The last phrase of verse 12,
who are thou that judgest another? And I said in the original, it
literally reads you. Who are you to judge somebody
else? I've entitled this message. Who
are you? to judge. Now, the first thing that enters
my mind when I think of this question, who are you to judge? Who's he speaking to? Well, he's not speaking to your
wife. He's not speaking to your husband. He's not speaking to
that person that you think needs to hear a message like this.
He's not speaking to that self-righteous, judgmental jerk you know. He's
speaking to you. The Bible does not speak to other
people. The Bible speaks to you. The
Bible speaks to me. The Bible doesn't tell other
people how they ought to treat me. The Bible speaks of how I
am to treat others. You. Now he's speaking to you. Forget everybody else. He's speaking
to you. You? Who are you to judge and
to criticize anybody else? Who are you to presume to take
such a position of actually hypocrisy where you set yourself up as
a judge of somebody else. Every time you hear me say you,
I'm going to be saying me too. It's speaking to me. Who are
you to sit in judgment and to be critical of somebody else? Verse 11, speak not evil one
of another Brethren, do not speak evil of, do not criticize, do
not slander one another, brethren. But what if what I'm saying is
true about them? Still not supposed to do it. I don't care what the
circumstance is. we're still called upon to not
speak evil of our brethren. When we do that, who among us
doesn't? When we do that, we sin. God says, speak not evil one
of another brethren. And when we do that, what we're
doing is attempting to make our own Light shine brighter by exposing
the faults and flaws of our brother. That's all that's going on there
every time without exception. Speak not evil one of another
brethren. When we do, we're seeking to
exalt ourselves. That's the reason behind it every
time at the expense of our brethren. Now John said, by this we know
we pass from death to life because we love the brethren. Speak not
evil one of another brethren. I gave this a few weeks ago.
I forgot it and had to look it back up. Remember think before
you speak? And how quickly I forgot what
that thing stands for. Think before you speak. Think. T, is
it true? H, is it helpful? I, does it inspire? Does it inspire
someone to follow Christ? N, is it necessary? Does it serve
any point? K, is it kind? Think before you
speak. Think not, speak not evil, one
against another. Brethren, now how does God see
the brethren? I love thinking about this. God
sees the brethren. all of the brethren of Christ,
all those for whom Christ died. He sees them all as holy, unblameable,
and unreprovable in his sight. Now do you know why he sees them
as holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight? Because they are
holy and unblameable. and unreprovable in his sight,
because of the work of Christ on their behalf. That's how real
the work of Christ is for me, because of what my Lord did for
me. I stand before God holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. And so does every other child
of God. Now, if I say critical things
regarding Lent, rebuke me. Now, not when I'm just kidding.
When I'm kidding, I can say stuff. Don't rebuke me when I'm kidding.
That's taking it a little bit too far. But if I were to actually
criticize her, rebuke me. And you know, if you criticize
her, I'm not going to like you. I don't care if what you say
is true. I'm still not going to like you. Now, here's the
point. The Lord Jesus Christ, he takes personal whatever we
say about any of his little brothers and sisters. He takes it personal. He doesn't like it. Speak not
evil of one another brethren, and judge not one another brethren. Verse 11, the second sentence,
he that speaketh evil of his brother, and judges his brother,
speaks evil of the law, and judges the law. Now, if I judge the
law, you're not a doer of the law but a judge. As soon as I
criticize and as soon as I speak evil of my brother, all of a
sudden I've irrigated to myself the position of a lawgiver, a position that I have no business
assuming. Anytime I speak evil of my brother
or judge my brother or criticize my brother, All of a sudden,
I'm no longer a doer of the law, but a judge. That's a position
I have no right to take. Verse 12, there is one lawgiver. You know, I love to think of
the Lord of being a lawgiver. He's not under the law. He's
over it. He has no law over his head.
