Judging And Criticizing Others

 

In the Gospel of Luke there are some marvelous passages from Jesus dealing with how we as Christians should judge others. In simple terms Jesus said that we are not to judge others! In other words we are not to be critical but show love and compassion for one another as we do for God which is the greatest of all the commandments as Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31:

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

Here Jesus is quoting scripture and is using Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 respectively. To judge someone means that you are analyzing or evaluating them looking for faults in them and Judging others is not for us to do but for God to do.

 

Jesus says in Luke 6:37 that we are not to judge or condemn others or we will be judged and condemned. We must also forgive others so that we will be forgiven by God.

 

“Do not judge and you will not be judged Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

 

In the next verse Luke states in verse 6:38 that if we do forgive others – As God forgives us when we repent of our sins – forgiveness will be placed in our laps or in our lives until it overflows.

 

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

When we judge someone we are finding faults in them. As flesh and blood it is easy for us to not see the faults or shortcomings in ourselves but we can see the same faults and shortcomings that we have in others.

 

Elsewhere in the Gospel of Luke he tells us how to handle this:

 

Luke 6:41-42 – NIV

 

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

 

Here Jesus is simply saying that you must worry and deal with the sins in your life and not in others. Only then can you help others if you see sin or fault in them. As Jesus said to the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 – NIV

 

Here Jesus uses the plank and speck analogy to illustrate his point much like he used parables as he was accustomed to giving. This is rather humorous but it does get the point across. How can you see clearly a little imperfection – a little speck of sawdust – in someone’s eye when you have a giant one obstructing your view – the entire log plank – stuck in yours? To see the speck in the others eye you have to remove the plank form yours so that you can see clearly.

 

On the other hand this does not mean that you are not to ignore the speck of sin in others. If you so see a speck of sin in others help them to remove it and you will be saving them from death as James tells us:

 

Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 – NIV

 

Then heaven will rejoice because as we see later in the Gospel of Luke that:

 

Luke 15:7 – NLT

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

 

So Jesus is telling us that if we are mature spiritually we can detect and help cleanse sin in ourselves and in others and don’t be a hypocrite. As we are merely flesh and blood we can and do fail from time to time in our walk with God but that does not make us – or them – a hypocrite. A hypocrite in this context is someone who seeks to gain attention or admiration from others by putting on a “I am better than you” attitude.

 

Paul also tells us in his epistle to the Corinthians that we are to judge nothing not even ourselves for the Lord is the judge:

 

1 Corinthians 4:5 – NIV

 

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

 

We must therefore take on the Law of the Prophets and treat others as we would want them to treat us. We do not want to be judged so don’t judge others. If we have sin in our lives we would also want a fellow Christian who is mature to point it out in our lives and help us to defeat it and be dead to sin.

 

Matthew 7:12 – NIV

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

 

 

A Bakers Dozen Odd Bible Facts

 

1. An early edition of the Bible printed at Cambridge, England in 1653 contained the following printer’s error in 1 Corinthians 6:9:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God?”

 

2. Children have angels watching over them – Matthew 18:10.

 

3. Engaged men did not have to go into military service because they “might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her” – Deuteronomy 20:7

 

4. In 1631 an English Bible printer mistakenly printed Exodus 20:14 as “Thou shalt commit adultery”. The printer was fined for the mistake and the edition became known as the “The Wicked Bible”.

 

5. Jehu the son of Nimshi was the bibles first reckless driver and was said to be “Driving like a madman.” In 2 Kings 9:20.

 

6. Jonah’s “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned” is the shortest sermon at five words in the original Hebrew in the Bible – Jonah 3:4

 

7. Next to Methuselah the son of Enoch who lived to be 969 (Genesis 5:27) was Jared who lived to be 962 (Genesis 5:20)

 

8. Psalm 151 and Psalm 152 are only found in the Septuagint which is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible.

 

9. The book of Ester is the only book that does not mention God in any way.

 

10. The longest name in the Bible appears in Isaiah 8:1 and is Maher-shalal-hash-baz and it means “Swift to plunder and quick to carry away”.

 

11. The longest verse in the bible is Esther 8:9

 

12. The shortest prayer in the New Testament is when peter said “Lord save me!” in Matthew 14:30.

 

13. The shortest verse in the bible is John 11:35

 

 

The Synagogue Of Satan

 

The synagogue of Satan appears in the Bible only in the New Testament book of Revelation and in John’s Revelation it only appears twice. The first appearance is in verse 2:9 referencing the church of Smyrna and the next and final reference appears in verse 3:9 referencing the church of Philadelphia. If you read the book of Revelation in particular the first few chapters dealing with the seven churches you will notice that in the verses referencing the synagogue of Satan Jesus does not have any rebukes or reprimands for the church at Smyrna or the church at Philadelphia.

