Judgmentalism

[0:00] I want to begin by just reminding you of some of the questions that have come in, and a few of them we've already addressed. And the reason I want to share these with you now is so that you can be kind of meditating on these things and may be prepared to offer some input also when we do get to them, and that'll probably be within the next couple of weeks, but they are very insightful, provocative questions, and they deserve some thoughtful answers.

[0:30] So I want to share the questions with you so you can be thinking about it as well and be able to offer your two cents. Here's a pertinent question. How does a Christian accept illegal immigrants who feel the immigrants are receiving rights and privileges that previous generations have worked and sacrificed to achieve?

[0:55] How can we have any respect or confidence for a government that we feel has betrayed the scriptures that tell us to follow our elected leaders?

[1:08] But in this case, so many have turned their backs on Christianity. When does civil disobedience begin implementation? If we sit back and do nothing, they will walk all over us.

[1:24] That's a long question. Interesting. Well, it's a long question, but it's very involved, and it deserves some thoughtful input. So I want you to be thinking about that. Here's another. It says, on the back side of this card, it says, I have a cousin that has always hated herself for her homosexual desires, even to the point of considering suicide.

[1:46] Her brother defends her lifestyle, contending that God cannot condemn her for this lifestyle since she was born that way. What would you say to that?

[1:57] So we will be looking at that also. Here's a question that says, God created everything, being all-knowing, including Satan.

[2:09] He was aware of how wicked and evil Satan would become. Why create him? Was it so that the angels would truly have free will, and eventually humans would truly have free will also?

[2:26] Was it to sort out the true love? Was it to sort out who truly loves God and who doesn't? And why would God want to grieve himself seeing sin and wickedness?

[2:39] Do you think that people who take their own lives go to heaven or hell, or do they go to their own place like Judas? Well, food for thought.

[2:54] Question, why should I forgive someone that betrayed me? Are they worthy? And Mary's Magnificat, it's found in Luke's Gospel.

[3:12] How could a woman in those times compose such a praise of God? Women were not educated then, but it seems as though she was. Question, did Moses have a speaking problem, or was he just afraid?

[3:27] And how does God counter Satan's moves on humanity? That too. God is not a God of incest, was Adam and Eve, the beginning of the Jewish race, Matthew 1 through 17.

[3:44] People outside the garden, Genesis 1, 26. Adam and Eve, Genesis 2, 7, and throughout the rest of the Bible. How do we pray for those who have crossed us and as a result, in essence, destroyed a career, impacting one's life?

[4:04] So, gentlemen, your work is cut out for you. And we'll be looking at those as best we can. So, let's take this question, if we may.

[4:19] And it has to do with judging. So, let's go first to Matthew chapter 7. And the question, the issue has to do with a judgmental spirit, or on what basis do we have the right to judge anybody?

[4:39] And what does that involve? So, we will look at several different references that will shed some light on it. Probably one that is most often used to justify someone's bad behavior, if anyone is critical of them.

[4:58] For exercising bad behavior, they may be met with the response, well, you shouldn't be judging.

[5:09] You're not supposed to judge people. So, the implication is, you are supposed to simply overlook bad behavior, or incorrect behavior, or damaging behavior.

[5:25] Because to offer any kind of a rebuke is called judgmental. And none of us have the right to judge others. After all, that's what we read in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 7, coming from our Lord Himself.

[5:42] It says, do not judge, lest you be judged yourselves. For in the way you judge, you will be judged. And by your standard of measure, it shall be measured to you.

[5:55] And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your own eye?

[6:11] You hypocrite. Please take the log out of your own eye. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

[6:24] So, the issue of judging comes to the fore, and there are those who say that Jesus said we're not supposed to judge anybody, blah, blah, blah.

[6:35] So, let's counter that with something else he said in John, chapter 7. John's Gospel, chapter 7. And bear in mind, guys, one of the basic principles of hermeneutics, which is just a fancy name for the art and science of interpreting scripture, hermeneutics.

[6:59] And a good principle to always keep in mind is this. The Bible very seldom speaks its whole mind on any given portion of scripture.

[7:13] What this means, of course, is scripture has to be compared with scripture. Often, the Bible says something about a particular issue in one part, and if you limit yourself to that part, you don't get the full story.

[7:32] And what we're talking about is the need to get the full story. The thing that is really under condemnation here is judging without knowing or understanding the facts that are involved.

