Judge not, that you be not judged

May 092009
 

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5

These words of Jesus do not forbid us to judge another’s doctrine; for Jesus says, just a few verses later in His Sermon on the Mount, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits….” (15-16a). They do not forbid us to judge between right and wrong and to admonish our brother when he sins; for Jesus also tells us, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone….” (Matthew 18:15ff.).

What does Jesus mean when He says, “Judge not….”? A reading of the verses which follow will provide the answer. Jesus is warning against our propensity to pick out and condemn the faults in others, no matter how small, and to overlook our own sins and shortcomings, even if they are large. Thus He says, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

It is hypocritical of us to condemn the faults of others while, at the same time, overlooking or excusing our own. And Jesus warns, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” It often happens in life that we end up being treated in the same way that we have treated others. Thus, if we have been overly critical and judgmental, we are likely to learn what it is like at the hand of others. But of far more serious consequence is God’s judgment. If we condemn the sins of others and are unwilling to forgive them, our Father in heaven will condemn us for our own sins and not forgive us either! As Jesus says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Rather than being overly critical and judgmental of others, we should first look at ourselves in the light of God’s Word; for when we compare our thoughts, words and deeds to God’s commandments, we all come far short of God’s holy expectations. Again, as the Scriptures say, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin”; and, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23). Rather than look at the sins and shortcomings of others, we ought to agree with God that we are sinners and acknowledge and confess our sins before God, trusting that He will forgive us and cleanse us for the sake of the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in our stead (cf. 1 John 1:7-2:2). Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures…and…He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).

Rather than being judgmental and unforgiving toward our fellow sinners, God’s Word tells us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

O dear Jesus, forgive me for being quick to judge and condemn others when I myself am a sinner and full of faults deserving of Your just punishment. For the sake of Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death upon the cross for the sins of the world, forgive me and cleanse my heart and move me to love others and seek to bring them to You that they too may know Your love and forgiveness and walk with You unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

God is from everlasting to everlasting

May 082009
 

“LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalm 90:1-2  (Read Psalm 90)

I cannot fully grasp the fact that our God is eternal – without beginning and without end; He always has been and always will be – yet that is what the LORD God has revealed to us about Himself.

As it was revealed to Moses, so it is: “LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

Through every generation of man’s existence, man’s life has been totally dependent upon the LORD God who is and was and always shall be and who made us and gave us breath!

Before He created the mountains or formed the earth and the world, Jehovah God was and is God. Of course, this is not only speaking of the everlasting Father and the eternal Spirit, but of the Son. As prophesied by Micah the prophet, the One born in Bethlehem to be our Savior and King is “from of old, from everlasting” (5:2). It is as Jesus Himself said, “Before Abraham, was I am” (John 8:58; cf. Exodus 3:14). Jesus is “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending … which is, and which was, and which is to come” (Revelation 1:8).

The truth that the LORD God is eternal can only be disheartening to those who refuse to repent of their evil ways and trust in Him for mercy and forgiveness, for this same God testifies of everlasting punishment for all who do not believe and take hold of the good news of forgiveness and life in the Son. It is hard to fathom condemnation and punishment unending! Cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; Luke 16:19ff.; Mark 9:42ff.

On the other hand, the witness of Scripture to the eternal existence of God is nothing but comfort to those who believe. Not only do our daily lives in this world rest in the hands of an everlasting God who works all things for our good; through the blood of the Son shed for all upon the cross, our sins are forever washed away and forgiven and we have the blessing of life without end in God’s eternal kingdom! Cf. Psalm 103:11-12; Micah 7:18ff.; John 3:16,18; 6:40; 11:25-26; 14:1ff.

This too is beyond the grasp of my limited understanding. How can a dying man live forever? And yet, in Jesus Christ, every believer shall! Our sins have been washed away in Jesus’ blood; and, as Christ was raised up on the third day, so also we shall be raised up on the Last Day to live forever with Him in the mansions of heaven! In Jesus, sin and death has been overcome. In Him, we shall live forever without sin and without death. Praise be to our eternal God and Savior!

O Almighty and everlasting God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise You for giving us life through the innocent sufferings and death of the Son in our stead upon the cross, and we trust in You to raise us up, as Christ was raised, and give us life with You forever in Your eternal and glorious kingdom. Amen.

Randy Moll

[Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]

In the beginning….

