Growing In Grace

If God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn… Throw a curveball at you here
this morning. Turn to the book of Ephesians. Given the fact that we had a
very full plate of study I shared with the men, it’s always the
phrase that you want to read. When you begin to study a passage
and you’re in the midst of preparing three messages to preach within
ten days, you open up the passage and you begin to read and study
about it and I think as one commentator said, this is one of the most
difficult timelines in all of scripture to consider. And so there was a significant
amount of time required in my preparation for John chapter
13. And so I wanted to come back
to a section that we’ve considered before, but take a bigger piece
of it. It’s been years since we’ve been
here in Ephesians. One day, it’ll be a long time,
but one day I hope to get back to the book of Ephesians to preach
it. I’m always wistful when I finish
a book of the Bible and I put the commentaries back on the
shelf that one last time. Will I ever get back to enjoy
and to preach through this particular section again? I think with the
book of Ephesians it certainly is my desire and hope, and the
book of Romans I may have to entrust to another brother. Richard Baxter, a Puritan, said
one time, and I didn’t even have to write it down, in order to
remember the quote, if you’ve known me for a month, you’ve
probably heard me say it. Pretend not to love them if you
hate not their sin and seek not their salvation. What Richard
Baxter meant by that is that sin is so pernicious and so pervasive
and so deadly that if we do not address it in our brothers and
sisters in Christ when we see it, and we’ll talk about how
we go about that this morning, if we don’t address it, we can
call our friendship whatever you want to call it, but don’t
call it love. That’s what Richard Baxter says.
Pretend not to love them. If you hate not their sin, and
that’s the first part of the problem, In our day and age,
we don’t even consider it as such. We don’t even consider
church discipline or even the process thereof to be even nice. We don’t even think of sins as
things that need to be addressed and confronted, even in our own
lives. And therein lies the initial
problem. Pretend not to love them. Call
it whatever you want, but don’t call it love. If you hate, not
their sin, and seek not their salvation. Do you know that those
sins, and I’m talking not about preference issues, I’m talking
about real sins that you can find chapter and verse that decry. Those real sins are the things
that sent our Lord Jesus to the cross. And we can turn a casual
eye to those things? We can be indifferent to those
things? We can see them played out and lived out and embraced
and loved in another person’s life and not feel like they need
to be addressed? It’s absolutely true that the
first one that we need to look at is ourselves. We’ll talk about
that in a moment. And I’m not even talking about
the greater church when I talk about this as being kind of oversight. It kind of comes and goes in
churches. It’s almost like breathing. Churches get really good at it
for a while, and boy, everybody’s confronting everybody. And then
they, it goes over the edge, and they start confronting people
about hair length, and skirt length, and shoe style, and piercings,
and tattoos, and they begin to confront all kinds of other things.
They begin to go in areas that scripture never talks about.
And that’s why, from time to time, you’ll hear another recurring
phrase, where the Bible speaks, we speak. Or do we? Where the
Bible speaks, we are called to speak. Where the Bible is clear
on a sin issue, or on a principle, or on some piece of admonition,
we are to speak. Where the Bible is silent, we
too are silent. We don’t need to worry about
those other, we don’t need to get legalistic. So I wanted to talk about these
things with this church this morning. I’m not concerned about
other churches today. I’m concerned about us. I’m concerned
about whether we’re committed to doing right. Whether we’re
committed to doing right, first of all, in our own hearts and
lives, and then are we committed to doing right and to reaching
out and to addressing others. Our Constitution, which, if you’re
in the Providence class later today, we’ll be going through
part of this very thing. I mentioned it last Lord’s Day,
as we received the hups and the membership. That commitment,
that agreement that we make to one another, called in other
places a covenant. That’s what you agree to, to
be a member of this church. And I realize many of you sitting
here today aren’t members. But it’s good to consider these
things, and it’s good to reconsider them. Our agreement goes like this.
I’ll read a portion of it. We do promise and endeavor by
God’s grace. And that little phrase is crucial.
