Thou Shall Not Judge. Are Christians Called To Judge?

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:05.799 I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours. Send Me, 2 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:10.470 Lord, I am your Val. Shall not judge. It's probably one of 3 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:14.949 the most quoted or misquoted scriptures that we hear in pro life ministry. But 4 00:00:15.109 --> 00:00:19.390 is this concept biblical? Are we as Christians called to judge? Please take 5 00:00:19.469 --> 00:00:29.100 with us as we tackle the subject. I felt show passis touch your heart. 6 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:39.210 Welcome to the Gospel Center pro life podcast. We appreciate those who join 7 00:00:39.289 --> 00:00:42.369 us. In this episode. We're going to talk about judgment. We're not 8 00:00:42.609 --> 00:00:47.609 going to talk about judging as sidewalk counselors. That's probably one of the most 9 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:55.679 quoted or misquoted scriptures in the entire Bible when we talk to whether it's abortion 10 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.520 minded women or even pro abortion people or whoever it might be. Even some 11 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.719 well meaning Christians might say, you know, we're not supposed to judge. 12 00:01:03.709 --> 00:01:07.829 Of course we understand that right. We want to, want to follow with 13 00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:10.390 the Bible says. Who Want to honor the Lord and what we do, 14 00:01:11.430 --> 00:01:12.950 and so we're going to talk about how we navigate through this thing because, 15 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:19.459 you know, the modern, even Christian perspective is like the worst possible thing 16 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:23.540 you could do is to judge someone. At least the worst possible way we 17 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:26.739 could be perceived is being perceived as as judging. We don't want to be 18 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:33.569 judgy. And even some churches, of course, craft messages and and relevant 19 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:38.409 talks rather than the preaching. They be relevant talks and and try to come 20 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:44.530 across as non judgmental. And so let's talk this through then, Vickie, 21 00:01:44.609 --> 00:01:48.680 and again you know from the beginning of this podcast, we want to talk 22 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:52.959 things through based on the Bible, not just based on you, the opinions 23 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.920 of man, based on the opinions of society or even based on the opinions 24 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.519 of the of the modern church. We want to do what we do and 25 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:02.269 think the way that we think and talk about the things that we talked about 26 00:02:02.269 --> 00:02:06.390 in light of the scripture, multimately in light of the Gospel, right, 27 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:09.229 which is how I have to say honestly, when I was a brand new 28 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:15.780 counselor out on this hidewalk there, when I heard that, well, you're 29 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:19.780 terrible Christian because you're judging others, or the pro choice socalled pro choice, 30 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:24.659 people would say you're you are a hypocrite because you're judging, and they'd say, 31 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:29.580 especially I was a hypocrite because I was judging when I myself had had 32 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:32.169 an abortion. Yeah, and, and I must say I grappled with that. 33 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:36.969 I it and and I did start to scour the scripture and find out. 34 00:02:37.050 --> 00:02:39.530 Well, it seems to me we are called to be here on the 35 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:44.960 sidewalk and there's certainly versus. We've gone over those in other podcasts that we 36 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.879 tell us that we should be. So are we to be on the sidewalk 37 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.360 silent? Are we to be on the sidewalk not pointing out good from evil, 38 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.680 right from wrong? What? What does the Bible say? So so 39 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:00.710 I'm really glad we're having this podcast because I will tell you it's one of 40 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:06.789 the things new counselors that I train, new volunteers that I train, will 41 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:09.469 they say, I don't quite know how to answer this. So I think 42 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:15.219 this is good because I think it will help give them and and anyone involved 43 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:23.740 in in pro life discussions with others, courage to make judgments. Yeah, 44 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:27.330 yeah, know, so you know this. This podcast is not just focused 45 00:03:27.370 --> 00:03:30.770 on sidewall counseling. Again, that's their perspective we're going to be coming from, 46 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:34.330 but I think this can apply in any realm of prolife ministry. Whether 47 00:03:34.370 --> 00:03:38.729 you're on a college campus and talking you from a prolife apologetic standpoint, whether 48 00:03:38.770 --> 00:03:43.439 you're in a pregnancy center and you're talking with an abortion minded mom and and 49 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:46.919 she's thinking you're being judgmental, we will be want to be non judgmental, 50 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:50.560 but again we want to thank through this thing biblically. We've touched on this, 51 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:54.479 I'm sure, several times in different podcasts and about the judgment thing. 52 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:59.509 It's almost a sort of a running joke within, you know, our circles, 53 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:01.789 even within my family. You know, some of my kids sometimes might 54 00:04:01.830 --> 00:04:04.669 say to each other, you know, the Bible says Thou shall not judge, 55 00:04:04.669 --> 00:04:06.949 and they're just kidding, of course, because they've heard it so many 56 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:12.340 times as they've been involved in this kind of ministry at least heard me talk 57 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:15.500 about it. So let's dive into what the scripture actually says. Exit this 58 00:04:15.579 --> 00:04:20.939 Chapter Twenty is where the ten commandments are found, and I'm told actually that 59 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.449 this scripture is actually in there. Thou shall not judge. I've even heard 60 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:30.329 it in perfect king games English before. Okay, about shout not judgeth like 61 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:33.850 that, and so. But if you look in Exitus Chapter Twenty where the 62 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:38.639 ten commandments are found, God's moral law, you actually find that that's not 63 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.480 there. It's a matter of fact, if you look from genesis all the 64 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.160 way to revelation, one of the things that you're not going to find, 65 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:48.480 just like you're not going to find that the the awesome pastor of scripture, 66 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:53.829 which is God helps those that help themselves. You heard that one thousandto t 67 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:57.750 yeah, it's not. It's not in there either. And what is cleanliness 68 00:04:57.790 --> 00:05:00.269 is next to godliness. You know, you might think you would find that 69 00:05:00.350 --> 00:05:02.350 somewhere in the page subscripture, but you actually want. If you did, 70 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:05.629 it'd be right beside thou shall not judge. It's actually not in the Bible. 71 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:10.579 But there are principles in the Bible about judging. Yeah, be probably 72 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:12.939 one of the most famous, and you have a list of scriptures that you 73 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:15.259 want to touch on. Yeah, but one of the most famous, and 74 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:19.819 I think we're people get confused with Thou shall not judge, and what the 75 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:27.290 Bible actually says is when Jesus he talks about judging right, and I'll just 76 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:39.199 read some of that here, and it's in Matthew and Chapter Seven. Matthew, 77 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:43.319 Chapter Seven and it starts out on the first verse. Judge, not 78 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:48.120 that you be not judged for with the same or with with what judgment you 79 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.829 judge. And King James says with the same measure that used to judge it 80 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:56.069 we measured back to you. But it says with the this is a new 81 00:05:56.110 --> 00:05:59.990 King James version, with what judgment you judge, you will be judged and 82 00:06:00.110 --> 00:06:01.470 with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. 