second category of problem, the selfish negligence to love. Oh, I don't want to, what? I don't want to, who am I to Judge. Well, if you're a Christian, you're called to. And you're going to see what the word has to say about that today. There's a difference between judging a situation with your spiritual discernment and doing something to correct something that's destructive and judgmentalism or hypercriticism. Very distinct and different. One is terribly disallowed and should never be. That's what brings together the riots. That's what causes a man to rent a van and drive down a busy street and mow people down. But we need the other or we're not loving. That's a challenge. So these words of Christ do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging, he says, but are intended to cure a disease, which appears to be natural to us all. We see how all flatter themselves, and every man passes a severe censure on others. We do it every day, probably without notice many times. We're criticizing how somebody else does something, how somebody else lives their life in some kind of way or other. We're constantly castigating other people's way of life or how they look or where they're from or what they believe. To our shame. The word prejudice, I don't know if you knew this, but the word prejudice literally means prejudgment. You're already judged. I know where you're coming from. I know your family. I know where you're from. I know what you do. I know how you talk. I know how you live. We're done here. This is the thing that has to go. It's already having a preconceived opinion about somebody that's just locked in. Without knowing the facts, and we talked about that last week, the importance of knowing the facts. There's a reason for the way you and I are. There's a context there that should be respected. We should respect all mankind, but that's impossible without one element that is absolutely critical for me to have the right kind of criticism and not hyper-criticism, and that's humility. Knowing that, we are great sinners ourselves. But we think in boxes. I talk about this a lot. We think in boxes. Because we're finite creature, we have to categorize things. We have to put things in neat little categories so that we can understand friend or foe, danger, or somebody that's going to serve my purposes. And you measure them, you count out their beliefs, and then you weigh them in the balances of your own judgment. That's what we do. place people into these tidy little categories, making it easy to identify them. Oh, yeah, so-and-so, have you met him? He's a such-and-so. Did you know that? Or she's this. This is where her family comes from. This is what she believes. This is how she dresses. This is what she wears. We do it all the time. We want them in those boxes. We think categorically because we want to know one thing. Do I commend you or do I condemn you? And which do you think it is most of the time? Condemn. Because mine is a very elite box. Very elite category. We think so highly of ourselves. It's based on The problem is it's based on partial and superficial information because we're unwilling to invest in the kind of love the Bible talks about, a love that knows. No, beyond gnosis, it's epignosis. It's an intense knowledge. It seeks to know. I want to know all things. If there's something about the way you live or something you said or did, I want to know why. What is your thinking there? Why? Because it all goes down to motive, doesn't it? If I'm looking to separate myself from you, that's one thing. If I really want to help, that's another. If I have humility enough to say, I really do care about this person, and I don't know all the facts, I'm going to talk to them. We count, we measure, and we weigh. That's what we do. God is infinite. He's internal. He's outside of boxes. He created math. He doesn't live in it. He put design to this place because there's design to us. He's the designer. But He created that. He's not limited by time or space. He's a spiritual being. So we do that in our selfish, self-righteous judgmentalism. We do that. We count How many times they did this particular behavior? What beliefs they have, we tick them off, we're keeping track, we're writing them down, mental notes, and then we're measuring it, aren't we? What box are you gonna put them in? We count their faults, measure their appearance, we weigh them in the balance of our own self-righteous judgments to our shame. those whose appearance, beliefs, and lifestyles we disapprove of, we criticize, we judge, we censure, and at times we pour out our wrath. Oh no, this is wrong. This is wrong, says the Almighty, you and me. The word judge there is used in many places in Scripture, krino in the Greek, and it literally means to assume the office of a judge. Do we understand that that's what we do? We need to. Adam Clarke said this, by a secret and criminal disposition of nature, man endeavors to elevate himself above others, and to do it more effectually, he depresses them. His jealous and envious heart wishes that there may be no good quality found but in himself, that he alone may be esteemed, such is the state of every unconverted man, and it is from this criminal disposition that evil surmises, rash judgments, precipitous decisions, and all other unjust procedures against our neighbor flow. Charlottesville, Barcelona. that should be in the body of christ so are we done here can i close up and pray you're all good right folks i'm a mess how about you can we just lay it out there or we're not going to make any progress toward reconciling these very very important issues in the body of christ that we might shine as lights that we might be a humble people who invest in the type of love that says No worse than you are. I'm probably