You can purpose to be whatever you want to be, but unless you
call on God to assist you and equip you and enable you, unless
the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain, right? We do promise
and endeavor by God’s grace. And then it lists out a number
of those intentions that we have as a church to worship the one
true and living God and so forth. But then it comes into a section
that gets really personal and it’s about us. It’s about how
we relate to one another as members of the church. We do promise
and endeavor by God’s grace to avoid whatever tends to destroy
us or our neighbors and to engage vigorously in all lawful endeavors
to preserve our own lives and the lives of others, especially
by ready reconciliation and faithful exhortation in the church. We
ought to be eager to be at peace with anybody. We ought to be
eager to be reconciled to our brothers in Christ if there is
any degree of trouble. We ought to seek it out, make
it right. We do promise and endeavor by God’s grace to bear one another’s
burdens, and this church is great at that. If there is a need in
this church, there’s almost a fight as to who’s going to meet that
need. It’s a blessing. It’s genuine
fellowship. We do promise and endeavor, get
this, to watch over each other’s lives and not allow sin upon
one another. So far as God shall reveal it
to us, it doesn’t mean that we probe and pry into every dark
corner of other people’s lives. We don’t need to begin to function
like the SS. All we have to do is live and
walk with our brothers, and sooner or later, we are going to see
transgressions, and they’re going to see ours, right? To watch over each other’s lives,
not allow sin upon one another, to stir up one another to love
and good works, to warn, rebuke, and admonish one another with
gentleness, according to the rules left to us by Christ. We’ll
touch on some of those this morning. To pray for one another, to bear
with one another’s weaknesses, failings, and infirmities with
much tenderness, not revealing them to any outside the church.
You see, here’s the equation that that’s addressing. Somehow
we get it in our mind that it isn’t for me to talk to so-and-so
about their thing. But somehow it’s okay if I pick
up the phone and talk to somebody else about it. That’s just wrong. To bear with one another’s weaknesses,
failings, infirmities with much tenderness, not revealing them
to any outside the church, nor any inside. unless it’s according
to Christ’s rule. I was talking with one brother
this past week about so-called counseling, which is always a
very delicate proposition when one spouse comes to you and begins
to talk with you about the other spouse. And it quickly can degenerate
into nothing short of gossip. The person that should be addressed
is the person who is in sin. And there are times. There are
times when the pastors, the elders, should get involved. But that one weakness of addressing
other people’s sins, if it’s left unchecked, will ultimately
lead to a host of all kinds of other weaknesses and tendencies.
Individually, sin begins to go unchecked. Corporately, in the
body of Christ, there becomes a new normal. Sin has to be addressed. It has
to constantly be addressed. We have to constantly watch over
our own lives. And when we see it in our brothers,
there should be an approach. There should be a strategy. There
should be a method that we have. Please, if you would, turn to
Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, beginning
in verse 1. I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being
diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of
peace, There is one body and one spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and
in all. But to each one of us, grace
was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it
says, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives
and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended,
what does it mean except that he also descended into the lower
parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also
he who ascended far above the heavens that he might fill all
things. And he gave some as apostles
and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors
and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of
service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son
of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which
belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, We are no longer
to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about
by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness
and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love,
we are to grow up. in all aspects into Him who is
the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted
and held together by that which every joint supplies according
to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth
of the body for the building up of itself in love. This I say, therefore, and affirm
together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles
also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in
their understanding, excluded from the life of God because
of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their
heart, and they, having become callous, have given themselves
over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness. But you did not learn Christ
in this way. If indeed you have heard Him
and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that
in reference to your former manner of life you lay aside the old
self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts
of deceit. And that you be renewed in the
spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness
of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood,
speak the truth, each one of you with his neighbor, for we
are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on
your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity. Let him
who steals, steal no longer, but rather let him labor, performing
with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something
to share with him who has a need. Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace
to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit,
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from
you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted,
forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven
you. Therefore, Be imitators of God. As beloved children, walk in
love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us
as an offering and as a sacrifice to God, a fragrant aroma. But
do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named
among you as is proper among saints. and there must be no
filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not
fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with
certainty, that no immoral or impure or covetous man who is
an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and
God. Let no one deceive you with empty
words. For because of these things the
wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do
not be partakers with them. For you were formerly darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists
in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what
is pleasing to the Lord. I do not participate in the unfruitful
deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. For it is disgraceful
even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But
all things become visible when they are exposed by the light.
For everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it
says, Awake sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will shine
on you. Therefore, be careful how you
walk. Not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your
time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk
with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.
