2023 01 15

Morning church. This time we're going to go ahead and dismiss our 3 to 5 year olds and six and seven year olds as well uh to their classes. And for the rest of us, let's turn to Luke chapter 6. Uh we're going to be in Luke 6 as we continue walking through the book of Luke. Uh believe it or not, this is our 28th week in Luke already. Um I still feel like we just started it um yesterday, but if you feel otherwise, don't judge us on that.

Um and yeah, well, let's just talk about judging. We'll we'll talk about judging others. That's going to be our topic for today. And so I I just I know out of the gate um that that we will probably get feedback for this one. So uh which is you judging. So I just want to say that.

Um, but at the same time, like feedback's a good thing. All right? So, if you if you do disagree with what is taught today, bring the feedback. Like, I mean, in all seriousness, bring feedback. Um, at the same time, just know that, you know, we're preaching God's word. Um, and and are going to make some judgments today on the topic of judgment.

Um, and and what it means to actually judge others and and what the Bible is really getting at with this. And so I I want to kind of throw a question out there first. Raise your hands. Um if you believe the Bible tells us to not judge others. All right. I mean, yeah, go ahead.

Safe safe place. All right. Uh raise your hand if you believe the Bible tells us to judge others. Raise your hand. Okay. All right.

You're both correct. Okay. You're both correct. And so, does the Bible contradict itself when it comes to this topic of judging others? Uh, one of the easiest areas for me to judge others is when I'm watching the Cowboys game. Um, primarily judging usually referees or coaching decisions or players um, play and and so I'm constantly yelling at the time.

Um, at the same time, I think it's easy to judge others when it just happens to be someone who's on the opposite side of maybe something that you agree on or uh or believe in or political party, whatever it might be. It's just whatever's opposite, it's very easy to to cast a judgment. Um, and I think if our disdain for being told we're wrong was limited to referees in sports or politics and so forth, uh, it wouldn't be so dire of an issue for us in this place if it was just limited to those things. Yet, everyone from toddlers to retirees, we want our behavior justified at the end of the day. And therefore, we we don't want to be judged. We don't want to be judged in any way.

We don't want to be judged. And so I think consequently Jesus' prohibition against judging in Luke 6 that we're about to read as well as paralleled in Matthew 7, it's become sort of a mantra in our kind of autonomy idolizing referee despising culture. When others try to judge our actions, we quickly jump to judge not. We quickly jump to uh you without sin, cast the first stone. We we we want to use the Bible as sort of our reason to judge them for judging us. And here's how it works.

When someone is calling you out for something you said or did, quote Jesus, "Judge not." And then if they continue to disagree, we immediately jump to, "You're intolerant. You're foolish. You're being ridiculous." We throw the judgment back. And then we make a clean get away with Jesus at the will because we've did the right thing.

Correct. In the words of Enigo Mononttoya, I don't think that verse means what you think it means. And so let's read let's read it in its entirety and make some observations, interpretations, and finally some application for us. Luke 6:37-42. Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. All right? So that is Jesus's instruction.

All right? That that's his teaching. If you judge others, you will be judged. If you condemn others, you will be condemned. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. If you give to others, you will receive.

Whatever you do will be done for you as well. That's that's the teaching. But then Jesus expounds upon it. And he so he continues, he also told them a parable. Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. So he asks them a question here and and really it's more of a rhetorical question. Can a blind man lead a blind man? He's implying the answer is no, right? Because if a blind man tries to lead a blind man, it's going to not end well for them. They're they're going to end up falling into a pit.

And then Jesus gets at something here that I believe is really central to to this text and our understanding of it. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Insert the blind man using this logic here. A blind man is not like a man who's able to see. But if the blind man was able to gain his full sight, then he would be like the man who is actually able to see. Again, Jesus is talking about change here.

He's talking about transformation here. In order for a disciple to become like his teacher, he must be fully trained. must be fully transformed. During this time of Jesus, disciples and teachers were normal roles within society. Similar to us having teachers and professors and students or apprentices. If you want to become a professor one day, you don't just get to choose that.

You got to first be a student who eventually becomes a professor who goes through the education and the and the change and the transformation. Be able to eventually be that. You have to go through the proper training and graduation in order to do that. You were once something else and then change occurred that allows you to now be something new. I'm going to come back. Just hold on to that thought.