worse than you are. I want to know why it is you are the way that you are because I care about you. That's the loving, caring advocate. But it's impossible without making some judgments. So we look at the disciples, for instance. This is a great example. The disciples as self-righteous judgmentalists and even executioners. Watch this. Or they wanted to be. So following an argument, I think this is a curious sequence here in this particular part of Luke chapter 9. They were just arguing about which one of them was the greatest in verse 46. After that, they went to Samaria to do what? to evangelize. After trying to figure out who is the greatest, now we're ready to go. Let's go to the Samaritans. What do you think they were thinking about the Samaritans? Probably what Jonah was thinking about the Ninevites maybe. Jesus, how does Jesus do it? How does He endure us? Jesus, the text says, sent messengers ahead of Him who went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him, but the people did not receive Him because His face was set toward Jerusalem. See their judgment there? Sure, they're guilty of it. And when His disciples, James and John, saw it, they said, Lord, You want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? But he turned and rebuked them, and rightly so. And they went on to another village." Now, what's interesting is there's a little asterisk there. If you have an ESV, you'll note that there's a little footnote at that point. Some manuscripts add this, and I think this is important. It's up there for you. You'll see that little footnote if you have that Bible. And he said, you do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives, but to save them. If you still have some of the disturbing images in your mind, it destroys, hate destroys life. It wants to kill it. It wants to silence it. It hates it. The 20th century theologian Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps us understand this manner of spirit. Quote, what is this spirit that condemns? It is a self-righteous spirit. Self is always at the back of it. And it is always a manifestation of self-righteousness, a feeling of superiority, a feeling that we are all right while others are not. That then leads to censoriousness and a spirit that is always ready to express itself in a derogatory manner. I'm not only describing the Pharisees, he writes, I'm describing all who have the spirit of the Pharisee." He's talking about those of us who've been tempted this way. If you're going to use, Jesus is saying, if you're going to use the law as your own personal measuring stick and then billy club, you're going to be measured in the same way. because everybody will answer. Everybody will be judged by the only one who has the right to judge us. You and I will be judged. It's relatively easy to determine whether or not someone's self-righteous judgmentalist. Here's an easy way to do that. Here's a very simple way. Take 1 Corinthians 13, 4 to 8, and turn it upside down. I wrote it up there for you. Watch this. This is who they are. They're impatient and unkind. They envy and boast. They're arrogant and rude. They insist on their own way. They are irritable and resentful. They rejoice at wrongdoing. They do not rejoice with the truth. They refuse to bear all things. They will not believe anything. They see no hope in anything. And they cannot nor will not endure all things. They quit, give up, and walk away in anger and frustration. The opposite of love, right? The famous love passage. That's who this describes. Self-righteous judgmentalist who condemns others for their behavior and beliefs they disapprove of, so they become upset and bitter. And they do so not because they care about the other person. You know how you can know that's so? Because they're angry and bitter. It's because they are being disobeyed. So whose law is it, actually? Well, it's the one carrying the measuring stick. Don't make me turn this into a billy club, because I will, right? That's not caring about someone else. You're not caring about somebody else and loving advocacy if you're using the law of God to confront them in angry, self-righteous, judgmental tones. That's what it looks like. That's what they look like. I want to know, because if I ever see this in me, I want it challenged. I hope you do, too. They don't want to be disobeyed. That's why they start getting more and more angry and frustrated. You are disobeying them, because they're the keeper of the wall. It's spooky. It's creepy. But we do it. Self-righteous judgmentalists who misuse the law of Moses to control the behavior of another person should pay close attention to this verse, to this from the writer of Hebrews. The law of Moses is not only powerless to save, it is equally powerless to sanctify. You say you're sanctifying somebody else, you say they're helping them out by using the law in their life like a billy club or a measuring stick. It can't do that. It not only can't save, it can't sanctify. You are not helping anybody. You're hurting them. Read Romans 7. What happens in a fallen human being when the law is pushed in their face? What does it do to them? They turn into a rebel. They resist all the more. That's what we do. That's what Paul said. to those who abuse the pure, beautiful, powerful law of God that is absolutely powerless to save or to change somebody. Oh, you'll change them all right. They'll either become a cowering sycophant, a doormat who quivers, or they're going to become equally frustrated, angry, and snap back at you. And there you go, looking just like any other pagan couple, who uses the law one against the other. Where's grace? Where indeed? Hebrews 7.19 is what I'm talking about. For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside, put the stick