[7:50] That's called rush to judgment. And you've seen, as well as I have, some of the old westerns of yesteryear where somebody was about to be hanged for a crime that they did not commit.

[8:05] But because there was an angry posse and people and townspeople involved, they were convinced they had the right guy. And they were ready to take him out and string him up.

[8:15] And here to his rescue comes the local marshal, who won't allow them to do that. But he takes the man out of their company and puts him in jail and guards him for the day that he's coming to trial.

[8:28] And lo and behold, when they hold the trial, they discover the man really didn't do it. He was innocent. But had that crowd had their way, they would have hung him, and he'd be dead and gone.

[8:41] So the idea, of course, is don't rush to judgment. And guys, let's face it. When it comes to judgmentalism, which simply means criticizing or finding fault with things that people say and do, very often it is based on incomplete knowledge.

[9:03] And really, this is the whole basis for law and for a jurisprudence system, whereby we talk about everybody is entitled to their day in court.

[9:16] And when a person is on trial for whatever the offense, there is always a prosecution that makes the accusation or the charge.

[9:27] And then there needs to be a defense who is on the other side. And the idea, of course, the objective, which, by the way, is very seldom ever achieved, but the objective is to get all the truth out that is available.

[9:45] And very often, we all know of cases where people have been convicted or acquitted based on inadequate information.

[9:56] And that's why it is so very important to get all of the information that is available on the given issue. Not only in a courtroom, but in your family, and in your community, and in your neighborhood.

[10:09] Sometimes we can be very critical of a person over something that they do, some habit that they have, or some action they engage in, and we have no clue as to what is actually behind it.

[10:22] What the motivation is. Why are they the way they are? And if we understood, very frequently, we would be willing to cut that person some slack.

[10:34] But because we don't know the circumstances, we're judgmental, and we jump in with both feet, and we're eager to condemn and criticize when we really don't know all that we're talking about.

[10:47] Now, this doesn't mean that you just look the other way and ignore all kinds of bad behavior because you don't know all the facts. But at the same time, well, let's look at this passage here. In John's Gospel, chapter 7, and let me see, where am I here?

[11:04] Verse 24. John's Gospel, chapter 7. Mark, it would help if you got on the right page. Verse 24.

[11:18] Jesus said, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. How can you do that?

[11:31] You've got to have facts, guys. You've got to have facts. You've got to have information. Jesus said, Don't judge according to appearance. And how many times, guys, how many times have we discovered that things are not always as they appear?

[11:50] We just give something a quick glance. We draw a conclusion based on what we've seen or heard, and we're ready to string them up.

[12:00] And we just don't know all the facts. And if you did, many times it would completely alter your opinion, and you'd back off. But we tend to be so critical.

[12:13] And you know why we're that way? Because down deep in our heart, we think everybody ought to be like I am. And when they're not, boy, they need to give me an account.

[12:25] They need to explain why they're this, then why they're that, and why they're not more like me. And we can unconsciously set ourselves up as the paragon of virtue.

[12:37] And guys, let's face it. We all have our flaws. And some of us are more deeply flawed than others.

[12:48] And you know something? There's also a reason for those flaws. And if you knew, if you knew the person that you are critical of, if you knew their background, their sorrows, their experiences, their negatives, if you knew them, your attitude toward them would be completely changed.

[13:09] It doesn't mean you would okay it or approve it, but it does mean we'd be a lot more willing to cut somebody some slack and not be as critical or as judgmental as we might be otherwise.

[13:22] Bob? A good example for me was I served for about 10 years, volunteered for a food pantry. I was told by different people, do not judge the people coming in that need help.

[13:36] And I thought I was above that, but there was one lady that came in that took three times more clothing than anybody else and she drove a nice car and I didn't think it was right for her to do that.

[13:52] And then I asked questions. She had her own care place and she was taking that clothes and giving it to someone else. But I had judged her wrong and I felt I had to, once I learned that I was that fallible, I quit judging.

[14:11] People came in. Yeah, yeah. I felt, and my life was better after that. Yeah, well there's a perfect example. Things are not always as they seem.

[14:22] But very often, we are so quick to look at a situation and with our deep insight and expert opinion, we size it up and we reach a conclusion, therefore they are to be damned.