I'm going to come back to that point in a minute. But let's keep reading. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye, you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye." So Jesus begins this passage with a judge not. And if that's where we just simply looked at, if we're just looking just at his initial instruction, then yeah, Jesus said, "Judge not."

So don't go judging people. Period. He said, "Judge not." But then when you get down to Jesus giving illustration and explaining what he's already said, he actually does give a pathway for someone to remove the speck out of someone else's eye by first removing the log that is in yours. So there's a process of change and transformation that must take place in order for us to rightly be able to cast judgment and to judge others in a way that is fruitful for them. And so I want to give you a couple of ways to not judge and I want to give you a few ways we are commanded to actually judge.

And in our passage, the parable illustrates and explains the point Jesus is trying to make. So again, verses 39-42 are really just explaining the explanation of 37-38. And so he starts with this idea of do not judge hypocritically by calling us hypocrites if we do. So if Jesus ever told a joke, then the parable in Luke 6:39-42 would be it. I mean really, he he's telling a joke here. Um and possibly the whole maybe like camel through the eye of a needle illustration as well might be another joke of his.

But when preaching on this parable, we usually picture pastors who who have preached on this passage while using a real life illustration. I mean, you've seen the guys like they get up on stage and they've got like the 2x4 plank, you know, like in their eye and then they're trying to like maybe hold like, you know, a toothpick in the other one. And so you just get that like they're walking around like this. And so if Jesus was teaching on this and and you're sitting as one of these disciples, like I'm laughing if that's what Jesus is trying to picture for them, like how silly would it be if you're walking around like this and you're trying to find the speck that's in the other person's eye. I mean, the disciples would be looking at that and they're saying, "Yeah, that you'd be stupid to do that. like you would be idiotic to go around being the one with a log protruding from your eye while trying to focus on the speck that is in another.

And so Jesus calls that to be hypocritical. It's meant to be a parody. He's just creating literally an SNL skit here on the spot. This would be someone who's judging while they themselves are still under judgment. This is someone who's calling out sin in someone else while they are not dealing with the sin that is in their own life. and and just based on the analogy of a speck in a log, your sin's way bigger versus the sin that you're calling out in someone else.

Not that we're categorizing greater sins versus others, but it's important. And so, this could land under two categories. This idea of hypocrisy. The first is the sinner who is still an enemy of God who judges others wrongful actions without believing they themselves are in the wrong. And that's just that's just the way our societyy's operating right now. We're just you're either on this team or you're on this team.

And this team has nothing wrong. This team over here has everything wrong. And so we're just we're just shooting. It's just war back and forth. This one believes they're all right. This one believes they're all right.

Neither are willing to realize that they have their own issues. Hypocrisy. Another side of this as well. The second is the Christian who has committed a sin and is unrepentant and yet continues to call to repentance others who have sinned. Log in your eye while around calling out the sawdust and someone else's. Either way, it's hypocritical to judge someone else's sin without first dealing with your own sin.

That's the first and foremost thing. Number two, do not judge the hidden or intention of someone's actions. You're like, "I don't see that in Luke 6." Where where are you pulling that from? All right. We're walking through scripture and letting scripture interpret for itself.

1 Corinthians 4 1-5, Paul is is dealing with an issue within the church in Corinth where they are calling a judgment on him where they're saying he has done something and we don't know specifically what it is. uh we we are saying we know that the church in Corinth has had uh whether it's received word or received teaching or received instruction from Peter, Apollos, and Paul. And at this point, they're calling a judgment on Paul. Maybe they didn't like the way Paul said something and they prefer the way that Peter said it. Or maybe Apollos. Paulus was a waterer.

Maybe it was more of that. I I like what Paul Apollo said versus Paul who's coming in and planting the gospel, which is a little bit more difficult in sometimes, but this is what he says. This is how one should regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. So Paul's basically like agreeing with them. You're right in casting judgment, for we should be found faithful.

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself for I am not aware of anything against myself. So he said, "I'm not aware." He's done some work in examining himself and maybe in and again just knowing how Paul works, maybe he's brought in some others to help examine him as well. Have you seen anything? Have I gone in inconsistent here?

