Judge Not…

Judge Not

What exactly did Jesus mean, when He said: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37-38)?

Bill McCaughan, in the April, May, June, 2019 issue of Power For Today answers the question this way: “For me, this is one of the most disturbing statements Jesus ever made. Why? Because it says to me that if I do judge, I will be judged – by my own set of rules. If I do condemn, I will be condemned – by my own set of criteria. If I hold a grudge and fail to forgive – I won’t be forgiven, because I said – by my own actions – that I didn’t want forgiveness.” He is absolutely correct!

judge not

What criteria is a man judged by?

Every time we fail to give someone the benefit of the doubt; each time we hang onto all the hurtful little comments someone might’ve made – whether they intended them to be hurtful or not; every time we fail to let go of a wrong suffered – whether real or imagined, actual or only personally perceived in our own minds – we are giving God the exact standard by which we are telling Him we want to be judged. In other words, we are demanding of Him that on Judgment Day, He not give us any benefit of the doubt for anything. We are demanding that God hang onto and judge us for every hurtful little comment we may have ever made to anyone over the course of our life on earth – even if it was purely innocent and unintentional on our part! We are leaving God with no option whatsoever but to judge us just as harshly for every time we ever wronged anyone – or even if anyone ever perceived in their own hearts that we had somehow wronged them – even when we hadn’t! What a terribly scary thought to add to an already terrifying day! And yet, it is true (Matt. 6:12-15, 18:21-35; Lk. 6:37-38).

What is the answer then? As brother McCaughan concludes: “Love each other! Love covers a multitude of sins, of hurts, of perceived wrongs (1 Cor. 13 [See also 1 Ptr. 4:8]). It covers them up – pulls the tarp right over them so they can’t see the light of day; so they can’t remind us to be upset or resentful… If a Jewish zealot (Simon) could love a Roman tax collector (Matthew), I, too, can love that person who bruised my ego. I can because Jesus and His love can fill me.”

What measure do you want God to use on you? You tell Him every day by the measure you use on others (See Ro. 2:17-24). This is why we must learn to forgive the offender, let go of the hurt we’ve been holding onto, and just live a life of love like we are commanded and empowered by God to do (Eph. 4:31-5:2; Col. 3:8-15), letting Him take care of everything else.

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God Our Savior

God Our Savior

In Isaiah 21-25, God, through the prophet Isaiah, contrasts Himself with the various man made gods of which those in the Ancient Near East were so fond. In fact, the children of Israel had also put their hope and trust in these so-called gods. Time and again the prophet of God says the One true God of Israel is the Lord and there is no other savior.

wooden idol

They crumble, they burn, they rot… how again are these a savior?

The Lord could do physically what the idols of man could never do. Likewise, spiritually, He could do what they could not. He could blot out the sins of His people. And while some would bow their knee or swear to, and by, images of wood or stone, eventually ever knee would bow to the Lord and every tongue would confess His name.

The idols might have changed but the principle taught herein has not. Men today still worship and bow to images and gods (i.e. sports, money, pleasures, power, entertainment, recreation…) that are no gods. They put their trust in temporal things that cannot satisfy them, sanctify them, or save them. There is only on Savior and one Hope. What are you putting before the Lord? Obey Him and be faithful.

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Preacher or Elder? Please Consider!

Preacher or Elder? Please Consider!

I’ve never been great at beating around the bush, so please allow me to get straight to the point. If you are a preacher, elder, or church leader currently caught up in adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality, drunkenness, or pornography please step down until you get your own life under control.

elder preacher fornication

Elders and preachers get caught up in temptation too.

I am so very tired of meeting young people who placed their faith in a youth minister, camp director, preacher, elder, etc. only to discover years later that the person they held up as a “model Christian” is now a scandal in his local congregation. Yes, I agree that young people should not put men whose feet are made of clay on pedestals, but the reality is that most of them do. And many are walking away from the church because of this.

If this were just a one-time issue I would never have considered writing this. But it seems to be occurring more often with greater frequency. You open Facebook and see a picture of a youth minister with his arm around two young girls at a Christian camp. Fast-forward three years and now his marriage is in shambles because for the past six months he has been sleeping with a sixteen year old in the youth group. Not only is he facing a broken marriage, but he may also be facing criminal charges that would tarnish the name of the church in that local area. Or maybe it’s an elder many look up to in a congregation who gets addicted to pornography. Or maybe it’s a preacher who loves to hug little children every Sunday—only to discover years later he struggles with pedophilia.

Please, if you are struggling with these issues right now—or feel yourself on the brink of falling into one of these temptations—please have the courage to take some time off and get help. Please don’t tarnish the bride of Christ with yet another scandal.

We all shake our fingers at Catholic priests and the tremendous amount of damage they have done to young boys. But the reality is we have our own problems in the New Testament church. (I know some will chastise me for even pointing this out, because “we are not supposed to air out any dirty laundry” regarding the church. Friends, we’ve been polishing the outside of the cup too long. It’s time we take a good long look at the contents of what’s inside!)

Right now our local congregations do not handle confession well. If this is going to happen we need cooperation from elders and congregations. We must have a plan in place. Consider the plight of a man whose income is tied to preaching in the pulpit, but he needs help with pornography. His livelihood is at stake, making it highly unlikely that he will confess and seek treatment, unless there is a plan in place that will help him during his time off. Maybe they help him find temporary work with an agreement that he can come back or maybe it’s a paid sabbatical so that he can seek counseling.