Speaking to one another in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. Always
giving thanks for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to God even Father, and be subject to one another. in
the fear of Christ. Ephesians 4 and 5. In the book
of Ephesians, particularly in the latter half of that epistle,
Paul extensively uses that metaphor. You heard it several times. The
walk, the Christian walk. And if you’re familiar with that
epistle, Paul uses the first three chapters of that epistle
to talk about great themes of Christian doctrine. And then
in the latter half of the epistle, he waxes practical and he begins
to drive home the point and the purpose in the daily application
of those doctrines in the Christian life. For God, the Christian
life is always more than just right doctrine. It starts with
right doctrine, it starts without foundation, but it has to be
applied in daily living. Remember Jesus said, even the
demons believe, they know right doctrine. Even the demons believe,
but shudder. Right doctrine though, rightly
applied, leads to a God-honoring life. Paul refers to that life
as the walk, the Christian walk. And in using that metaphor here
in Ephesians 4 and 5, Paul seizes upon really one of his favorite
metaphors, one that he uses in many of his epistles. Listen
to this, just a very cursory overview. Romans 6, 4. Walk in newness of life. 1 Corinthians 3, 3. Are you not walking like mere
men? 2 Corinthians. We walk by faith,
not by sight. Galatians 5. Walk by the Spirit. Ephesians, we were created in
Christ Jesus for good works, that we might walk in them. Ephesians 2. Philippians 3.17,
walk according to the pattern that you have in us. Colossians
2.6, walk in him. 1 Thessalonians 2.12, walk in
a manner worthy of the God who calls you. Now, in none of these
passages, is Paul speaking about the literal step-by-step physical
process of ambulating across the floor. He’s not talking about
that. It’s a metaphor. It’s a metaphor of the Christian
course of life. While the Christian walk isn’t
necessarily introduced in chapter four, Paul introduces it much
earlier. It is an area of particular intense
focus in these chapters. Watch this. Glance down at your
Bibles and just pick up as I introduce them. We’re told in verse 1 to
walk worthy. Essentially in verses 17 through
24 of chapter 4, we’re told to walk with Christ. I’ll prove
that in a moment. In chapter 5 verse 2, we’re told
to walk in love. In chapter 5 verse 8, we’re told
to walk in light, the light. In chapter 5 verse 15, we’re
told to walk in wisdom. Now what I would like to do is
just set forth some principles as we go through these particular
passages. We’re not going to go through
it verse by verse. That’s quite obvious. But what
I do today may be a little bit unorthodox. Certainly, it’s out
of sync with the way we normally do in our verse by verse study.
Hopefully, the doctrine isn’t unorthodox today, but the method,
the style will be. I think it’s OK and good to switch
things up sometimes, to do things a little bit differently. Instead
of working our way through a few verses or one verse, as is our
habit, I want to go through two entire chapters. And not only
do I want to go through two entire chapters, I want to do it three
times. And I want to make these multiple passes through these
chapters, and I want to note several key features as we go
through. We’ll take three passes. each
time observing a different aspect of the Christian walk first.
We need to get busy. The Christian walk, this is our
first pass. In our first pass I want to look
at the standard of our calling. And you already know what it
is, I’ve already said it, it’s holiness. The standard of our
Christian walk is holiness. Look at chapter 4 verse 1, I
therefore the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to walk in a
manner worthy of the calling with which you’ve been called.
Now he doesn’t articulate it in great detail there, but he
does say there’s a standard to walk with Christ, there’s a way
that we should be living And he urges them to that standard.
Even that word worthy means to esteem something, to value something,
and to live accordingly. Jump down, if you would, to verses
11 through 13. And I’m not going to read them
all. I just want to point you again that there is a standard
to which we’re called to walk. And he picks it up in that section
in verse 13. He says that the pastor’s job
is essentially to equip the saints to ready you for service, for
the work of service, so that you can have your own hand in
the process of building up the body of Christ. How long? How long does this whole process
last? Until we all attain to the unity
of the faith. And you say, we’ve got a long
way to go. You’re right. until we all attain to the unity
of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature
man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness
of Christ.” It’s Christ-likeness. It’s holiness. It’s godliness
that we need to be cultivating in our brothers and sisters in
Christ. Jump down to verse 14. As a result, we’re no longer
to be children tossed here and there by waves. We’re not supposed
to be wishy-washy, not supposed to be caught up in every little
ism that comes down in those books that are sold for $7.95
in the Christian bookstore and are absolutely gone and worthless
in six months. but speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in all aspects
into Him who is the head, even Christ. Christ is the standard.
