Sunday, September 30, 2018

The Book of James – Part 11: Judging Others


The Book of James – Part 11:
Judging Others
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church


SERMON INTRODUCTION
In the last few verses we have studied, James, who is speaking to the Twelve Tribes as believers in Christ, as the head of the Jerusalem Council, directs the listeners to stop living worldly lives, placing other things such as money before morality in their lives while claiming to be followers of God, this is a contradiction to scripture.

The scripture calls them adulterers for doing so in Chapter 4 verse 4, and tells them to stop following their lusts.  He also tells them they need to refocus their lives, submitting to God, and be truly remorseful for their sins they committed against God.

In today’s verses, we read that James is also telling them to stop judging people by the Law of Moses. It is not the Law of Moses that holds the power to save or destroy, but God alone. When they act as judges, using this law, they themselves are trying to take the place of God, determining for themselves who shall be saved, and who shall be condemned.

We as followers of Christ need to remember that although the Law reveals our sin against God, it is not the Law itself that condemns or saves, but God alone!

When we say by the Law you have sinned, so by the Law you are condemned, we in turn are teaching that also by the Law you are saved, and this is not so, for no one can fulfill the Law but one, Jesus Christ.

We need to remember that the Law was given, not to save man, but to reveal his sin.  Therefore, it is by YOUR SIN you are condemned, and by CHRIST’S atonement, you receive Salvation!

LAST WEEKS SERMON
Part 1 - Faith and Wisdom
Part 2 - Poverty and Riches
Part 3 - Endurance
Part 4 - Christian Living
Part 5 - Brotherly Love
Part 6 - Faith and Works
Part 7 - Taming of the Shrewd
Part 8 - True Wisdom
Part 9 - Worldliness
Part 10 - Submit Yourselves to God


TODAY’S SERMON
Part 11 - Judging Others


SCRIPTURE READING

James 4:11-12
 11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?


       I.            DO NOT SLANDER OR JUDGE

a.      James speaking to the Christ believing Jews
                                                             i.      They are supposed to be followers of Christ now

                                                          ii.      Jesus fulfilled the Law, and in doing so the Law has been satisfied and is of no effect to those who are rightly in relationship with Christ.

1.      Luke 24:44 “He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

                                                       iii.      Placing the Law back on to the believers is re-bridling them with the bondage of sin. (Romans)


b.     Do not slander
                                                             i.      This may cause others (if not yourself) to want to carry out the next step of slander, krino (Greek for Judge)

                                                          ii.      krino means to decide for yourself to try, condemn, punish, avenge or damn a person.

1.      You make yourself the ultimate judge, placing yourself as God.

                                                       iii.      We cannot determine another’s destination, because we are incapable of looking at their heart.  Only God knows the heart of man, and judges it accordingly.

                                                         iv.      A godly man will share with others WHAT God’s Word says and what they can do about it.  We do not want to attack people with the only thing that can save them...the Word.


c.      This is about being a self-appointed judge of others
                                                             i.      Matthew 7:1-5 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

1.      I wish I had a dime for each time someone came to me pointing out someone else’s sin, yet completely overlooking a great sin in their own life that needed to be dealt with.

2.      You see, the Law points out sin, and we need to examine ourselves with it.  It is only when we rightly correct our own lives, will we be able to help others correct theirs.

a.      Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

3.      Jesus never calls us to tell people they are saved or going to hell;

4.      Matthew 28:18-20 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.


   II.            ARE YOU A DOER OF THE WORD, OR SELF-APPOINTED JUDGE?
a.      Why is there so much confusion about judging? 

b.     Because we are told to judge a brothers fruit, we are told if we see a brother in sin we are to correct him in love.  Then we read not to judge...this can cause confusion.

c.      But if you step back and look at the two types of judging, it becomes clear and easy to see the difference.


ILLUSTRATION

John Doe comes to church regularly, and openly confesses that he IS a Christian.  John Doe is married, and his wife also attends church.

One day you are walking down the street and you see John Doe with another woman, and they are holding hands and you see them kiss.  What do you do? 

If you go to him and point out his sin in a loving way (action of care and concern for him, his family and his soul), are you judging him?

Absolutely not, you are not telling him whether or not he is going to heaven or hell, but simply doing what God tells us to do in His Holy Word

 James 5:19-20My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,  remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

Galatians 6:1 “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

The first thing the brother in sin will do is say, “Don’t judge me”, but that is exactly what brothers in Christ are supposed to do for each other.
The Word of God tells us that if we see a brother in sin, we are to first go to him in private, and show him his error. 

If he refuses to listen, then we are to return with a few others from the church to speak with him in love once more. 