I mean, he submitted himself to the council in Jerusalem to make sure that the gospel he was preaching was correct and accurate. Like, he went through the process to make sure what he was doing was above reproach and was faithful. So, it would not be out of the ordinary for him to ask someone and then come to the conclusion himself, I'm not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. And then here's some application. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time before the Lord comes who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.

Then each one will receive his condemnation from God. So what Paul's getting at here is there's things that we can judge and there's things that we cannot judge. We are to not cast judgment on the purposes of the heart or the hidden agendas at the end motives. All right? We are to not cast judgment towards one another and what we think someone's thinking or what we think someone's feeling or what the motive behind the action of whatever it is that they're doing. For example, that would be like having someone come up here and sing praise and worship to God and you cast a judgment that they're doing it in order to be prideful or they're doing it out of pride.

Well, what we can cast judgment on is the fact that they're singing praises and worship to God. Yes. And amen. Praise God for that. I'm not to judge the behind their heart. Now what we know generally speaking and I'll get to this here in a minute is that motives do eventually continue to produce out fruit that comes from those out of the heart comes actions.

Actions in a way prove the condition of the heart. And so if you're concerned about motives or the hidden or the um purposes of the heart, if you're concerned about that in someone else's life, the only thing we are commanded to do is test it against their actions and let time reveal a consistency of that that eventually allows us to trust the deeper things of the heart. So do not judge. Again, as Paul has talked about here, do not judge the hidden or intention of someone's actions. I think sometimes we get ourselves into trouble by judging someone's intentions or motives without just looking at face value what's happening, what has been said, what has been done, what action or deed has been walked out. Those are the things that we are to look at first.

not worrying ourselves or even going and talking with others about about something that's of the heart. Those things will prevail themselves. Number three, and this moves into what we can judge. Those are the two things primarily judge not. These are some things in order for you to judge. Judge the moral actions of others.

Judge the moral actions of others. Listen to this. In 1 Corinthians 5, as Paul is can kind of walking through with this church on just the fact of judging, he says, "Here's what you are to not judge. Here's what you are to judge." He says, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans. For a man has his father's wife."

What he basically is saying there is that a man within the church is sleeping with his stepmother. Okay, that that's what's happening in the church in Corenth. He says, "And you are arrogant." Which later on, as we see in the passage, they're actually celebrating it. They're celebrating it in in such a taking God's grace out of context, saying, "How good is God's grace that it covers this couple who are sleeping together?" I mean, it's just completely misrepresenting what God's grace is.

and it's misrepresenting what God's design is. And so you are arrogant. Ought you not rather to mourn. Like don't be celebrating this. You should be mourning this sin that is going on within your church. Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

We're getting into some church discipline here, which we'll get to here in a minute. He goes on to say, "For though absent in body," he's not with them presently. I am present in spirit and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. Wait, Jesus said in Luke 6, judge not. Paul here is saying, I'm pronouncing judgment. So, there is a way to be able to pronounce judgment, right?

When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present with the power of the Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Well, that sounds harsh. I mean, we haven't we haven't done that here. All right? We we've not brought anyone up and said, "Um, Satan, we give this man over to you." So that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

There's a reason for judgment. We'll get to that. We're called to hold one another accountable to the moral actions and instructions of God. We are guys like judgment is literally just pronouncing an opinion on right or wrong. So there is good judgments and there's bad judgments and and and God is a god of holiness. He is a god of order.

He is a god of design. There are ways in which he wants humans to relate with one another that leads to the flourishment of society. And that can be both in relation when it comes to friendships, relation when it comes to marriage, relation when it comes to children and legacy, all of those things. God has a way that brings honor and glory to him and that leads to the flourishment of society. And when we walk out of step, God tells us it is good and right for you to call one another out to be able to cast a judgment and be able to say, "Hey brother, hey sister, you're walking out of step that there is a way to be able to remove the speck that is in our brother's eye." Again, by making sure that first we're examining and doing the work within our own selves.

making sure that we're not in the wrong as well. The most loving thing someone can do is expose it and help turn you away from it. Again, we're not going to go around like police hunting sin, but it's necessary. And it's necessary because we love each other. If sin kills, steals, and destroys, if it creates destruction and despair in your life, the most loving thing we can do for one another is hold each other accountable to what God wants for us and how God wants us to live out, how he wants us to think, and how he wants us to feel, and how he wants us to to play out our actions on a daily basis. We either walk in contrary to the spirit of God or we walk in the spirit of God.