[14:38] It shouldn't be this, it shouldn't be that, and they ought to do this, and they ought to do that. And if you had any idea where that person's coming from, what they've been exposed to, what they've been subjected to, their hurts, you'd feel entirely different about it.

[14:54] So let's be slow to judgment. Dan? How do we deal with abortion on that particular issue? Well, how do you deal with abortion on that issue?

[15:07] Well, there's a, judgment. Yeah, there's a perfect example, and it's a, it's a front burner item too, because it's a very, you know, a very hot item in our culture today.

[15:18] Okay. And once again, there is a situation where, where those who oppose abortion, and I've got something else to say about that if I remember.

[15:32] Those who oppose abortion are very quick to condemn those who support it. And, it would be very, very easy if it were a black and white issue and guys, sometimes it is.

[15:53] Sometimes it is a black and white issue. Sometimes it is a right and wrong issue. But very often, it is not. And that is because we are not privy to circumstances and attitudes and actions that have gone in to that person who has undergone an abortion and, or who is seeking an abortion because there are so many factors that come into play that impact and influence someone's decision to do something like that.

[16:30] For those who see everything as black and white and cut and dry, it's very simple. And they're just ready to throw a blanket over all of it. And guys, you just can't do that.

[16:42] And the reason you can't is because people are people and we are all flawed. And I am not in any way, shape, or form justifying abortion.

[16:53] Matter of fact, and most of you probably know this story, but my name, my name is not Wiseman.

[17:06] It's Stevens. Wayne Stevens is my birth father. And my adopted father was Otto Wiseman. And I didn't even know I was adopted until I was about 15 years old and a couple of my intoxicated uncles shared the information with me that my birth father, my adopted father didn't.

[17:35] but you know, my adopted father, Otto, is with the Lord now, but he was a man that never once made me feel like he wasn't my dad.

[17:52] He was probably was a better dad to me than what my birth dad would have been. I don't know. But I shall forever be indebted to him and it just, well, I'm grateful that back in 1935 when I was born, yeah, abortions were available.

[18:16] You know what they usually did back then? When a girl became pregnant, you know, and she wasn't married, they usually sent her off to an aunt in a distant city to live with while the baby was born, blah, blah, blah, and then get the baby up for adoption, and then she comes home, this kind of thing.

[18:35] That often goes on. And I don't want to get too far afield here, but while I'm talking about this, I just want to give you something to think about. This abortion is a really hot-button item and it has been for a long time.

[18:50] And the real culprit here is not abortion. That's the result of the culprit.

[19:03] Get that? Understand that, guys, a big difference. Abortion is not the culprit. It is the result of the culprit. What's the culprit?

[19:14] The culprit is the demand for sexual involvement without proper protection and making the consequences, consequences if it happens to be a baby, making the consequences suffer as a result rather than the one who engaged in the act.

[19:39] And you know something? In all of this abortion thing on both sides, I've never heard anybody say that. Think about that.

[19:53] This is not an issue. This is not discussed on the pro and anti-abortion thing. Nobody talks about this. How many women become pregnant because they are raped?

[20:12] Well, I'm sure quite a few if you're talking about a total number, but in comparison to women who have abortions, not because they were raped, but because they engaged in sex with their own consent.

[20:29] Far greater number. Far greater number. And what is it? This is raging hormones. That's what it is. And the guy who says, I will love you forever if you, blah, blah, blah.

[20:41] And she succumbs to it, you know, and she falls for it. And the next thing you know, she's pregnant. Where's the real culprit? Well, the real culprit is not abortion.

[20:51] The real culprit is her unwillingness and his unwillingness to forestall that until the circumstances are right and a man and a woman get married and they have a baby and so on.

[21:02] So, what, Joe? You can just take that one step further. The problem is there are two different sets of rules. There's Christ's rules, God's rules, and they're not being followed, and then you have the world's rules.

[21:16] In other words, sex is all right out of marriage on one side and on the other side it's not. So you go back to God's rules versus the rules. I appreciate that, Joe, and you've got to remember this, that those who do not know Christ are not subject to the standards of Christ, neither can they, they don't know them and they can't do them and they can't fulfill them.

[21:42] Exactly. And therein lies the real difference. It's, we're talking about, we're talking about innate human weakness as a result of the fall.

