The part of the chapter that I wanted to focus on is at the beginning there where it talks
about judge not, that you be not judged and it goes on to explain that and I want to talk
about judging tonight and I want to talk about also just backbiting and speaking evil of
other people. Now, first of all, I want to say this, it's not wrong to judge. It's not
like judging is always wrong. A lot of people just shorten this, you know, group of five
verses to just two words. Judge not, you know, they don't get the context, they don't
get the understanding of what's being said here. They just take two words of this giant
paragraph and just shorten it to just judge not. Well, the problem with that is that the
Bible mentions the word judge or judging or judgment like over 750 times in the Bible
and more often he's telling us to judge than when he's telling us not to judge. In fact,
there's a whole book in the Bible called Judges and there are people that got ordained
as judges and God commands us to judge. Let me just give you a few scriptures on that
before I get into this because what I'm going to preach about tonight is the wrong kind
of judging because there is a time not to judge and there are a lot of circumstances
where we should not judge and that's what I want to preach against tonight but first
I want to just talk about the fact that it's not like it's always wrong to judge. For example,
in John 7 24, you know, it says judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous
judgment. So there God's commanding us. Judge righteous judgment. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2 verse 15, but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged
with no man. Go to 1 Corinthians 6 and here's a really clear passage on this. God told us
that he that is spiritual judgeth all things, that we should judge righteous judgment. It
says in 1 Corinthians 6 one, dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law
before the unjust and not before the saints. Look at 1 Corinthians 6 two, do you not know
that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye
unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Now that's what the judge not crowd is going to
tell you. You know, you're unworthy to judge the smallest matters but yet the Bible says
no, we're going to judge angels. We're going to judge the world. Obviously we are worthy
to judge the smallest matters. Verse 3, know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much
more things that pertain to this life. So are we qualified to judge certain things in
this life? Absolutely, that's what he's telling us. He says in verse 4, if then ye have judgments
of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
He says it'd be better to have the least esteemed person in church doing the judging than some
unsaved, unrighteous, unjust person out in the world doing the judging. Compare that
with verse 1. And then he says in verse 5, I speak to your shame, is it so that there's
not a wise man among you, no not one, that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
But brother, go unto law with brethren that before the unbelievers. So the bottom line
is there's a type of judging and a time for judging that's okay and that we're supposed
to do. And then there's another time and another type of judging that we should not do. So
what is the difference? Well, let's go to Matthew 7 where we started and let's talk
about this instance of wrong judging. This is judging that we should not be doing. It
says in verse 1, judge not that ye be not judged. So it's not that he's just blanketly
telling us not to judge because guess what? In just a few verses, he's going to tell us
to judge. But he starts out by warning us, saying judge not that ye be not judged. Why?
Or with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye meet, it
shall be measured to you again. So right away he warns us about judging because he says
the measuring stick that you use to judge others, that's the measuring stick that you're
going to have to live up to. Have you ever heard the saying that says those who live
in glass houses should not throw stones? Basically, if I'm going to judge someone else, then I've
ever realized that people are going to hold me to that same standard. Not that it's wrong
to ever judge others, but if I do, I better beware because I'm going to be held to that
exact same standard. This is a warning to hypocrites. Those who say and do not. Those
who would get up and preach and judge others or maybe not even in the pulpit but just outside
of, oh I can't believe this, and they'll judge others' actions and then go out and do the
same thing or the same types of things. He says in verse 3, And why beholdest thou the
mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Now
what is a beam? A beam is a giant, you know, wood structure that would be found in a building
and it's usually one of the major components that's holding the building up. So it's a
very major piece of wood. It's not just a tiny little piece of wood. It's a huge piece
of wood. Like a supporting beam. It says why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye? A mote is just something very tiny. Like basically it would be like having
a little splinter in your eye. A little piece of wood in your eye. A tiny splinter. And
he says you don't consider the beam that is in thine own eye. Obviously he's just using
a real extreme analogy. It's like you have this big log coming out of your eye as opposed
to somebody having a piece of wood in their eye and they're trying to fish it out. Or
how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye and behold
a beam is in thine own eye? So I've got this big beam in my own eye and I'm saying hey
let me get that little piece of wood. What? It's ridiculous. You need more help than I
do. And you're going to come correct me? Watch what he says in verse 5. Thou hypocrite first
cast out the beam out of thine own eye. Then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote
out of thy brother's eye? So the problem here is not that he's trying to take the mote
out of his brother's eye. That's not the problem. The problem is that he's got a beam in his
own eye. Once he removes the beam from his own eye, he's going to see clearly to be able
to take the mote out of his brother's eye. So he's not saying don't judge anybody. He's
saying don't judge people in areas that you're guilty of because that makes you a hypocrite
and you need to get the beam out of your own eye and then just leave the mote in your brother's
eye. Let his eyes turn all red and puffy and let him suffer and let him be in pain and
let him fail and let him not be able to work. And look, who's ever had a splinter in your
eye before? And you couldn't get it out. Now I've had a wooden splinter in my eye. I've
also had little metal shavings in my eye because I've been drilling something that was out
of metal, a little piece of metal. Even if you have safety glasses, sometimes it'll still
get in your eye. A little piece of wood and I've had it in my eye for hours and it's debilitating.
I mean you don't just keep working. It's something where you've got to get it out of your eye
right now and you can't function, you can't work until you get rid of it. And a lot of
people have things like that in their life that are stopping them from doing anything
for God, that are stopping them from being able to see what they need to see, that are
stopping them from serving God effectively and sometimes they need someone to help them
in order to remove that from their eye. But they don't need some hypocrite who's got a
beam in their own eye. They need somebody who can help them because they're actually
right in that area. And that's what the Bible is telling us here, to see clearly so that
we can cast out the mode out of our brother's eye. Let me give you some examples of this.
Here's a great example. People who don't go to church anywhere criticizing every church
in their area and saying, I can't find a good church. Okay. And they don't go to church
at all. But yet they're the expert on what a good church is. That is hypocrisy. You know,
and people don't like to hear that, but people use this as an excuse to not go to church.
They don't want to go to church. And you know how I know that it's an excuse a lot of times?