down, because of its weakness and its what? Uselessness. For the law made nothing perfect. You who are trying to perfect your spouse using it. The law made nothing perfect. Love does that. Grace does that. Or have you forgotten the kindness of God, that it was the kindness of God that lead us to repentance, Romans 2 and verse 4. It's His kindness, it's the grace that showed up, that broke my heart down, that melted the iron obstinacy of my heart. Not the law, I was ready to fight the law tooth and nail and I did it every day of my life. I was a famous law breaker. I took pleasure in it. I was going to live the way I wanted to live. And He found me before I was dead from it. Why would I take that up again in my marriage? Are you kidding me? Or with my children? Or with anyone else? But that's our tendency. It goes on, the verse. But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced. What's that better hope? What's one word? Grace. Undeserved favor. You don't deserve my favor because you're disobeying this rule that I can prove in the Bible right now. That's not grace. That's not giving someone favor they don't deserve. That's not overlooking a matter until your heart is right to be able to go to them and say, I'm grieving for you. A whole different motive produces a whole different tone to the confronting of sin. But make no mistake, sin must be confronted. The speck is still in their eye. You're not going to walk away. That's a selfish, loveless thing to do. and to hide under the twisted theology, the poor erroneous theology, who am I to judge? That should never be heard in the body of Christ, ever. You'd better be judging, and we're going to look at why. I gave you some verses last week. You're going to get more this week. Why? Why is there part two of this? Because this is so abused in the body of Christ. One commentator, and I tend to agree with him, said this is arguably the most important part of the entire Sermon on the Mount. That better hope is grace. Thomas of Kempis, I think I put this one in there for you. Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you would wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. Kind of like the people who think they're going to cast out Satan. You're going to tell Satan what to do? You can't even get your kids to do what you tell them to do. That's ridiculous. You can't accomplish your own sanctification. It's monergistic. It's got a single source on a particular timeline according to God. You don't even know why you sin, do you? Who does? Oh yeah, I know why I sin. We're not sinners because we sin. We sin because we're sinners. Big difference. That's who we are by nature. So praise God, we've got to clutch the cross. We've got to embrace grace because I can't sanctify one nasty little thing in my life. It has to be Him. Would you agree? Well, then why do we do that to another person? Why do you do that? I don't know why you do that. In the Bible, that's wrong to do. Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you. May I be excused? True criticism versus hyper-criticism is what we're talking about. We need the criticism. Don't escape your duty to love another Christian brother or sister. Hiding under bad theology. You twist any scripture long enough, you'll get it to say anything you want it to. Don't do that. You go to the people that you love. True criticism is helpful, loving, and constructive. Hypercriticism is hurtful, demeaning, demoralizing, and destructive. That's the difference. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on what? The heart. And so can we, using the Word of God, Hebrews 4.12. I can't know their heart. No, you can't. See, that's the problem. That's why We talk about biblical counseling each other. Because the Word of God is the only thing that's living and active and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. And it cuts to the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No one can know another man or woman's motives. I don't care how omniscient you think you are. You don't. You don't really know. I know why they're doing it. Really? The Lord looks on in the heart and so can we with the Word of God and by His Spirit. John 16 verse 8 where it says the Holy Spirit is one who is coming who will convict the whole world of sin. That's His job to convict. I just can't get her to see what she needs to see. Wow, you've got some kind of power. I can't even get me to do what I know I'm supposed to do. I'm stuck in Romans 7. How about you? Yeah. I hate the things that I do, and I love the things that I, quite frankly, often find myself not doing. Oh, wretched man that I am. Read it. That's us. Why do we treat other people differently? We grab the word, the stone tablets, and start chasing them around, whacking them with it. A loving, caring advocate is what we're talking about, verse three to five. Why do you see 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, let me take that speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? 