Christ is the one that we want to emulate. Jump down if you
would. He addresses it again. In verse
20 through 24, we’ll zoom in on verse 22. In reference to
your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self. That
standard is done. It didn’t work then and it won’t
work now. Lay aside the old self which
is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit and that
you be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the
new self which can only point to Christ. It’s not that we want
personal reform. It’s not that we want a better
me. We want to live more and more like Christ every day. He addresses it again in verse
30. Look at that. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. We don’t want to grieve Christ.
We don’t want to grieve him in the way that we live. We want to live according to
a new standard. And Paul addresses it again in
chapter 5. Look at verse three. Do not let
immorality or any impurity or greed be named among you as is
proper among the saints. Filthiness, silly talk, and that.
Look at verse five. You know this with certainty
that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater
has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. And so if
you have a friend, if you have a so-called professing believer
who is living this way, how can you ignore it? Can’t. Can’t ignore it. And then Paul addresses it once
again in chapter 5 verse 7. Do not be partakers with them,
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists
in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Trying to learn what
is pleasing to the Lord. Holiness is the standard. The
standard of our calling in this Christian walk is first and foremost,
it’s holiness. It’s Christ-likeness. Christ
is our standard. Secondly though, go back to chapter
4. We want to take our second pass.
Our second pass through is the mutuality of this. This isn’t
just about me. Now I look around and I’m on
this pathway towards Christ-likeness and I see that there are others
there with me. And that’s a good thing. There’s
a mutuality of our calling on this walk. Look at verse 7. But
to each one of us, which already prefigures that there are a multiple
number of them, but to each one of us grace was given according
to the measure of Christ’s gift. In other words, Jesus Christ
has bestowed gifts on individuals in the church for the service
of the church. I love the way one commentator,
my dear, one of my dearest friend commentators, I can’t wait to
meet him in heaven, John Eady. The gift is measured and while
each individual receives, he receives according to the will
of the sovereign distributor. In other words, not all of us
are going to have the same number of gifts, the same kind of gift.
I venture to think that it’s almost like a fingerprint But
you know what, your gift package is going to be completely different
from the next brother’s. There may be overlap, there may
be a different measure, a different ability in certain areas. That’s
why I’m thankful my brother told me that I didn’t win. Because
yesterday I preached on the argument that precipitated that whole
thing on who was the greatest. There may be others that are
more blessed in certain gifts than you are. And that’s a good
thing. Rejoice in that. whether the measure be great
or small, whether the contents be of more brilliant endowment
or more humble and unnoticed talent, all is equally Christ’s
gift, all equally indispensable to the edification of the body.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that what Christ
has given to you is absolutely crucial for the success of the
church? I don’t think people believe
that. That’s Paul. He says it again, that we’re
not in this alone, that there’s a mutuality to this calling on
this walk. He says it again, jump down to
verse 11. Some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers. Why? For
the equipping of saints for the work of service to the building
up of the body of Christ. He says it in the plural. It’s
all of you in Christ. It’s all of the saints. All of
God’s people are on this path and in this project called the
church. And the Lord Jesus Christ gave
these various gifts to the church to teach and train and ground
the greater body of Christ. And he did so because he desires
all believers to participate in that great process. He says
it again, it’s mutual. It’s a mutual calling. He says
it again down in verse 16. Speaking the truth in love, verse
15, we’re to grow up. in all aspects unto him who is
the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, he’s talking
about you, the whole body being fitted and held together by that
which every joint supplies. That’s you. According to the
proper working of each individual part. And that’s why I say, if
you don’t believe that your gifts matter in the church, and you
hold back or withhold, or you think that something is beneath
you, then the church is stilted. The church suffers harm because
of it. The basic thought of the whole
sentence is the whole body causes the growth of the body. It’s
everybody doing their part builds the church. And when every believer,
every part of the body is properly working, they supply that building
They contribute to that building. The church is God’s training
ground then for the maturity of the entire body. Go back, if you would, to chapter
4, verse 1. I told you we were going to take
three passes. This is our third pass. In the
first pass, we looked at the standard of our calling, and
it’s Christ, it’s holiness. In the second pass we saw that
there’s a mutuality to this walk, this call to take a walk with
Christ. We’re in it together. We’re in
it with fellow believers. But note in our third pass that
there is an interactive role in this walk. We don’t just walk
adjacent to other people, or with a horde of other people
in a long line, all walking, marching towards heaven. Along
the way we are to interact, we must interact. Look first of all at verse 1.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you’ve been called,
with all humility. That touches our brothers, doesn’t
it? Shouldn’t it? with all gentleness, with patience,
showing forbearance to one another in love. Forbearance isn’t equivalent. It just sickens me to see that.