May 022009
 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 (Read Genesis 1)

The opening words of the Bible, those found in Genesis 1:1, proclaim a foundational truth upon which all of Christianity rests: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If these words are not true, then the rest of the Bible’s claims about man’s accountability to God, God’s impending judgment upon man’s sin, Christ’s redemption, God’s forgiveness and eternal life with Him in heaven are all meaningless.

Those who reject the Bible’s teaching regarding God’s creation have rejected all that the Bible teaches, because it is all interwoven and a part of the same truth. Those who do not believe in the God who was there in the beginning and who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them cannot legitimately lay claim to be followers of Christ or to be Christian.

However, in the same way as the work of an artist testifies to the existence and skill of the artist, so the existence and wondrous design of all things testifies to the existence and infinite wisdom of an almighty God who created all.

The Bible itself declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.“ (Psalm 19:1-3).

Everywhere in this world, regardless of people’s race or language, the testimony of all creation cries out and announces to everyone that there is an all-wise, all-powerful God who created all things. The majesty, grandeur and the very intricacy of all around us says loudly and clearly for all to hear, “There is a God!”

This same God has revealed Himself to all of mankind in His Word, the Bible. From the very first of the Scriptures, we see that God already was in the beginning when He created the heavens and the earth. We see that not only the Father, but the Spirit was in the beginning; for “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

The apostle John writes of Jesus, God the Son: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

The one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit was there in the beginning and created all things. This same eternal God provided for the salvation of all mankind when the Son became man and paid the due price for our sin by suffering and dying on the cross and rising again from the dead on the third day. He will still be when this world comes to a close, and He will be our judge. Those who believe on His name, trusting in Him for forgiveness and life everlasting will be saved; but those who do not trust in Him stand condemned already for not believing in the name of God the Son, their Redeemer and Savior (cf. John 3:13-18, 36).

O almighty and eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thank You for revealing Your majesty to us through your glorious creation and for revealing Yourself and the salvation You have provided for us through Your life-giving Word, the Bible. Amen.

Randy Moll

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,  Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Why worry about earthly needs?

May 022009
 

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:25-34

It is easy for us to be overly concerned about earthly things such as what we will eat and what we will wear. Even in our affluent society, where the thought of going without food or clothing is far from our minds, we still devote a great deal of time and energy into gathering and keeping an ample store of food, clothing and other things we deem necessary for our life and enjoyment.

Jesus tells us not to be filled with worry and concern over such things as having enough food to eat or enough clothing to wear. Using the examples of the birds whom God feeds even though they do not plant, reap or garner their food, and of the lilies of the field which are clothed in fairer dress than Solomon in all his glory though they quickly whither and are used as fuel for the fire, Jesus illustrates that God our Maker can and will care for our daily needs; for, indeed, we are of more value than the grass of the field or the birds of the air. And what good will it do us to worry? We cannot, by worrying, add to our stature or to the length of our lives!

Rather than being filled with worry and concern over our earthly wants and needs, Jesus would have us devote ourselves first and foremost to seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Our first concern ought to be seeking a place in God’s eternal kingdom and to be righteous in His eyes through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ!

As sinful human beings, we focus our attention on having the things we need and desire in this life instead of seeking after our greatest need, to have God’s forgiveness for all our sins for the sake of Jesus’ sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. We seek to cover our bodies and make them appealing to others instead of having God cover the guilt and shame of our sins with the perfect righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ. We seek to store up the goods of this world so that we will never be in need, and we neglect to nourish our souls with God’s life-giving Word that we might be preserved in the faith unto life everlasting.

Jesus tells us to focus on what is really important first – to follow after Him that we might have a place in His kingdom and be clothed in His righteousness. And He adds the promise that our heavenly Father will supply all our earthly needs as well.

And so, Jesus tells us, don’t be worried and overly concerned for tomorrow – each day has enough trouble of its own. Rather, follow Messiah Jesus that He might wash away your sins in His own blood, clothe you with His perfect righteousness and give you a place in His eternal kingdom!

Dear Father in heaven, forgive me for worrying about the needs of this life and neglecting my greatest need, forgiveness and life in Your only-begotten Son. Grant me a place in Your eternal kingdom and clothe me in Jesus’ righteousness. And, dear Lord, give me faith to seek after You first and to trust You to care for all my daily needs. I ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

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