©1999 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
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4/18/99
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Jugding Pt. 4
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4/18/99 Judging Part 4
We are going to complete our series
on the principles governing moral judging this
morning,
and in case you haven't been with us
for the first 3 weeks of this series
and wonder what in the world we're
doing,
let me just say that we stumbled into this
as a result of some questions that came up
concerning if,
and when,
and how
we can or should attempt to pass
judgement on the moral conduct of others.
At one point in the New Testament
we have Paul saying,
Rom. 14:10 But you, why do you judge
your brother?
And at another point we have Him saying,
1 Cor. 5:3 For I, on my part, though absent
in body but present in spirit, have already
judged him who has so committed this, as
though I were present.
1 Cor. 5:5 I have decided to deliver such a
one to Satan for the destruction of his
flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the
day of the Lord Jesus.
And we have been trying to make some sense out of
these things
and understand when
and where
and how we can or should correctly
involve ourselves
in the moral conduct of others.
We are not going to take time
to review everything we've gone through so far,
but if it interests you
and if you have not been with us
for the earlier studies
you can find the earlier notes
on our web site.
Last week,
after an extensive review
of most of the principles we've looked at so
far in this study
we then looked at the first two
of the four situations in which
we have a Biblical basis
for passing judgement on the moral
actions of another person.
We are going to look at the last two situations
in which we can or should get involved
in that kind of interaction with another
person in just a few minutes,
but some of the questions
we wrestled with together
during our discussion time last week
have made me think
it might be helpful if I spend a few more
minutes this morning
attempting to place this whole discussion
into a proper framework.
Now we have bumped up against this already in our
study,
but I want us to spend a little more time on it
because without it everything we do
throughout this entire series
runs the risk of being either
misused or misunderstood.
The Biblical purpose,
the GOAL for any kind of moral judgement
is not to change the other person's behavior,
it is not to punish them for their wrong
conduct,
it is not to provide the Body of
Christ with a public example of the consequences of
sinful behavior.
The goal is to seek a restored relationship
between ourselves and the other person
and between the other person and God.
There are times in our relationships with one
another
when the only path
that will lead to a healthy relationship
between ourselves and another Christian
is the one that requires us
to confront them with an offense
they have committed against us.
But the purpose of our confrontation
is not to attack either the sin
or the sinner,
the purpose is to fight for the restoration of the
relationship.
And I'd like to illustrate what I'm trying to say here
first through the life of Christ
and then through a church experience
I encountered in Trinidad a number of
years ago.
First, let me point out the obvious
through the life of Christ.
There was a point in human history
when God Himself,
the God who created this world,
the God who created us,
entered a human body
and lived among us for thirty
three or thirty-four years.
We have quite an extensive written record
of the last three or four of those years.
This is the same God Who's character
is the very definition of righteousness.
Everyday He lived on this earth
He was in almost constant contact
with people who's lives were one unbroken
stream of sinful actions
and attitudes.
The woman at the well in John chapter 4
is a great example.
Here is a woman who had been married and
divorced five times
and who was currently living
and sleeping with a sixth man
she didn't even bother to marry.
The strong implication of the passage
is that she was little more than a prostitute
who hired herself out for a few months or
years
rather than just for a night.
Her adult life was very likely
a nearly unbroken stream of sexual immorality
and failed relationships.
Now,
God Himself walks up to this woman
and begins a conversation.
Q. If you were God
what would you say?
Q. If this woman was in your church
and you were the pastor
what would you say?
Jesus did not offer her one word of condemnation
for the way she was handling her life.
Instead He told her that
if she would come to Him
He would offer her an alternative -
He would place within her a well
springing up into eternal life.
With the one exception
of the time Peter told Jesus
he was going to prevent Jesus
from going to the Cross,
the only sin Jesus ever confronted
and condemned publicly
was the sin of self-righteous, arrogant
religious hypocrisy.
Why?
Because Jesus did not come
for the purpose of fighting against sin in the
world.