When we're walking in contrary to the spirit of God, it is loving for us to come to one another and to say, "Hey, I think you're out of step here." In the same way, it is unloving to leave them in their sin because we don't want to correct them or rebuke them. Play that out in some other scenarios. This would be like you walking home and seeing your neighbor's house on fire with them still inside and just believing, "Well, they'll make it out. I'll pray for them. I'll pray for them.

It's none of my business to tell them that they're about to burn a wife. It's not my business." There's a way to judge the moral action of others. You should make them feel as though they are the scum of the earth. No. For a second y'all were like, "Do I write that down?

Make them feel despicable and disgusting?" No. Judge the moral actions of others with gentleness. Listen to this in Galatians 6:1. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, all right, he's leaving that as broad as it could possibly be. All right.

He didn't narrow that down to, hey, if anyone's like what I've y'all remember what I had to say to the Corinthians. If anyone's caught in that kind of sexual immorality, no, he's saying if anyone is caught in any transaction or trans transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted. There's a way to cast judgment. This is a two-prong command for us. We are called to restore, bring back, help strengthen the person who's caught in a sin.

And also, we are to be careful and keep watch over ourselves so that we don't fall into the same sin. But we are to do this with gentleness. I don't know where we get off track and believe it is okay to be just ruthless and harsh with one another. Now, there is a time and place for more strict discipline for sure. I mean, even if you're if you're like, "Well, I mean, I I know Paul and there are times where Paul calls the Pharisees brood of vipers." That wasn't gentle.

Or how does he open up the letter to the Galatians? You foolish Galatians. Well, that felt like it could have been more gentle. He calls the church in Corinth arrogant doesn't seem gentle. But the primary process in which we restore someone from sinning to worshiping should be a spirit of gentleness. It's not saying that he was wrong for that.

It was not wrong for Jesus to flip the tables over. Feel like there could have been a more gentle way of doing that. There is time for holy anger and righteousness in order to protect someone from the sin that they are engaged in. Again, the holy anger is not towards the identity of the person, but it is towards the sin that is entangling them that you are trying to rescue them out of. And on the backside they'll see that maybe in the moment they're saying how dare you call me foolish and they're saying what Paul's reminding the Galatians because if you if you walk it out he begins with calling them foolish but then he begins with reminding them who they are in Christ so that when they come back on the other side of that and are repentant they're able to say we actually weren't foolish. We were just suffering from a temporary identity crisis.

We are actually holy, righteous saints and we were not walking in that. So, thank you for calling out the foolishness that we were walking in and bringing us back to the light of Christ and what he's called us to walk in. That's how it plays itself out. It's similar why like and this is I know this resonates with parents just because of the children aspect like it's not that we are just calling our children foolish all the time but it is what they are doing that is foolish and it breeds some anger at times right like we there needs it breeds correction and it's because of who they are that we love that we want to protect them from the foolishness that they're engaging in same thing is what plays out with us when we judge the moral actions of others. There is a way to be able to do it with holy anger, but at the same time, don't let that be your first go-to. I I think it's just easy for us to go there maybe.

And that I mean, judge the hidden intentions of your own heart when it comes to that. Does it make you feel good to just call out the sin of others? You should probably not be the one calling out the sin of others. And that's a good litmus test for it. If you enjoy or take pleasure in rebuking your fellow brothers and sisters, you might you might be a Pharisee. That sounds like a here's your son quote.

Um, who are we obligated to hold accountable and judge? Because Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians to say something interesting here. We are called to judge. This is number five. I believe the moral actions of those in the church. The moral actions of those in the church.

Listen to this in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13. This is still in that context of the sexual im immoral person that's within the church. He says,"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people." Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolattors since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother Christian if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed or is an idoltor, reviler, drunkard or swindler. Not even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders the world? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. purge the evil person from among you. So, our first go-to when it comes to who we are to judge is those within the church. It's those within the church.

Now, if you look at that and you're like, well, if we're not to judge those outside the church, how will they ever know? I mean, what what does Jesus actually start off with in preaching? Repent and be baptized. What does it mean to repent? Stop doing what you're doing and do what I tell you to do. Stop doing what you're doing.