If he still refuses to listen, he is to see the Elders of the church, and they will give him the opportunity to listen to scripture. 

If he still refuses to listen, then the elders are to tell him he is not allowed to come to church until he repents.

This is so all those in the congregation will understand that you cannot call yourself a follower of Christ, and live in sin.  If he repents, then he is welcomed back into the congregation.  If he does not, then it is still up to God on how to condemn or save him...not us.

d.     In this illustration, scripture was followed, and no one judged incorrectly.

e.      We can be a doer of the word, judge our brothers in love accordingly WITHOUT judging whether someone will be saved or destroyed.  That is God’s job.

One of the BIGGEST problems in the organized church today is members NOT understanding the Word of God.  They DO NOT understand judging!

The church is quick to judge heaven or hell for non-believers  (Everyone is quick to profess John 3:16, but what about John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”)

Then the very same people will ignore the sin of a “believer”

The church has it backwards, Jesus said, “Preach the Word to all nations, baptize them, THEN teach them to obey all that I command.”

We need to hold ourselves accountable FIRST, then those around us calling themselves Christ followers, and save the heaven & hell judging for the Lord because He is the ONLY one who truly knows the heart of man.


III.            ONLY ONE CAN SAVE AND DESTROY
a.      There is only one Lawgiver and Judge.

b.     He alone is the one who is able to save and destroy.

c.      But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?
                                                             i.      The original Greek says, “but you - who are you?” or in other words, “Who do you think you are?”


CONCLUSION
There are two types of judging we can do.  One is commanded by God and the other condemned.

We are commanded by Christ in Matthew 28 to teach all those who are baptized to obey what Christ has commanded, and also to correct a brother who is sinning to save him from death (second death). 

James 5:19-20
 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save their soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

This is being a doer of the Word, and judging accordingly as commanded by Christ.

Only God can see a man’s heart, and say whether that man is condemned to hell or received Salvation for eternity.

If we try to tell someone they are going to heaven or hell, either one, we are in essence trying to take the place of God, and this is the judging we are told NOT to do!

There is only one God, and one Judge.


Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?   

Want to hear the audio to this sermon?   


Sunday, September 23, 2018

The Book of James – Part 10: Submit Yourselves to God


The Book of James – Part 10:
Submit Yourselves to God
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church


SERMON INTRODUCTION
In the beginning of Chapter 4 in the Book of James, we read about James’ warning us not to be worldly.

He continues today, in verses 7-10 about what to do if you are worldly.

In this handful of verses, James will show us what God expects from us, and what we are to do about it.

Today we can take this word, and ask ourselves, “Am I submitting to God?”, “Are the things I do for God, or me?”


LAST WEEKS SERMON
Part 1 - Faith and Wisdom
Part 2 - Poverty and Riches
Part 3 - Endurance
Part 4 - Christian Living
Part 5 - Brotherly Love
Part 6 - Faith and Works
Part 7 - Taming of the Shrewd
Part 8 - True Wisdom
Part 9 - Worldliness


TODAY’S SERMON
Part 10 - Submit Yourselves to God



SCRIPTURE READING

James 4:7-10
 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.


       I.            SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO GOD

a.      Submit yourselves to God
                                                             i.      There are those who act out submission, but do not truly surrender to the Lord
1.      They know the words, the actions, the outward expressions
2.      But no change has taken place in their heart
3.      They do not confess their sin
4.      Therefore they do not have true repentance
5.      Without repentance, there is no forgiveness
6.      Without forgiveness, there is no salvation
7.      One MUST submit to God as the first step if they expect forgiveness and a relationship with Him

                                                          ii.      One must submit to the plan He has provided {The Cross}
1.      First for your salvation
2.      then, for your guidance
3.      finally, to lead others to Him


b.     Resist the devil and he will flee
                                                             i.      We do this by keeping our focus on Christ and the cross, what He did for us there.  The same cross where Satan was defeated.

1.      Colossians 2:14-15 “Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.


                                                          ii.      If you are living in a sin, and you know it is a sin, you are not resisting the devil, but inviting him into your life.

1.      As long as you are inviting him in, he will never leave.
a.      Remember last week when we read the works of the flesh?

b.     Ephesians 5:3-6 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

c.      “neither filthiness, foolish talk or joking”

d.     “No whoremonger, nor unclean person, no covetous man who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ (salvation)

e.      “Do not be deceived...because of these things, comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

2.      When you find yourself in sin...YOU MUST;
a.      Confess it!
b.     Ask the Lord for forgiveness
c.      REPENT, truly, showing fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8)
d.     You will be forgiven, and made clean...


c.      Come near to God and He will come near to you
                                                             i.      Run away from God {by ignoring His Word, His Spirit, the Lord’s commands} and God cannot come near you. YOU separate yourself from Him with sin, just as Adam did in the garden.