He came for the purpose of drawing us to Himself.
John says it better than I do:
John 3:17 "For God did not send the Son
into the world to judge the world, but that
the world should be saved through Him.
We are now the Body of Christ in the world,
given the same calling
Christ had when He was here - pointing
people to Christ.
Now, by way of contrast,
I want to share one other illustration.
When I was living in Trinidad
in 1972 or 73
there was a preacher there
who was gathering quite a following
behind him.
One evening he got into the pulpit,
looked over his congregation,
and spotted a girl in her teens
sitting in the front row.
As soon as he saw her
he took his suit coat off,
walked over to this young lady,
dropped his coat across her lap and said,
"Cover your nakedness!! Your skirt is far too short!
Have you no sense of shame?
A child of God should not dress like a
harlot!"
The next week
everyone made certain they were dressed
modestly.
Now, here is a man publicly confronting
immorality in the church.
And his actions powerfully produced
an almost instant change
in the congregation's behavior.
Q. What's wrong with that?
Through a series of quotations from the Old
Testament
the author of the Book of Hebrews says it well.
Speaking of what God would accomplish
as a result of the work of Christ,
God says:
Heb. 8:10 " For this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel After
those days, says the Lord: I will put My
laws into their minds, And I will write them
on their hearts. And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
Heb. 8:11 " And they shall not teach
everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone
his brother, saying, ' Know the Lord,' For
all will know Me, From the least to the
greatest of them.
Heb. 8:12 " For I will be merciful to their
iniquities, And I will remember their sins
no more."
That preacher in Trinidad
was not nurturing in his people
hearts that could hear
and respond to the working of God in
their lives.
He was creating
and imposing a fear-based religious facade of
"righteousness".
Those who returned the following week
in more modest dress
did not do so because their Lord
had given them eyes to see
some behavior patterns in their lives
that were inconsistent
with who they had become in Christ.
They changed their behavior
because they feared public humiliation.
Paul says it so well:
Col. 2:20 ¶ If you have died with Christ to
the elementary principles of the world,
why, as if you were living in the world,
do you submit yourself to decrees, such
as,
Col. 2:21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do
not touch!"
... in accordance with the commandments
and teachings of men?
Col. 2:23 These are matters which have, to
be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self
made religion and self-abasement and
severe treatment of the body, but are of no
value against fleshly indulgence.
So what has this got to do
with this whole business of personal moral
judging?
The great danger we face
whenever we involve ourselves
in any kind of moral judging
is believing
that our goal
is to root out and remove sinful, evil
behavior from the Body of Christ.
That is not the goal God has given us.
That is not our role.
It never has been,
and never will be.
Let me try to simplify it.
Our Lord said,
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another, even as I
have loved you, that you also love one
another.
John 13:35 "By this all men will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for
one another."
That is the over-arching principle
that must govern all secondary moral judging
within the Body of Christ.
Which means
whenever we choose to enter into
any kind of moral judging
the first question we need to ask ourselves is this:
Is this an essential and necessary step
in seeking to build or restore
a healthy love relationship with this
person?
Let me restate that just a little bit differently.
If it were possible
for the person we are confronting
to look into our heart
a see the dominant motivation for our
confrontation
what would they see?
Would they see our actions being driven by the pain
they have caused us?
If so, then we are not yet ready to confront.
Would they see our anger
because of what they did to us?
If so, then we are not yet ready to confront.
Would they see our indignation
at their immorality
and the fact that they got away with such
behavior?
If so, then we are not yet ready to confront.
Only if they would see within us
a heart longing to work for the healing
and the restoration of a broken relationship
we value too much
to just walk away from,
only then are we on solid footing.
For God so hated our sin that He gave His only
begotten Son...? NO!
For God was so offended by our unrighteousness
that He gave His only begotten son...? NO!
I believe it says,
John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
I began this series by saying that
when it comes to moral judging
the crucial question is not HOW?
or WHEN?,
the crucial question is WHY?