83 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:04.980 Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but not do not 84 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:08.579 consider the plank in your own eye? So this is sort of like a 85 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:13.779 hyperbical parable. I guess you could say, yeah, you got a beam 86 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:15.980 in your eye. That's the picture. You got this big log sticking out 87 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.850 of your eyes. White people out if you're turn your head too fast. 88 00:06:19.889 --> 00:06:24.490 Right. Meanwhile you're judging your name and you're looking at the back, yes, 89 00:06:24.689 --> 00:06:27.850 of nothing in his eye. Yeah, so should Jesus say and judge 90 00:06:27.850 --> 00:06:30.529 not as should be judge, and same measure you used to judge be measured 91 00:06:30.529 --> 00:06:32.680 back to you in the same level that you judge people. You're going to 92 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:36.319 be judge. You be judged by the by the standards that you set yourself. 93 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:41.720 You're going to be judged by those very standards. But he does talk 94 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.720 about the log this in your eye, help your brother to remove the spects, 95 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.550 and that's in his eye. And verse for it says, How can 96 00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:49.990 you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye and 97 00:06:50.069 --> 00:06:54.509 look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite. First five, 98 00:06:54.829 --> 00:06:57.029 and that's sort of a key word here, I think, as we talked 99 00:06:57.029 --> 00:06:59.829 about judgment. First remove the plank from your own eye and then you can 100 00:06:59.829 --> 00:07:02.939 see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's side. And continues on. 101 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:09.100 But we'll we'll stop right there, because what is Jesus saying here is he's 102 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:15.579 saying that we should not make a judgment at all. No, I would 103 00:07:15.579 --> 00:07:18.730 I would say no. I mean he did you presuppose, when he says 104 00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:24.970 first do this and then, yeah, do this, that he's saying at 105 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:29.730 some point, in my opinion, that you can at some point then do 106 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:32.160 that other thing? Yeah, well, so he does say, you know, 107 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.839 you have a plank in your own eye, right, and your brother 108 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:39.120 has a speck. So so we can liken these things, the plank to 109 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.160 sin, the Speck to sin. So you got a big sin going on. 110 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:45.029 Yeah, they got little sin going on right, and you're nitpicking their 111 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:46.750 little sin when you need to deal with your big sin. Now he doesn't 112 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:50.350 say that you need to forget about the speck in your brother's eye. That's 113 00:07:50.389 --> 00:07:53.829 what worried about the speck in your brother's eye because you got a plank. 114 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:57.670 No, he says, you get the plank out and then you can see 115 00:07:57.709 --> 00:08:01.620 clearly to help your brother remove the speck. So the speck that's there, 116 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:03.100 the sin that's there, the folly that's here, whatever it might be, 117 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:07.379 is has to be dealt with. It needs to be dealt with, but 118 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:11.899 you need to deal with yourself first. And I might reference to scripture a 119 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.050 couple of times, but this is in First Corinthians Chapter Eleven, and the 120 00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:20.889 context here is Paul talking about communion and the Lord's supper and he talks about 121 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:24.730 how they take Commu in worthily in all of this. But in Verse Thirty 122 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:28.879 One of First Corinthians chapter eleven he says this and it's it is there's a 123 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.960 context to it, but I think this is one of those scriptures that you 124 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.759 can take out of its context and it kind of be universally applied. If 125 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.840 you will. And here it is in Verse Thirty One of First Corinthians chapter 126 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.710 eleven. For if we judge ourselves, we will not be judged. If 127 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:48.669 we judge ourselves. So Jesus is talking, and Matthew Chapter Seven. Making 128 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:54.629 a judgment about yourself, judging yourself first, and then helping your brother to 129 00:08:54.990 --> 00:08:58.580 get the speck. You judging your brother, so to speak, judging the 130 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:01.340 behavior, or whatever it might be, the spet, judging the fact that 131 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:03.980 there's a speck there, and then, you know, seeing clearly, to 132 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:07.460 help them remove the specs. Who Make a judgment about ourselves first? Yeah, 133 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:11.850 and then we can make judgments about others. And Yeah, and I 134 00:09:11.929 --> 00:09:18.610 see very valuable warnings from our Lord to anyone involved in pro life ministry. 135 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:22.690 Yeah, you need to be right with God to the very best of your 136 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:28.039 ability. Yeah, and really be looking at yourself and in prayer and in 137 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:35.960 in in the word and making sure that you have dealt with those logs in 138 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.870 your own life, in your own eye. Yeah, yes, certainly are. 139 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:43.110 Satan will eat you alive out here. You have the devil eat your 140 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:48.350 lines, as I say. So, yeah, making a righteous examination of 141 00:09:48.389 --> 00:09:54.259 our own behavior. Now going back to Matthew Chapter Seven and that word that 142 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:58.620 a pointed out earlier in verse five, hypocrite. Yeah, Jesus, when 143 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:03.500 he's talking about judgment, here in this passage, he is talking about hypocritical 144 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:07.610 judgment. You know, it's sort of like, maybe the modern example is 145 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:11.929 like, you know, you're judging somebody for dipping snuff and you smoke cigarettes 146 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:15.490 or something. It's hypocritical, like they're different snuff, can't believe they're doing 147 00:10:15.529 --> 00:10:16.490 that. It's going to rock their teeth, they're going to get throat cancer, 148 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:18.889 whatever, and you're puffing away on a cigarette. Right. It's like 149 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:24.879 that's hypocrisy. Now he's really, more than anything, talking about the Pharisees 150 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.399 and their their judgment, about about the people, the common people, how 151 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:33.200 much better they are in the fact is they ultimately will go so far in 152 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.549 sin as to crucify the very son of God and they twist the scriptures. 