Follow my way. It's saying everything that you're doing is wrong. Trust me. Trust me. That that's that is in a way a judging of others. There's a judging of others that is leading them to understanding the gospel and then there is a judging others that is leading people within the church as well to understanding the gospel.

The two are different. Evangelism outside of the church is a way that God has commanded us to evangelize people. But we are not judging them in a way to dysfellowship with them. We're judging inside the church is judging in a way that if they are found to be not believing. We are dysfellowshipping with them. Not to dis like not to be in relationship but to just categorize them correctly to move them over to this category that they need to be evangelized not just dysfellowshipped with.

We are to judge those within the church. What this really kind of boils down to is if someone in the church is constantly sinning and and we come to one another and we're like, "Hey, I see you out of step here." And they were to say, "Well, okay, that don't judge me." Well, for I'm called to judge you according to scripture. You're in the body of Christ and you're walking out of step with Christ. I'm I'm I'm I'm trying to love you here.

And they continue and persist in and persist in and persist in. What they're actually saying is they're just letting their fruit reveal their heart. They are not believers of Jesus Christ. They're not born. They don't have a new identity that loves and longs for God's holiness. their identity is still longing and loving their sin and their pride and their arrogance and whatever it might be.

And it's revealing the two so that we're not trying to just disciple this person. We're not trying to like develop them on the path to becoming a deacon or elder or whatever it is. No, no, no. We're just realizing now that this person is actually not a member of the body of Christ because they don't know Christ. And so we need to again remove them from membership of the body of Christ in order to categorize them as a non-bel as of the world so that we can then now pursue them in such a way that it is for evangelism purposes not necessarily just within the church disciplehip purposes. We have to start learning how to categorize these things and feeling safe to be able to bring these types of conversations up with one another, knowing that we're casting like everyone in this room is casting judgments on everyone in this room at all times.

At all times. It's just true. The Bible is teaching us that there's a way to do it that is Christlike, that is godly, and there's a way to do it that is not that is not. And that leads me to the goal of judging one another is not condemnation. It's not just winning the argument. I mean, that's that's that's Facebook.

That's social media. We're not actually after the other person changing their mind or whatever. We're just we're just trying to trump them. We're trying to win the argument. We're trying to best them. The goal of judging one another is not condemnation, but it's restoration and even redemption.

That's the goal of judging. Again, Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you are you who are spiritual should restore them." Restore them. Okay? Don't just catch them in their transgression and call it out to make them feel bad. It is to restore them.

It is for their joy that you judge. Luke 6:42, first take the log out of your own eye. Do that work and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. If it's I mean if you've ever had a like obviously a log in your eye is going to be incredibly painful but if you've had a speck in your eye that's very annoying like and it's it's hard to see it's hard to you know whatever it's annoying you want to help them not be annoyed anymore it's a good thing to restore them through this process or even Matthew 18 the chapter on church discipline the one that everyone's like don't go there if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. So like if someone's and and and and this will be let's just do a little bit of instruction on how this works out with the church. Your first if you see someone within the church who you believed is caught in a sin.

you're as a member of the body of Christ. This is what Jesus is teaching and telling you and and giving you the freedom to do is to not go to your pastors and say go deal with this. You if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. So you have the freedom to do that to do that. And it's messy. It's messy.

All right. I I I I've spoken between me and Josh about this many a times because he does this the best of anyone that has ever done it as far as calling out my sin. I mean, well, Kelsey does it the best. Um she does it more regular than Josh, but but it took like those early times when Josh would come and would basically say like, you know, hey, here's where I think you're off. Um it was it was some headbutting. It was it it bruted some arguments that would kind of came out of that.

But now it's done in such a way that we've understood each other and we know each other's and again because of consistency we know each other's intention and I know the love that he has for me and the love that I have for him. And I just know that when he sits down with me and and and I can tell before he even says anything the way he sits, I know what's about to happen to where and he's still so timid because I think he's just trying to be so gentle. I just come out and I'm like, "All right, I can see where this is going. I'm here. I'm or I'm ready to receive. Just give it to me straight."

