Let's talk about judging for a minute since this is one of the main themes this morning. Does xxxchurch judge? Sure they do. You haven't stopped judging us since the day we met. You have judged my husband as an angry man not knowing him from Adam. You have judged our message. You have judged our reading of the Word as not being in line with Scripture. You have judged the version of the Bible we are reading. You have judged our methods. You have judged whether or not a sinning Christian will get into heaven. You have judged it as impossible to stop sinning. You have judged me a liar for saying that God's power freed me from sin. You have judged my mistakes as a true sign that I am in error.
Now before you get your feathers in a ruffle, I don't believe that you should stop judging. Judging is a part of our conscience. There are many things in this life that must be done through judging. For example, we can't vote without judging. It is a part of the image of God that we possess.
Talk about cherry picking in the Bible. No where is this more evident than in our understanding of judging. We read one line of Matthew 7 and fail to read on to the end of the thought and we exclude every other mention of judging.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what 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? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Now, I want to say that our ministry did not judge first. Yours did. We were content to stay on our side of the street and warn people of the choice they are making. I have shown you at least 3 times in Jude 22-23 that our method is valid, but you continue to lean on your own understanding. You say you have glowing testimonies and yet there isn't one person here that lives by the power of God. You confess that God is not able to keep you from falling. You yourselves confess that you have no faith in the power of God. I am not the one saying that. I know for a fact that the power of God for everyone is a prayer away.
Anyway, the gist of Matthew 7 is hypocrisy. Paul explains this clearly in Romans 2
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge *practice the same things.* BUT WE KNOW THAT THE JUDGMENT OF GOD IS ACCORDING TO TRUTH AGAINST THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, AND DOING THE SAME, that (WARNING) you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are (WARNING) treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on EVERY soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God."
So Paul says that he judges according to the judgment of God against such things. What things? He just said it in the prior passage:
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, GOD GAVE THEM OVER to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, SEXUAL IMMORALITY, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, STRIFE, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, UNDISCERNING, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same BUT ALSO APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEM.
This is hypocrisy when, for example, I am home watching porn and then going out and judging pornographers. But if I get the log out of my own eye, then I am free to get the splinter out of my brother's eye. I have to judge and discern that my brother, in fact, has a speck in his eye before I can try to get it out. Of course, I don't consider that passage talking about these sins unto death but more the things between us that we find to be irritating. You are a judge for example and then judge us for judging. That is the log in your own eye.
Romans 2 is a continuation of a thought from Romans 1 where he's just mentioned these gross heinous sins unto death.
Did the apostles ever judge?
Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. THEN the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord."
Please note that Barjesus is not a Pharisee or religious leader. He is a sorcerer. He is the "common folk." He is blinded by God by the power of the Holy Spirit in Paul and this is the sign and wonder that leads the proconsul to be saved.
" It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already JUDGED (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, DELIVER SUCH A ONE TO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:15-16
Here Jesus is commanding us to judge righteously:
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” John 7:24
In order to fulfill these passages of Scripture, one must judge:
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person. 1 Cor. 5:11-13
Now here's the dilemma that we encounter. Even the whores at these events hold up signs indicating that God loves them even if they continue to practice pornography ruining families and lives with their adulteries. This is no different than someone in WW2 Germany taking communion and then heading off to the concentration camp to kill whole families. They sincerely believe they are saved; but they're not. It is deception to think that if they died tonight, God would let them in. You aren't even supposed to eat with someone who calls themselves a Christian and is one of these events. Do you? Do you judge righteously? Are you judged of no man because you have the mind of Christ?
Jesus is not coming back to coddle people in their sin. Let's investigate why you would burn up my people. Let's investigate why you ruined so many families with your perversions. Let's investigate why you murdered little innocent babies in the womb? Let's investigate why you were out at night drunk and puking in the street. He is simply going to destroy it all when the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. And let me warn you of something, the blood of these people that you have encountered where you have told them that God loves them in their sin and have fallaciously concluded that they can continue in sin or those Christians who see your booth and conclude that God loves porn because it helps them with their sex lives are going to turn to you and accuse you to your face for not warning them of hell's fire. Their blood will be on your head.
At the very end of Revelations, an angel comes on the scene from heaven to give the last gospel message. Now I would sincerely appreciate it if you would take note of the message. Does the angel tell all these wicked evil sinners that God loves them and wants them to go to heaven? Does he say that God cares about why they started sinning? Whose message does this mirror better for a people so lost in gross error? Yours or ours? Is this Gospel a warning of judgment or compassion?
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