Because these same people, you'll find them a good church in their area and then all of
a sudden they shut their mouth and you never hear from them again and they won't go to
that church. When you find them, you can find them of the perfect church. I mean, there
was somebody who complained and complained and they couldn't find the right church. I
found them the perfect church. I mean, no church is perfect. Okay. But it was a great
church. It was perfect in the biblical sense that it had all the components. It was straight
down the line. But all of a sudden, all of a sudden they're not looking for a church
anymore. You see, the bottom line is people are hypocrites to say, well, this church doesn't
do this right. You don't even go to church. You have this giant beam in your eye. I don't
go to church. Now, doesn't the Bible command you to go to church? Does the Bible command
us to go to church? Does the Bible not say that the church is the house of God? That
it's the pillar and ground of the truth? Does it not say that Jesus Christ died for the
church? Does it say Christ is the head of the church? Or does it say Christ is the head
of your ministry? Christ is the head of a website. Christ is the head of your chat room.
Christ is the head of your evangelistic enterprise. Christ is the head of your study group. No,
it doesn't say any of that. It doesn't say Christ is the head of your school. It says
Christ is the head of the church. And you've got this huge beam in your eye. And I'm not
talking to you because you're in church. But you know what? I'm talking to people who may
someday be out of church. Just because you're here tonight, guess what? People get out of
church. You wouldn't be the first one and you won't be the last. And you've got this
big beam in your eye. I don't go to church. Jesus Christ said, upon this rock I will build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And you're not even part
of that building. You should be a building block that will say, okay God, place me in
the church. And the Bible says that we are members of the body of Christ. And he says
that God has placed different people in the body as it had pleased him. But you're refusing
to be placed in the body. You're just this amputee just floating around. This finger
just floating around somewhere. You're just a hand. You're just a foot. You're just a
kidney or something. And some church is waiting for a kidney transplant. They're on some waiting
list. And you're just sitting there saying, well you know, I don't want my kidney to go
into that body. Look, you are failing. You are failing the cause of Christ if you're
not part of church. I'm sorry. It's a fact. God is not for all this faith and this faith
church substitute stuff. This ministry and this radio program. You know, we've got to
get in church. You know what's going to fix this nation? Churches. You know what's going
to knock the doors and win souls? Churches. Show me an individual or a study group that
knocked all those doors on that map out there. Or anything even closer. Just show it to me.
I'll show you a local church that knocks that amount of doors. I'll show you a church that's
doing something for God. I'll show you a church that Christ is the head of. I'll show
you a church that Christ is building. I'll show you a church that's the pillar and ground
the truth. And people will walk around with this huge beam in their eye of not going to
church anywhere. You say, well I can't find a church in my area. They drive a little further.
You drive to everything else you need. You know, people drive all over the place and
they go places and they can get on a bus or get on a train. Hey, move mountains to go
to church on Sunday and be there in God's house. Do whatever it takes. But you know
what it really is though? It's not that there's not a church in their area. You know what
it is? It's just that they don't want to go to church. And so it's a hypocrisy that
says, oh this church is wrong on this so I just can't go there. Well you know, you got
to go to a church where the people are safe. Okay, they got to preach to God. They got
to be safe. And they got to preach the Bible, the King James Bible. You know what? But guess
what? You're not going to probably like it. And you ought to go to the best church you
can find. And I would drive a few extra miles to go to the best one in my area. But I'm
not going to sit there and just say, well there's nothing in my area. Or a lot of people
say, well this church doesn't agree with me politically. You know what? I'm sorry but
the bottom line is, and look, I think that politics are important. I think everything's
important. And you know what? I think the music's important. And you might say, well
this church's music stinks. Well you know what? The bottom line is though, it stinks
even more when you won't go to church. That's what really stinks more. Because I can show
you a lot more scriptures that'll rip your face for not going to church, like Hebrews
10, that says that God's very angry with you for not going to church, in Hebrews 10. He
said, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting
one another. And so much the more is to see the day approaching, for if we sin willfully
after that we perceive the knowledge of the truth. There remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins, but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
underfoot the Son of God, and hath done despite his fear and grace, count the blood of the
covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing. He said, look, we've heard him that
has said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the
Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.
God says, if you're one of God's people, he's going to judge you. And he said, don't forsake
the assembling of yourselves together willfully sin when you know the truth. But the music,
and look, I'm sick of this contemporary music as much as you are, it makes me want to puke.
But if I had a church, and they preached the King James Bible, and they believed the gospel
of Jesus Christ, and preached the right gospel, and they had this contemporary garbage, I'll
tell you what I'd do, I'd just show up late when the stupid music is over. Because I don't
want to listen to that junk any more than you do. But the bottom line is, I'm not going
to just not go to church. And I bet you you can find a church that's singing the way you're
sitting in it, that sings the hymns, that has the right preaching, that has the right
Bible. But you know what? If this church will not die, this church is thriving, this church
is on fire, you know, I'm not going to die. But let's say I just fell over dead in this
whole church. You know what? You could find another church that you could go to and survive
in Phoenix, Arizona, and you're not going to die. Or you can sit around and criticize
everybody when you've got this beam in your eye that says, I don't go to church, but I'm
the expert on what a good church is, even though I don't even go to church. And look,
I'm sick of it. It's hypocrisy. It's phony. Get in church and shut up. And you know what?
The same people who don't go to church, they become very imbalanced. Because they become
a know-it-all, because they don't have any leadership around them, they don't have any
role models, they don't have anybody mentoring them about soul winning, and mentoring them
and helping them. And they get really imbalanced. And then they get even more adverse to going
to any church, because they can't fit in with anybody, because everybody's not just like
them. Look, did you know that for the first 24 years of my life, I went to church, and
Faithful Word Baptist Church didn't exist. And yet I went to church. And yet everywhere
I lived, I found churches to go to. And I didn't move around that much. But I found
places to go. And did I like everything that I heard all the time? Did I always agree with
everything that was going on? No. But I went to church, and God was pleased with me. And
I brought the tithe. I didn't send the tithe. I brought it. And I dropped it in the plate,
like God told me to do. I brought it to the house of God. Because at first, I brought
myself to the house of God. And I also brought my tithe to the house of God. But look, if
you don't, you say, well, I just can't find a church. You know what? If you can't find
a church, then fine, but quit criticizing every other church. Quit criticizing the church
in your area. If you don't even get the beam out of your eye or shut up, that's what I
say. And so the bottom line is, let me give you another example. That was a good example.
Here's another one. People who don't go soul winning at all. People who don't give the
gospel to anybody, but they're going to tell you how to improve your soul winning and how
to do a better job of soul winning and all the things you're doing wrong. Has anybody
ever heard of this one? I mean, Pete, literally. I mean, I remember when I was a teenager and
I first started soul winning, I was around a lot of people who didn't go soul winning.