When he speaks, it becomes law. Everything he says is absolute
truth. There is one lawgiver, and it
ain't me, and it ain't you. Amen? There is one lawgiver,
and there's something utterly unique about this lawgiver that
we're speaking of. James says he's able to save,
and he's able to destroy. Now, let's camp there for just
a moment. He's able to save. Isn't that wonderful? He is able
to save. Now, for him to save me, I'm
going to cover some ground. I talked about Sunday. For him
to save me, I think of that passage of Scripture, thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. For him to save me from my sins,
there's something he had to do for me. First, He had to keep
God's law for me. I can't do it. If it's up to
me to keep the law, I'm in trouble because I cannot do it. All I've
ever done is broken God's law. You know, if I were judged, what
would happen to me? If I were judged? I mean, the Ten Commandments. Every time you sin, you're putting
something before God, aren't you? Thou shalt have no other
gods before me. Every time I sin, I'm placing
something before God. I think of the two great commandments.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength. And thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. The two great commandments. I'm
in a continual state of disobeying them in and of myself. All the
time. Never obeyed them once. I think
of the law with regard to idolatry. I'm an idol maker. I've made
so many false concepts of God in order to make myself more
comfortable with myself. Remember the name of the Lord
to keep it holy. Reverence His name. Every time
I've taken His name in my mouth, it hadn't been with the proper
reverence. Remember the Sabbath day to rest on the Sabbath? I've
never rested. Not completely. I've always got
something I'm in turmoil about. Honor your father and mother,
honor all authority. I've not honored authority. Not
in any way like I should. Thou shalt not kill. How many
people have I killed? How many characters have I murdered
through my innuendo, even through my silence? Thou shalt not commit
adultery. How often do I commit sexual
sin in my heart and in my mind? And how often have I committed
adultery against Spiritual adultery against the Lord, looking for
comfort somewhere outside of Christ in the covenant, looking
to myself in some way. Thou shalt not steal. I'm a thief.
I'm a thief. I've robbed God of glory in so
many different ways. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Everything I've said, even if I'm telling the truth, I'm telling
it in such a way as to make myself look better. Thou shalt not covet. Oh, my. When have I not coveted? Paul said, when this commandment
came, sin revived and I died. I've got to have somebody keep
the law for me. Not only that, I have to have somebody pay for
my sins. God is just, God is holy. I can't make payment. I've got to have somebody satisfy
God by His death in such a way that God is satisfied with me. That's what I need for me to
be saved from my sins. I need to have someone to protect
me from the devil because I'm no match for him. Satan is desired to have you
that he may sift you as wheat. How easily could he sift you
as wheat? I need someone to give me a new
heart. Here's what I need to be saved from my sins. I need
to be given a new heart that believes, that loves something
that wasn't there before, a new nature. I need to be cleansed
in my daily walk. Every day I sin, I need to be
cleansed daily. And when I die, I need someone
to raise me from the dead incorruptible and make me just like Christ.
Now do you believe he's able to do that? Do you believe he's
able to keep the law for you, to make payment for all your
sins so that there aren't any? Do you believe He's able to defeat
Satan for you? And do you believe He's able
to give you a new heart that believes? Do you believe He's
able to cleanse you every single day? And do you believe He's
able to raise you from the dead and make you just like the Lord
Jesus Christ? He's able to save. Aren't you
thankful for that? You know, I don't think I'd ever
really even thought about that little phrase. There's one lawgiver
who's able to save. He's able to save you. You know
what else? He's able to destroy. Fear not
them that kill the body, and after that, that's all they can
do. I say, rather, fear him that's able to destroy both body and
soul in hell, yea, fear him. He's able to destroy, this lawgiver
we're speaking of. There's one lawgiver who's able
to save and able to destroying. You know, I've thought about
this as well. There's one lawgiver who's able
to save and destroy. You know, he kills and he makes
a life. He's able to destroy you, turn
you inside out so that you have nowhere to look but Christ only.
Wouldn't it be the best thing to ever happen to you? To be
killed, to be slain, to lose all hopes of self-salvation. I mean to be dead. He's able
to destroy you and he's able to lift you up and save you. The Lord killeth and the Lord
maketh alive. Oh Lord, slay me. Don't let me
have life in myself. Slay me and give me the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when he says in verse 12,
you Who are you to judge? What does that mean? Does that
mean that all judging is wrong? You, who are you to judge? Well,
if there were no judicial system, if there were no law, if there
were no judges in court, if there were no right and wrong, if there
were no punishment for crime, What kind of society would we
live in? It would be complete anarchy,
wouldn't it? We have to have judges, don't
we? We have to have law. And it is
right to judge in that sense. What if your children were putting
themselves in harm's way by irresponsible and sinful behavior? And you
said, you're going to stop that. And they said, don't judge me.