It’s a stupid bumper sticker. It’s really ignorant. Tolerance. As if we’re supposed to just
ignore other people’s foolishness and sin and doctrinal error,
heresy. This isn’t tolerance, what Paul
is calling us to, it’s forbearance. We live with them like a brother
who is on this path like us. We don’t tolerate sin. The context
is plain as verses 1 and 2 indicate. The forbearance isn’t with sin
in a fellow believer’s life. It’s a godly tenacity of oneness. We’re in this together. I have this class that I’m teaching
right now to these 8th graders and our motto is we’re not leaving
anybody behind. We’re going to stay, we’re going
to teach, we’re going to walk together, we’re going to imbibe
all of these good doctrinal principles and we’re going to do it together. That’s the goal. You want to
walk with your brother towards heaven? You want to walk with
him towards glory? He says it again in verses 14
and 15 of chapter 4. And he says that in the context
of this evil world in which we live, we are no longer to be
children tossed here and there by waves, carried about by every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful
scheming, but speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up. Your brother is absolutely crucial
to you and you are to him. He’s got to hold a mirror to
you. He’s got to point out your faults at times. It’s absolutely
crucial. The context here is growth in
godliness. It’s progress. And the great
means here that Paul points to is admonition. speaking the truth
in love and hear a fellow believer who loves us enough and comes
alongside to challenge and correct and even to chide if necessary. Paul says it again. Jump down
to verse 25 of chapter 4. And note the order here as Paul
unfolds this principle to us. Dealing with others in integrity,
therefore laying aside falsehood, that’s got to be first. You can’t
go to a brother if you’re a hypocrite. If you haven’t dealt with sin
in your own life, as we’ll see in a moment, what business do
you have dealing with sin in another’s? Therefore, laying
aside falsehood, speak truth, each of you with his neighbor,
for we are members of one another. We’re interconnected. I say this
all the time when we take the Lord’s Table. Do you know that
when you partake of the Lord’s Table, you not only are in communion
with God, you are in communion with everybody else who is participating
in that table? The question here is simple.
Is Paul admonishing here simply that Christians must always say
what is true? We tell the truth to one another?
It’s obvious that we would need to do that. But the sense here,
the context here, points to truth with regards to perspective in
others. We’re not supposed to allow falsehood
to develop. We’re not supposed to gloss over
or whitewash our brother’s character. That’s falsehood. We’re not supposed to live pretentiously,
phony lives, presenting ourselves as something that we’re not to
our brothers. If you’re having a bad day, tell
them. Then pray about it. If you’re struggling in some
sin, who better to talk to than a brother in Christ? Paul says it again in verse 29.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth. When I preached
this, I called it garbage or grace. Garbage or grace. No one, and this word here, the
definition here, the color of this word is absolutely putrid. It’s the scum in the gutter.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such
a word as is good for edification. If it isn’t building up your
brother, if it isn’t something positive, if it isn’t according
to the need of the moment, do without. Bite your tongue. Do you know that you, as a member
of the body of Christ, are called to a ministry of edification
in the lives of fellow believers with whom you live? As soon as
you name the name of Christ, you’re already a member of Christ’s
body, and you’re already expected to begin building everybody else
up. rather than allowing your mouth
to spew forth garbage, unwholesome speech that tears down others. Paul says it again. Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor, verse 31, be put away from you,
along with all malice. He says it again, verse 32, be
kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other just as
God in Christ has forgiven you. That ought to be the One of the
sound principles by which we live our lives. Forgiveness. I’ve been forgiven, I’m going
to forgive you. Purity of speech, no filthiness. Chapter 5, verse
4. And that leads us to the end. We’re called to this standard
of holiness. And we look about us and others
are also likewise called to this same standard of holiness. We’re
on this path together. It’s the Christian walk. And
it’s only logical that we would be involved in each other’s lives. The concern isn’t that we don’t
know God’s Word well enough. This body knows God’s Word. You know the Bible. But we need
to take careful assessment of how we’re walking. We should
have our eyes focused on heaven, but we should also be fully aware
of those brothers and sisters who are walking with us. And
one of the reasons we have a tendency to hold back in confronting another
brother in their sin is a complete misunderstanding of Scripture,
one in particular. I call it Christianity by lowest
common denominator. You don’t touch my sin and I
won’t touch yours. That’s the wrong way to live.
