The Log and the Speck: A Call to Humble Restoration

• Worship and Creation [00:00:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor invites the congregation to worship God through His creation and Word, citing Psalm 98.
• Confession and Assurance [00:04:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > A corporate confession of sin adapted from Psalm 51 is recited, followed by an assurance of pardon from Psalm 103.
• Bearing Burdens [00:08:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The scripture reading from Galatians 6 introduces the theme of bearing one another's burdens and restoring one another.
• Practical Application of Burden Bearing [00:11:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > In the children's message, the pastor uses a physical analogy of carrying a heavy book bag to explain the biblical concept of bearing one another's burdens through practical help like chores.
• Judgment and Mercy [00:22:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > During the prayers, the pastor reflects on passages regarding not judging others, acknowledging God as the righteous judge while praising His mercy.
• Judgment and Hypocrisy [00:32:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the cultural misuse of 'judge not' and clarifies that Jesus forbids censoriousness and self-righteousness, not all moral discernment.
• Self-Examination [00:41:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes the necessity of removing one's own 'log' (blinding sin) before attempting to help others with their 'speck' (minor faults).
• Christian Unity and Love [00:35:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the passage to the broader biblical command to love one another and bear burdens, rather than condemning fellow believers.
• Hypocrisy and Self-Examination [00:42:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines a hypocrite as a 'play actor' who wears a mask, urging believers to remove the 'log' from their own eye before addressing others.
• Discernment in Ministry [00:46:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the metaphor of pearls before pigs, the pastor advises exercising discernment and moving on from relationships where God's word is blatantly disrespected.
• Principles for Addressing Sin [00:49:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines four biblical principles for confronting sin: when it dishonors God, damages relationships, hurts others, or harms the offender.
• Restoration and Gentleness [00:53:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing Galatians 6, the pastor explains that restoration means mending or equipping a believer trapped in sin, done with gentleness and private conversation.
• Glorifying God in Conflict [00:58:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > Referencing Ken Sande's 'Peacemakers', the pastor identifies glorifying God as the primary principle for how Christians should interact and address sin in one another.
• Self-Examination vs. Judgment [00:59:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts ignoring sin with the error of seeing everyone else's sin but one's own, asserting that believers must confront their own sin first.
• Church Identity [00:59:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the church's character not as judgmental or permissive, but as sinners helping other sinners through God's grace.

• Sermon Illustration [00:12:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asks a child named Roland to carry a heavy bag of books to his car to demonstrate the physical weight of a burden. He then asks a second child, Tinsley, to help Roland carry one strap, illustrating how bearing one another's burdens makes the load easier to carry.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the hyperbolic imagery of a person with a literal log in their eye trying to remove a speck of sawdust from another's eye, noting the absurdity and humor of a doctor with a log in his eye offering to treat a patient's minor irritation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:53:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a cartoon analogy of a fisherman caught in a net, held up by his legs over the ocean, to illustrate how a believer trapped in sin needs help to be cut free.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical story of the prophet Nathan correcting King David in 2 Samuel 12 as an example of God using others to convict hearts.

• Pastoral Charge [00:31:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > Self-examination and repentance of one's own major sins before attempting to correct minor faults in others.
• Pastoral Charge [00:44:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for personal humility and freedom from hypocrisy when engaging in mutual correction.
• Pastoral Charge [00:49:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Talk to the believer about their behavior if it brings dishonor to God.
• Pastoral Charge [00:50:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > Go talk to the person if the damage to the relationship persists despite prayer.
• Pastoral Charge [00:50:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > Go talk to the believer if their sin is hurting others.
• Pastoral Charge [00:51:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Rebuke the neighbor frankly to avoid sharing in their guilt and to help them.
• Pastoral Charge [00:56:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > Share the gospel and grace rather than just the law when confronting sin.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > Listen, pray, offer support, and plan to follow up with the person.
• Pastoral Charge [01:01:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > To live out the gospel with grace and truth.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:45] God calls us to worship through the works of his hands, through his creation, and through the words of his mouth, the Bible.
