Sermon for Sunday May 18, 2003

Why Jesus Wants Us to Leave Judging to God by Paul Fritz

1 Corinthians 4:4-5

Why Jesus wants us to leave the Judging to God

Illustration: It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993


1. Jesus knew that only God has all the facts to judge with perfect objectivity. Jesus said, "Do not judge or you too will be judge." (Matt. 7:1) If anyone thinks they know all the facts about a person they are sadly mistaken - only God’s knowledge is complete. Ask the Lord to help you reserve judgment for the one whose omniscient. 

Illustration: We sometimes criticize others unfairly. We don’t know all their circumstances, nor their motives. Only God, who is aware of all the facts, is able to judge people righteously. John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him.

After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one.

"Christ has made me an honest man," he said, "and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest." Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.

Daily Bread, July 20, 1992.



2. Jesus knew that only God is completely impartial. "There is no partiality with God." (Rom. 2:11) Every person has known and unknown areas of partiality in their thinking. Some people are more willing to acknowledge their bias than others, but perfect impartiality is something only possessed by our Creator and Lord.

Ask the Lord for the ability to be slow to speak until you have first sought God’s impartial, objective and Biblical viewpoint. 

3. Jesus knew that only God is fit to judge mankind. Paul wrote, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments_" (Rom. 11:33) Who else, but the Lord has such great wisdom and knowledge, but the Lord of all creation? Ask the Lord to grant you more serenity to accept the things you cannot change while allowing God to judge all people, situations and nations.

Illustration: In 1884 a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, "Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship."

"We were thinking of something more substantial than that...perhaps a building," the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a $26 million memorial named Leland Stanford Junior University, better known today as Stanford!

Today in the Word, June 11, 1992.



4. Jesus knew that only God is able to evaluate people with perfect  discernment. The Lord knew that Moses wrote, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."  (Deut. 29:29) Only trust and obey the Lord with what He reveals to you. Do not try to find a reason why things are happening to you. Allow God to reveal to you in His time what you need to know in order to obey and carry out His will. 

5. Jesus knew that all people would give an account to only to God. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way." (Rom. 14:12,13) Ask the Lord for the grace to stop condemning others. Instead, make up your mind to avoid being an impediment to others progress in Christ.

6. Jesus knew that God created a variety of personalities, cultures and backgrounds for His purposes. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." (Rom. 14:5) Who are we the clay to say to the Potter, "Why did you make me like this?" God has the right to make people however He chooses. Ask the Lord to give you a greater understanding of the diversity of His creation and a more tolerance for differences.

7. Jesus knew that no human being is fit to judge the servant of  another. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." (Rom. 14:4) Do not be guilty of the sin of presuming that people are your servants. We should remember that we should work wholeheartedly to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord we will receive our reward." (Col. 3:23,24) Remember the song, "Still none go with me, still I will follow. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back."

8. Jesus knew that people at various degrees of maturity need to be judged according to their stage of growth. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him." (Rom. 14:2,3)

Ask the Lord for greater maturity in all dimensions of your life in Christ so that you can see others more as the Lord views them. 

9. Jesus knew that it is dangerous to be guilty of judging others. The Lord knew that people with Pharisaical tendencies to judge others are trying to put themselves in the position reserved for God alone. Paul wrote, "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." (Rom. 14:19-21) Ask the Lord to help you be a peacemaker and an edifier rather than a destructive person.

10. Jesus knew that we should not judge ourselves. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time." (I Cor. 4:4,5) Paul also wrote, "So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves_ Everything that does not come from faith is sin." (Rom. 14:22,23)

Ask the Lord for the ability to stop condemning, criticizing or being down on yourself. God is the only one in position to correctly judge all things and all people for all times.

Enjoy greater peace, joy and less stress when you give all responsibilities for judging to the Lord!

Conclusion; At a pastor’s conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day’s drive and couldn’t help himself. But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing. On the last night the man’s wife came up and apologized for her husband’s inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.

Source Unknown.