[21:54] And people engage in illicit sexual relations because, like I said, it's a hormone thing, it's a boy meets girl thing, and the passion is deep and all the rest, and they find themselves in an irresistible situation, and lo and behold, what comes out of it is a pregnancy.

[22:14] pregnancy. And the two who engage in that outside of marriage are clearly outside of the will of God.

[22:24] But do you think that concerns them? No. Not in the least. No. Because in our fallenness, guys, in our fallenness, we tend to submit far more easily to the demands of the body than we do the demands of God.

[22:48] And that's our problem. That is the human problem. We are fallen creatures. Jesus Christ came into this world to address that need and to come to us in our fallenness, to forgive us, to cleanse us, and so on.

[23:07] Everything that goes with it. God, but you cannot expect unregenerate people to have the standards of Christian people. They're not going to have them.

[23:18] Guys, they can't have them. They are completely above them and beyond them. They could not live the Christian life if they wanted to. Because if you do not have the Spirit of God dwelling within you, you don't even have the potential to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

[23:36] And even if you have the Spirit of God living within you, you've still got the old flesh and the nature to contend with, so it's still not a slam dunk. You think Christians can't screw up?

[23:49] You think Christians can't really fumble at all? You think Christians can't get pregnant out of wedlock? Of course we can. Because we've got that old nature too.

[24:00] So all I'm saying is, this is a real mixed bag, but the real culprit, the real culprit, is not the abortion, it's the mindset that sets the boy and the girl, the man and the woman up for that relationship that results in the pregnancy.

[24:18] And the tragedy is, the one who is totally innocent suffers the consequences. That's a tragedy. And I've got a couple of theories about this, and I can't prove it, and I don't know that much about it, but let me run this by you.

[24:35] I do know this, and I know this because this is what recent science has been able to establish, I think, incontrovertibly, and that is, when the male sperm fertilizes the female egg, everything, and I mean everything, is there in place for the production of a human being.

[25:01] And there's just two things that are needed. Just two things that are needed once that connection takes place. And the first is nurture, that is a food supply that is provided, and time.

[25:22] And all that needs is nurture and time, about nine months, and you've got another human being. So what, in essence, is the reality is, once that egg is fertilized, everything that that person is going to be in their DNA is right there.

[25:45] And all it needs is the time for it to develop and the nurture that it is dependent upon the food source. and there is the product of a human being.

[25:57] And I can't prove this, and I don't know this for sure, but just call it a wise but suspicion or a hunch. And I wouldn't take it to the bank, and I wouldn't recommend that anybody do.

[26:10] But I just, once again, this is something I can't explain, other than part of my psyche, my gut, call it.

[26:20] But therein, that fertilized egg, is the essence of that human being. And they have a one-of-a- kind DNA.

[26:37] It will not be matched by anybody else's DNA. And your DNA is the formula for making you deoxyribonucleic acid is the formula for making you and nobody else, just you.

[26:56] That's how individual and specific it is. So there is that individual that has never come to term, that has never developed, that has never been born, that is destroyed in the womb or destroyed through abortion or however.

[27:15] But is that the end of that person? I am not sure. Not at all. We tend to think that it's completely destroyed.

[27:29] You know what the abortionist does when he extracts the baby from the mother? Usually in pieces, depending on the kind of abortion it is.

[27:39] the remains are incinerated. Yes. And that's it. Done away with. What you end up with is a little pile of ashes. As far as we're concerned.

[27:53] But God still has that DNA on file. On his file. You won't find it on any doctor's file.

[28:04] But God has it and God knows it. And I'm not saying this is the case because I don't know. But I'll tell you this. I am saying if this were the case, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

[28:18] If God doesn't see to it that that individual human being will not have the life that was given it extended on beyond that.

[28:30] Because guys, we know this, or at least we ought to know this, that when your physical remains are done away with, whether they are burned in a crematorium or buried at sea for fish food or whatever, that's not you.

[28:52] Get that through your mind. That's not you. That was the physical apparatus that God gave you while you were alive on this earth. earth. But the real you exited that at the point of death.

[29:08] And in the case of a believer absent from the body, present with the Lord. So that person, that person that was a result of the male sperm fertilizing the egg, that person has a human spirit.

[29:28] spirit. At the same time, it has all of the composition necessary to be formed into a fully developed embryo human baby at nine months of age.