 

Revelation 2:9 – NIV

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

 

Here the church body of believers at Smyrna was suffering afflictions primarily because of Jewish persecution because they opposed Christians or followers of the way.  The church was also poor or in poverty despite the fact that Smyrna was a wealthy city most likely due to the Jewish leader sanctions and the Jews prejudice against them. The Jews of Smyrna were slanderous when they said that they were Jews or Gods chosen people the descendants of Abraham:

 

Deuteronomy 7:6 – NIV

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

 

But Jesus called them nothing more than liars because as Paul wrote in Galatians you must belong to Jesus Christ to be a true heir of Abraham:

 

Galatians 3:29 – NIV

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

Because the Jews here rejected Jesus Christ and still have not recognized him as the Messiah they were and are in reality a synagogue of Satan according to Jesus because they were serving Satan’s purposes and not Gods in their Synagogues. Messiah is a Hebrew word that literally means “The Anointed (One)”. In the Greek New Testament the word is Khristos which means “The Anointed” where we get the word Christ from. The next reference to the synagogue of Satan in Revelation deals with them:

 

Revelation 3:9 – NIV

I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

 

The early Christians of Philadelphia apparently had more conflicts with the Jews than the Christians in Smyrna as Jesus rebukes the Jews in this verse. Here again Jesus says that they are not Jews but are liars. Jesus then states that he will make the Jews fall down at the true believers feet and see that Jesus loves them.

 

Jews are descended from Abraham and are Jews by birth however they are not true Jews or Gods chosen people for one simple reason: They do not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah prophesized about in the Old Testament.

 

Daniel 7:13-14 – NIV

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

 

Because of their rejection of him Jesus says that they belong to Satan and not God by their rejection. Furthermore the Jews did not allow the true believers into their synagogue but Jesus says that he will make them fall down at the feet of his faithful ones. Then they will acknowledge or see that they are the ones Jesus Christ truly loves. Jesus himself stated that if you are not with him you are against him:

 

Luke 11:23 – NKJ

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

 

John the Baptist who was Gods appointed messenger had but one mission in life as foretold by the angel Gabriel and that was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah as we read in Matthew 3, Mark 1 and Luke 3. At first John did not know that his relative Jesus as their mothers were cousins was the messiah until God revealed it to him:

 

John 1:29-34 – NLT

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

 

Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.

 

Make no mistake about it Jesus Christ is the Messiah or the chosen one spoken about by the psalmist in Psalm 2 and prophesized by Isaiah and Daniel. Jesus himself told his disciples and the disciples of John the Baptist he was the Messiah:

 

Matthew 11:1-6 – NLT

When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region. John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,or should we keep looking for someone else?”

 

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen — the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’

 

Your final reward in heaven can only be attained if you accept Jesus Christ into your life and recognize him as the Messiah, the anointed one and the chosen one. If you are not for him you are against him and you cannot serve two masters. The choice is yours today and your decision will last for eternity if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior.

 

 

The Parables Of Jesus

 

A parable is basically a short brief story given to illustrate a moral lesson and Jesus used them quite often. As a result nearly a third of the Gospels – By Matthew, Mark, and Luke – contain parables.

 

When the disciples of Jesus asked him why he spoke to the people in parables he replied in Matthew 13:10-17 that they knew the secrets of heaven but the people did not so in effect he was speaking of the secrets of heaven in easy to understand terms that the people could understand by providing common examples. He also told them that it was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah:

 

Isaiah 6:9-10 – NIV

He said, “Go and tell this people: ” ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

 

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

 

The parables of Jesus appear in all of the New Testament Gospels with the exception of the Gospel of John. Throughout the Gospels parables are sprinkled in here and there but many are not referred to as Parables such as Mark 13:32-34. Provided below are the NIV references to the Parables of Jesus for your reference:

 

Matthew 13:1-23 The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:24-30 The Parable of the Weeds

Matthew 13:31-35 The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:44-46 The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Matthew 13:47-52 The Parable of the Net

Matthew 18:10-14 The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:21-35 The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 20:1-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 21:28-32 The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:33-46 The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Matthew 25:1-13 The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Talents

 

Mark 4:1-20 The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:26-29 The Parable of the Growing Seed

Mark 4:30-34 The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 12:1-12 The Parable of the Tenants

 

Luke 8:1-15 The Parable of the Sower

Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 12:13-21 The Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 13:18-21 The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Luke 14:15-24 The Parable of the Great Banquet

Luke 15:1-7 The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:8-10 The Parable of the Lost Coin

Luke 15:11-32 The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 16:1-15 The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke 18:1-8 The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18:9-14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 19:11-27 The Parable of the Ten Minas

Luke 20:9-19 The Parable of the Tenants

 

 

The Armor Of God

 

In Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians at Ephesus he tells them and Christians everywhere that we need to be “Strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” and to do so we need to “Put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”

 

As Christians we need the FULL amour of God more so than nonbelievers because Satan the fallen angel Lucifer hates us more than others and he and his horde of fallen angels will temp us into sin daily. We need the armor of God so that we can stand against the great deceiver or the accuser Satan the Devil:

 

Ephesians 6:10-13 – NIV

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

 

Paul tells us that the full armor of God consists of the following in verses 14-17:

 

The belt of truth - Verse 6:14

The breastplate of righteousness - Verse 6:14

Your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace - Verse 6:15

The shield of faith - Verse 6:16

The helmet of salvation - Verse 6:17

The sword of the Spirit - Verse 6:17

 

Ephesians 6:14-17 – NIV

 

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

When we as Christians put on the full armor of God we are dressed or armed with the tools necessary to abstain from sin and resist evil if we know how to use the tools God provides for us. But since we are flesh and blood we fail over and over and when this happens we need to ask for our sins to be forgiven and try and sin no more:

 

Romans 3:23-24 – NIV

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 

God loves us and wants us to remain faithful and resist sin and everything evil. God also knows that we human and that is why he sent Jesus Christ down to earth fully human to die on the cross for us:

 

Romans 5:8 – NIV

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

With your God given tools you can you can defend yourself from the forces of evil because we are sealed by God and Redeemed by Jesus Christ.