153 00:10:37.549 --> 00:10:41.389 They twisted the scriptures in a way that suited them. Its ypocrisy and he 154 00:10:41.509 --> 00:10:46.309 was dealing with hypocritical judgment right, and that's what oftentimes we talk about, 155 00:10:46.389 --> 00:10:50.299 that shut not judge, and you shouldn't judge what we're talking about, what 156 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:54.899 the Scripture is talking about is hypocritical judgment. Yeah, yeah, so that's 157 00:10:54.899 --> 00:10:58.460 sort of the groundwork for what we're talking about here, because one of the 158 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:03.940 things I'm going to say that might offend some people's sensitivities is not that not 159 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:07.129 only can we judge, that we have a scriptural right to judge, but 160 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:11.610 we are actually commanded to judge. Not only can we, we must. 161 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:18.679 As as God loving people, loving individuals, we must judge and we are 162 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:22.320 equipped. We are equipped to judge. We have the Holy Spirit within us. 163 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.279 Yeah, and who could guide us into all that justness? So we 164 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:30.039 are equipped. And those are the verses we have sleep that I exactly. 165 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:31.720 We have them right in front of us. And the ones that I highlighted 166 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:35.590 that I I was going to go through our that there is a way to 167 00:11:35.710 --> 00:11:41.149 judge, that is, with righteous judge, and and God does give us 168 00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:46.830 some parameters by which we can and should judge. Yeah, yeah, so 169 00:11:46.070 --> 00:11:48.899 let's jump into okay, well, so the first one, I've got it 170 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:52.700 and I just went chronologically through the Bible. So the first one is in 171 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:56.659 lebitticus, one thousand nine hundred and fifteen. Okay, and that says do 172 00:11:56.899 --> 00:12:03.330 not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the 173 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:07.529 great. But judge your neighbor fairly. Okay, so I think you know 174 00:12:07.649 --> 00:12:13.769 it. there. It's saying that justice is is to be kept pure. 175 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:18.360 Don't don't pervert it, don't change your justice depending on who you are speaking 176 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:24.480 to. In other words, speaking to a poor abortion minded mom, I 177 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:30.710 should still say killing your baby is wrong in God's eyes, and speaking to 178 00:12:30.870 --> 00:12:35.509 the rich lady sitting next to me in church who is contemplating taking her teenager 179 00:12:35.990 --> 00:12:41.070 to an abortion, I should make no distinction. The judgment should be the 180 00:12:41.110 --> 00:12:45.179 same. So that's kind of the first principle in that. And then, 181 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:50.379 secondly, judge fairly. Yeah, we're told to judge fairly, and we 182 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:54.980 can talk more about maybe what that means to judge fairly. Yeah, but 183 00:12:56.899 --> 00:13:01.129 well, I think judge and fairly is sort of exactly what you just what 184 00:13:01.330 --> 00:13:05.370 you just talked about, like, we're not basing the judgment on an outward 185 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:09.769 appearance, on an economic status, own killer of person's skin or anything else. 186 00:13:11.409 --> 00:13:16.440 We're judging, when we make a judgment call based on what the Bible 187 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:20.840 says. We believe that abortion is wrong because it's because the Bible says it's 188 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:26.200 wrong, because God says it's wrong to kill an innocent person. Right and 189 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.789 judge and fairly sort of ride alongside that. Equal Balances Right, equal weights 190 00:13:30.830 --> 00:13:35.190 and measures scriptural principle. And so, yeah, we have to be consistent 191 00:13:35.230 --> 00:13:39.549 in that, and doesn't matter who the person is that we encounter, we 192 00:13:39.669 --> 00:13:41.940 need to tell them the truth right of what God's words says. We're called 193 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:46.139 to judge fairly. And again at that that verse tells us that we are 194 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:48.379 to judge, but weren't to judge fairly. Okay. The next one I 195 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:52.059 found was in first kings three, okay, and it was versus nine to 196 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:58.289 eleven. And this is where Solomon is, is made king, and and 197 00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:03.129 God asks him, what can I do for you? Basically yeah, and 198 00:14:03.370 --> 00:14:09.559 Solomon replies that in this manner, these verses are Solomon's reply to what he 199 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.200 would have God to do for him as as made King. Okay, so 200 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:20.600 give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right 201 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.149 and wrong, for who is able to judge govern this great people of Yours? 202 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:28.669 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said 203 00:14:28.710 --> 00:14:31.870 to him, since you have asked for this and not for long life or 204 00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:35.470 wealth for yourself. Nor have asked for the death of your entery enemies, 205 00:14:35.549 --> 00:14:41.019 but for a discernment in Administering Justice. I will do what you would have 206 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:43.419 asked. So we're not a king, at least I'm not, not, 207 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:50.580 not yet kings and priests. That's well, Okay said, but I'm not 208 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:54.210 a literal King of a people. I'm not governing a people. But I 209 00:14:54.289 --> 00:14:58.409 think the principle is that God was obviously very pleased that that Solomon above all 210 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:01.370 these other things that he lists, that maybe, in a worldly sensus, 211 00:15:01.690 --> 00:15:07.039 is what we would desire, but that Solomon listed the ability to discern right 212 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:13.519 from wrong as primary yeah, and God was pleased and then granted him all 213 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:18.159 these other things in addition to that. And I think that's a a great 214 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:24.990 concept for us, that we should also be asking for discernment in being just 215 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:28.990 yea, and in being able to judge, yeah, right from wrong. 216 00:15:30.110 --> 00:15:33.389 And that pleases God. And where do we find it in the scripture? 217 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:37.980 Yeah, we're we're told, we know. So we need from the Lord 218 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:45.059 wisdom to Judge Rightly, just as Solomon did. Yeah, and and and 219 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:48.539 wisdom to judge fairly when we make a judgment. So here's the thing. 220 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:52.610 When we talk about judging and when we hear you know, the Bible says 221 00:15:52.649 --> 00:15:58.570 thou shalt not judge, don't judge me. Of course, again Jesus is 222 00:15:58.649 --> 00:16:02.250 talking about hypocritical judgment. That's wrong. When we talk about judgment, we're 223 00:16:02.289 --> 00:16:07.679 actually talking about is making an assessment of behavior exactly. We are not judging 224 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:14.240 a person. Yeah, we are judging a person's actions. Thinks that we 225 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.750 can see. We don't need to and we shouldn't judge motives because we can't 226 00:16:18.789 --> 00:16:22.710 see that. You can guess it, but we can see an action and 227 00:16:22.830 --> 00:16:27.350 if an action such as murdering an innocent human being, which God clearly says 228 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:32.190 do not, we can judge. That is wrong. Yeah, yeah, 229 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:34.940 and so again we're talking about the assessment of particular behavior. You know, 230 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:40.220 when you go, when you pull out of the driveway at your house to 231 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:42.139 leave, if you're on a busy road especially, you've got to make a 232 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:45.580 judgment. They're like if cars are passing by a pretty fast you make a 233 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:48.610 judgment. Okay, is this MAC truck coming fast enough to wear? If 234 00:16:48.610 --> 00:16:51.809 I pull out, it's going to hit me or don't need to wait for 235 00:16:51.850 --> 00:16:53.009 it to pass or need