[29:41] And that spirit is immaterial. And I wish I knew more about it, but all I know is I've got one and so do you. And we are immaterial and we are material.

[29:57] But we become so enamored and so involved with the material that we ignore the fact that we even have an immaterial person.

[30:10] And it is in that spirit, guys, in that human spirit, that the real you is. Jesus said, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, I think it was, what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that dwells in him?

[30:43] What's that mean? It means that immaterial part of your being has a knowledge that we just cannot comprehend.

[30:54] You see, we tend to place so much emphasis on our physical brain, which is wonderfully important. But, guys, the Bible never uses the word brain.

[31:09] One time. Never one time. Physical brain. It uses the word spirit time and time again.

[31:20] Because the spirit is that which animates your body. I've given you this before and I say it again.

[31:34] Maybe I get a little bit more light on it each time. I don't know. but there is a connection in our body between our immaterial and our material.

[31:48] Now, we know, let me draw a distinction between, well, I haven't developed that yet, even in my own mind.

[32:07] soul and spirit of body. Remember, remember when Jesus was on the cross, one of the seven last things that he said was, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.

[32:24] spirit. And his body physically just slumped and died. The body died. The spirit did not die.

[32:36] The spirit went to God. And when God created Adam, we're told that he fashioned him from the dust of the ground, and I pointed this out to you before, guys, it is not a coincidence.

[32:51] coincidence, it is not a coincidence that all of the chemical properties that are in your physical body are in the soil, which is a good indication that that was our source, that was our original source.

[33:08] We came from this earth. And he breathed into, he fashioned that physical body, body, and then the text says that he breathed into Adam's nostrils.

[33:23] Now think of this, guys. What did he breathe with? And this, too, is far field, but I just, think about this.

[33:36] I am of the opinion, and I can't prove it, and here we go with our rabbit trails, but one thing leads to another. I am of the opinion that when Jesus, that when God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul, and he fashioned him from the dust of the ground, I really think what he used as a model to make Adam was himself.

[34:11] And what did himself consist of? If I'm correct in this, it was a pre-incarnate. We're talking about before Bethlehem, way before Bethlehem.

[34:25] In a pre-incarnate appearance, it was Jesus, or the Son of God, in bodily form, and he used his own body, which consists of two arms and two legs.

[34:45] And by the way, why do you think you have two arms and two legs? And one head, and not three heads? What was the pattern? How did God decide to make human beings look like what they do?

[34:58] And maybe this is too simplistic, but I think this is what he was in this pre-incarnate experience, and he breathed, he breathed, the text says it's very clear in the Hebrew too, the text says that he breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life.

[35:25] And Adam became a living soul. Up until that time, he was a lifeless body.

[35:40] But when the pre-incarnate Christ breathed into his nostrils, he literally, I don't know how else to put this, guys.

[35:53] He literally blew life-giving immateriality into Adam. And for lack of a better term, I guess this is the way it comes across to me, he was jump-started.

[36:11] Just like you put your cables on the battery and jump that car so it'll start. That's what God did. And I base this on other pre-incarnate experiences.

[36:24] Remember in Genesis later, chapters I think 17, 18, 19, something like that. When the pre-incarnate God in the person of Jesus Christ accompanied two angels.

[36:42] Remember those guys? They aren't even named. But there were three of them. And Abraham was sitting outside his tent enjoying the weather.

[36:54] And lo and behold, here come three men walking toward him. Now the text says that they were three men. They looked like men. They walked like men. They talked like men. They even ate like men. But two of them were angels.

[37:11] And one of them was deity. One of them was the one that said, I'll return this time next year and Sarah will have her baby.

[37:21] And he was the one that made the prophecy about Sarah, the conceiving and all the rest of it. And the two angels, where were they? They were on their way to Sodom.

[37:32] And they were going to destroy the city. And they did. And the other used terminology that only deity could use.

[37:49] Angels do not have the ability to create anything. They are created beings. The only creator is God. And he is the one who was creating in this instance.

[38:01] So he is appearing as one of us. I don't know exactly what he looked like. Nobody got any pictures. But I'm sure he had one head and two arms and two legs.

[38:13] And he looked just like a man. And he was wearing clothing. Just like the angels were. And they all looked like just ordinary strangers from out of town. Abraham didn't know who they were. But they were just three men.