[00:00:52] I invite you to stand with me now as he calls us to worship using Psalm 98.
[00:00:57] Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation. He has revealed his
[00:01:21] sight of nations. Indeed, our God has done marvelous things, and we can sing his praise

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:27] this morning, singing hymn 76, Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven. Let's pray together.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:04:25] High Eternal One, Everlasting King, we come before you this morning to praise you, the King of Heaven. As we have just sung, the sun and moon bow down before you, because you hung them in the sky.
[00:04:44] We praise you that you have created all things and that you uphold all things and give life to all things, even today.
[00:04:53] We praise you as the rain falls down outside this morning.
[00:04:58] That's a reminder to us that your word that goes out from your mouth shall not return from you empty, just as you send the rain and the snow down from heaven to accomplish its purpose.
[00:05:11] Lord God, we thank you for the way that you are providentially at work in the world.
[00:05:16] in the large and in the small. We thank you for the way in which you care for us and that you do that through salvation in Jesus Christ and through giving us one day in seven for rest and worship.
[00:05:29] And so I ask now, Lord, that you would, by the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to rest in the finished and accomplished work of Christ on our behalf for our salvation and to rest and worship you, the high eternal one. We pray these things in Jesus' name for
[00:05:46] your glory and honor. Amen. Please remain standing and turn with me in your bulletins for our confession of sin this morning. Later on, we're going to hear from Matthew chapter 7, judge not, and then the practical outflowing of that is to get the log out of our own eye. In other words,
[00:06:08] we need to deal with our own sin before we can help others see clearly. It's in that spirit that we have before us, a confession of sin adapted from Psalm 51, which we will corporately confess
[00:06:20] together. Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquities and cleanse us from our sins for we know our transgressions and our sin is ever before us against you
[00:06:49] you alone have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment indeed we were born guilty sinners when our mothers conceived us. Hide your face from our sins and blot out all our iniquities. Create in us
[00:07:16] clean hearts, O God, and put new and right spirits within us. Do not cast us away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from us. We pray through him who loved us and gave himself for us,
[00:07:34] even our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Christian, you have confessed your sin. Let's hear an assurance of pardon, of God's mercy and favor to us from Psalm 103. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins,
[00:07:57] nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him.
[00:08:08] As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:08:15] That is the good news of the gospel. May we live in its peace.
[00:08:19] Please be seated.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:08:29] And please turn with me in your Bibles.
[00:08:31] This morning, Galatians chapter 6, verses 1 through 10.
[00:08:38] There are Bibles at the end of each pew if you need one.
[00:08:42] Galatians chapter 6 verses 1 through 10. Before us, the Apostle Paul has written to the Galatians.
[00:08:54] A lot of this letter is about freedom in Christ, liberty in Christ. And now at the very end of this letter, sort of his concluding practical application for Christians is to bear one another's burdens, but we also see a teaching here about restoring one another, something we'll pick
[00:09:15] up later on in our sermon out of Matthew chapter 7. So let's hear now this reading of God's word, Galatians chapter 6, 1 through 10.
[00:09:43] bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
[00:09:48] For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
[00:09:54] But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
[00:10:01] For each will have to bear his own load.
[00:10:05] Let the one who has taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
[00:10:09] Do not be deceived.