You're not supposed to judge me. How would you respond to
that? Yeah, I am going to judge you.
I am. That's your responsibility as
a parent. What about if, in this church, somebody started preaching
another gospel? They got up here in this pulpit
and started preaching salvation by works, started preaching in
a way that implies that Christ is not all. Should we say, well,
we shouldn't be judgmental. We ought to just go ahead and
let it go. Why? Of course not. If any man preach any other gospel,
let him be damned. Let him be anathema maranatha.
That's what Paul said. Now, of course we're to judge
in that sense. You know, John said, try the
spirits, whether they be of God. Put them on trial. Every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
not of God, but is of antichrist. That's a spirit of antichrist.
Now, this is a very simple formula, as it were, that lets you know
whether what you're hearing is so. When I confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh, I confess He was before He came. I confess He's eternal deity. Nobody made Him. He's the eternal
Son of God. And the one who is the eternal
Son of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, This
is just mystery we believe. God's one God in three persons.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. God the
Son came in the flesh. The Word was made flesh. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son
of God, the creator of the universe, became flesh. And He did what
He came to do in flesh. Anybody that hedges on that,
anybody that weakens that, they're Antichrist. He did what he came
to do. Thou shalt call his name Jesus
for he shall save his people from their sins. When he said
it is finished, all of his people were saved from their sins. Now
when people try to preach that in code to keep people from getting
offended, I don't have anything to do with anything like that.
It's our responsibility before God to judge what we're hearing.
and see if it's the gospel. You know, right after the Lord
said, be not judge, you always said, beware of false prophets.
You got to make a judgment right then about a false prophet. Then
he says, take not your pearls and cast them before the swine.
You got to make a judgment who the swine are in that sense.
I mean, there's all kinds of judgments that we're supposed
to make. And so one of the most abused
verses of scripture and all the Word of God is, judge not, judge
not. Somebody's preaching error, well
don't judge, you're just being judgmental and self-righteous.
No, that's not the case. Try the spirits, whether they
be of God. So what is meant when James says, you, who are you
to judge another? What did the Lord mean when he
says, judge not that you be not judged? It really is very simple. It's to compare yourself with
anybody, no matter what they've done or are doing, and think
you come out a little bit on top. It's a religion of self-comparison. It's a religion of comparing yourself with somebody
else and thinking that you do a little bit better. It's a religion
of finding someone to whom you are morally superior. That's what it is to judge. Now I love what Paul said in
Romans chapter 14 verse 13, he said, let us not therefore judge
one another anymore. Wouldn't you be a lot happier
of a person if you never judged anybody? You would. Let us not judge one
another anymore. James chapter 3 verses 1 and
2, James says, in many things we offend all. James says, I
offend in many ways, you offend in many ways. We all have besetting
sins, weaknesses, inconsistencies, contradictions, insecurities. We all have a history that we're
still living with. Every one of us do. Every one of us. Some have such difficult paths
that it's amazing they're doing as well as they are. And maybe
we should be admiring them rather than condemning them. If a man be overtaken in a fault. That's what Paul said. If a man
be overtaken in a fault. Now let me ask you a question.
Can't you see how easily that could happen to you? How it will
happen to you if God doesn't prevent it? If a man be overtaken
in a fault. Every one of us are dealing with
this thing called the flesh. The flesh. Paul spoke of I know
that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. He even
spoke of a thorn in his flesh that buffeted him, the messenger
of Satan that knocked him black and blue. You, who are you to
judge anybody? Now let me close with giving
you these reasons why me and you ought not judge anybody at
any time in this moral superior way, this comparison way where
I compare myself to somebody and I think, well, at least I'm
not like that. Oh, you know, I think of that statement, there
go I but for the grace of God. Oh, you're not like that then,
huh? Good for you. There go I but for the grace
of God. Oh, You're a lot better than that person. It's only by
grace, but you're a lot better than that person, right? There go
I, but for the grace of God. That's no different than the
Pharisees saying, Lord, I thank thee that I'm not as other men
are. It's the same thing. Let's not say that anymore. Somebody
says, that's a good thing to say. It seems so humble. No,
it doesn't. It's not humble at all. It's proud. It's arrogant. There go I, but for the grace
of God. Oh, OK. OK. Why should we not judge one another? Well, here's the first reason,
because the Lord said not to. Do we need any other reason?
