Righteousness Starts at Home #2

When a brother comes to you and send an you've done this, then you have the right perspective. In order to deal with him in order to speak with him in order to respond to him the sins of others seem much smaller when you've dealt honestly with your own.

If King David suffered from a log. He and his own ally. Are we any different.

We hear things about the world or other people that outrageous, but we somehow are less outraged about our own failings. That's the continuing subject of Pastor Don Greene's message righteousness starts at home high on bill right in today's lesson is part of our series. The art of discernment in the sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs believers to approach judging others with humility.

After all will all have to give an account of ourselves to God will again be in Matthew seven, so turn there in your Bible as we join Don green now in the truthful turnover to Ephesians 4 if you would. Verse 32 where the apostle Paul said, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you, beloved, this is so very important you start your thinking with this is a Christian vertically. You know what God in our Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven me of all of my sins we say here I am in Christ. Christ at his own initiative went to Calvary to shed his blood to wash away all my sin, whereas before I was burdened with guilt and I was facing a certain judgment now that guilt has been removed and he spoke peace between me and God. Christ has stood before me like an eclipse would like like Christ has come before the holiness of God and the sin crisis come before that and blotted out in darkness. All of my sin washed away in his perfect blood and now the, the, the burning heat of God's judgment will not fall on me because I'm under the shade of a perfect Savior who loves me and cares for me and represents me before the father who is in heaven.

I've been forgiven in Christ you start your thinking there and then you realize that that's our state impact the way that you think about the sins of others. God has forgiven me in this manner.

Now someone has sinned against me. I see I see sin in the life of someone else will.

In light of how gracious and merciful and kind. God has been to me as the preeminent first priority than the only thing that I can do is to turn to others of lesser sin. Others who have stumbled along the way. Just like I have and respond to them with tenderness and kindness and compassion when they sin directly against me, but I freely forgive them as freely as God forgave me if God who is righteous in God, who had more against me could forgive me of the greater things than I can gladly take my cue from him and show forgiveness and tenderness toward the one who is wronged me. This is Christianity 101. This is not doctoral level stuff. This is the basics of what the Christian spirit in the Christian heart looks like, and so going back to Matthew seven if you will versus three and four Matthew seven verses three and four. This informs the way that you look at the faults and sins of the brothers around you young people. This affects the way that you look at the failures of your parents parents. This affects the way that you look at the spots and sins of your children. Even within a family dynamic.

There should not be a harsh unbending spirit that marks the families of those are led by Christian parents. You should be setting a tone that brings discipline.

Yes, they need correction. Yes, you have to bring them up in the instruction and admonition of the Lord. Yes, but don't you realize that you're dealing with little centers that are just a just a product of what you yourself passed on to them it was your own sinful nature that you passed on to them. Well, then, can't you find a measure of mercy as you deal with them. Can't your home be flavored by the by a sense of grace and kindness that you say that God has dealt with you personally and vertically in your own life.

Can't you do that, can't we deal with one another. That way, in light of the great mercy that God is shown to our individual souls.

This is really undeniable.

Isn't it. This becomes a moral imperative this becomes. I I have to do this because that's the only right thing I can do in light of the mercy that God has shown to me and that's what Christ would have you to see the looking in the noticing bring out the relative attention that you should pay to your own sins. Compared to the sins of others, you should say I've got to cultivate my own righteousness is my big priority here that's what's going to occupy my attention. That's what I'm going to notice. That's what I'm going to turn my attention to my own soul needs to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and oh by the way, you know what there's people stumbling along the way I'll be kind and merciful to them. Maybe I can help them but I realize that the one who really needs L. Peers may Jesus says, but instead of having that point that having that spirit, I should say rather your your you've devoted yourself to to putting the finger on the sins of others and find that and a lot of bloggers capture find that in a lot of people claiming to speak for God, and social media who can tell you everything that everyone else is done wrong. Behind their own persona that they create online to which Scripture would come in its fullness and say what are you doing your entire perspective is wrong. Your thinking about this all wrong. Your thinking that your assigned commission from God in life is to identify everything wrong and everybody else you flipped it entirely upside down your lumberyard coming out of your eyes what Scripture says and what Jesus would correct is that if your concern for righteousness is sincere. If it's real.

This way if it's born from God above the desire for righteousness. It is born from God above produces a concern for righteousness in your own spiritual life is the first priority is the first thing that you want, Lord, others may stumble but I've stumbled to Lord this is what we need to correct here, it's me needs to be corrected. That's what Jesus is imparting here and he says, until that becomes your focus are not equipped to help others look at what he says in verse four he says, how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold the log is in your own eye to drop the metaphor, why do you rush into the realm of someone else's life to correct them when you haven't first applied it to your own self to see the hypocrisy and it if you're seriously concerned for righteousness. Starting your own life started home starting the home of your heart and what Jesus is saying in that in that question verse four.