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. Jesus using sarcasm. So next time you thought that somebody who's sarcastic is being sinful, I beg to differ. I've just been judged, but I'm guilty. See clearly struck me. We were talking about that whole haploose idea back in the other passage where if your eye is healthy, remember haploose. If it's clear, that's what he's talking about here. The theme hasn't changed. The concept, the idea is still the same. You will see clearly then to take out your brother. So what does this mean? It's a Greek word. That means to look more than just to look at. That's what the self-righteous judgmentalist does. Oh, I saw that, I heard that, and I'm judging it, right? It means to look into. These nuances to these Greek terms are very important to come to a correct understanding. It's to peer, it's to gaze deeply into, into something or someone, to accurately see the matter. in the person, and you cannot do that apart from the Word of God, which is truth and His Spirit, which empowers that Word. And that's what you do use. But first, you're disqualified from that unless and until you take this huge beam that's in your eye out of the way. You can't see clearly. What you think you see is not necessarily accurate. It probably isn't. Take the time to get yourself right first. That's the first step. Martin Lloyd-Jones said this, there are many who say that judge not must be taken simply and literally as it is and as means that the true, truly Christian man should never express an opinion about others. They say that there must be no judging whatsoever, that we must be easy, indulgent, and tolerant. and allow almost anything for peace and quiet and especially unity. The scriptures show very clearly that judgment is to be exercised in the realm of the church, end quote. Many, many places. I gave you some last week. Here are some more. We need to bolster this with many scriptural support because this is the issue today. This is the issue. So when somebody says, Oh, I'm not, I don't judge you, you get these verses together in love and with respect and patience and sit down and show them to them. Well, of course you have to judge. Of course you do. I think I know what you're talking about. You're talking about judgmentalism, self-righteous judgmentalism. No, that's nasty. That's what Jesus is denouncing. But you'd better have, we like to call it discernment. Call it that then if you're afraid of the J word. That's fine. 1 Corinthians 2.15, the spiritual person judges all things. There you go. But is himself to be judged by no one. Why? Because who's his judge? God. Yeah. Remember when Paul in 1 Corinthians 4 said, it's a small matter that I'm judged by you. He isn't being nasty. He's just really, my judge is God. I'm not aware of anything wrong with me. I'm not thereby trying to excuse myself, but it's God who judges me. We're called to test the spirits. How are we going to do that if we don't judge the situation rightly, according to false teachers? 1 John 4, 1, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they're from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. That's literally impossible unless you judge a situation. Judge the doctrine over what you know to be sound orthodoxy. How about 1 Thessalonians 5? But test what? Everything. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. So obviously in the context, you're not going to know what to abstain from if we bury our head in the sand and say, I'm not going to judge. You test everything. You're judging all things, as Paul said. In Revelation 2, he's talking to the church at Ephesus, remember? You've left your first love, that church. But listen to what he says here, as he starts out with the good news first. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. He's commending them for this. And how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. How could they find them false if they're not listening to what's being taught and judging it and saying that's false teaching. He's commending them for that. The Bereans, they tested everything Paul preached according to their scriptures. They were page turners, man. They were flying through the Bible. It's like a fan was going on in that place. I mean, the scriptures were turning. I'm just trying to wake you up a little bit. Ephesians 5. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you. How would they deceive you if you were judging the situation? what they're saying. Don't let them deceive you with empty words. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. For at one time you were darkness and now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. You cannot do that apart from judging them. Christians will judge the world and they will rule over angels. Did you know that? We will assist Christ in these matters. It's what Paul says, when one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more than matters pertaining to this life? Philippians 1, and it is my prayer. He's speaking of love. How does he want this? What's his prayer? What is the way in which he wants their love to grow? That would it abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve. You cannot approve unless you grow in the knowledge. You will not develop the discernment unless you know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and you're judging those things. and so be pure and blameless before the day of Christ." Sadly, many churches today are failing to love their membership because they're hiding under the cloak of bad theology, I'm not one to judge, and so they're not dealing with issues of sin. So the church has lost its power. They may not have noticed it yet for all of their grandeur and all the people that are there, but the lampstand's gone. There's no power. People are not growing. Marriages are falling apart. I know. I get the phone calls. I get their referrals. And I say, I want you to bring your pastor because I'm doing his job. I'm glad to do it. But it's because of these very things that we're talking about. They will not heed the explicit instructions from our Lord Himself that we not only should confront sin, but precisely how we should confront sin. It's that important to Him. Where He says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. You have to judge the situation in order to do that, to at least go to them and find out. Between you and him alone, you do that in private. The self-righteous judgmentalist doesn't care who's around, they're going to blurt out their judgments. If he listens to