And it comes from a complete misunderstanding of Matthew 7.
If you go to talk to somebody about this whole process of admonition,
a lot of times you’ll hear them say, well we’re not supposed
to judge. And that’s kind of the umbrella that they break
out, the force field that they use to deflect any attempt to
get you to get into somebody else’s life and address their
particular sin. We’re not supposed to judge.
Oh really? Jesus says, do not judge so that
you will not be judged. For in the way that you judge,
you will be judged. And by your standard of measure, it will
be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in
your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your
own eye? How do you address the log in
your eye if you do not judge? What he’s talking about is an
imbalanced, a hypocritical judgment. That you’re willing to address
a speck in your brother’s eye, but you won’t deal with the log
in your own. Can’t deal with that beam without
judgment. And Jesus goes on, 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. And then he closes that thought,
you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s
eye. But we want to stop, we want to stop with those first
three words, do not judge. That’s my model for life. Live
and let live, you know? I’m hoping for heaven, and I
don’t want to listen to anybody, and I’m certainly not going to
address anybody, because I’m not supposed to judge. Listen
to me. What he says in verse 5 is the
truth. You hypocrite. He doesn’t tell you don’t go
to them. First, take the log out of your own eye and then
you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s
eye. He doesn’t tell us not to address the speck. We need to
grow. We need to grow in godliness
and grow in grace. The standard is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we’re in this together. We’re
in this Christian walk together. And we need to be intimately
involved in other people’s lives. When we address sin in a brother’s
life, it ought to be a very painfully difficult thing to do. It better
be with chapter and verse. It better not be some of your
preference issues that you would prefer that everybody live as
you live. Read the same kind of Bible.
Do the same things. Avoid the same things. If you
don’t have chapter and verse, don’t go. Don’t go. But if you go, pray. Pray, pray
long and hard before you go. Pray, examining your heart, whether
you have struggled in some sin that you’re ignoring in your
own life. And when somebody comes to you,
when a brother comes to you and humbles himself in doing the
right thing, whatever you do, don’t retaliate. Don’t say, well,
it’s a good thing we’re having this conversation because I got
a few things to address in your life. That’s not your turn. You
squandered your opportunity. You squandered it by waiting.
He prayed and came faithfully to you. And he was bold enough
in God’s grace to come to you with concern that he sees in
your life. Don’t defend yourself. Hear him out. Pray through it. Examine it carefully in your
heart and life. Remember Proverbs 27.6, Faithful
are the wounds of a friend. Do you consider him, consider
him a friend that was careful enough about your own life to
come to you and address your sin? And then seek the perspective of
godly friends. Do you see this in me? Examining your heart, to see
if this is a struggle and then plead with Christ for change.
It’s a simple process. It shouldn’t ever catch us by
surprise that some person, some fellow traveler on this Christian
walk toward heaven notices something in our life that’s out of sync,
something that needs to be addressed. Why should that surprise us?
Why are we so indignant when somebody points out a fault,
when we’re so taken aback and irritated? The battle of sin
rages on. Are we so deluded to think that
we’re not stained in the course of that battle? Let’s examine
our hearts before our God. O merciful God, each believer
comes before you now knowing, Father, that the standard is
holiness and not one of us has arrived. Each one of us has glaring
weaknesses, grievous faults through which
the church just suffers. Lord God, Perhaps we weren’t when we walked
in, but we’re thankful. We’re thankful for the reminder
that we’re not on this walk alone. There are brothers with whom
we’re walking. We see them now. We’re reminded
that they’re there. And Lord, how open we should
be to their feedback, to what they see, to the perspective
that they bring, and how also we should be with theirs. We
should look, and as we see things grieved in our own heart, we
should examine our own sin and deal with that first. But if
need be, only then, grant us the grace to go to our brothers
in love, patiently, delicately, privately, gently, showing to
them their sin and praying with them that God’s grace would prevail. Oh Lord God, we pray, grant us
your grace. Grant us your grace to examine
our own hearts. And then examine our brothers.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen. As we close, if you would
take your hymnals and turn to 460. 460 Amazing Grace, where
you stand and sing verse 1 as we close. I was just lost, but now I’m
found Was blind, but now I see