And if we don't get the answer right to the
"WHY?",
then there are no correct answers to the HOW?
or the WHEN?
And then I just want to finish up
by mentioning the last two situations
in which I believe we have
a Biblical basis for involving ourselves
in the moral conduct of another person.
For those of you
who like to keep things
tidy and systematic in your minds,
this comes under the heading of what
we have been calling "Secondary Judging",
and it's answering the question,
"When do I have a Biblical basis
for acting as a Secondary Judge
in another person's life?
Last week we looked at the first two situations:
1. I should take the initiative
when I am the one who has done the sinning.
Matt. 5:23 "If therefore you are presenting
your offering at the altar, and there
remember that your brother has something
against you,
Matt. 5:24 leave your offering there before
the altar, and go your way; first be
reconciled to your brother, and then come
and present your offering.
2. The second situation in which
we have a Biblical basis for getting involved
is if we are the one who has been sinned
against.
Matt. 18:15 ¶ "If your brother sins, go and
show him his fault in private; if he listens
to you, you have won your brother.
And then the third situation:
3. I should get involved when the person's spirit is
open to me
because of the special relationship
God has established between the two of us.
And by way of definition all I would say
is that if God has given you such a relationship
you'll know it.
If you want some labels
I'll suggest three -
comrade,
mentor,
and disciple.
God often establishes comrade relationships between
Christians,
relationships in which two believers
walk together in their Christian journey.
My closest comrade is my wife, Sandee.
We share a mutual accountability to one another,
that is a crucial ingredient
in God's moral healing process in both
our lives.
One of the many wonderful discoveries
I have made this past year
as my daughter, Joni, has moved into her
adult years
is the discovery that
I also have the privilege of sharing
a very similar comrade relationship with
her.
Increasingly the parenting role
is being replaced with the role of being
spiritual comrades
with mutual care for and accountability to
one another.
I also have a number of other comrade relationships
in my life,
relationships that I know are of such a nature that
if either of us saw the other one
getting involved in immorality
our comrade relationship would make
it essential for us to address the issue.
God also establishes Mentor relationships,
people He entrusts into our care,
and both you and they recognize that
relationship.
They are ours to guard and to protect for a time,
and sometimes that involves addressing
what we see as a moral problem
even though we have not been the one
who has been sinned against.
We see the Apostle Paul doing this
in his relationship with Timothy
in the letters he wrote to this younger
Christian.
And I also believe there are times
when God will call a disciple
to confront his or her Mentor
if the Mentor gets pulled into sin.
And the one added word of clarification I would
offer here,
if you find yourself being troubled by the
conduct of another Christian
and think to yourself,
"I bet maybe I have the right to get involved
because this is one of those "special
relationships"..."
it's probably NOT.
If you find yourself looking for a Biblical
justification to get involved
there probably isn't one.
4. And then the fourth situation
in which we have a Biblical basis
for involving ourselves in the moral conduct
of others,
(and the only one that may take us outside the
Body of Christ)
is if God has placed us in a position of
Authority over the other person.
Ex. The civil government
has a Biblical right to require
and enforce the laws of the land
over those within its jurisdiction.
Ex. A Christian employer has a Biblical right
to expect and enforce his employees
to conduct themselves
within the boundaries of clearly stated
Biblical morality
while they are at work.
Ex. And, of course, within the family structure,
parents have both the right
and the responsibility to structure their home
in the way they believe best supports
Biblical morality.
And in the unique situation of the family
the authority and responsibility of parents
extends far beyond the universal moral
framework revealed in Scripture.
It involves interpreting and applying
that moral framework in the whole spectrum of
life experiences
in the way they feel best models
healthy Christian living.
Now that, obviously, was a broad survey
of the principles involved in
what Scripture tells us about moral judging,
but I believe it will give us enough solid places
so that we can take it and apply it
to our daily lives
under the leadership of God's Spirit.