it. Do I need to go. You make 236 00:16:53.049 --> 00:16:56.490 a judgment, and that's not really a moral judgment that you're making. It's 237 00:16:56.490 --> 00:17:02.600 just sort of a natural, practical judgment, but it's it's an assessment of 238 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.160 another person's behavior and, based on that behavior, what's the effect going to 239 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.920 be? And we're looking at the issue of abortion. Of course we're looking 240 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:12.440 at the assessment of the behavior of a mother. Is Her action going to 241 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:17.710 affect another person or is it just going to affect her? And so, 242 00:17:18.269 --> 00:17:22.470 of course we know in an abortion that baby's alive, that baby's life is 243 00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:26.069 going to be destroyed. We have to make a judgment about that behavior and 244 00:17:26.150 --> 00:17:30.059 then say that it's wrong. There's a big difference, and here's here's where 245 00:17:30.140 --> 00:17:33.059 we I think, when you talk to Christians about not being judgmental, not 246 00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:37.299 being perceived as judge, they're sort of talking about this, the fact that 247 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:41.259 there's a big difference. This is what people need to understand about judging make 248 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:45.170 an assessment of behavior and being judgmental, which is like nitpick pick and people's 249 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:48.890 lives, looking for what's wrong with everyone else rather than first what's wrong with 250 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:52.650 us, which is what we need to do, based on what Jesus said 251 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:56.250 and based on what the Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter eleven. 252 00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.799 We need to judge ourselves first, make an assessment of our own behavior, 253 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.480 rectify that behavior, and then we can see clearly, and you God is 254 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:07.079 pleased if we're going to go out and just cast judgments when everyone else they're 255 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.160 wrong, they're wrong, they're wrong. God's not pleased with that. But 256 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.029 we make an assessment of our own behavior and we take the call of God 257 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:18.190 seriously to make an assessment of behavior in general and then do something about that. 258 00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:22.549 God is pleased in that. God is pleased in righteous judgments. Yeah, 259 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:29.180 and I think picky backing off of that idea that sometimes people will hold 260 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:32.579 back saying, well, I'm not clean, yeah, our God. I'm 261 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:36.500 not perfect before God. There are things in my life I know I deal 262 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:40.059 with that. Yeah, and there are and there will be till the day 263 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:44.730 we die, because we are flesh until the day we die. We are 264 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:49.809 not just a spiritual being. But I don't think God would be saying throughout 265 00:18:49.849 --> 00:18:52.329 the Bible, which you'll see by the time we get to the end of 266 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:59.680 these scriptures, that that we pull out. I don't think he's saying wait 267 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.079 until you are perfect. You're right. Yeah, I think he's saying you've 268 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:08.440 examined yourself, you're going forth in in my word and in my power, 269 00:19:10.069 --> 00:19:15.190 and you are ringing light to darkness, which we're clearly called to do. 270 00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:17.549 Yeah, yeah, and Ian, if we're going to wait until we're perfect 271 00:19:17.549 --> 00:19:19.230 and we got it all together, yeah, then what's never going to happen 272 00:19:19.309 --> 00:19:22.150 for everyone. Will Never, and I am even like you know, talking, 273 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:26.940 share the Gospel with people, people that are lost. Right, yeah, 274 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:30.619 you have to be perfect before we can bring an imperfect people to person, 275 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:33.339 to the Lord. Of course, never share it, will never share 276 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:37.299 it, will never take any action. And so I think that's a that's 277 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:41.490 a really important point. Yeah, because I think that that is discouraging to 278 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:45.009 people. They hear these verses and they shrivel up and or they hear the 279 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:48.450 those, you know, people on the pro choice side saying that shall not 280 00:19:48.609 --> 00:19:53.920 judge until you're right before God, and you all better not right before God. 281 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:56.599 And I see are you know, people just shrivel up and think, 282 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:00.519 well then I can't speak. Yeah, and and I don't think that's the 283 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:03.720 case. At all. Absolutely not. So move on to another one. 284 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:10.509 How about this one? This is in proverbs twenty four and versus twenty three 285 00:20:10.910 --> 00:20:15.789 to twenty five. These also are the sayings of the wise. To show 286 00:20:15.910 --> 00:20:22.099 partiality in judging is not good. Whoever says to the guilty you are innocent 287 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:26.779 will be cursed by people's and denounced by nations, but it will go well 288 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:32.740 with those who convict the guilty and rich blessing will come on them. And 289 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:36.089 so in the pro life world, this one really popped out at me. 290 00:20:36.369 --> 00:20:42.089 Okay, because thinking of whoever says to the guilty you are innocent, well, 291 00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:48.930 that's exactly what our nation has said to those who are a boarding their 292 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:52.440 children, and what the pro choice movement is saying. They are speaking to 293 00:20:52.640 --> 00:21:00.279 these women who are guilty of destroying that innocent life that God has created within 294 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:04.150 them and they're telling her it's okay, yeah, and we hear that all 295 00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:07.670 wrong. It's just your body, your choice, that's right, you are, 296 00:21:07.910 --> 00:21:14.829 in a sense, they are saying you are innocent. Yeah, and 297 00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:18.500 and I think it's clear that it's not what we are called to do. 298 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:22.059 And you know, are you know, based on that scripture in this what 299 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:25.859 we've talked about this far. You know, we're called, yes, to 300 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:29.980 it, to judge, to make assessments of individual behavior. That's wrong, 301 00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:33.009 that's right. I'm called to do that, but not just individual behavior, 302 00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:37.690 like national behavior. You Look at the prophets in the Old Testament and look 303 00:21:37.769 --> 00:21:44.369 Jesus himself. He made assessments of the Jewish leaders, their behavior nationally Israel 304 00:21:44.609 --> 00:21:51.039 and their behavior that the prophets. They made assessment of behavior. First God 305 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:55.839 did, and then they took God's truth that was revealed to them, made 306 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:00.160 an assessment of the behavior of the people and then made a national proclamation against 307 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.309 particularly behavior. That's right. One of those behaviors in Jeremiah. Jeremiah deals 308 00:22:03.349 --> 00:22:07.869 particularly with child sacrifice, exactly, offering their children to Molich. Yeah, 309 00:22:07.950 --> 00:22:11.430 and and so he deals with that and he makes a judge it. And 310 00:22:11.470 --> 00:22:15.140 then, based on this scripture, you know, it's it's it's commanded, 311 00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:18.579 it's encouraging and it pleases the Lord. When we make a judgment, HMM, 312 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:22.900 when we say you are guilty, yeah, and you don't want to 313 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:26.700 be guilty, you don't have to be guilty, you can choose another path. 314 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:30.930 Yeah, and then blessings follow. Blessing. Less sings follow on those 315 00:22:30.970 --> 00:22:37.650 who point out there is a difference between guilt and and not guilty and we 316 00:22:37.730 --> 00:22:42.490 shouldn't confuse them and we don't need to confuse them, because God doesn't confuse 317 00:22:42.650 --> 00:22:45.799 them. Right. Yeah, yeah, got us a Gout of justice. 