[38:23] Three strangers. They weren't men at all. Two of them were angels. And one of them was the pre-incarnate Christ. And by the way, he later will appear to Joshua in the same form.

[38:40] And well, that's another study. You know how we get off on these? You don't get off. I get off. On these rabbit trails. They call them rabbit trails.

[38:50] It's when a preacher starts losing his mind. He loses his train of thought. And he just goes from one issue to another. And I'll tell you why I do that. I can't help it.

[39:04] And the reason I can't help it is because, hey guys, these things are all connected. And don't you ever forget it.

[39:16] Listen, everything in this book is connected to everything in this book. And man, when you put it together, you've got something.

[39:33] You've got something that is nowhere else to be found on the globe in this precious book. And this is why we're here. We're not here just to enjoy the fellowship, although we do, and the food, although we do.

[39:50] There is something additional that draws us. There's something additional that makes me want to teach this. Because I get so excited about it, and I just feel like if these guys know this too, they'll get excited like I am.

[40:06] And you know what? The best thing you can do to serve and love the Lord is to focus upon the Word so that you get a deeper appreciation for Him and what He's provided.

[40:25] And it causes that to be our primary motivation. We love Him and we serve Him, not because we have to, not because we're afraid of consequences if we don't, but because we want to express our appreciation for His creation, His provision, and everything else.

[40:45] And, boy, what? Yeah. Yeah, every time we open this book, you learn more. Well, of course. I mean, every time.

[40:56] Yeah. Yeah. And it's all about connecting dots, guys. The Bible is put together the way it is so that you don't get everything that you need to know on a given subject in one place.

[41:10] Because you know what would happen if you did? That's all you'd read. That's all you'd read. But the Bible is put together in such a way that there's no way that you're going to understand the New Testament.

[41:25] No way if you ignore the Old Testament. And it is a tragedy. It is a tragedy that there are even some preachers that say, Oh, the Old Testament is so passe, you don't need that.

[41:39] We're living in the New Testament age. Nonsense. It's the whole thing is inspired of God. And no part of this book is more the Word of God than some other part.

[41:53] It's all equally inspired of God. And we have our favorite portions. And granted, I'd be the first to admit it.

[42:03] If I go to bed at night reading Leviticus, I'll not get through the book. I'll doze off because Leviticus on the surface is pretty boring. But you know something?

[42:14] If you take the time and really get into Leviticus, it will blow your mind. It is incredible what is in that book.

[42:25] And the same is true with all of this. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. If it has the Spirit of God in it, wow! That means there's no bottom in it.

[42:37] There's just no bottom. You don't get to the depths of it. It's deeper than that. And it's just, thy words were found, the psalmist said, and I did eat them.

[42:52] He didn't mean he tore the pages out and started chewing on them. He meant he devoured them with his Spirit and with his intellect. And they were satisfying unto me.

[43:05] They were as sweet as honey and the honeycomb. They're just nothing like this word. And if we really had a handle on that and understood it, we'd spend a lot more time in it than what we do.

[43:21] But like I've often said, one of the tragedies today is more Bibles are unopened on people's coffee tables than they are anyplace else.

[43:31] And that's so sad. Well, the food isn't here. Okay, let's look at John. This is where we were before eight rabbit trails ago.

[43:43] So, in John chapter 7 and verse 24, Jesus said, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

[44:04] And the only way that righteous or responsible judgment, and by the way, judgment is critiquing. It is criticizing. Have you ever heard of constructive criticism?

[44:17] That can be one of the most valuable things that could ever come your way. Because we are all subpar to what we ought to be and could be.

[44:30] And we're all in a process of growing and maturing and developing. And sometimes, when somebody cares enough about us to tell us the truth, by way of loving, constructive criticism, it can mean all the world to you, and it can be life-changing.

[44:55] But it has to be constructive criticism. The other kind is destructive criticism, where you just tear somebody down. And you know, sad to say, there are people, and there's probably some right here in this room, who grew up in a household where you were continually put down, continually criticized, continually fault-finding, continually blamed.

[45:23] And this goes on a lot, and it's so sad. Even sometimes in what are described as Christian families, this goes on. It's constant criticism.

[45:35] And people who grow up under that develop all kinds of emotional, psychological problems later on, because they never felt accepted, they never felt believed, they never felt wanted, they never felt loved.