But it's because I know where he's at and I know what he wants for me. And it's not to make me just feel terrible in the moment. It's to make me see Jesus so that when I correct the issue, I'm able to experience greater joy. Greater joy. The first time you do this with someone within the body, it's going to be messy and it could be an argument. But we've got to get to a place of understanding that we love each other and we are for one another.

There's a way again to do it with gentleness. But be free to do this for one another because we're called to do that. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. This is where again you're you're looking at the actions here. If whatever the fault is that you've called out and they don't change, they don't correct it, then we take two or three others. Again, technically still not coming to the pastors yet.

We can be one of those two or three, but it doesn't have to be. Maybe this is a good moment for you to engage the community group level and say I mean and I don't know a better way to say it but just wholly ambush them on a community group night and just say we love you and we are seeing this inconsistency and we just want to understand where is this coming from? How can we help? How can we love you? Do you see this? And if he refuses then to listen to them, tell it to the church.

Tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let them be to you as a gentile and tax collector. Let them be considered a sinner who's not been transformed to a saint. We now treat them as as though they need to be evangelized. What are some ways that you can help cultivate a culture like this in our church? And I'm just going to kind of fly through this because I know I'm I'm long.

Hey Josh, do you have any feedback for me and how I led that meeting? What could I have done better? Like instead of just waiting for others to kind of like come call out something or to cultivate culture of this like we personally can take responsibility and begin allowing the environment for people to speak into our lives. Hey Zach, I I want you to know that you can always speak into my marriage and how you see me loving my wife. And my flesh doesn't want to ask this, but any observations about how you've seen me parent? like just inviting the correction and the rebuke and being willing to receive it.

Again, it's going to help cultivate a culture of healthy judging amongst ourselves. Wisdom is always required in matters of correction because again, no two situations are alike. And so we need to make sure again this is the removing the log. We need to make sure that we're dealing with our own selves that we're trusting the spirit of God and that we're then moving towards someone with the love of God and the gentleness of his spirit when it comes to making a correction. And as this brings us into communion, one of the foundations when it comes to communion every single week is the ability for us to do the log work before we enter into the ministry work of how we judge ourselves within the church and how we continue to take the gospel outside of the church to again not like quote unquote pronounce judgment on the world around us. That's God's job.

He's judging outside the church. But we are viceroy. We are ministers of the gospel. Taking the good news to the bad news. And so when we preach good news, they're going to take it as though we're judging them. But we're offering them life.

We're offering them life. It's unloving to not do that. To not do that. Here's how we can examine ourselves and begin cultivating that culture first. Judging yourself. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32.

This is in the context of the last supper here. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Man, discipline in this context is good for us. It hurts because it's calling out our sin. It's calling out our pride. It's calling out our areas that we need grace and mercy. But it's necessary.

It's necessary. Just like that person that's burning in the house and you go in and you grab them, they don't care how you grab them. Like if they hit the door on the way out, it's not like they're not going to be like, "I'm going to sue you now for like I've got a bruise on my head." No, they're going to thank you for call like dragging them out of what was killing them. We're doing that work. We are the first like no one knows you more than you know yourself and even you don't know yourself.

Even you have blind spots. Even you have areas. Again, that's why I think it's good that God has called us to judge one another because we there's just things we don't see. Blind leading the blind. But here is one of the first ways that we can do this and start this is by again examining ourselves. what we do know and see.

Are we bringing it before the Lord? Are we confessing it to him? And are we saying we are out of step with the spirit in this way? And we need your grace and your mercy to continue to to forgive us and to restore us so that we can understand why we're choosing to do this and to say no to that. Because of the work that your son did at the cross and his resurrection, we can now say yes to life and life abundant. We can say no to sin because we now have Jesus in us and therefore we can say yes to holiness.

We did not have that opportunity before the cross. We didn't dead in our sins and transgressions. Caught in the domain of darkness. No way out to the kingdom of the beloved son. But Jesus, he came. He came and he broke his body and he shed his blood for the removal of our sins and the ongoing examination of ourselves when we're out of step with the spirit and we bring it to the Lord before we partake of this meal.

He's able to say, "I broke my body and I shed my blood for that. It's forgiven. Let me restore you. Let me strengthen you to be able to say no to that sin tomorrow and yes to holiness. So, let's stand. I'm going to have you come up and grab the elements and come back to your seat.

I want to give you just a couple of minutes um for a time of of examination before we partake.