How can you say this, let me take the speck out of your eye. The logs in your own eye. That offer of help is only a pretext in reality it's only a pretext to point out someone else's faults from a position of pride. Jesus says you should be given complete attention to your own faults, which are far greater by comparison. Anything else is a blatant inconsistency in the whole context. 11 this is Mrs. serious this is sober.

This is matters Jesus teaches for keeps, in whole context of this passage. What Jesus is saying what he is warning us together is this. He says that hypocritical attitude that hyper critical attitude is something that God will not treat lightly a judgment. The argument is profound.

The Christ is making it says you profess concern for righteousness. Good for you.

He says if your concern is so sincere, why not repent of your own sin. Why not address that is the thing which matters the most to you, your concern for your brother's back is only an indication of your own proud heart and it indicates hypocrisy of the worst kind. And it's remarkable. Our capacity to deceive ourselves, and this is unlimited. Have a friend who says no one can buffalo me.

Like me talking about himself.

No one can fool me like me hearts deceitful and desperately sick. Who can understand it, your capacity for self-deception in this area is so great and profound and so is mine. It's easy to miss it.

It's easy to assume everything is okay and you you missed the whole point.

I'm back in the Old Testament. King David gives us a very sad illustration of this turn. If you would to second Samuel chapter 12 you remember King David he was at the pinnacle of what God had given him, but he took Uriah's wife committed adultery with her and abused his military authority to murder Uriah as part of the effort to cover it up. It was an astonishing fall from his position, which incidentally just reminds us to look as we look at David in the Old Testament we want to look beyond David to his greater son who never failed look to David, son who is the true King of righteousness the Lord Jesus Christ. We look, David, is that is that is an imperfect pointing to someone else to come from his loins in the Lord Jesus. But here we have David who shared our human flesh and propensity for sin so you know the background and God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him after months had gone by. Chapter 12 verse one you can see that the Lord sent Nathan to David and Nathan came to him and said there were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he bought and nourished, and it grew up together with him and his children. He would eat of his bread and drink this cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man the one who had many flocks and herds that rich man verse four was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who'd come to him what an abuse. This man with all the resources and far more than he needed could have given without diminishment of his own wealth to this traveler who came to him. He wasn't willing to do it.

Instead he went to this poor man who had one little ewe and said I'll take that and all use that to fulfill my obligation.

My duty, I will provide my hospitality at your expense. Poor man's not in a position to respond or resist that he just has to watch it happen. Verse five Nathan's presenting this.

Remember David's the King. He thinks that this is something that's taken place in his realm and is outraged and he'll use his authority to pronounce punishment upon such a one verse five. Then David's anger burned greatly against the man and he said to Nathan as the Lord lives. Surely the man who has done this deserves to die, he must make restitution for the lamp fourfold because he did this thing and had no compassion in verse seven. Remember David saying this while sitting on top of his own far more egregious sins.

David speaking with logs coming out of his eyes. In verse seven. Nathan then said to David, you are the man wasn't talking about somebody else. David, I was talking about you and the judgment that you pronounce at this rich man deserved. It's a judgment that you pronounce against yourself. Thus says the Lord God of Israel it is I who anointed you king over Israel. I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house in your masters wise in your care. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah and abetted into little, I would've added to you many more things like these, why have you despise the word of the Lord by doing evil in his sight. He was struck down. Uriah the Hittite with the sword have taken his wife to be your wife and it killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon, David, the illustration was about one little lamb look what you've done.

By contrast, let me show you the log in your eye and feel the weight of conviction the comes by the spec that you were pointing out and what you thought was someone else.

David forget that spec take the log out of your own eye, beloved, you and I are fully capable of the same kind of self-deception. If you reflexively deny that and say, not me. You are in a position of great spiritual vulnerability to think such a thing was not David's sin was obvious this was undeniable, and yet because he looked outward rather than inward.

He missed the whole point and so here we are here.

You and I are in this in this really vulnerable position spiritually.