[00:10:10] God is not mocked for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the Spirit will reap
[00:10:26] from the Spirit eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and
[00:10:41] especially those who are of the household of faith. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever. Amen. Well, at this point in time, children, we want to invite you
[00:10:55] forward for our children's message this morning. All right, good morning. Are we a little sleepy this morning because of the rain? Yeah, it's a little easier to be a little sleepier in the morning. It's nice and calming outside. But we just read out of Galatians chapter 6,
[00:11:38] God's words instructions for how we should relate to one another. And it said at one point in Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 that we are to bear one another's burdens. What's the first thing you
[00:11:52] think of when you hear the word bear? A bear, right? Yeah. It's not a word we use in that way that often. So what do you think it would mean for you to bear another person's burden? Those
[00:12:06] are kind of big words, aren't they? So what do we need when we have big words? Well, sometimes we'd have them explained to us or shown to us. So I need a volunteer from amongst the children. No
[00:12:16] adults, please. All right, Roland. Come on up here, buddy. All right. This is a bag of books, okay if I leave the office I'm going to go study somewhere I always take a bunch of books with me
[00:12:29] so that's my book bag what I want you to do is pick that up okay is that pretty heavy for you to carry that out to my car for me would that be it'd be hard right okay can I have one more
[00:12:46] volunteer all right Tinsley why don't you come on up all right Roland put the bag down you grab one strap and Tinsley you grab one strap that easier we don't have to go over your head is
[00:13:00] that easier? All right, so you may sit down now. So what we just saw was an example of how to bear one another's burdens. A burden is something that's heavy that you're carrying, okay? So for
[00:13:17] example, that might be you're having a tough time at school. The way we can bear one another's burdens is by sharing with others, and they can help us in different ways. What's one way that
[00:13:29] you could bear someone else's burdens this week. Let's make it really applicable. What do you think?
[00:13:40] Sorry, that again? She said help her mom clean the house. That is a perfect way you could bear someone else's burdens. None of these answers have been supplied to the children. I just want to say that up front. Yeah, help your parents with things around the house. Chores, those are
[00:13:59] burdens that add up over time, right? And if you have a bunch of chores to do, or if mom or dad have a bunch of things to do around the house, those can add up. So you can help mom or dad.
[00:14:10] What about your brother or sister? What's one way you could bear their burdens?
[00:14:15] Help them make their bed. Okay, we're on chores this morning. I like it. Or if someone needs help reading or learning something, or they really want to do something together, they have a great desire for that. That's another way you can bear someone's burden, okay?
[00:14:31] So sometimes we hear big picture ideas in Scripture, and it's hard to understand how we can apply that to ourselves.
[00:14:37] But this picture of bearing one another's burdens, carrying weight with each other, is what the Bible wants us to do.
[00:14:43] So there's things to look out for as we get older and as we mature.
[00:14:46] Let's pray and thank God for his word.
[00:14:49] Dear God, we thank you for your word that shows us how to love one another.
[00:14:56] help us carry each other's burdens. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:15:10] All right, you can go back to your seats. As the children make their way back to their seats, I'll invite you to join me in standing if you're able. We're going to sing Psalter 197, Christian Unity. It's printed for us in an insert. And this is the psalm that we

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:15:34] sing at the end of each meeting of presbytery or synod. So let's stand and sing together. Let's

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:17:01] pray together. God, we do thank you for the blessing of dwelling in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We thank you for the blessing of the local church. We pray now that as we receive your tithes and our offerings that you would use it for the building up of your church
[00:17:17] and the going forth of your kingdom. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. As we come to the pastoral prayer, just a few announcements and things to be mindful of for you during this next
[00:20:21] week. You'll have seen in the Wednesday newsletter that Anne-Marie Patterson will be having surgery this coming Wednesday after her diagnosis of endometrial cancer. So we want to be praying for the Patterson family. And then also this week, a prayer request went out from World Witness
[00:20:40] about the church in Iran. The Iranian government has seized properties owned by the Iranian Presbyterian Church. Obviously, that greatly impacts the witness of Christians in Iran, and you'll know that the ARP Church has a great ongoing ministry there through PAC-7 and
[00:21:04] Tapp Stewart and others. So we want to be praying for all the work there in that region and be praying for the Lord's will to be done. Let's go to the Lord now in a time of prayer.
[00:21:28] Almighty God, as we continue in your worship this morning, we worship you knowing that you are a gracious Lord, that you are righteous and merciful. We worship you that you hear our voice and our pleas, that you incline your ear to your people. Even though you have
[00:22:02] created all things and sovereignly rule over all things, you are mindful of us. And so we worship you this morning. We praise you that you are at work by the power of your Holy Spirit and revealing
[00:22:25] yourself in creation, and also as you have revealed yourself in your perfect holy word.