318 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:48.640 Yeah, I'm next. I'll see you got it marked there in your Bible 319 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.720 and I actually went ahead and turned there. It's sort of like the I 320 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:56.240 guess, the theme scripture, little anthembs. Right, yes, exactly, 321 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:57.910 it is, and I think it's an important scripture for us as side, 322 00:22:57.910 --> 00:23:00.950 well, counselors. We need to have scriptural, you know, backing for 323 00:23:02.069 --> 00:23:06.630 what we do and and this to me is there's a lot of other scripture 324 00:23:06.670 --> 00:23:08.190 backing, but this is one of the things that really fuels my fire. 325 00:23:08.589 --> 00:23:14.460 And I actually spoke with some youth last Saturday and it was a pro life 326 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:17.700 boot camp that love life had put on. There was some youth there. 327 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:21.539 They wanted me speak about speaking for those that can't speak for themselves, and 328 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:23.180 I came out of this, right out of this scripture, because it's a 329 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:27.130 sort of the bedrock of what we do as a ministry and side about counseling, 330 00:23:27.609 --> 00:23:30.730 and I broke it down and sort of three points. Maybe I'll do 331 00:23:30.809 --> 00:23:33.569 that real quick and discovery. That sounds there. But it starts out. 332 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:37.809 This is a proverbs thirty one, versus eight and nine, and verse eight 333 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:41.400 starts out with open your mouth for the beechless, and so I said that's 334 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:45.039 one point there, open your mouth for the speechless. The first point is 335 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:49.880 actually opening your mouth. You've got it. It takes energy to open your 336 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:55.119 mouth, you know, it takes muscles, it takes you being uncomfortable actually, 337 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.950 and for us to make a judgment, especially we know our sin right. 338 00:23:59.029 --> 00:24:00.789 We know, like Paul says, I'm the chief of sinners. We 339 00:24:00.910 --> 00:24:04.309 we know I'm the chief it like I'm wicked. If wasn't for the mercy 340 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:07.470 and grace of God, I would be lost eternally. But got to save 341 00:24:07.549 --> 00:24:11.460 me. And so that can sometimes keep up, you know, make us 342 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:14.259 keep our mouth closed, because we know our own flesh and we know our 343 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:18.140 own failings. But we're commanded open a mouth, to exert effort, to 344 00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:21.180 get out of our comfort zone. And so that's what it's talking about. 345 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:22.819 It's talking about open your mouth and speeches. We can apply it in that 346 00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:26.369 way. Yeah, and it continues on in the cause of all who are 347 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:30.009 appointed to die. Open your mouth, and this was my second point. 348 00:24:30.049 --> 00:24:34.490 Judge Righteously, and course this is sort of the theme of this podcast. 349 00:24:34.809 --> 00:24:38.920 Then we're to make a righteous assessment of behavior. When we see behavior, 350 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:45.200 naturally, individually, we didn't make a righteous assessment of that behavior. Now, 351 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:48.440 how do you get a righteous assessment of behavior? Like, how do 352 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:53.269 you know if that behavior is wrong or if it's right? It's not just 353 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:57.269 that we get some kind of feeling in our heart. We have God's word. 354 00:24:57.910 --> 00:25:02.829 We see behaviors that is in direct contradiction to God's word and what God 355 00:25:02.910 --> 00:25:06.430 says is right and what God says is good, then we are supposed to 356 00:25:06.589 --> 00:25:11.619 judge that behavior righteously. Yeah, that doesn't mean being judgmental. It doesn't 357 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:15.539 mean just completely writing people off. That's something we can never do, you 358 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:18.299 know, with an abortion minded woman or a post abortive women. We can't 359 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:23.009 just write those people off because they they've contemplated or they've been involved in particular 360 00:25:23.089 --> 00:25:26.569 behavior. God still would save and rescue them like he did for us. 361 00:25:26.609 --> 00:25:30.529 Yeah, that was sort of spy capefully, we would not do that. 362 00:25:30.650 --> 00:25:33.730 We are told that we are to judge but to speak in love, faith 363 00:25:33.769 --> 00:25:37.880 and love. Yeah, and then continue on. It says again, open 364 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.839 your mouth, judge, righteously, plead the cause of the poor and needy. 365 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:47.240 Now these are and it says that, you know, in the cause 366 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.190 of all who are pointed to die. It says that in Verse Eight, 367 00:25:49.230 --> 00:25:52.630 and then it says again, plead the cause of the poor and needy. 368 00:25:52.670 --> 00:25:56.990 And firstnege. Yeah, that word cause is actually could be used as the 369 00:25:56.069 --> 00:26:00.029 word case, like a judicial case. I think we talked about this a 370 00:26:00.069 --> 00:26:04.819 little bit in the what is subwall counseling episode that we did, that we're 371 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:11.460 called to plead a case. We're called to say this child is unjustly scheduled 372 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:14.619 to die. Yeah, we make a judgment of that behavior and you ultimately, 373 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:17.299 in the situation we're dealing with, and we're dealing with an abortion mind 374 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:21.690 and mom at an abortion clinic, at a pregnancy center, in whatever context 375 00:26:22.329 --> 00:26:26.450 is, she's actually the judge and we're a lawyer pleading with the judge. 376 00:26:26.490 --> 00:26:30.329 You know, ultimately the choice is in her hands, right, she could 377 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:36.839 choose, as the judge, to slap down the gavel and say guilty, 378 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:40.680 death sent it. She can do that. We want to appeal to her 379 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.119 as a counselor as a lawyer on behalf of that baby, to open our 380 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:48.789 mouth for that child and to speak on behalf of that baby and convince her 381 00:26:48.029 --> 00:26:52.150 that baby does not deserve to die. Right, right, and it's so, 382 00:26:52.269 --> 00:26:55.829 but it requires a judgment. It does, and my translation says, 383 00:26:55.829 --> 00:26:59.029 defend the rights, yeah, the poor needy. There's this sort of an 384 00:26:59.029 --> 00:27:02.819 idea. Or Yeah, exactly exactly where, and judge. Of course, 385 00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:06.779 judgment to say yeah, you know, I judicial term. We are absolutely 386 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:08.180 and it, but we have lots of clues about how to do that in 387 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:11.980 a way that is God honoring. Yeah, and of course, keep in 388 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:15.569 mind this is not like, you know, in verse in Chapter Thirty One 389 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:18.130 here didn't start out saying, yeah, this is a suggestion for you. 390 00:27:18.170 --> 00:27:22.730 You might want to follow this. This seems to be kind of a really 391 00:27:22.809 --> 00:27:26.329 in your face command. It's a declarative wing. See you speak. The 392 00:27:26.450 --> 00:27:30.920 you is is implied to speak for those who conso working without option. If 393 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:33.880 we'RE gonna the book of Wisdom, if we're going to walk in wisdom, 394 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:36.839 if we're