You Ain’t Judge Judy | March 24

by | Mar 24, 2024 | Digging Deeper

 

Series: Gospel of Luke
Sermon Title: You Ain’t Judge Judy
Passage: Luke 6:37-42
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Starting Point March 24

Series: Gospel of Luke
Sermon Title: You Ain’t Judge Judy
Passage: Luke 6:37-42

Here is what Jesus is really saying ….

  1. If I want grace- I need to give it
    Luke 6:37-39, ‭‭James‬ ‭2:12-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬. 
  2. The sin I should care the most about is my own.
    Luke 6:40-42a, Romans 2:1-3
  3. As I let God change me, I can begin to help others.
    Luke 6:42b

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. How is it easy to want grace for ourselves but judgment for others?
  2. Judging and generosity seem to operate on the same principle— reaping and sowing. 
  3. In what ways do we receive back what we give out, either in judging others, or in being generous with others? Share a personal example of this principle from your life. 
  4. What do you think the difference is between unconditional love and unconditional approval?
  5. As you are becoming more like Jesus and becoming more aware of your own sin, how is it easier to see other people’s sins as well?
  6. Why is it easier to look for the “speck of dust” in someone else’s life rather than evaluate our own struggles?
  7. What is the spiritual application (not behavioral application) of Jesus’s parable in Luke 6:39? How should this affect our lives as Christians?
  8. If you were to try to remove something from someone’s eye it would require you to be careful and precise. How have you been careless in dealing with other’s sins?
  9. Read Matthew 18:15.  Why do you think it’s best to bring up someone else’s sin to them in private?  How does this require kindness and humility?
  10. What does Luke 6:41-42 illustrate about the instinctive tendencies of the human heart? How should these verses inform how we interact with other Christians in the body of Christ?
  11. How are we to judge the people inside the church vs. outside the church?

PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. When have you been guilty of judging others’ motives instead of their actions?
  2. We are encouraged to judge or examine ourselves to avoid a later judgment, as with Communion (I Corinthians 11:28). 
  3. How can you incorporate this into your daily life as a spiritual discipline?

 

SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:

 

RESOURCES:

 

MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY : Solitude/ Silence

What is Solitude? Solitude can best be described as a deep longing to connect with God, in ways we never have before. Silence and Solitude are often linked together. They are a tool to withdraw from your daily noise and busyness and listen to your inner life. St. Augustine said there are 3 types of silences that bring us in touch with God: 1) Silence of the Body 2) Silence of the Tongue and 3) Silence of the Soul

The goal of Solitude  is to schedule enough uninterrupted time in a distraction free environment so that you experience peace and alone time with God. This discipline works to free you of the addition to and distraction from noise. This allows you to be completely present. . “Without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life… We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.” – Henri Nouwen

So this week as we begin with solitude and silence:
Find a time and a place, to take three minutes and be silent with these two questions:

  1. How have I been wanting to be with God Today?
  2. How has God wanting to be with me?

 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The sun shines through the car window as I roll up to a stop light. The radio playing the latest worship song. You can hear the birds chirping as you roll down your window to get just a hint of the fresh spring air. As you pick your eyes up and see off to your left tucked away in the side of the curb and the bushes a shopping cart, filled with dingy items and a tarp tied from the cart to the fence to provide a covering. You focus in a little more and you see someone lying underneath and instantly you have a thought or two that comes into your mind, something that is not kind or in fact a little judgemental. 

Later that night you grab a quick bite, maybe at Qdoba or Texas Roadhouse and there is a family there sitting in the booth behind you. The young child is clearly bored and begins to dance and play in their booth, all the while banging their seat back which in turn makes your seat shake and move, almost earthquake-like. Again, a thought enters your mind, or maybe even a comment escapes your lips.

Judgmentalism. The struggle is real. We all wrestle with it, we all fall into it. In fact, it can be said it is one of the core issues that rips our culture apart. Thus the scriptures in two of the three synoptic gospels of Paul in Romans 14:1-14, and many other locations address the struggle. 

In the counter-cultural Kingdom of God, we understand that the people in the Kingdom need to live differently. What is Judgmentalism? Why is it such a struggle and why is it a big deal to God?

I can argue that being judgmental is a handful of things. 

First, it is an incorrect opinion about our standing before God prior to redemption. We project onto others that we are better than they are. We justify our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors through the lens of comparison. We project we are better than someone else when we all stand level at the throne of God’s judgment (John 13:16, James 2:1-5). We all like to feel better about our decisions and our position. We compare ourselves, looking at others instead of looking at the throne of a Holy God.

Second, it is a struggle because we are made in the image of God and given the purpose of ruling. However, when our first parents succumbed to corrupt decisions and abused the freedom given to them, our ability to make necessary judgments to fulfill the calling of our lives became corrupted. From that point on, humanity would misuse the gift of discernment.

Finally, when we abuse this discernment gift God places inside all of us, and we position ourselves as judge and jury we really remove God from His rightful position (Revelation 4:9-11). 

I encourage you to dig deep into your inner thoughts, whenever the urge to judge someone in an unholy manner comes to mind. Let’s see it as an invitation. An invitation to identify the fear or insecurity that is rooted in our life, and lay that down. Invite God into that moment. Confess your thoughts, fears, or insecurities and ask the Holy Spirit to see the moment as He does, or to eliminate the fear or insecurity that it touches in your life.

Rob Hans |  Pastor of Adult Discipleship and Connection