[00:22:35] And Lord God, as we consider this morning passages that speak of not judging others, we worship you and proclaim that you are the one true judge of all. And while we know you as Father,
[00:22:55] we also know you as judge. And so I pray that that would make us mindful of the God who is merciful and gracious but mindful also that you are just and righteous and holy and so we entrust
[00:23:17] to you the judgment of of others of all things because you alone are worthy of that authority we praise you that you are good to us that you're good to your people we're mindful of that
[00:23:32] with the rain that we've experienced this week we praise you for it we praise you for the way that you're caring for the earth even now, that you continue to bring forth crops and fruit in season
[00:23:48] so that we can be cared for even our smallest needs. We also praise you, God, that you're at work in the local church. We praise you for the meeting of First Presbytery that we had this past
[00:24:01] week. We thank you that our business ran smoothly, that you were glorified, but we continue to pray for your guidance in our midst. We also pray for the church in the world. We think of the mission
[00:24:16] of the church in Iran at this recent seizure of properties owned by the Iranian Presbyterian Church. We know that there were many plans in place for the church to spread throughout Iran should the regime fall, and yet now I'm sure many are disheartened. And so we pray for the protection
[00:24:40] the perseverance and the witness of our iranian brothers and sisters in christ we pray for the growth of the gospel and for their of their ability to worship you in spirit and in truth we also pray for family bible conference this week at bon clark and we pray for our group and
[00:25:03] for all those who are going from across our denomination we pray for their fellowship and their worship and for their being fed your word this week. We also pray for those, God, who are in our midst and a part of our fellowship who are providentially hindered from joining us
[00:25:26] in worship each week. We pray for those dear brothers and sisters who are homebound.
[00:25:33] We pray that you would be ministering to them, comforting them, strengthening them, if able, getting them to a point physically where they can join us back in worship each week.
[00:25:49] We also pray that you would help us know how we can love and serve them, how we can bear their burdens.
[00:25:56] Help us to do that for your glory and honor.
[00:25:59] We pray for those who are receiving treatment for cancer.
[00:26:01] We especially pray this week for Anne-Marie Patterson at her upcoming surgery on Wednesday.
[00:26:07] We pray for that to be as effective as possible and that her recovery would be smooth.
[00:26:14] Lord, we pray that you would be at work in her body and soul during this time.
[00:26:21] We also continue to pray for those families in our midst that are expecting.
[00:26:26] We think of the Schaffers.
[00:26:28] And we also pray for the Welches whose birth mother's due date is approaching quickly.
[00:26:34] Lord God, we pray that you would be at work in those families and the preparations they are making for those children.
[00:26:42] May they be blessed in seeking your will for their lives. We pray now that as we continue in worship, as we consider in a few moments this passage of scripture, that you would be at work in our hearts and minds. Prepare us to hear your

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:26:57] truth clearly. For your glory and honor, we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I'll invite you

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:29:44] to turn with me in your Bibles for our sermon passage this morning, Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 6. Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 through 6. And we are back in the Sermon on the Mount
[00:29:58] again this week, but later. Last week we looked at an eye for an eye. This week we're looking at judge not in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Turning our attention now to how to live out
[00:30:13] in Christian unity with others around us. And we come to a misunderstood, misapplied, misquoted phrase here, judge not. Let me pray for us and I'll read God's word. Gracious God, we pray that you would illuminate our hearts and minds to the truth of your scripture. Help us to understand
[00:30:36] clearly the application for us here in Matthew chapter 7 and throughout scripture.
[00:30:43] of how we are to engage with others over sin. We pray that you would do this for your glory and honor in Jesus' name. Amen. Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 through 6.
[00:31:18] is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye
[00:31:32] and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give to dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot
[00:31:45] and turn to attack you. Amen. You know, you really shouldn't judge. That's just not very Christian of you. I'm sure that's something you've heard or someone said to you at some point in time. Maybe
[00:32:04] you've heard that from unbelievers or friends or family members, maybe a neighbor. I think it's a refrain that the world throws at Christians, thinking it's sort of a I gotcha moment for them.
[00:32:21] Jesus told you not to judge. Who are you to make any moral statement about anyone?