[45:47] They always felt like they were in the way, that they were this, that they were that. And very often, the one who is offering that criticism was themselves criticized like that.

[46:00] And they're just passing it on. And it's a chain that needs to be broken. And when Jesus Christ comes into a family like that, He brings new capabilities and new standards and new light and new everything that can break that cycle.

[46:18] And we all know that there are Christian families where that happened, where the mother or the father came to faith in Christ, and it completely changed the dynamics of that situation.

[46:31] And that's what happens when Jesus comes in. So all of these things are all tied together. And Jesus says, Judge not according to appearance, because things often are not the way they look, but judge with righteous judgment.

[46:46] Righteous judgment has an accurate basis for constructive criticism. And it can be one of the most valuable things that would ever come your way if somebody cares enough about you to tell you the truth about something that you're doing or not doing or whatever.

[47:02] But it needs to be done with great care, because we are not called upon to be someone else's Holy Spirit. We are called upon to love one another as we are, flaws and faults and all, and after all, none of us has arrived.

[47:21] Any comments or questions about any part of this? Joe? What? The Bible is just like the human life you were explaining.

[47:32] You can't understand, if you pick up Matthew, you really can't understand what that's saying in there unless you know the Old Testament, unless you've read the before. You won't understand that.

[47:44] Just like you can't understand a person you meet when they're 45, you don't know what their life was beginning. So it's an analogy. The Bible is the same way as a person. Amen. Thank you.

[47:55] Thank you. Anybody else with a comment or question? I get carried away, and I don't give you guys time enough for questions, but I want you to have that opportunity. Any thoughts or comments, questions?

[48:05] Anybody? Yeah. It seems like in Matthew 7, you've heard that phrase, when you see as God sees, then you'll do as God does. It seems like Jesus is trying to get the twofold thing going on here.

[48:18] One, I don't need you to fault-finding that it's all right to righteously judge, but it almost seems like he's trying to weave in that we need to right-size our perspective before God.

[48:32] And you've been talking about it all morning that we're broken. And you understand that that person's got this other set of moccasins, and they're broken. And you have more grace for them.

[48:43] It's almost like the Lord's trying to put us in our right spot with respect to Him and His glory, and teach us how to show grace because He died for them.

[48:54] Absolutely. And so going back to the abortion thing, I had somebody put up a big vote yes on my property line of office. I made it look like I was the coordinates. And they did that because I had two little low-nose.

[49:04] Yeah. And I drove by. It was really getting on my nerves a little bit. But then I thought, you know what? It has nothing to do with abortion. He died for my neighbors. Yeah. That's right. And that's the point.

[49:15] Yeah. And guys, this is something that we all need to keep in mind. And it's very easy to lose track of, especially in the political world. It's very easy to be condemning and critical of the other guys.

[49:28] As far as we're concerned, they don't have enough sense to come in and out of the rain. But at the same time, you've got to remember something. But for the grace of God, there go you.

[49:39] You know? What is it that makes you superior? What is it that makes you different? What is it that gives you different perspectives and different values? It's only because of what you know on the inside.

[49:50] But they don't have that. And there was a time when you didn't have it either. There was a time when you didn't have it either. So we need to be compassionate and understanding.

[50:05] And this doesn't mean that you have to go along with it and that you approve of it or anything else. But it means we've got to have an understanding heart and we've got to realize you cannot expect non-Christian people to behave like Christians.

[50:23] It isn't in them. They can't, even if they want to. They just can't. And we've got to keep that in mind. Yes? In Revelation, the only time you judge is when you're sitting in the judgment seat.

[50:41] You will be a judge for the Revelation. Yeah. That's true. Paul talks about writing to the Corinthians. He says, you people, he says, you judge one another, you take one another to court.

[50:54] Listen, you guys. Don't you know, don't you understand that you're going to judge angels? What? Yeah. You're going to judge angels? Are you kidding me?

[51:05] We're going to judge. Yeah, we're going to. I don't know how that's going to work out, but we're going to judge angels. And we need to keep in mind that this concept of judgment. Someone has said, anytime I point a finger of accusation at you, I'm pointing three back at me.

[51:24] And let him who was without sin cast the first stone. So, hey guys, breakfast is here. Now I can't compete for that. So thank you for your kind attention. Third zone is here. Now I can't compete for that.

[51:34] So thank you for your kind attention. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[51:52] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.