going to try to please the Lord and do what we're called to 395 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:38.480 do and be what we're called to be as children of God, that we 396 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:41.359 have to open our mouth for the speaks, as Ye have didn't always means 397 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:47.069 just being aside wall counselor right or whatever. God can call you all kinds 398 00:27:47.109 --> 00:27:49.309 of ministries to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. But in particular 399 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:53.190 we're called to speak for the unborn. Yeah, and and that whole idea 400 00:27:53.230 --> 00:28:00.339 of speak, speak it. It's not just your actions. You hear all 401 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:03.059 the time from the pro choice people. Well, you don't have to have 402 00:28:03.140 --> 00:28:06.339 an abortion, you don't go get the abortion, you don't believe that abortion, 403 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:10.900 don't don't go have one. But we are told to move a step 404 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:17.609 further. We are to speak. We are not given the the allowance to 405 00:28:17.690 --> 00:28:19.609 be silent. What about? What about, I think this might be in 406 00:28:19.650 --> 00:28:23.730 the scripture, to where it says, you know, proclaim the Gospel, 407 00:28:23.730 --> 00:28:27.200 preach the Gospel always and, when necessary, use words. Ever heard that 408 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:32.599 is like that's a first one, am I one of my favorite. I 409 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:36.480 mean, I've heard that quoted to see John Wesley said that, Whitfield said 410 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:38.480 that, I think, saying Augustine might have said that. You know, 411 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:42.750 everybody attributes that because it's such a great humble phrase. Problem is it's not 412 00:28:42.950 --> 00:28:47.789 biblical. Now, preach the Gospel always and we necessary, use words. 413 00:28:48.390 --> 00:28:49.950 Preach the Gospel always, and what we say is, when necessary, use 414 00:28:49.990 --> 00:28:53.910 a megaphone, right, right. Pressing the Gospel actually requires you to open 415 00:28:53.990 --> 00:28:59.500 your mouth. Words. The Gospel is words, not just, you know, 416 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:03.059 good deeds or just living a you know, a good life beside your 417 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:06.619 neighbor. That you should do that, of course, but we need to 418 00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:08.259 open our mouth, we need to speak, we need to proclaim the Gospel. 419 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:11.490 We need to speak for the unborn. Yeah, not just you know. 420 00:29:11.569 --> 00:29:15.130 Certainly prayer is is is vital. We need to be a people of 421 00:29:15.289 --> 00:29:18.849 prayer. But we're in front of an abortion center. We need to be 422 00:29:18.930 --> 00:29:22.769 praying and speaking. Now. There's certainly their ministries like love life, whose 423 00:29:22.809 --> 00:29:26.880 focus is to pray and we see them a sort of our our air support 424 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:30.880 in this battle, you know, in prayer. But we're getting folks from 425 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:33.400 them who are coming out and saying I got to take it beyond prayer and 426 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.640 I need to open my mouth. Yeah, and a lot of the really 427 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:41.230 beat they're really called Romans. Ten nine says proclaim with your mouth that Jesus 428 00:29:41.230 --> 00:29:45.869 is Lord. Yeah, and that's that's where the whole salvation message begins. 429 00:29:45.990 --> 00:29:49.470 Proclaim with your mouth. You there. You are called to a verbal action. 430 00:29:49.549 --> 00:29:53.420 If you believe something, if something is the most important thing on the 431 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:57.299 earth, which is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you're to proclaim 432 00:29:57.339 --> 00:30:00.539 it with your mouth. You're just speak it, and I think that entails. 433 00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:03.779 I think there's reasons for that. One is a witness. One is 434 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:10.170 courage. That it the courage of your conviction, if your your spiritual conviction, 435 00:30:10.250 --> 00:30:14.289 because the word speaks these truths. If you have that in you, 436 00:30:14.809 --> 00:30:18.009 then you will not be silent. Isn't Jeremiah? That says I could not 437 00:30:18.250 --> 00:30:21.680 remain silent. It was like a fire, burning fire, shut up and 438 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:25.400 shut up in my bones. He could not remain silent. He didn't want 439 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:27.240 it. He didn't want any more suffering. He was tired of the suffering. 440 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:30.599 He had a he led such a horrible life, Poor Jeremiah. Yeah, 441 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:36.430 but but he could not remain silent and he's really a role model for 442 00:30:36.630 --> 00:30:40.150 me. I absolutely you know, let's jump ahead. Let's jump into that 443 00:30:40.230 --> 00:30:42.509 Romans chapter two. Okay, that's an important one. Yeah, this and 444 00:30:42.549 --> 00:30:48.910 guys go on Google, going your Bible App and search the word judgment and 445 00:30:48.029 --> 00:30:55.180 you're going to find consistently God does not condemn us making judgments, but he 446 00:30:55.259 --> 00:31:00.700 does condemn hypocritical judgment and judging with with dishonest weights and measures. Yeah, 447 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:07.250 but Paul Deals really forthright lie in chapter two of Romans. Yeah, and 448 00:31:07.450 --> 00:31:11.569 it is again. It's about hypocritical judgment. And you said you wanted to 449 00:31:11.609 --> 00:31:14.450 sort of prod me a little bit about this the scripture. So well, 450 00:31:14.609 --> 00:31:17.369 do that. Well, yeah, well, you know, I was reading 451 00:31:17.410 --> 00:31:22.000 it and, truth be told, I took the easy verses, the supporting 452 00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:25.880 what I truly believe scripture says, which is that we we should judge. 453 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:30.440 But I do have to say Romans to kind of gave me again pause and 454 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:33.710 and when you read those first three verses, I'll let you read those. 455 00:31:36.029 --> 00:31:37.990 Okay. Well, I'm a I'm at a different I'm at Luke right now, 456 00:31:38.069 --> 00:31:41.910 but I can certainly turn to Romans. Hang on. Okay, so 457 00:31:42.109 --> 00:31:51.579 Romans too. All right, and these are will do just the first three 458 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:56.700 verses. But you know, reading everything Romans to all the way through to 459 00:31:56.740 --> 00:32:00.970 the end of the chapter, I think is very will help, very helpful. 460 00:32:00.970 --> 00:32:06.009 But let's just read the first three. You therefore have no excuse, 461 00:32:06.569 --> 00:32:12.529 you who passed judgment on someone else for a for at whatever point you judge 462 00:32:12.569 --> 00:32:17.240 another, you are condemning yourself, because you, who pass judgment, do 463 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:23.079 the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such 464 00:32:23.240 --> 00:32:28.960 things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, 465 00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:34.829 pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you 466 00:32:35.029 --> 00:32:40.109 will escape God's judgments? Yeah, and you ultimately, when the Scripture says, 467 00:32:40.150 --> 00:32:43.509 and you know Paul again in First Conthians, chapter eleven, when he 468 00:32:43.549 --> 00:32:46.779 talks about judge yourself and you know not be judged. What he's talking about. 469 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:51.180 Judge yourself and you'll not be judged of God. Like making an assessment 470 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:54.019 of your personal behavior, rectify that behavior by the grace of God. You 471 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:58.339 acknowledge that your sin, your sinful. You Need God's help to overcome that 472 00:32:58.500 --> 00:33:00.369 sin. And then you're not going to receive the hammer down from God. 473 00:33:00.569 --> 00:33:06.250 Right, right, because he's taking care of your judgment through what Jesus did, 474 00:33:06.329 --> 00:33:08.569 taking your judgment, your punishment on the cross when you have surrendered your 475 00:33:08.650 --> 00:33:13.480 sin. Yeah, if to yeah, and seem so often the this passage 476 00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:15.519 is taken out of context, just the portion that I wrote down, and 477 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:21.000 in and of itself that portion is hard to deal with. Foreign passing judgment 478 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:23.880 on another, you condemn yourself. Yeah, and then they stop there. 