[00:32:28] For perhaps the first time in our series this summer, looking at misunderstood, misapplied, and misquoted passages of Scripture, we come to a passage that's used more by the world than, I think, believers. And again, it's used to be a stone thrown at us. You shouldn't judge. It's not
[00:32:48] very Christian. And while we're going to see that, yes, Jesus tells us not to judge, he does not forbid his followers from pointing out sin in others' lives. This morning, we're going to walk through Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 6, to see what Jesus teaches us, and then see how we can
[00:33:09] help others who need to see clearly. So let's begin with Matthew chapter 7 with the command in verse 1. The command is this, judge not. Judge not. This is often misquoted, often misunderstood, misapplied. Jesus is not instructing us to make no moral judgments or insights of our fellow
[00:33:35] believers. Jesus is not telling us to live and let live, that we should overlook everything that goes on in someone else's life. What is Jesus getting at here? Instead, he's warning us against a spirit of self-righteousness, a spirit of superiority, a spirit of looking down at others
[00:34:01] in our lives. Jesus wants the church, his people, to be marked by right relationships both to God and to our fellow man. And so Jesus is not saying that we should always live and let live. Again,
[00:34:20] Jesus commands us not to judge. When he does so, he's warning us against hypersensitivity to faults in others, right? Someone who's always looking to point out and nitpick others' faults.
[00:34:34] The old school term is censoriousness, which is just a fun freebie for you this week. Censoriousness.
[00:34:42] We're not to be fault finders. That shouldn't be what we're characterized by. John Stott, in his commentary on this passage, wrote concisely, this is not a commandment to be blind, blind but rather a plea to be generous. This is not a commandment to be blind but rather a plea
[00:35:01] to be generous. In other words, as a Christian, as a follower of Christ, we are not to make a practice of being eager to find faults in others. We should be gracious with one another.
[00:35:18] Jesus wants us to treat one another with love. In the upper room discourse, Jesus tells his disciples over and over again, John 13 through 17, those chapters, what does he tell us to do to each other? To love one another. Throughout the epistles, we see an invitation to bear one
[00:35:37] another's burdens, to love one another. In 1 Corinthians 13, we read about a love that's not self-centered, right? Doesn't insist on its own way. And so it is that Christians who are seeking to love one another should not condemn and despise their fellow believers, whether that be
[00:36:01] in person, behind someone's back, or on everyone's favorite battleground these days, social media.
[00:36:11] Judge not that you not be judged. That's where Jesus begins in verse 1 and 2. Verse 2 continuing, for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
[00:36:23] measured to you. This is sort of the idea of a double meaning that Jesus is using here. The first meaning is practical between you and another person. In just a few verses, Jesus is going to
[00:36:36] teach the golden rule as well in the Sermon on the Mount. What's the golden rule? Treat others as you wish to be treated. And so if that applies to judging others, then the golden result would
[00:36:50] be that we're treated as we hope others would treat us. And so Jesus is applying this principle to judging others. Now the second part of this and the larger point points to who the ultimate
[00:37:06] judge of all things is, the judge of each and every one of us. James chapter 4 verse 12 tells that there is only one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge
[00:37:24] your neighbor? Scripture consistently affirms that there is one judge, that the ultimate judgment of the righteous and the wicked belongs to God alone. We see that God alone grants eternal life to those whose names are written in the book of life. And yet we also see a picture of God's
[00:37:52] judgment throughout creation as time unfolds. It's not reserved solely for the end times. He intervenes in history to bring about justice. And that's what Jesus has in mind, this all-encompassing notion of God as the judge. So when Scripture says, who are you to judge? That's what it has in mind
[00:38:14] here, that you would judge another person's soul, their standing with the Lord. When we rightly understand God as Father and judge, it should spur us not to condemn others, but to gratitude to God for his mercy and spur us on to sanctification in our own lives. Jesus tells us the one who is
[00:38:40] growing in their Christ-likeness and gratefulness to God for his unearned salvation is the one who is gracious to others. It's very similar to last week's teaching about eye for an eye and retaliation. We are motivated by what God has done for us in Christ to not judge others. And that's
[00:39:05] what Jesus is going to illustrate for us in verses three through five. But those who are in Christ are made righteous because of what he has done. So while we await the coming judgment, we are not
[00:39:18] to judge others in that way, to judge their souls. That has not been entrusted to us. And thank goodness for that, right? I have a feeling we all would make pretty poor judges of others.