And they all wanted to criticize everything about my methods. They wanted to tell me what
to change. Don't use this verse. Don't talk about hell so much. Don't talk about this.
Change this. Do this. I guess it's okay that you're doing this, but maybe you can approve
this. And they're doing nothing. So they have this big beam in their eye. I don't go
soul winning at all. I don't care about anybody. But then they're going to be this expert that's
going to tell you, you need to do this and this will be a little better. And you know,
everybody who's divorced wants to give you marriage advice. I'm not mad at you if you're
divorced, obviously, forgetting those things which are maligned and reaching forth under
those things except for four. But you know what? Don't go around giving people marriage
advice if you're divorced. You know what I mean? And I'm not criticizing you if you're
divorced, but you're not the expert on marriage. And guess what? If you don't go soul winning,
you're not the expert on soul winning. And if you don't go to church, you're not the
expert on church. And I'm not trying to hurt anybody's feelings. It's just true. You know,
I want to get judged by somebody who has 20-20 vision or at least doesn't have a big beam
in their eye. And look, I'm always looking to improve my soul weight. And that's why
I like the fact that we talked about on last Sunday that we go two by two. Because I learn
from everybody. It's not like I'm the pastor, I'm on a different level. You know, I can
go with you guys and I'll pick up stuff, I'll hear stuff that all of you have said. And
I've incorporated stuff that I've heard probably almost everybody I've been with, I've probably
got a little something that I've incorporated and used. Because you can learn from other
people. OK? But see, I'm learning from people who are doing the work. You know, if I'm out
soul winning with you and we're trading off, I'm learning from somebody who's doing the
work. I'm learning from somebody who's down there with me in the trenches doing the work.
I don't want some non-soul winner coming to me and telling me. And there's nothing. People
whose kids turned out bad and went to the devil gave you parenting advice. It's true.
I mean, their kids went everything wrong. Oh, you don't, you know, you need to change
it. Look, I want to get advice from somebody who has children who turned out right. And
I would love to ask them what they do and love to get advice from them and love to get
information. So, you are a judge. Every single person in here, I'm actually swearing you
all in as judges tonight. Every single person here is a judge. Everyone judges. You're never
going to run into a person on the planet earth who doesn't judge. Right. Judging is just
a part of life. I mean, when you get in your car and you're going to pull out onto 48th
street, you have to make a judgment about whether or not you can make it when you pull
out. You know, you judge situations. You judge all kinds of, I mean, judging is just something
but there's a time not to judge. There are areas not to judge. Here are areas that you
don't judge in. Areas that you are not right in. You're not going to church. You're not
going to pride in that area. Don't judge church. You're not going soul winning. Don't
judge soul winning. Okay. You're failing in business. Don't tell people how to run a business.
I want to give business advice when somebody's business is growing or thriving or making
money. The bottom line is, don't judge areas where you have a beam in your eye. Does everybody
see that clearly from Matthew 7? Do you see clearly not the beams out of your eye? The
bottom line is, God's telling us don't judge in areas where you're wrong because that's
hypocrisy. Get the beam out of your eye and then you'll be able to see clearly. Go to
James chapter 4. James chapter 4, I'll show you a little bit more about the wrong kind
of judging. Don't judge in areas where you're not the expert. And let me give you an example
too because I'm not trying to pick on certain groups or certain people. Let me give you
an example about myself. You know, I've done soul winning for years and years and years,
right? And we made the soul winning demonstration video which is based on hundreds of real life
experiences. It's extremely accurate. Not every door is like that but there have been
hundreds of doors similar to that. It's life. It's realistic. But let me tell you something.
We also made one that was like the Pentecostal soul winning demonstration video. We made
the Jehovah's Witness soul winning demonstration video. And somebody said to me, make a Mormon
soul winning demonstration video. You know what I said? I've never even won a die in
the world Mormon to Christ. So I'm not going to make a video. I'm not Ray Comfort. I'm
not going to make a video of habit fail at getting people to say it. You know, the way
the master Ray Comfort, Kirk Hammett, where they show you all the ways where it failed.
Watch this technique that Ray is going to use and the guy doesn't get saved. The guy
blows him up. Watch how Kirk does this. Again, failure. You know? And I'm like, what am I
going to do? Make a video of how not to give Mormons faith? I mean, there's a piece missing
from my Bible tonight from where a Mormon took my Bible and threw it across the room.
So guess what? I'm not the expert on winning the Mormon to Christ. Now look, I know how
to win Jehovah's Witnesses to Christ. And I've had many Jehovah's Witnesses saved. And that's
why I made a demonstration video to help others with some of the things that I use to preach
to Jehovah's Witnesses. Same thing with Pentecostals. Same thing with Catholics. Same thing with
all of it. It's just something about these Mormons. And you know what? You guys can have
your Mormon Mondays on that Monday night soul winning in Mesa. Mormon Mesa Mondays. I don't
do that. I'm going to go soul winning in Phoenix or Tempe. Some of them, me and Mormons just
don't agree. I don't know what it is. But guess what? Since I made that statement, I've
had two Mormons saved finally. And look, I've had a lot of Jack Mormons saved. I'm talking
about the ones who are devout, who go every week, who are serious Mormons. Since I made
that statement earlier in this year, 2011, I've had two devout Mormons saved, which was
a first for me. Which was exciting for me. I still want to get a Mormon saved who was
born and raised. Because these ones had been Mormons for decades, but they were not born
into it. And I was able to win them to Christ and get them to see the fallacy of their false
religion. But the bottom line is, I'm not going to be a judge in an area that I'm not
succeeding in. Does that make sense? Now in an area that I am succeeding in, I'm going
to say, okay, let me give you some tips. But when it comes to winning Mormons to Christ,
I'm just going to say, go ask somebody else. And good luck finding anybody who has success
with those brainwashed people. But anyway, does that make sense? I mean, we've got to
judge in our own areas of expertise and not judge outside of our area of success. Go to
James 4, verse 11. It says, speak not evil one of another, brethren. Edith speaketh evil
of his brother and judgeth his brother. Speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law. But if
thou judgeth the law, thou art not doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver
who is able to save and to destroy. Who art thou that judgeth another? Now, here's one
thing we have to understand in order to understand these scriptures. First of all, if I'm simply
repeating what the Bible says, am I really judging? I mean, a machine could repeat what
the Bible says. Isn't that true? I mean, couldn't a machine today just read the Bible to me
in electronics, our box voice or whatever? I mean, any machine could read this book.