1.      When we work to come closer to God, He will be closer to us...in a relational way.

a.      We know God is everywhere, and cannot be physically closer, since He is everywhere.

b.     But in a relational way, we can be closer to Him.

c.      When we give 10% of ourselves to God and our relationship with Him, we get 10% of a relationship...
d.     If we give 90% of ourselves to a relationship with God, we will get 90%.

e.      We cannot give little of ourselves, and expect to receive all from Him...relationships do not work this way.

f.       Though there are many in this world today who try to live this way.  Giving so little and taking so much.

g.      They offer little to nothing of themselves, yet expect others to give their all to them.  God does not work this way, and neither do healthy proper relationships.



   II.            WASH YOUR HANDS
a.      After we submit ourselves to God and His will, we see the sin in our lives...and we realize we need to do something about it, now!


b.     Wash {purify} your hands {works, the “things you do”}
                                                             i.      You sinners
                                                          ii.      We need to CHANGE our works/actions!

                                                       iii.      James tells us here that we need to DO {our works} in a cleaned {purified} manner.
1.      He is speaking about the basic motivation behind our acts.

2.      When we recognize the sin in our lives, we see that all of our actions were done with selfish motivation.

a.      We help others...to be praised by them

b.     We give to charity and the poor...to FEEL better

c.      We say kind things...to make others like us

d.     Our actions all have selfish and self-centered motivation...and count for NOTHING in the Kingdom of God!

e.      BUT, these very same actions, done with the right motivation {to serve God and His will and purpose} purifies {washes} our hands {works}.


c.      Purify your hearts
                                                             i.      You double-minded
1.      Double-mindedness is the biggest threat to weak in the spirit/new converts

2.      If you are new or weak in the spirit (because you do not feed your spirit with fellowship/prayer/reading the bible, etc...) You will behave in a double-minded manner

a.      A double-minded person is restless and confused in his thoughts, his actions, and his behavior. Such a person is always in conflict with himself. One torn by such inner conflict can never lean with confidence on God. Likewise, the term unstable is similar to a drunken man unable to walk a straight line, swaying one way, then another. He has no defined direction and as a result doesn’t get anywhere. Such a person is “unstable in all he does.”

b.     Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me...”

                                                          ii.      James is telling us, we need to change the core of our being. Our hearts must change!

                                                       iii.      Our hearts are our motivation for all that we say, think and do...it is the storehouse for all we know, and understand, and it is the looking glass by which we see the entire world.

1.      If it is impure and corrupt, dirty and scratched, this is how we view everything.

2.      But, if we submit ourselves to God, confess our sin and allow His Holy Spirit to do a work in us...our hearts will be purified, cleaned and filled with God’s Word.
a.      As we grow in faith {through the reading of God’s Word}, we are purifying our hearts, and growing closer to the Lord.

b.     However, we MUST have TRUE repentance, or there is no TRUE forgiveness for our sins.



III.            RECOGNIZE YOUR SIN
a.      Be afflicted {recognize your own misery} - You need to see the sin in your life, and all the curses it has brought with it.

                                                             i.      Mourn and weep
1.      When was the last time you cried or mourned over your sin? Ever?

2.      Have you ever truly mourned for sinning against a pure and holy God?

3.      If you do not have a new relationship with sin since coming to the Lord, then you do not have a new relationship with God.

                                                          ii.      Let laughter turn to mourning
1.      Sin against God is not to be taken lightly...
2.      It is not a past time, party time, fun time...

3.      The word promises, if you do not mourn and weep for your sin now, there will come a time when you do...but it will be too late to repent.


b.     Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord
                                                             i.      and He shall lift you up

                                                          ii.      If you humble yourselves to the Lord, mourn for your sin against Him, He shall lift you up!

                                                       iii.      Too many spend their entire lives trying to lift themselves up, make themselves FEEL better, make their lives more enjoyable...but to no avail...

1.      You must submit to the Lord, confess your sin, truly repent, then, and only then, will He lift you up.
CONCLUSION
When hearing the Word of God today, do you feel as if you are truly submitting to God in your life?

Remember, God has three wills for you in your life...first of all, for you to  be saved, secondly for you to seek His will in your life’s direction, and thirdly, that you help others to come to the knowledge of the only one who can save them, Jesus Christ.

Are you resisting the devil in your life, or inviting him in?

Come closer to God through faith, which is increased through the reading of His word, and He will come closer to you in relationship.

Focus your actions in life on pleasing God, not man.

Recognize the sin in your life, confess it to Him, and repent with a true repentance, and God will lift you up.




Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?   

Want to hear the audio to this sermon?   



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