[00:39:32] So beginning in verse 3 through 5, Jesus gives us an illustration to show us what he told us verses 1 and 2. And in that, he has two questions for us, and he also uses hyperbole, right? We're
[00:39:47] going to see that in a sort of a humorous way. He exaggerates with an outlandish picture to drive home the command, judge not. Again, it is not, is it not the case so often that those who are
[00:40:02] self-righteous, who have a superiority complex, are not only judging others, but are blind to their own sins and faults? That's where Jesus takes aim in this illustration. Verses 3 through 5, beginning in verse 3. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but you do not
[00:40:22] notice the log that is in your own? Now, I'm not an eye doctor, but from what I can tell, having a log in your eye would be a bad thing, that it would impair your vision. And so Jesus is employing
[00:40:38] some humor here. Imagine if someone has a literal log or a beam stuck in their eye.
[00:40:47] They would have much bigger problems than some sawdust that's in someone else's eye.
[00:40:53] You understand the big, huge contrast here? Can you imagine you've got a tiny piece of sawdust in your eye? You go to an eye doctor and he walks in with a log coming out of his eye?
[00:41:05] What would you say to this good doctor?
[00:41:08] You'd probably say, thanks, but no thanks, doc.
[00:41:11] I'll go see someone else.
[00:41:15] The point is, you're incapable of seeing clearly if you have a log in your eye.
[00:41:20] You're incapable of judging others.
[00:41:23] You obviously have not looked at your own eye.
[00:41:27] You have a personal bias.
[00:41:29] You're incapacitated by this log in your eye.
[00:41:34] It's the point of this funny illustration.
[00:41:37] It's the point of verse four.
[00:41:38] We cannot be concerned with making hypercritical moral judgments of other brothers and sisters when we have a very obvious blinding sin in our own life.
[00:41:53] So notice then what Jesus' command for us is in verse five.
[00:41:58] What does Jesus tell you to do if you have a log in your eye?
[00:42:02] He says, you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Notice the motivation here for helping others should be to help them grow in righteousness, not to condemn them.
[00:42:19] Jesus is not discouraging mutual discipleship or accountability partners or brothers and sisters who have our back, who can tell us what our blind spots are. But in order to help someone else, to help someone else see clearly, we must take care of our own eye first. We must not be
[00:42:41] blind to our own sin. You won't be able to see clearly to speak the truth into your friend's life if you have that blinding beam in your eye. And Jesus has a very strong name for folks
[00:42:59] who are obsessed with what's wrong with everyone else and not concerned with what's wrong with their own heart. What does he call them in verse 5? A hypocrite. Nobody likes a hypocrite, right?
[00:43:15] We open with what non-believers kind of lob at Christians, and that would fall under the category too, right? All a bunch of hypocrites. Well, what is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is someone who wears a mask, who pretends to be good when they are not. And that's what Jesus calls people
[00:43:37] who are concerned with others' hearts rather than their own. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek and it means play actor. A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another. And Jesus judges hypocrites harshly. Here and elsewhere in the Gospels, he calls them fakes and phonies.
[00:44:04] And we've got to be honest, no one receives counsel or wisdom or insight well from a hypocrite.
[00:44:12] So we must deal with our own eye first.
[00:44:18] This hyperbolic example of a log in the eye and a speck in someone else's is used to reinforce the idea that we should not focus solely on the fault of others.
[00:44:28] So what do we do?
[00:44:31] When we are to make a correction of our fellow brothers and sisters, we should do so with love and humility.