479 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:30.150 But as we read on we understand. Well, he's not just saying any 480 00:33:30.430 --> 00:33:35.630 kind of judgment, will condemn yourself. He's saying a specific yeah, a 481 00:33:35.670 --> 00:33:37.630 judgment right. Yeah, well, he's talking about again, a hypocritical judge. 482 00:33:37.630 --> 00:33:43.220 Yea. You know the overarching theme of the book of Romans. It 483 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:45.819 comes right out of Romans, Chapter One, Verse Sixteen. For I'm not 484 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:49.500 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to 485 00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:52.299 salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 486 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:57.730 So Paul is addressing and you know, get theological and get too much 487 00:33:57.769 --> 00:34:01.410 into the breakdown of what this book means, but it's talking about you and 488 00:34:01.450 --> 00:34:06.690 gentile relationships in light of the new covenant. All through Romans he's addressing Jews 489 00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:09.159 at one point, then he addresses gentiles and he addresses Jews and he addresses 490 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:13.960 gentiles. And here he's addressing, I believe, Jews, but because they're 491 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:17.239 judging these gentiles for their their pagan practices and they're pagan worship and even they're 492 00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:21.360 pagan background that they came out of some of those who are believers. Right, 493 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:23.989 and in Paul saying, listen, do you do the same stuff? 494 00:34:24.349 --> 00:34:29.670 Like you're judging them and you're doing the same stuff. You're judging them they're 495 00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:32.710 wrong. You have the commands and because you have the commands, you think 496 00:34:32.829 --> 00:34:37.309 that they're wrong for breaking the commands, when you yourself break the commands. 497 00:34:37.630 --> 00:34:42.139 So it's basically like again what Jesus said, judge not lest you be judged 498 00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:44.659 from the same measure. These to judge will be measured back to you. 499 00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:47.219 Yeah, you're going to be your God when you stand before God. If 500 00:34:47.219 --> 00:34:51.099 you have a standard and you're not willing to keep or able to keep your 501 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:54.409 own standard, then don't try to put that standard on other people. Yeah, 502 00:34:54.889 --> 00:34:59.289 and that's what Paul's dealing with here in this particular passage. I believe, 503 00:34:59.329 --> 00:35:02.530 the big takeaway don't be a hypocrite. Yeah, that's why I mean 504 00:35:02.690 --> 00:35:08.840 that Jesus probably had his harshest words regarding hypocrites. Yeah, and hypocrisy. 505 00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:15.880 So, yeah, and so again, as ministers of the Gospel, as 506 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:21.239 you know, Side Wall Counselors, as folks in a pregnancy center, as 507 00:35:21.630 --> 00:35:23.909 people, and whatever ministry, in particular per life ministry, you involved in. 508 00:35:24.510 --> 00:35:28.989 We need to make assessments of our own behavior. We need to, 509 00:35:29.230 --> 00:35:34.389 before the Lord, confess our sins for sake them, and and then we 510 00:35:34.550 --> 00:35:37.940 go out and we bring the Gospel, which is the the word of God, 511 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:40.980 to those who are lost, the Gospel that we've received, Jesus said, 512 00:35:42.219 --> 00:35:46.179 freely. You have received, so freely give. But we can't just 513 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:51.889 go out and cast out these hypocritical judgments about people because they're wrong and we're 514 00:35:51.969 --> 00:35:54.530 right. Only reason why we're right. We're never right. God's right. 515 00:35:55.130 --> 00:35:58.730 We just have agreed with him. And what we're trying to get people to 516 00:35:58.769 --> 00:36:02.289 understand it's God's word is right. It's true. We're not fantastic people because 517 00:36:02.289 --> 00:36:06.639 we've believed God's truth. It's only by His grace and His mercy that we've 518 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:09.559 come to know this truth. We come to broadcast the Gospel. Yes, 519 00:36:09.639 --> 00:36:15.519 to make judgments of behavior, but does also make a judgment of what God's 520 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.150 Word says, that if we turn to him, he will wash and forgive 521 00:36:19.230 --> 00:36:22.789 us from our sins and we could be made right with God. You know. 522 00:36:22.150 --> 00:36:27.750 Yeah, and so you we're called the judge. We're not called to 523 00:36:27.829 --> 00:36:30.550 be judgmental. I think that may be one of the biggest type of ways 524 00:36:30.750 --> 00:36:36.179 of right this particular power hypocrite. And so when someone says, well, 525 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:42.460 because many, many people in the pro life movement are post abordim yourselves and 526 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:45.380 that's that's what fuels a lot of their passion and the desire to please and 527 00:36:45.460 --> 00:36:50.849 obey God. But there's this background that that we know. It was destructive 528 00:36:50.969 --> 00:36:55.210 and horrific. And Yeah, and, and so I want to answer this 529 00:36:55.329 --> 00:37:00.409 question because I know it's in people's minds. Well, aren't you a hypocrit 530 00:37:00.530 --> 00:37:05.440 it? You had an abortion and here you are telling other people don't do 531 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:07.480 it. And I want to apply that same logic. Would they apply that 532 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:14.559 to Paul? Yeah, Paul Murdered Christians and Pete Jesus followers, and now 533 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:19.670 he's coming to people throughout, you know, the known world at that time 534 00:37:19.789 --> 00:37:22.989 and saying you need to turn to Jesus. Well, he would be the 535 00:37:22.110 --> 00:37:28.230 biggest hypocrite at all if you couldn't use a past that was destructive towards the 536 00:37:28.349 --> 00:37:32.940 very thing that you are now promoting. And so my destructive past is actually 537 00:37:34.820 --> 00:37:39.539 gives me an understanding that someone that doesn't have that past may not have. 538 00:37:40.420 --> 00:37:45.769 But the depth of destruction, yeah, that and so so. Not that 539 00:37:45.889 --> 00:37:50.650 I want it, but I have it. That is that is what I 540 00:37:50.849 --> 00:37:53.489 have, and to to offer to others is, yeah, don't do this. 541 00:37:53.769 --> 00:38:00.440 I've been there and so much of the most effective arguments against terrible behaviors 542 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:05.679 are from those who have engaged in them and been destroyed or nearly destroyed, 543 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:08.199 some of the biggest witnesses. You know, you have a friend WHO's next 544 00:38:08.239 --> 00:38:12.400 drug addict, right, and he is, you know, a witness and 545 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:15.670 a testimony and God uses him to speak to other people who, right, 546 00:38:15.789 --> 00:38:20.309 are in drug addiction. Right. God rescued me from it, yeah, 547 00:38:20.349 --> 00:38:22.869 and and he can rescue you from it. Yeah, one of the pro 548 00:38:22.030 --> 00:38:27.460 boards as asked me, one of the pro choice like in the abortion Clin 549 00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:29.820 he asked me, I think it shared this one a previous podcast, but 550 00:38:29.900 --> 00:38:31.860 it's not wrong for me to share it again, right, and she said 551 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:36.219 in particular about you. Yeah, she said Vicki's had an abortion. Isn't 552 00:38:36.219 --> 00:38:37.860 it hypocritical for her to come out here and tell these women not to have 553 00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:40.489 an abortion and she's had one herself. Yeah, and I said, you 554 00:38:40.570 --> 00:38:44.369 know what, there's there's some woods across the street at the abortion clinic and 555 00:38:44.409 --> 00:38:46.530 I said, imagine if I walk through those woods and there's a lot of 556 00:38:46.570 --> 00:38:49.570 snakes in those woods, and there actually are a lot of snakes. We 557 00:38:49.650 --> 00:38:52.369 seem like their four coppers are as here dangerous. And say I walk through 558 00:38:52.369 --> 00:38:55.760 those woods right there and I got bit by ten copper heads on my way 559 00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:59.840 through those woods and by God's grace, I pulled myself out of there, 560 00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:02.719 just drug myself out, called one one and when to the hospital, got 561 00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:07.760 all the Anti Venom. By God's mercy and grace, I'm alive. Get 562 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:09.309 back on my feet and I come out here and I stand in front of 563 00:39:09.309 --> 00:39:13.389 those woods and I scream with my hands waving back and forth, don't go 564 00:39:13.550 --> 00:39:16.269 in those woods and try to convince anyone that would come that way not to 565 00:39:16.389 --> 00:39:21.829 go in those woods. That be hypocritical or that be me actually loving people, 566 00:39:21.949 --> 00:39:23.619 because I've been in those woods. Yeah, and it ain't a good 567 00:39:23.659 --> 00:39:27.420 place to go. Right. You've been in those woods. Right, you've 568 00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:31.099 been in an abortion clinic. You've gone through that, you you've you've experienced 569 00:39:31.179 --> 00:39:36.460 the horror of what abortion can bring in a person's life. And you're just 570 00:39:36.579 --> 00:39:38.050 sort of that person standing in front of those woods and they had don't go 571 00:39:38.170 --> 00:39:42.409 that way. You're that person standing at the edge of that brink that people 572 00:39:42.409 --> 00:39:45.090 are falling off, for people are headed toward. You fall off and, 573 00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:47.690 my God's grace, you've you've gotten back up, yeah, from that Brink. 