I mean, if I tell somebody, thou shalt not commit adultery, is that me judging them?
I mean, if somebody is just, you know, cheating on their wife and they're just having a physical
relationship with a woman that they're not married to and I say, hey, the Bible says
not to commit adultery. Hey, the Bible says that's adultery. Is that me judging them?
No. I mean, I'm just basically just restating what the Bible says when I'm just going by
what God says. And what he's saying here is, hey, there's only one lawgiver. That's God.
So when I start making my own rules and judging people based upon my own rules, that's where
I'm out of bounds. When I'm not judging based on God's laws, but I'm just basically judging
based on my own personal judgment. Jesus Christ even said that he wasn't judging people because
he said, you know, the Word of God was there. Moses will accuse you to the Father, not me.
He's just reiterating what was already in their book, in the Bible, in the Word of God.
Go to Romans 14. I think Romans 14 makes it really clear. But see, the Bible says, let
me read for you James 4.11 again while you're turning to Romans 14. It says, speak not evil
one of another brethren. You know, what does evil mean? Evil is basically harmful. And
I shouldn't be basically going around and talking bad about my brother in Christ or
my sister in Christ, right? I shouldn't go around and talk bad about them and speak evil
of my brother in judgment. Well, I just don't think that he should be doing, I don't think
that she should do this, and I don't think that he should do that. That's what he's saying.
Speak not evil one of another brethren, for he that speaketh the evil of his brother and
judges his brother, speaketh the evil of the law and judges the law. Now, if thou judge
the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able
to save and destroy, who art thou that judges another. And if someone in our church is just
committing adultery and I say, they're committing adultery and they need to be thrown out of
our church because that's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5, that's not me speaking
evil of my brother and judging my brother. But I just don't like the way that he treats
his wife. I don't like the way that she treats him. And I don't think it's right that he
works this many hours, you know, and he doesn't do this. Look, is that really any of your
business? Is that something that's in God's law? I mean, is that something that God has
ordained and laid down as law? Here's a perfect example. Romans 14. Now, let me ask you something.
Is it wrong to eat meat? To eat meat, to eat flesh? No. But are there people in this world
who think it's wrong to eat meat? Absolutely. They're called what? Vegetarians. Vegetarians,
vegans, you know, they come in different varieties, you know. And, you know, I just believe that
God gave me these teeth right here for a reason, you know, and it wasn't to eat oatmeal,
you know. So I got these big canines. And so that's to eat meat with. Now look, let's
face it, God has a lot of clear scriptures in the Bible, doesn't he? Doesn't he have
some clear scriptures that tell us to eat meat? That tell us that meat's good for us,
that tell us that we eat, and people say, oh, meat's bad for you. Well, then why was
God telling the priest to eat it every day? You know, I mean, the bottom line is there's
no scriptural basis to say not to eat meat. Totally contrary to scripture. That's a man-made
rule somewhere, or a man-made philosophy. Not biblical at all, right? You all agree
on that? Look at Romans 14, verse 1. It says, him that is weak in the faith receive ye,
but not to doubtful disputations. So should we receive those that are weak in the faith,
or should we say, well, at Big Four Baptist Church, we only, you gotta be at an advanced
level of Christianity to come to this church. There's a beginner church down the street
for you, okay? It's for the, you know, kindergarten Baptist down the street. And there are a lot
of baby churches out there, by the way. But the bottom line is, we like baby Christians
here too, right? We'll accept those that are weak in the faith. And, you know, we'll accept
anybody who's a believer in Jesus Christ who wants to do what's right, you know, wants
to come to church and be part of the group. But the bottom line is, God's telling us to
receive those who are weak in the faith, right? But not to doubtful disputations. For one
believeth that he may eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. Now, is it good
to be weak? Is being weak a good thing? So we already know who's right in this situation.
The guy who believes he may eat all things is the guy who's right. Then there's this
person who's weak in the faith who says, I'm just going to eat herbs. You know, I'm just
going to eat plants, basically, because, you know, if you go back to Genesis 1 and see
all that. I'm just going to eat plants and fruits and vegetables and grain. That's what
I'm going to eat. Should we, Rich, should we say, well, you can't come to our church
because no vegetarians allowed. Sorry. No, we're going to say, okay, whatever. We're
going to receive him. He's weak in the faith. He doesn't understand the Bible or hasn't
read the Bible or whatever. It says, let not him that eat it despise him that he did not.
So we that eat me, should we despise and hate those? That's what despise means, basically,
to hate or to have disgust for or to look down upon and to disdain. These are other
synonyms. Should we despise those that eat not me like we eat? No. But watch this, and
let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for God hath received him. So is it
right for somebody to have some man-made rule that's nothing to do with the Bible and then
judge other people because they're not following his rule of being a vegan or being vegetarian?
No. And God's rebuking here the person who has a rule that's not biblical and wants to
judge others for that rule, okay, and they want to enter into disputation. What is disputing?
It's arguing. So basically, if the person wants to come in and argue about it and try
to argue how we need to stop eating meat and meat is murder, basically, that person, we
should not receive them to doubtful disputation. That's not going to work. You know, we're
not going to sit there and allow somebody to come in and just basically promote their
own man-made, their own superfluous rules that are not biblical and try to force everyone
to conform to that. We're not going to despise you, but don't come in here and judge us and
don't come in here and dispute with us about it. Is everybody understanding the passage
so far? It's pretty clear we're just breaking it down slowly. Now, who is verse 4 directed
to? Who art thou that judges another man's servant? Is that talking about the guy who's
eating or the guy who's not eating? It's the guy who's not eating because he's told not
to judge the one who's eating. Because he's doing right. God hasn't received him. God
has told us that we can eat all things. Who art thou that judges another man's servant?
To his own master he stands or fallen. Yea, he shall be holding up, for God is able to
make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day
alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto the Lord. And he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it.
He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not,
to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Now, one esteemeth one day above another,
the other esteemeth every day alike. Which one's right? Well, I'll tell you right now
biblically, the one who esteemeth all days alike. Because the bottom line is that if
we had to esteem one day above another, then God wouldn't say, well just let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind. Obviously we don't have to observe one day above another.