He said, judge not. That's a command. To judge is
sin. It's disobedience to the command
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Judge not. Here's the second reason. For
me or you, I'm talking about me and I'm talking about you.
I'm talking about everybody in this room and I'm talking about
everybody outside of this room. I'm talking about the entire
population. I'm not saying it in a generic
way. I'm saying this is the truth. For me or you to sit in judgment
on anybody is the practice of hypocrisy. Now let me show you
that from the scriptures. Turn to Matthew chapter 7. We're
all familiar with this passage of scripture. Verse one, judge not that you
be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you shall
be judged. And with what measure you meet,
it shall be measured to you again. And why do you behold the mote
that is in thy brother's eye, but considereth not the beam,
the log, that's in thine own eye? Or how would thou say to
thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and
behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! First cast out the beam out of
thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly that he cast
out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Now the only time you're
ever gonna Be able to get that mote out of your brother's eye
is when that beam in your own is gone. Is it gone? I dare say that if you think
it is, it's because you're just blind. Just blind. You're never going to be able
to be a mote picker-outer. It's not going to happen. Turn
to Romans chapter 2. This passage of scripture, I
think, Let's begin in verse 29 of Romans chapter
1, being filled, plumbful, being filled. With all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful, who, knowing the judgment of
God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Now those
folks are bad, aren't they? Those folks are real bad. Real
bad. Therefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art the judgest. Are you one of those
people that said they're real bad for wherein thou judgest
another you condemn yourself for you the judge do the same
things. So much as I don't expect me
to believe God or you. God says you do. So for me or you to judge any
son of Adam about anything It's the practice of hypocrisy and
acting because we who are doing it do the same things. Now, if God says that, own it.
Well, I don't do what that person does. No, you do worse. You do
worse. Thirdly, to sit in judgment upon
somebody is to assume a position that belongs only to God. He is the judge. not me and you. And to speak evil of and slander
someone, even if what we're saying is true, it's still becoming
a judge. And there's only one judge. Shall
not the judge of the earth do right? You just don't have any
business. I don't have any business doing it. Now, with regard to
every judgment we make, if I'm around you at some point, I'm
going to make a judgment about you. I wish I wouldn't, but I will. I think they shouldn't have done
that. They shouldn't treat me like that. We'll make some kind
of judgment, but with every judgment we make, we don't have enough
information about what took place to make a proper judgment. We
really don't. I mean, I'll make this judgment
of you, but I don't know the facts. I don't know what you've
been through. I don't know what caused that
to take place. I don't have the facts to make
a proper judgment regarding anything. I really believe that. You know, that brother with a
limp in his walk has a rock in his shoe that you don't know
anything about. And if you had that rock in your
shoe, you'd do worse than he would. You believe that? Here's another reason not to
judge. The person you're judging doesn't answer you. Who are you to judge another
manservant? Mind your own business. I love
that song by Hank Williams. If you mind your own business,
you wouldn't be minding mine. That brother you're judging,
he doesn't answer to you. He answers to the Lord. The Lord's
able to make him stand. A judgmental attitude. Think about this. It's so unlike
the Lord Jesus Christ. The beauty of his character is
that sinners were drawn to him. And when they came into his presence,
they didn't feel threatened. They didn't feel judged. They
didn't feel condemned. Don't you want to be somebody
like that? that nobody around you ever feels threatened, judged,
and condemned. Now, the Pharisees didn't like
him, I realize that. They didn't like him, and he
did threaten him, he did condemn him. But sinful men and women
who, inconsistent and contradictory, they were drawn to him, and they
didn't feel judged, threatened, or condemned because he's meek
and lowly in heart. He said, All ye that labor and
heavy laden, I'll give you rest, for I'm meek and lowly, humble
in heart. Paul said, I beseech you by the
gentleness of Christ. The gentleness. You know what
that word means? It's someone who is humane. someone who actually
looks at the facts of the case and doesn't hold people's feet
to the fire. I beseech you by the baseness
and the gentleness of the Lord Jesus, the meekness and the gentleness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His character is such that nobody
felt judged and threatened by him. You know, you go into a restaurant A waiter doesn't treat
you the way you think they ought to. Think, I'm not going to give
them a tip. If you knew what they'd been
through that day, you'd give them a bigger tip. Have that kind of attitude. Judging is contrary to love. When Paul was speaking of judging
there in Romans chapter 14, he said, now walkest thou not charitably.