you, you've gained your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. In other words, just treat them as an unbeliever, because if they're not responding, to the Word of God and they're unwilling to repent, they have no basis upon which to verify their profession of faith. They're liars. They're liars. So that's the end, or should be the end of us saying, that person's a Christian, I know because they told me. Are you kidding? Again, our omniscience. Oh, you know that. You don't know that. The clearest way to tell whether somebody's a Christian or not is only one-fold. How are they responding to the Word of God? Period. If you've been brought the Word of God, as we were talking about in the first hour, and you're not responding over and over again, not responding, upon which do you verify that you're actually saved? Based upon what? A statement? Something you wrote in your Bible? No. It's a responding to the word of God because these are the words of Christ and when you hear them he's drawing you he's saying come this is the way wherein you should walk. And the more you resist that the quieter and more faint that voice goes because you're insisting on your way as Marsh brought up this morning it's casting God's words behind your back. It's the only verifiable test of whether somebody's saved. How do they respond to the Lord's word, period. The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that ongoing egregious sinning must be dealt with within the church, and you can see that in 1 Corinthians 5 as well. We won't take the time to go there, but listen to what Francis Schaeffer said. Truth always carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation, loving confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation, regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there's something wrong." End quote. There's something wrong. So last time I finished with this statement, the motive and objective, that's everything in why you go to take the speck out of your brother or sister's eye. And using this kind of discernment, this kind of judgment to help another believer who's struggling with sin is love that issues from a pure heart. That's removing the log that's in your eye first. And a good conscience and a sincere faith. You really sincerely love them as a brother or sister in Christ. You really sincerely care about them and you're going with the humility of having dealt with your own issues of sin. Apostle Paul reminds us that in Christ, no demanded moralized, this is Galatians 5, behavior born out of legalism counts for anything but only faith working through love. Through love, serve one another for the whole law is fulfilled in one word. Well, that word isn't neighbor, it's not yourself. That one word that the whole law is fulfilled in is love. That's what the usefulness of the law is for, to help us gain the discernment so that we can help someone else look more like Jesus, to bring them the comfort, to bring them to the place of reconciliation, to help bring peace back into their lives. There is no true peace in the absence of truth. It's only a truce. It's temporary. something conjured up between two people to agree upon because neither one of them will move in terms of their pride. True reconciled peace will never happen in the absence of truth. is the motive. Love is the motive and it's the objective because the whole law is fulfilled in the word love. You can look at Romans 13 verse 8 to 10 to make that point. Therefore, if I'm loving you, I'm fulfilling the things that it's saying I should do for you and not do to you. So it's fulfilled in the word love. You see that? That's the motive. Not this is my law. I don't like what you said or did. I don't like the way you're living. So I'm going to cherry pick those places to preach to you and I'm going to hit you over the head with it. You know this word love is big. It's huge. It's massive. It contains the whole of the law. It softens your motive and your approach. It makes you kind. It makes you humble, realizing you don't know it all. And you go because you care, even though you might get bit. You know the risk of trying to save a drowning person. The risk of saving a drowning person is what? There could be two people that are drowned, right? They'll pull you down in their fear or their panic. You're just trying to help them. I'm not gonna go out there. I'm not one to judge. They're drowning. You go out there. Use the law to understand the rule of life. And when you do that, first of all, you should use it to get the log out of your own eye, and then it should humble you. And then you should realize, you know what? I need to be walking in this. And when I am, and I'm walking in the Spirit, you who are spiritual, go to such a one and restore them in a spirit of gentleness, being careful, lest you fall in the same temptation. That's what's after chapter five in Galatians. It's chapter six. I was just paraphrasing that passage. So our approach is influenced by love. We serve one another. The passage that follows is so closely related to it, it's a shame that there's a passage break there. Take out the number six and put those together. We serve one another in love. Our faith works through love. And then he says what that looks like. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself. Is that log there? That has to be gotten rid of first. That's what Jesus is saying. You'll see more clearly, he's saying. He's trying to help you. He's not yelling at you. He's saying, get the log out of your own eye. Why? Because I love that person and I want you to see clearly. Stop doing what you're doing. Stop thinking what you're thinking. Stop behaving the way that you're behaving. If it doesn't comport with this rule of life, the law of Christ as it's referred to, which is very much pertinent in my life. I don't know how to live in Christ apart from this principle. Deal with your life because I need you to go to them. I brought that intersection into your life so that I made you aware of that because I want you to go. I love that person. You go. Who am I to judge? I can hear Jesus saying, if Jesus were me, and you should be grateful he's not, saying, if I hear that one more time, stop saying that. You sound like the world. That's what the world does with it because they don't care. They hate. We've seen it on the news. They hate. That's what they do well. They don't care enough to think, you know what, who am I? But Lord, you've made this known to me. You care about that person. You love them. I'm going to go and I will help them judge the situation based upon biblical discernment and by the power of the Holy Spirit and your guidance through your word, we're going to get through this together because we live together in the body of Christ. We live together in a community that loves one another and doesn't hide sheepishly from going to another brother or sister when their life is falling apart because of sin. I've been in the middle of that for over 25 years. wept with people, grieved with them because of the things that people do to each other. And I'm talking about Christian people. And believe me, I'm privileged to do it. I am so thankful that the Lord has given me that calling. But when you step into that, it will drain the life out of you. Go look at Mine and Barbara's picture when we planted this church 10 years ago. It's frightening. I look like 20 years older, but it's a good thing. Paul said, I am glad to be spending my life and be spent for your sakes. That needs to be all of us though, yeah? Not just an elite few of well-trained people with certifications or degrees. It's what we should all do. I want to finish up this morning. Well, first I should finish the passage, right? And then I've got just a few descriptions of what this loving, caring advocacy looks like. I got it from two different time periods just so you can hear it put. It's like looking at the different sides of a prism because this is so very needful. If you were learning about biblical counseling or this how to do what we've been talking about, which is absolutely critically needed in the church today because sin is what's destroying the people and the church. That's what's at stake. Sin divides. That's what it does. It breaks up families. It breaks up churches. That's what it does. It destroys. It separates a man or woman from their health. from their finances. It ruins life. That's what it does. So we'll need to look at this, but he says, so if anybody's caught up in a sin, in a transgression, you who are spiritual, you are the pneumatikoi. You are the people who are walking in the spirit. Doesn't mean you're perfect. Doesn't mean you're in the priesthood, the holy, exalted, few, elite, trained ones. It just means you're walking with the Lord and you've dealt with the log in your eye. That's it. You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watching yourself lest you too be tempted. You are human after all. And next time it might be you or I, right, that need them. I hope you're there for each other and for me, for my wife, for my family. I hope we're there for each other. Bear one another's burdens. Bestazo. You're carrying your brother or sister because sin is a weakness. And when they're in a season of sin, which we've all been in and will have from time to time, they need to be carried. You need to carry them. Remember, let me bring some illustration of mine that might make sense, the whole footprints poster, right? Wow, there's only one set of footprints. Why is there one set of footprints? We usually get a tear in our eye when we look at that poster, don't we? Because Jesus was carrying me. That's the idea. We carry one another in Christ. And so fulfill the law of Christ. See how it's anything but using it as a measuring stick and a billy club? That's the Mosaic law. That's self-righteous judgmentalism. But the law of Christ I will use. because Jesus loves you. And I must too. Here's what this looks like. One writer said when Christians do not serve one another by love as Galatians 5 said. The law of Christ is not fulfilled but violated. As chapter 6 says. So let's start with British theologian from the 20th century, F.F. Bruce, respected theologian. These are ones I've selected because I think they just describe it so well. And I could talk till I'm blue in the face, but you start to drop off. So I'll give you some gems and we'll close. F.F. Bruce wrote, here's what it looks like. Whatever form this takes, the offender must be rehabilitated and not made to feel like a pariah. The rehabilitation must be undertaken by those who are truly spiritual, whose life and conduct alike are controlled by the spirit of Christ. It is easy for certain types of religious people to sit in judgment on one who has suddenly yielded to some moral temptation, to make their disapproval manifest, but this is not the way of Christ." You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, said verse 5, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Only after self-examination, purging your own sin, and marking your motives for why you're going to them. That means everything, right? What's important to God? Is it your I go, sir." Or is it, I don't feel like mowing the lawn, but you go and do it anyway. Remember that parable? I don't think he uses mowing the lawn, but it's something like that, isn't it? Wash the car? No, the camel. I don't know what it was. You get the point. He wants your motive to be right. That's the bottom line. Or don't go. Just, I mean, you know, just