Obviously we don't have to say, well Sunday is the Lord's day, so I'm not going to do
any work, I'm not going to do anything in this category, I'm only going to think about
God on that day. Look, but God's sake, if someone wants to do that, great. If someone
wants to take Sunday and say, I'm never going to work on Sunday, and it's going to be fully
dedicated to the Lord, is there anything wrong with dedicating Sunday to God, start
to finish? And you know, pretty much that's what we do. I mean, that's what I do. I preach
in the morning, I go out soloing in the afternoon, come to church at night. But you know what,
let's say you go to church in the morning, and then you go work for a few hours at your
job, because of your schedule. And then you come back to church on Sunday night, is there
anything wrong with that? No, because this is the Sabbath day, and a Sabbath day is Saturday,
Old Testament, totally temporary thing that was imposed on them until the time of Reformation.
Let no man judge you, therefore keep your finger in Romans 14, go to Colossians 2. Go
ahead and keep your finger in Romans 14, Colossians 2. And the Bible reads, let me find my place
here. This wasn't in my notes, but I want to turn to it because it expresses what I'm
saying. Verse 16, Colossians 2, 16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat. We already
talked about that in Romans 14, didn't we? Or in drink, or in respect of the holidays,
or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to call, but
the body is of Christ. So the Bible says right there that people should not judge someone
about the Sabbath. Well, if it was a sin to not keep the Sabbath, then there would
be some judgment passed upon those who break God's law. But the bottom line is that the
Sabbath was represented by Jesus Christ, it was a picture of the fact that as they rested
in the Old Testament one day a week, so we that believe in Christ have ceased from our
own works as God did from his, it's a picture of Jesus. I'm not a regional sermon on the
Sabbath, go on the website and download it, there's tons of sermons I've done on the Sabbath,
read Hebrews 4, read Colossians 2, there's plenty of places to read the scriptures on that.
But the bottom line is there are people who want to come in and judge you about a holiday.
You know what I mean? They want to judge you about the Sabbath. They want to judge you
about food and drink. And obviously we're not talking about alcoholic beverage, that's
something that God did prohibit. But they want to judge you on food and drink, they
want to judge you on these things. They're not right to do so, okay? Because of the fact
that it is their man-made rule, and some of those things can be good things to do. Like
hey, if you take all of Sunday and say, I dedicate my Sunday dawn to dusk for God only,
that's a good thing to do, great. Don't try to go around telling everybody that they
have to do the same thing, because you know what? There's no command in scripture that
tells us that Sunday is like that, okay? It's a great thing if you want to impose some kind
of a dietary restriction. Let's say you want to go on a diet because you need to lose weight
or you're trying to fix whatever other problems or cholesterol. You don't have to force everybody
else to go on that diet. Don't judge me if I eat a high calorie diet. Because of the
fact that I can eat a high calorie diet, okay? I can get by with it. I burn those calories.
So don't worry so much about what other people are doing in regard to things that are not
in a biblical command. And you know, it's so amazing to me how people get, go back to
Romans 14, people get so fired up about issues that aren't in the Bible or are very vague
in the Bible. They'll take some vague scripture and that's just their big issue and they are
just going to run with that. And then just the biggest things in the Bible they just
Let me give you an example. There was a guy who came and visited our church and this guy's
biggest issue, I mean this was his big issue, this is like whether or not he's going to
your church, this is the first question he's going to ask. What type of communion do you
do? Close or closed? And I'm thinking, well that's only one letter different, man. And
I told him, I said, I don't even know what that means. And I said, you're going to have
to explain to me what it means. Hey, do you know why I didn't know what it meant? Because
neither of those words is in the Bible. Right? That's why I didn't know the difference between
closed communion and closed communion. Because it's not in the Bible. Show me those words,
it's not there. Oh, but it is an issue. And so I said, well explain to me what it is and
then I'll tell you what I think about it. And he said, well, he said open communion,
and I knew what open communion was. That's where you just say, everybody take communion
even if you're a Buddhist or you're not even saved, let's all just eat, drink, and be married
or whatever. I'm like, well that doesn't sound right. Because the Bible says that you have
to be saved to partake of the Lord's Supper. That's clear. See, that's actually biblical.
That's actually in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11, where it talks about people eating and
drinking unworthily because they're not saved. And it also talks about other things, but
I'm not preaching on the media tonight. But the bottom line is that he said that's open
and he said closed communion, and I still can't keep them apart, so forgive me. I'll
just tell you what the two things were. I don't know which one was closed or which one
was Buddhist or closet communion or whatever. That's probably a different one. You do communion
as a secret or something. Closet communion. I'm starting a new group. We believe in closet
communion only. Just kidding. But anyway, the bottom line is one of them was like, if
people are saved and baptized, they can partake of it with you. And then the other one was
like, well, they have to be a member of your church, and if they're visiting from another
church, they can't. But if they're saved and baptized, they can on this side. But then
over here, it was like, they have to be a part of your church, and if they're visiting,
nope. Can't do it. This was this guy's big issue, but you want to know what's really
funny about it? I promise you that that same guy, everywhere he goes, he sits in church
and eats a little square cracker. It's a square centimeter. When the Bible actually
says to break bread. It clearly says, break bread. He broke it and gave up it. He said,
this is my body, which is click, broken for you. So you see how they ignore the thing
that the Bible even talks about. Break the bread. Because it represents the broken body
of Christ. And then they're just so worried about, well, who is that guy that's visiting
from Wisconsin going to eat this or not? No, that's going to determine whether I go to
church here or not. See what I mean? And they get all fired up, and they have all their
membership roles and lists in an office somewhere. And if you join, you've got to sign this paper
to join, and you've got to promise this and promise that. And then you can partake of
the square cracker that's not even broken. Then you can participate in the whatever communion.
So what I'm saying is, people get fired up about non-biblical issues. Nothing that they
can point to. There's no scripture where they can say, look, break it. Break that bread.
Here's five verses on breaking it. But they've got all this philosophy and all these rules
and all these ideas that are not biblical, and that's the important issue. And they want
to come in and dispute with you about it, argue with you about it, pick a fight with
you about it. But then the stuff that the Bible just spells out, they just, oh, I didn't
even realize this. We were supposed to break it? I never saw that before. But they saw
everything that wasn't even there. About clothes and clothes. I mean, look, you don't
want to tell the truth. People get distracted from what the Bible's really about on these
side issues that don't matter, that aren't even mentioned. And then they want to judge
everybody and dispute with everybody. That's God's warning. So let's just do a quick review.
What are we not supposed to judge? Things that were wrong. Don't go around and try to
straighten me out when you're way out of bounds on that issue. And I will do the same.