574 00:39:47.730 --> 00:39:51.849 Yeah, and you're telling people don't go that way. Yeah, you're 575 00:39:51.849 --> 00:39:54.719 not being judgmental. You're making a judgment, an assessment of behavior. Yeah, 576 00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:59.719 but you're not judging them in the sense that you you hate them, 577 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:02.639 you're angry with them, or you're being hypocritical, right. It would actually 578 00:40:02.639 --> 00:40:07.429 be to claim that you love people and not to try to keep them from 579 00:40:07.469 --> 00:40:12.909 destructive behavior. Would actually be hippocrius. Yeah, and actually I am making 580 00:40:12.949 --> 00:40:17.309 a judgment on myself. Yeah, and that judgment was that was evil and 581 00:40:17.710 --> 00:40:23.539 wrong and horrific and barbaric, I mean every terrible adjective you could use. 582 00:40:23.980 --> 00:40:30.380 And and so, through that Voice of experience, you know, I can 583 00:40:30.420 --> 00:40:36.769 speak knowledgeably about this is wrong. I know it's wrong. I lived it 584 00:40:37.889 --> 00:40:42.730 and I know it's wrong because, ultimately, because the Bible tells me so. 585 00:40:43.090 --> 00:40:45.010 Yeah, all right, well, if you're if you're cool with that. 586 00:40:45.489 --> 00:40:47.650 Oh, you want to, you want to wrap it up before I've 587 00:40:47.650 --> 00:40:52.679 got three more. Okay, let's okay, let's go for it this one. 588 00:40:52.119 --> 00:40:55.840 How is it that you don't know how to interpret the present time? 589 00:40:55.960 --> 00:41:01.920 Why don't you judge for yourselves, which is right? So again telling us 590 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:06.550 we have the power and should be able to judge. US This speaking the 591 00:41:06.550 --> 00:41:10.630 ourselves, Jesus is telling us to judge. That is actually that read letters 592 00:41:10.710 --> 00:41:15.190 there better. This is Jesus and Luke twelve and fifty seven telling us to 593 00:41:15.269 --> 00:41:20.019 judge. Then in Johndred and twenty four, stop judging by mere appearances. 594 00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:25.539 So he's telling us how not to judge, but instead judge correctly. And 595 00:41:25.619 --> 00:41:30.019 Geese as speaking in John Twenty Four. So we are to judge, judge 596 00:41:30.179 --> 00:41:36.769 with righteous judgment. Passage. They're correct. How about this? First Corinthians 597 00:41:36.809 --> 00:41:40.010 to fifteen. The person with the spirit makes judgments about all things. But 598 00:41:40.130 --> 00:41:45.809 such a person is not subject, for merely to merely human judgments. For 599 00:41:45.929 --> 00:41:47.840 who has known the mind of the Lord is to instruct him. But we 600 00:41:49.320 --> 00:41:52.880 have the mind of Christ reminding US WE HAVE THE MIND of Christ if we 601 00:41:53.039 --> 00:41:58.840 are born again through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in 602 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:02.510 dwells us. We have the mind of Christ and we can judge. We're 603 00:42:02.550 --> 00:42:07.550 not judging by human judgments, we're judging by Biblical judgment, Right, by 604 00:42:07.590 --> 00:42:10.630 Christ judgment. Yea, the Lord has given us not only again, the 605 00:42:10.949 --> 00:42:15.179 the right, but the charge to judge, and the judgments that we make 606 00:42:15.260 --> 00:42:20.579 are supposed to be for restoration, not to tear people down. Exactly. 607 00:42:20.619 --> 00:42:23.260 Yeah, you don't think a lot of it is rooted in, you know, 608 00:42:23.340 --> 00:42:27.380 as far as Christians not want to be judgmental, not want to be 609 00:42:27.460 --> 00:42:30.730 perceived as judge. Unfortunately, I think a lot of it's rooted in the 610 00:42:30.809 --> 00:42:35.170 fear of Man, is rooted in a desire to look good in the ass 611 00:42:35.210 --> 00:42:37.730 of the world and listen gas no matter what. If you want to live 612 00:42:37.769 --> 00:42:42.130 for God, if you're going to live for the Lord, you're going to 613 00:42:42.289 --> 00:42:46.760 be rejected by society. You're never going to be culturally quote relevant, and 614 00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:51.719 that's not the goal anyway. Our goal is not to be culturally relevant. 615 00:42:52.239 --> 00:42:55.000 Our goal is to be biblically relevant, to obey what God's word says, 616 00:42:55.400 --> 00:43:00.030 because God's words unchanging. The culture changes its opinions. Change doesn't mean we're 617 00:43:00.030 --> 00:43:02.630 completely out of the loop. It doesn't mean that we just, you know, 618 00:43:04.070 --> 00:43:08.349 are purposely culturally irrelevant, so to speak. The Gospel is cultural, 619 00:43:08.630 --> 00:43:14.420 culturally relevant. It's relevant to every culture. Has Been for two thousand years 620 00:43:14.619 --> 00:43:17.940 and changed hearts and minds and lives for twozero years. If it was relevant 621 00:43:19.019 --> 00:43:22.980 then, it's relevant now. And in the word of God tells us we 622 00:43:22.019 --> 00:43:28.210 should make judgments and based on those judgments, bringing the Gospel to help our 623 00:43:28.329 --> 00:43:31.889 brother remove the speck. The Gospel is like a pair of tweezers to help 624 00:43:31.969 --> 00:43:37.730 you get the speck out of your brother's eye. And so so we encourage 625 00:43:37.769 --> 00:43:39.969 you guys, you know, not just in prolife ministry, but wherever you 626 00:43:40.050 --> 00:43:45.519 are work, you business, home, whatever, bring the Gospel. Be 627 00:43:45.719 --> 00:43:50.360 An ambassador of Jesus, to bring the gospel of the Kingdom to all of 628 00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:52.519 those who are lost and watch God do his work. But you know, 629 00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:55.429 do it make a judgment of yourself first, be in the word, being 630 00:43:55.550 --> 00:44:00.710 prayer, be in church and and let God do his work in your heart, 631 00:44:00.710 --> 00:44:04.030 as he uses you to do a work at other people's hearts. We 632 00:44:04.070 --> 00:44:07.909 appreciate all those who do listen and just as we always encourage you just to 633 00:44:07.030 --> 00:44:10.539 connect with us and connect with me. D Parks at cities for lifecom. 634 00:44:10.780 --> 00:44:16.099 Cities The number for lifecom. You can connect with Vicky v COSSI ORG at 635 00:44:16.179 --> 00:44:21.179 cities for lifecom, our website, Charlotte dot cities for Life Dot Org, 636 00:44:21.579 --> 00:44:25.889 and then our website with sidewalk counseling it from a and and sort of training 637 00:44:27.210 --> 00:44:31.289 and things. There's www dot sidewalks, the number for lifecom. You want 638 00:44:31.329 --> 00:44:37.090 to hear from you guys. We're starting to put out audio versions on Youtube, 639 00:44:37.170 --> 00:44:40.039 not videos yet, even though we're doing some video recording. Once we 640 00:44:40.159 --> 00:44:43.880 start doing that, it'll it'll be out there, but for now we're just 641 00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:46.000 putting the audio version out on youtube so you can comment there. You can 642 00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:51.199 share the stuff on social media, share with your friends, put a review 643 00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:54.829 on Itunes of what you think about the podcast. Shoot US over an email. 644 00:44:54.869 --> 00:45:00.030 Let us know some suggestions you might have her podcast episodes, things that 645 00:45:00.150 --> 00:45:05.269 you haven't heard really covered before on this podcast or others. We'd like to 646 00:45:05.309 --> 00:45:07.579 talk about those things guests. Maybe ideas you have for guests? We'd love 647 00:45:07.619 --> 00:45:12.780 to get some more folks on on here. We have some guests coming up 648 00:45:12.820 --> 00:45:15.300 in the next couple of weeks. It'll be really a blessing, I think, 649 00:45:15.059 --> 00:45:19.179 but we appreciate those who listen and I hope that you're blessed as you 650 00:45:19.260 --> 00:45:27.409 listen and we'll talk to you later. Use Milan, use me, give 651 00:45:27.610 --> 00:45:47.159 me, give me. Know it will cost me my life, but not 652 00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:50.670 things too precious inside