take some time and pray. Maybe seek another brother or sister who you know is walking in the Spirit, and maybe see if they would go talk to so-and-so. But you have to do that with discretion, don't you? You have to be careful. You want to protect their confidentiality. We're not trying to expose people and shame them and hurt them. We're trying to help them. That needs to be the motive. That's the only way we're qualified. The 18th century Scottish theologian, one of my favorites, John Brown, put it this way, this is beautiful right here. By faithful, but at the same time friendly, statements of the truth, let him be led to see that he is in error and in fault. Show him the inconsistency of his opinion or his conduct with the doctrine and the law of Christ. The offending brother is not to be addressed in a tone of arrogant superiority or angry rebuke. He is not to be treated as an enemy, but admonished as a brother. The ultimate objects in view are the honor of the Savior, the prosperity of his church, and the best interest of the individual himself. Let us do everything in our power to correct these wayward sinners in the spirit of true Christian affection, recollecting our own weakness and liability to sin, which may soon call for a similar exercise of Christian affection and on the part of our brethren towards us." In a word, speak the truth in love. Now we know what that means, in a more fuller sense. That's what Paul means. Speak the truth in love. Don't withhold, but do it in love. Love needs to be the motive, and it is its objective, because the whole law is fulfilled in the word love. So if you're not helping them fulfill an area of the law of Christ in their life, you're not loving them. So much for who am I to judge. Here's Martin Lloyd-Jones, the respected theologian from the 20th century. This is so good. What you require above everything else in dealing with confronting sin in someone is sympathy, patience, calmness, coolness. That is what is required. Because of the delicacy of the operation. You know, he was, and just an aside, he was in medical school. Some of you know his biography. In 1927, he was studying to be a medical doctor. So you'll see these analogies in the thing that he writes. Absolutely brilliant. He said that God called him from saving bodies to saving souls. And we're glad that he did. So back to Lloyd-Jones, he's thinking of it in terms of a very delicate operation. Look at it that way, because remember, he says it's a tiny piece of sawdust in their eye. You want to go at that with a tablespoon? A baseball bat? Because of the delicacy, Transfer all that into the spiritual realm. You are going to handle a soul. You are going to touch the most sensitive thing in man. How can we get the little speck out? There is only one thing that matters at that point, and that is that you should be humble, you should be sympathetic, 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. Big difference. Are you charging at them with anger in your voice or is there tears in your eyes that restrains and measures every single word before it leaves your mouth because you want to be so careful with a tender soul that's hurting? Big difference. You're full of sympathy, he writes, and compassion. You really do want to help. You have so enjoyed getting rid of the thing in yourself that you want him to have the same pleasure and the same joy." I close with our charge from Romans 15. Listen to this. We are strong. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Think first hour today. Let each of us please his neighbor for his own good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Let's pray. Father, thank you. We can only note of how unworthy we are for such profound words, but you are patient with us. In the same manner you call us, you've treated us even greater still. Far greater patience, far greater kindness, far deeper understanding. All these things we're called to, Lord, and we need your help. We are self-preservationists. We are self-righteous as a fallen race. We look for reasons to castigate other people types we hate easily. O God, have mercy on us. Have mercy on our souls, even in the body of Christ. Heal this nation. I pray, O Lord, that there would be great revival in the church, a great understanding of these things, that these things would be preached, these truths, leaving none out for some hard to hear for others a great relief but in any case the whole Council of God not just parts that might be popular to other people may it never be a Lord but the whole Council of God I thank you for those folks who are assembled here and even the ones listening to this message on the Internet thank you Lord for them I pray that we all learn something today something of Intrinsic spiritual value, something we can't see, but yet a work that you perform in our hearts. Help us, Lord. Learn how to love, that love doesn't turn the other way when somebody is in sin, but cares enough about them to come alongside as our beloved paraclete, the Holy Spirit does with us, convicting us of sin through the word of God. And you've so generously, so benevolently given us your word and your spirit for just such important work. Oh Lord, we want to help other people. We want to see the gospel spread about In this place and outside of these walls, may we not become ingrown and self-focused, but focused on others and approach them in love, invest in relationships to get to know them, to see what the needs are, to see where the error is and the things that hold them back from reaching Mount Calvary. Reconciliation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to do that Lord that you might be glory glorified in this great redemptive enterprise of yours. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.