I'm not going to tell you how to win warmest to Christ, Brother Antonucci and everybody
else over there. You figure it out on your own. Then tell me how to do it. And then secondly,
we shouldn't judge people on our own little extra biblical made-up rules that we've come
up with that aren't clear in the Bible. And you know what? I could go on all night. I
mean, I'm giving you just a couple of examples. I could go on all night about just issues
that people get all fired up about, make a big deal about, but they're never quoting
verses to you. They're never showing you Bible. They're just explaining it to you. And they
forget the big things. And the big things aren't what they worry about. Because usually
when we're judging people, it's about dumb, petty, minor things that don't really matter
that much or that are none of our business. But the third thing is don't judge outside
of your scope of authority in your life. First of all, don't judge things where you're
wrong. Second of all, don't judge things that aren't even in the Bible. And it's just your
own personal rule. I mean, you may have a rule that you get up at a certain time every
day, but that's you. And I'm going to get up when I want to get up. And you're going
to get up when you want to get up. Because the Bible doesn't tell us when to get up in
the morning, does it? And you might have your dieting program. I don't want to be on your
diet. Don't judge me for eating pork and eating a high calorie diet, okay? But not
only that, thirdly, we only want to judge within our own realm, our own jurisdiction
as it were, okay? And Brother Gregory, he always likes to talk about jurisdiction. So
he's probably perked up his ears. Yeah, jurisdiction, yeah. But anyway, in Romans chapter 14, look
what it says in verse 4. It says, and I wanted to read the whole chapter, but I'm running
out of time. It said, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he
standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. Now,
according to that verse, is it right for me to judge my own servant? Of course. Because
my servant is going to stand or fall before me, and I will judge my servant. But is it
right for me to judge another man's servant? No, that's his job. That's what I mean by
jurisdiction. Because the word jurisdiction is a fancy legal word, but it basically comes
from the word meaning judge. You know, it's the same root word, okay? Jurisdiction, like
a jury, like a judge, like someone who's deciding something. Now for example, I have a business
and I have an employee that works for my business, for example. Let's say Ryan's got a business
and he's got his employee. Is it my job to critique his employee's performance and tell
his employee what to do and tell him to straighten this out and how to dress and how to act on
the job and how to talk to people? Yea, that's none of my business. That's his business,
right? Have you ever heard this phrase, mind your own business? And that's what we're talking
about, your business. I have a servant, you have a servant. I don't think you're treating
your employees right. Well guess what? It's none of your, it's my business. I'm going
to treat my employees how I want to treat them. And you know, I'm not going to look
at brother Dave where he works and say, well brother Dave's boss is wrong and he doesn't
know how to run it. That's his business. My business is my business, your business is
your business. It's not my job to judge other people's business, judge your own business.
Now there are people in my life that I have judgment over in certain areas, not just an
unlimited jurisdiction but there is jurisdiction over certain things. For example, in my home,
I'm an absolute ruler in my home. I mean I'm the man of the house, I'm the head of the
church. So is it okay for me to judge my wife? Let's say my wife, and of course this
has never happened, let's say my wife, she goes out of the house in short shorts and
a tank top. Well I'm not going to judge. No, I am going to judge. And let's say she goes
out in an outfit that most people would consider pretty modest. And let's say all the other
men in the church, let's say every man in this church and every lady in this church
says to me, Pastor Anderson, that outfit that your wife is wearing is acceptable. What
if I say it's not acceptable? I'm the one who's going to judge whether the clothing
that my family wears is acceptable before God. Now clothing is something that requires
some judgment. The Bible does give us commands and guidelines on clothing, right? But on
a case by case, I have to make a judgment if I look at my son's clothing or my daughter's
clothing or my wife's clothing and say to myself, is this clothing in conformity with
the Bible? Because a judge's job is to interpret the law, right? So the law is there about
clothing and I'm going to interpret that and apply it and say, okay, that outfit is acceptable.
What if I say, I don't think it's acceptable. I think it's too flashy. I think that it's
going to be immodest. I think that it's going to draw undue attention to your body. I want
you to change that outfit. But what if Brother Dave says, oh, come on. Hey, you know what?
It's none of your business, right? And if his wife is wearing something and I say it's
fine and he says, no, it's not fine, it's none of my business to tell her what's fine.
He is going to tell her what's fine because that is out of my jurisdiction. It's not my
job to rule over your wife. I'm going to rule over my wife. You rule over your own wife.
If you don't like that terminology, read Genesis 3.16. That's what the Bible says. Put it in
your pipe and smoke it. And so the bottom line is that you run your house, I run my
house because I'm not going to judge your wife and you're not going to judge my wife.
It's my job to handle that. And if my children are out of line, I should be the one to correct
it. Obviously, somebody can tell me, obviously, if there's a problem and I can fix it. But
if I say, well, I think it's fine, you know, once I pass that judgment. And obviously,
if my kid slaps your kid in the face, you know, come tell me and I'll thank him and
all that. Obviously, I want to know about it. But should you go tell somebody else in
the church, well, Pastor Anderson's kid, blah, blah, blah, blah. See, now you're a back
fighter. Now you're speaking evil of your brother. Now you're judging your brother.
You know, Pastor Anderson's son is blah, blah, blah. His daughter and his wife acts
like this. And you know, stuff like that's happened before where people criticize my
wife or criticize my kids or criticize other people's wives or criticize other people's
kids. And you know what? It's wrong. It isn't right. You know, if you have a problem with
my family, you go to the boss man right here that will correct the problem and I might
not even think it's a problem. And then guess what? It's not a problem because that's my
family. And it's the same thing and not just me. I'm not special. Everybody in the whole
church, you know, if you have a problem with somebody's kids, you have a problem with somebody's
wife, you know, you go to the boss and you say to him, this is the problem I have and
he'll decide whether it's a problem or not because he is the one who's in charge. You
know, and that goes for business. That goes for the family. That goes for the church,
okay? I have a certain jurisdiction as the pastor. The Bible calls the pastor a ruler.
Now, does that mean that I rule over your personal life? No. Does that mean I rule over
your family? No. Do I come to your family and tell you how to do it? Do I come to your
house and tell you how to do it? Do I run your business? Do I run that? No. I have a
limited jurisdiction. My jurisdiction is the assembly, the church here. So I basically
rule in the church here as far as like, okay, this is what's going to be preached. This
is who's preaching, you know. This is what we're doing. This is the direction we're going
I'm leading this in the church business, the church's regard. I'm making those decisions.