Your love covers. He doesn't want to expose. Love
covers the transgression. And judging is contrary to the
law of Christ. I love that verse of scripture
in Galatians chapter 6 verse 3. Bear ye one another's burdens. Put up with one another's burdens.
And so fulfill the law of Christ. What's the biggest burden you
have? I know what mine is, my sin,
my personal sin. You know what my brother's biggest
burden is? His sin. Bury one another's burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ. Isn't that a beautiful law? Now, here's a more, well, they're
all practical, but turn back to Matthew chapter seven, one
and two. If you want to make somebody
despise you, judge them. If you want somebody to hate
your guts, and see every flaw you have, and every sinful tendency
you have, and every contradictory part of you, you have, judge
them. And they'll see every flaw, every
fault, they'll despise you. You want somebody to like you?
Don't judge them. They'll put up with so much,
they'll overlook so much, because you're not a judgmental person.
Now look what the Lord says in Matthew chapter 7. Judge not that you be not judged,
for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. I criticize
you, you're going to see every fault I have. Now if that means
judge not that you be not judged, that means if you judge you're
going to end up going to hell and nobody in here can be saved.
I'm sure of that. What he's talking about is with
what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with the
measure you meet, it shall be measured to you again. You treat
someone in a judgmental, harsh matter, and they'll treat you
that way too, and they'll see every fault you have. So if you
want to get somebody to despise you, judge them. If you want
somebody to love you and overlook their faults and be forgiving
toward you, don't be judgmental toward them. Judge not that you
be not judged. Now I want to close with this.
Turn to Luke chapter 18. Judging is the practice of the
religion of the Pharisee. Look in verse 9. And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Now, if you believe that you
have any personal righteousness or even the potential for any
personal righteousness, you are a self-righteous person. That's a simple definition of
self-righteousness, isn't it? He spake this parable to those
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. If you even have the ability
of free will, if you have the ability to turn things around,
if you have the ability to stop this and start that and turn
around and be good and all that kind of stuff, you are a self-righteous
person. And every self-righteous person
can always find somebody that they're more righteous than.
And that's what Mr. Pharisee does. He says, two men
went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other
a Republican. What did he do? In verse 9, that
one who trusted himself, they despised. They belittled. They looked down their noses
They felt morally superior to others. That is the religion
of the Pharisee. Now, I love what Paul said. Let's
not judge one another anymore. Let's pray. One thing, before we pray, let
me show you one person you can judge. Now there is one person
who you ought to judge. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
11. Here's the one time it's okay
to judge. All other times are wrong. All
other times are self-promotion. All other times are trying to
make somebody look dark that I might look lighter. Here's
the one time it's okay to judge. Verse 31, For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged. guilty
as charged. I'm guilty. That's the person
who will not be judged. Let's pray. Lord, forgive us for being so
judgmental. Lord, I confess this sin. And Lord, I confess, we all confess
that it's pure hypocrisy, pure contradiction. Lord, give us
the grace to know you. Who are you to judge anybody? Oh, Lord, give us that attitude.
Lord, give us the grace to judge ourselves. Give us the grace
to esteem all others as better than ourselves. Give us the grace
to take the lowest seat. Give us the grace to take the
place of the public. And God, be merciful to me, the
sinner. Now, Lord, bless this message
for your glory. and for our good. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.