We all stumble in many ways were prone to self-deception were heading toward a final accountability that's going to be flavored by the way that we judge others and were so mixed up our thinking and our desires are so distorted that they would lead us astray and set us up for a less than best outcome. In the end, what should you do well, what you need to do is follow the command that Jesus gives. Here's our second second point, follow Jesus is teaching you know what it one of the many many many things I love about our Lord Jesus. Is this is that he doesn't simply rebuke us and correct us and point out what's wrong. He leads us by his teaching in order to change in order to improve in order that he might protect us by what he has to say is you go back to Matthew chapter 7 you'll find that he's done that in this section of the sermon on the Mount as well. He rebukes us in verse five he says you hypocrite, which apparently we are to somehow say guilty as charged. You hypocrite. Here's what you need to do any gives a command here in verse five he says, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye is calling you to self-examination to stop to step back into look at your own heart. Look at your own life and look at it critically looking for the faults and sins that you will find there. That is your first priority. He says you do this first look at it there in verse five. Adopting this as your your approach to life, adopting it in individual situations that may come your way, you hypocrite do this first before you do anything else.

Do this is the priority make this what you do first, he says, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye first and then then watch it with me first. Then you do this immediately and then after you've done that something else follows. There's a sequence that is involved that we must make ourselves conscious of first take the log out of your own eye first D recognize and confess your own sin, beloved first recognize and repent of your own sinfulness. No one should be correcting someone else and sin that is carrying around their own sin. That's not dealt with right words word that the hypocrisy of that the hypocrisy of that I confront you in your sin. What's that baying of the sheep that I hear behind you deal with your own sins before you address the shortcomings of another Charles Spurgeon said this, he says, Jesus calls that man a hypocrite who fusses about small things in others and pays no attention to great matters at home in his own heart.

Our reformations must begin with ourselves or they are not true."

I would love to have the opportunity to preach this at the Republican national convention. When moral issues start to dominate the discussion if they ever do again that's not gonna happen, but I would love the opportunity on both sides of the aisle to rebuke the self-righteousness of politics. The points out the faults in others when the one speaking is not addressed sin in his own life will not be great. CEC how this would just turn upside down society. Jesus is speaking to society speaking to us. Speaking with to his people to his disciples, beloved, here's the thing. Self-examination equips you to genuinely ministered other people and their sins and in their struggles, but until you've examined yourself until you've repented yourself until you know something of the brokenness of your own sin yourself. You're not in a position to do it. What self-examination does when you say that was that was my tongue. Those were my eyes. This was my conduct. This was my ingratitude.

This was my unfaithfulness. Once you come to grips with that blood.

What does it do to you if you don't know by direct personal experience what Scripture says, the impact of Scriptures. This is it when you are so important when you have taken the log out of your own eye when you have examined your own heart for Santa been broken by what you found there.

When you realize Jesus open the sermon.

Matthew chapter 5 verse three Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. It all starts there you recognizing your own spiritual bankruptcy you mourning over your own sin before you ever get to somebody else.

What that does is beloved. It softens your critical spirit.

You deal gently with the misguided. You deal gently with the fallen why because you yourself have fallen in the Lord is dealt gently with you, and that's the whole point you remove this and you look at your log and say aha that was me how you have a spec brother, let me help you now.

Let me help you as a fellow fallen center who is been on the receiving end of undeserved grace in the book of Hebrews Chapter 4 Chapter 5 you want to turn back there with me will take just a moment to see this.

This was the pattern in the Old Testament. Also, beloved Hebrews chapter 5 verse one Hebrews chapter 5 verse one says for every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins livers to he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided sense. He himself also is beset with weaknesses and because nobody is obligated offer sacrifices for sins. As for the people, so also for himself. The Old Testament high priest was a man who was to deal with the people who came to them gently as they confess their sins.

Why, because he knew that he was also beset with sin and weaknesses so it flavored the way that that ministry was to be done.

That's what Jesus means when he says, then go back to Matthew chapter 7 verse five when he says, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. What he saying is, is it when a brother comes to you and sin in you've done this, then you have the right perspective.

In order to deal with him in order to speak with him in order to respond to him the sins of others seem much smaller when you've dealt honestly with your own. The apostle Paul may well have had Jesus's words in mind when he wrote Galatians chapter 6 verse one and let me invite you to turn there because this is my closing passage and you can see it for yourself.

Galatians chapter 6 verse one says this brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted so beloved. Where does your concern for righteousness begin this up again through the window or in the mirror as he began with someone else is begin in your own heart. Jesus never said no judgment is to take place. Rather, he instructs us to judge others. Only after first starting with self-examination important teaching today on the truth.

Pulpit pastor Don Greene will continue our series. The art of discernment on our next program, so be sure to join us then. Right now Don's back in studio with a special invitation will friend if you are anywhere near the Cincinnati area and you don't have a good church home. I invite you to visit us at truth community church. I'm in the pulpit. Almost every Sunday and we have a loving congregation that would simply be thrilled to meet you and welcome you to our body, we are striving to manifest the principles that you heard talk today. Why not come and see us. Bill will help you find us on our website. Just visit the truth.

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I'm Bill Wright and friend will see you next on the truth pulpit