I'm not making decisions about your family or your business or anything like that because
it's outside of my scope. So you need to get out of the habit, is what God's saying here,
basically to break it down to you, you need to get out of the habit of looking at everybody
else's family and trying to run their family or trying to run their house or trying to
correct everybody else's servant or correct everybody else's child or correct everybody
else's. It's just not your area to deal with. It's someone else's area. They will stand
or fall to their own authority figure. Go to Romans chapter 13. You're in chapter 14.
Just go back one chapter and we'll see a similar concept reinforced here. Romans 13, the Bible
says in verse 1, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers for there is no power
but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Now, God has ordained authority. The
Bible used the word power here. We would use the word probably authority today as a more
modernized word, but the Bible is right to say power because that's what authority is.
It's power over people or circumstances or things. So the Bible says that the powers
that be are ordained of God and we should be subject unto the higher powers. Whosoever
therefore resisted the power, resisted the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall
receive to themselves damnation. For rulers, so what are we talking about with power here?
Rulers, authority figures. Rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil. Wilt
thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise in
the same. Free is the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil,
be afraid. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doeth evil. Wherefore you must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience
sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers that continue
continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues. Tribute to whom tribute
is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Now what is he
saying here? God is the author of authority. Why do my children have to obey their parents?
Because God said so. And guess what? If God had never said that, then children could just
grow up and say why should I obey my parents? And if you don't believe in God, you really
have no authority to tell your children to obey you. Based on what? They can just say
well no, I don't want to obey you. I'm going to do what's right in my own eyes. They
would have every right in the world to say that except for the fact that God said children
obey your parents. See without God there can be no authority. There can be no legitimate
power. Because all power, I mean look at it. It says, get this. This is a really important
concept. You've got to pay attention to what I'm saying. Look at 13.1. There is no power
but of God. Is there any authority or power in this world that exists that's really a
legitimate authority or power that did not come from God? No. The powers that be, the
authorities that exist, they're ordained by God. For example, the authority that a parent
has over their child. That has been ordained by God. That's why a child can't say well
why should I obey you? Because God said so. And if there's no God, then you have no power.
That's the source of power. God is the source. Jesus Christ said all power is given unto
me and heaven and earth. Does a boss at work or an owner of the company have power over
the employee? Yes. Why? Because God said so repeatedly. Isn't that true? Does the pastor
have authority in the local church? Yes. Why? Because God said so. Does a husband have authority
over his wife? Yes. Because God said so. But guess what? If there's no God, then the wife
can just say well no. You don't have any thought. I'm equal with you. We're going to do this
50-50. In fact, we'll do it 100% zero. I'm going to be the boss. If there's no God, who
could really tell her she's wrong? On what authority could she say she's wrong? You have
no authority. The Bible is the authority. The Bible has all power. God deals out power
to whom he will. He gives parents authority. He gives pastors a certain authority. He gives
mothers over their children authority. He gives the boss authority over his employee.
He is the author of all power. Now we also have human government. God ordains human government.
God ordained there to be a government and the purpose of that government, the scope
of that government, the jurisdiction of that government was basically, well you see right
there, look at verse 4, human government is a revenger, this is at the end of verse
4, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. So the government's authority is to execute
wrath on him that doeth evil. Is the government's authority to tell me where I can ride my bike?
No. Is the government's authority to tell me where I can eat and drink? No. The government
has been given power by God because otherwise we could just say, well I'm not going to
obey the government at all. I don't respect any government. I want zero government. No.
There is a need for government because God said so. Just like parents have authority
over their children because God said so. But guess what? God didn't give pastors just
a carte blanche to just rule over the flock and just tell them everything that they're
going to do in their life. No. He gave them a limited scope, a jurisdiction. The church
is where that authority is. I don't have a carte blanche of authority over my employee.
You know, I can't just say, well you can't marry that girl. You can't eat that for lunch.
That's not, no. You're going to eat what I like. You see what I mean? There's certain
jurisdictions, certain scope of authority. Okay. Okay. What about this? Parents have
a limited authority too because can a parent say to their child, lie? Say you're 11 so
we can get the discount. We've all been there, done that. Not with my children because I've
never had an 11 year old. I haven't done that anyway. But you know what? There have been
times, sorry mom. The bottom line is there are times when you're told that it wasn't
mom that was telling me that. I'm just kidding. But anyway, there are times when people, you
know, a parent might say, hey tell them we're not home. Tell them you're 11. You're like
16, you're 11. Hey, aren't they outside of their authority now? Because guess what? Every
soul should be subject to the higher power. God's law trumps mom and dad's law. Okay.
God's law trumps the boss. The boss at work says, hey, lie. You don't lie because God's
law trumps this law. But God has given power to rulers. A father is a ruler. A mother is
a ruler. A boss at work is a ruler. A pastor is a ruler. These are all words that God uses.
God has created a human civil government as a ruler, as a revenger with a carte blanche
to just make whatever rules they want about every aspect of my life or about the church
or about the home. No. They have a very limited jurisdiction, a revenger to execute wrath
and run in the view of evil. And that's why if you look at God's law, you know, that's
what he sent up civil government to do. Not to run every aspect of your life. And look
what it says in verse 6. For this cause paying you tribute also, right? He's talking about
paying taxes. For they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing.
Did you get that? Attending continually upon this very thing. What are they continuing
continually on? Executing wrath upon the evil doer. Now, is our government today continually
just that's all 100% of our resources are going toward punishing the evil doer? No.
They are providing a safety net. They're giving these people this and helping people with
this and build this and do this. So the bottom line is the government's out of bounds. They're
outside of their scope. They're out of bounds. A pastor can get out of bounds. Start ruling
over people's lives in the wrong way. A husband can get out of bounds if he's telling his
wife to do things that are wrong and sinful and so forth. So everybody can get out of
bounds. And the government's way out of bounds. They don't even know where the bounds are.
They can't even see the bounds anymore. And people will try to use this scripture to say
whatever the government tells you to do, just do it. Just shut up and do it. That's not
what it says. Now, do you say, do you pay your taxes? I do pay taxes. And I pay all
my taxes. Everything is legit. And I pay all the fees and the license fees and the permit
fees and the taxes and the taxes upon taxes. Now look, why do I pay it? Because I should
have to pay it? No. Because I shouldn't have to pay it. Because that's not what they're
attending continually on. That's not where my money's going. My money is not going to
punish the evil doer at all. But Jesus Christ said in Matthew 17, he said we shouldn't
have to pay this tax when they came to collect taxes from him. He said if we're free, we
shouldn't have to pay this. But he said, nevertheless, lest we offend them, he said,
you know, go fishing and the first fish you find, open his mouth, there will be a gold
coin in it. And he said take that and give it to them for me and for thee. Pay our taxes.
