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Me - A Sinner
December 14, 2008
Jesus told us not to judge one another. Judgment belongs to God, and to Jesus Christ. We are judged by our own master. We Christians are brethren, not masters over one another. We are all the servants of God. Humans tend to judge prejudicially, not righteously.
Bernie Parsons
Me - A Sinner
By Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 12-14-2008
Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”
Jesus taught us not to judge one another. True judgment is the finding of facts. Unfortunately, human beings tend to decide guilt based upon our own feelings rather than the facts. For this reason, it is important that we allow Christ and God to judge.
Luke 18:9: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11: The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12: I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13: And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
If not for this valuable lesson from Jesus, many of us would likely identify and side with the man who declared his own righteousness. After all, who among us would not admire a man who was not an extortionist; was not unjust; was not an adulterer; did not oppress his countrymen like the publicans did; who fasted twice a week; and who willingly gave tithes? Would we not consider such a person to be righteous? Yet, the man that Jesus proclaimed to be justified was not that man, but the one who admitted his sins.
In our zeal to condemn sin, we often find undue fault with the sinners.
Luke 19:1: “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2: And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3: And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4: And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5: And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
6: And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7: And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8: And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9: And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Zacchaeus’ Jewish brethren were quick to label this man a sinner—and he was, because he had taken some things by fraud. Rather than shunning him, as did his brethren, Jesus had dinner with the man. As a result, Zacchaeus repented and made things right. He was saved from his erstwhile sinful condition.
Luke 7:36: “And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37: And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38: And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39: Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
40: And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
41: There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42: And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43: Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
44: And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45: Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46: My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47: Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48: And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
Again, we find Jesus interacting with a known sinner. He took advantage of the situation to set His critics straight and to teach a lesson. The bigger a sinner that a person has been, the more is forgiven him when he turns away from that sin. This tends toward a deeper love for God, and His son, Jesus, because of the depth of the forgiveness.
John 3:14: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
Rather than spending our time here on earth judging, condemning, and criticizing, let us walk in the footsteps of Jesus, in which we attempt to lead people to salvation. As Jesus said, a person’s own deeds brings self-condemnation. Those who do evil, and shun the truth that is in Christ Jesus, are doomed to suffer God’s condemnation.
John 5:19: “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20: For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
21: For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
22: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25: Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26: For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27: And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29: And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
30: I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
John 8:14: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
15: Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
16: And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.”
When Christ judges, it is a just judgment. He truly will get to the bottom of the facts regarding each of us. He goes on the knowledge and information that God, His father, gave Him. He does not judge prejudicially, as men do.
Romans 14:10: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11: For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13: Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”
Again, let us not spend our time judging our brothers. We are not qualified.
Romans 14:4: “Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.”
I am not your master, and you are not mine. We are the servants of God—He will judge us righteously. He can raise us up and cause us to stand, even at times when we have given up on each other.
2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
Let us each spend our time here preparing for our own judgment day.