If you are caught up in these sins I beg you to take a sabbatical, step down, or take an extended leave. Consider for a moment the beautiful impact you will have on your church family when you return and can say, “I had walked back on the broad way, but I took some time to heal and am now happily back on the narrow path.” That message will influence young people in a healthy way and will help strengthen their faith, rather than them hearing through the grapevine that their preacher got arrested in a prostitution sting.

It is way past time our church leaders and preachers teach Truth in the pulpit and demonstrate it in their daily lives. It is time we clean up the bride of Christ and get her ready to meet the groom. Paul wrote: “ For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). We must keep the church pure and that has to start with the leaders. If we are going to call ourselves servants of Christ then we must conduct ourselves like Christ.

Please prayerfully consider what I’m saying. If you need help, counseling, or resources I am happy to provide those confidentially. (In fact, there are hundreds of Christian men ready and willing to help). If you are caught up in one of these sins the best sermon you can preach is by stepping down, getting help, and drawing closer to Christ—showing true fruits of repentance. Please don’t wait. Young souls hang in the balance of your decision….

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Paul Committed to the Lord

Paul Committed to the Lord

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he knew the end was near. He looked back over his life and used two illustrations from the Grecian games to describe it. He mentioned fighting (wrestling or boxing) and racing. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (4:6). It is at times like this that a man reflects on how his life has been spent. It is a time for self-evaluation.

Committed Paul

The Apostle Paul was committed to God.

Look at his words in chapter one. He urged Timothy to never be ashamed of the gospel nor of Paul. “Share with me in the sufferings for the gospel” (1:8). Four verses later he mentions his suffering again. “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed…” Throughout much of his life he had been despised, mocked, blasphemed, beaten and imprisoned. The world looks at such men with contempt, yet Paul was not ashamed.

How could this be? Read the rest of this verse. “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Just what had he committed to the Lord? Take time to consider the following thoughts as if you knew your life was about to end and then reflect back on it. What have you committed to the safekeeping of God until the day of judgment?

  • He had committed to the Lord his choice to suffer shame at the hands of men for Him to recompense on the final day.
  • He had committed his soul to the Lord. That eternal spirit was about to depart from his body, and he had loved the Lord with all of his heart and soul. He believed the Lord knew this and would keep it until the end.
  • He had committed his body as a living sacrifice and it was offered on the altar of service. Now the time had come for his life to be sealed with his own blood. With absolute confidence he knew he would be vindicated someday.
  • He had committed the future into God’s hand and while there was much uncertainty about that future, he knew Who held the future. “I know whom I have believed…” He may not have known the “what,” but he knew the Who!
  • He had committed all that there was to Him who was able. On this earth there were times when Paul was bound and helpless because there were those who were able to do this to him. Yet Paul knew that their power was nothing compared to the power of the Almighty. There is no comparison to be made between the two. Those Roman soldiers thought they were able to control Paul’s future. He knew better.

How deep is your commitment to the Lord? How much of yourself or your life belongs to Him?

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An Appeal for a Good Conscience

An Appeal for a Good Conscience

Please explain 1 Peter 3:21’s statement about baptism not being a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a good conscience. “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21)

Conscience baptism

How are baptism and conscience related?

Some say this verse teaches a person has a good conscience BEFORE baptism, thus indicating that salvation precedes baptism.  This is not what the passage is saying, for several reasons.

A good conscience, while in most cases a good thing, is not necessarily in itself proof that one is saved and in a right relationship with God.  Saul of Tarsus said he lived in good conscience all his life (Acts 23:1), which would include the time when he persecuted the church.

Therefore, even if it could be proved from this verse that a good conscience comes before baptism (which it can’t), even so that would not necessarily prove that baptism is not necessary for salvation.

Another point to bring out about a good conscience is that the term could be describing a heart that is sincere, a person who is earnestly seeking to obey God.  A person earnestly and sincerely seeking to obey God, after reading in the Bible the commands to be baptized, would obey the command to be baptized rather than question it as so many do.

Above all else, remember this. The verse starts out by saying something that a 10 year old could understand. Baptism now saves you. That’s very clear. So when we try to figure out the rest of the verse, any conclusion we come to is wrong if it contradicts that very plain statement: Baptism now saves you.

Baptism now saves you. How? It’s not the water. Not as a removal of dirt from the body. The water might cleanse the dirt from your body, but the water won’t cleanse your soul from sin.

Only the blood of Christ does that. Jesus said that his blood was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28). Paul said that we have redemption and forgiveness of sins through his blood (Eph. 1:7). Is it any wonder that Ananias said to Saul that he would be washing away his sins if he was baptized? (Acts 22:16) In baptism one spiritually comes into contact with the blood of Christ that cleanses us from our sins. We are commanded to be baptized in water (Acts 10:48; John 3:5), but the water itself doesn’t spiritually cleanse us.

So how does baptism save us? We’ve already examined its connection to the blood of Christ. This verse gives us another way baptism saves us. Peter says that baptism is an appeal. Appeal in the Greek literally means a request, a craving. Baptism is an appeal, a request, a craving…for what?

A good conscience, a clear conscience, the kind of conscience you get when your sins are forgiven.

Baptism is an appeal, a request, a craving for forgiveness and the clear conscience forgiveness brings. The Bible teaches that God will always and immediately grant that forgiveness we crave to any penitent believer the moment he is baptized (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16)

Therefore, that good conscience that tells you that you are now saved and you are now forgiven comes only after baptism, because baptism is how we appeal to God for that forgiveness which brings about that good conscience?

Are you ready to appeal to God for a good conscience?

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