So Jesus and Peter paid their taxes just to not offend them, just to not start a fight
with them. Because he said, you know, as much as is possible, we should try to live peaceably
with all men. Okay? But that doesn't mean that the government just has a right to our
money. It doesn't mean that the government has the right to tell me how to walk down
the street or how to drive my car or how to do anything. It doesn't make it right. But
I'm still going to go along with things just to live peaceably with all men, just to get
along, just to go with the flow, until they start taking it too far, until they start
telling me that I can't go soul-wetting or telling me that I can't spank my children
or something. Obviously then, but you know what? We're just supposed to try to go with
the flow and focus on the kingdom of God and winning souls and priests and God. But that
doesn't mean that they have the right to tell us how fast to drive or how to do this or
how to do that. But if I get on the road and just say, well, I don't care what they
say, just drive 120 miles an hour down the road, am I sinning against the Lord Jesus
Christ by doing that? No. But all things are lawful unto me. And I tried to tell the officer,
all things are lawful unto me. No, I'm just kidding. But anyway, all things are lawful
unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful unto me, but all things
are lawful unto me. And so if I go 120 miles down the freeway, I'm going to get pulled
over, I'm probably going to be put in jail. That's not going to help the cause of Christ.
That's not going to help me serve God. That's not going to help me do anything. So I'm just
going to go the speed limit lest I offend them. Does everybody understand what I'm saying?
So basically, the thing that I'm trying to say tonight is that we ought not judge outside
of our parameters. Don't judge other people's situations. And you know, this Oprah Winfrey
generation, where we sit back and watch these shows, these reality shows and these talk
shows, where we judge everyone else's situation. And we go to the audience and ask the studio
audience, well, I think you need to break up with him and you need to do this and you
need to tell him. But really, is it any of that person's business? But millions of people
are sitting at home saying, well, he needs to do this and she needs to change this. Don't
you dare sit and worry about how I run my family. That's my business. It's none of your
business. And I'm not going to sit there and worry. Just let people live their own life.
You can't run other people's life. And when you're talking to other people about it, you're
definitely backbiting when you're criticizing and saying negative things about other people.
It's just something that's bad, something that's wrong. Just don't feel like you have
to comment on every situation that exists. And pass your judgment. And yeah, we're not
just going around saying judge. No, judge not. But there is a time not to judge, isn't
there? When you're wrong in that area. When it's outside scripture. And when it's outside
your parameter of judging. Same thing with being a pastor. The Bible says, if a man know
not. Well, let me read the whole script here. 1 Timothy 3.4 says, one that ruleth well his
own house is a qualification for a bishop or a pastor. One that ruleth well his own
house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to
rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Now, you know what that
tells me? That tells me that someone who is not the husband of one wife and doesn't
have his children in subjection with all gravity does not know how to rule his own house. Because
it says that the guy who's not married with children that are in subjection is not qualified
to pastor because he doesn't know how to rule his own house. It's not that he couldn't do
it if he had the opportunity. He doesn't know how to do it because he's never done it. Right?
So, if he doesn't know how to rule his own house, then is he qualified to tell me how
to run my own house? Because according to the Bible, until you've done it, you don't
know how to do it. Now, somebody could say to me, hey, the scripture says, you know,
that you should spank your child. You know, you don't have to be married with children
to know that or to say that. And that's not you judging. That's just you saying, hey,
the Bible says you got to spank your children. That's just God's word. I mean, that's not
judging. If somebody says, well, I never spanked my children. You say, well, no, you're
supposed to spank your children. Well, who are you? You don't have kids. It doesn't matter.
That's what the Bible says. But is it right for someone to come and tell me how to run
my house, and I'm not talking about just a clear scripture, but just they know how to
do it better. No, they don't because they've never done it. And it's amazing how people
don't even have a wife and children that they're ruling over, but they know how to
pastor a church. You know what I mean? But yet God says if you don't know how to run
the family, you don't know how to pastor the church. So it's not really your job to decide
how to pastor a church until you're qualified. You can't really judge. I mean, if somebody's
going to tell me, and look, I've gotten advice from people. I've been told to critique the
criticisms from people, and I will receive a critique or a criticism from someone who's
qualified to judge because they know how to do it because they've done it. You know what
I mean? Are you going to take business advice from somebody who's never run a business?
No. So what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of situations where we should not
be judging. And we need to first and foremost worry about ourselves. Not go around worrying
about everything. And you say, well, but so is this and so is that. You know what? At
the end of the day, so what? You know what I mean? If everybody else screws up their
life and does everything wrong, you can still do what's right. And you're only responsible
for your own aspect. You're not responsible for all these other people. So don't worry
about it. But if you start getting wrapped up worrying about everybody else's problems
and everybody else's issues, you know what's going to happen? You're going to start failing.
Because now you're doing stuff God told you not to do. And you might start backbiting
and speaking evil of people and talking trash about people. And what's going to happen?
But you're messing up your life now. Instead, you should just take kingdom to yourself.
Make sure that you're doing right. Get every beam and every mode out of your own eye. And
that should be your primary one, two, three, four, and five responsibility right there.
And then if you have time and you can help somebody and it's appropriate because it's
something that you do know about and it's something that you are qualified in, it's
something that you're not out of place or out of bounds talking to someone about, then
you can help take care of that issue. But I hope that this sermon sinks in with you
because I think that this can really help a lot of people. Maybe it's not the swing
from the chandelier sermon about just ripping face on worldliness. But the bottom line is
this is a problem that can take place. And it's something that we all need to take heat
onto and not be judgmental in the wrong way. And so learn to mind our own business and
our own vineyard and to not fall into the trap of just being a busybody right? The Bible
condemns it as far as that word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for our church dear
God and for your word and for the clear messages that you've given us in your word about judging
and we definitely need to do some judging. There are a lot of times where we need to
judge and the Bible says that judgment must begin in the house of God. And so judgment
needs to take place in the church most assuredly. But Father help us not to be out of bounds
and to be evil one another and back fight and judge one another and worry about things
that just simply don't pertain to us. Help us to stay within the bounds and God please
help our government to find the bounds somehow and stop telling churches how to operate and
stop telling families how to operate and to get within the bounds and help our church
to be righteous and to do right. Help me as a pastor to stay within my bounds and in Jesus'
name we pray, amen.