[00:44:37] We should do so praying to God that we ourselves would not be hypocrites, that we would not be blinded by the sin in our lives. James chapter 5 verses 19 through 20 tell us this,
[00:44:54] my brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. The Christian life is not a zero-sum game,
[00:45:18] where if someone else, your friend, I used to struggle with this as a high schooler, I think, if someone else, your friend, is doing better than you at the Christian life, that that means that your score has to go down and be zero. It's not a competition. We're here
[00:45:34] to bear one another's burdens, to encourage one another. When we are critical of our fellow believers, we should do so to be constructive and to build each other up. Jesus also says in verse 6, though, that we should exercise discernment. Look at verse 6.
[00:46:09] Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Jesus knows that sometimes we have relationships in our lives where day after day, week after week, month after month, we try our best to be a good friend,
[00:46:30] a good brother or sister to someone in our life, and they repeatedly don't hear us.
[00:46:40] And so it is that Jesus tells us to exercise discernment. That's why he brings up dogs and pigs here. Dogs and pigs symbolize those who are disrespectful or unreceptive to God's Word.
[00:46:57] And so we need to be discerning.
[00:47:03] Sometimes you persistently offer wisdom from God's word to those who will not appreciate it.
[00:47:11] And Jesus tells us it may be wise for you and for your mental and emotional health to move on.
[00:47:20] He tells us not to cast these holy things before pigs and dogs.
[00:47:25] And what do we have that is holy?
[00:47:27] We have God's word and the gospel.
[00:47:30] and those things should be treated with respect. So what Jesus tells us here is if you have someone who's blatantly disrespectful of God's word and the gospel, it may be wise for you to move on
[00:47:45] and to entrust their souls to the Lord. What we've seen over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount and this summer in this misunderstood, misapplied, misquoted series is that the Christian life is one that calls for balance. Balancing grace and truth. Here we're told to
[00:48:03] avoid judgment while upholding righteousness and holiness in our lives? And so the question becomes, I'm not supposed to judge. I'm supposed to help others. How do I do that? Well, let's consider briefly in our second point, some principles for helping others see clearly,
[00:48:25] for pointing out sin in others' lives. Something that's not comfortable. Hopefully it's not something we look forward to. Let's think about biblical principles for this. The goal for pointing out sin in someone else's life should be their spiritual growth and restoration.
[00:48:41] Throughout the New Testament, we are urged as Christians to help, restore, save, forgive those who are caught in sin. Now, we're not discussing conflict resolution. That would be Matthew 18.
[00:48:58] There's some overlap here, but it's important to remember what we're talking about here is you have a friend who is a follower of Jesus Christ, and you are worried about a particular sin that you
[00:49:10] see in their life over and over again, and you are concerned for them. Sometimes it's difficult to know if we should say anything. So here are some principles to help you decide if you should
[00:49:26] respectfully address someone else's sin. Number one, if sin brings significant dishonor to God.
[00:49:35] If someone's a believer in Christ and they are behaving in such a way that others will think less of God or his word or the gospel is being mocked in their life, it's probably necessary for you to talk to them about that.
[00:49:52] We're not speaking about a one-off offense, but something that is over and over again you're seeing in someone's life.
[00:49:59] Repeated behavior, you should speak to them about it.
[00:50:02] Number two, if it's damaging to your relationship with them, your friendship, if your feelings, thoughts, words or towards another person have been damaged for more than a short period of time, and you've prayed about it, and it's not going away, you should go talk to them. Thirdly, if it is hurting
[00:50:21] others, if their sin is hurting others, maybe their family, maybe their friends, whether directly or indirectly, if a fellow believer's actions are hurting others, you should go talk to them.
[00:50:34] Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 5 to address open sin quickly to save others from being led astray. That brings into the equation the peace and the harmony of the church. If it's hurting others, you need to address it. Now note, you do not always have to do this alone, okay? It may be
[00:51:01] wise to have an intermediary and address certain sins. It may be wise to take others with you as well. But these are biblical principles to address sin in another person's life. Fourthly, if it is
[00:51:15] hurting the offender themselves, directly or indirectly impairing their relationship with God or other people. Leviticus 19.17 encourages us, do not hate your brother in your heart.
[00:51:28] Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Proverbs 27 tells us, better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted. I've said all that to say there are
[00:51:45] times in the life of a Christian when we need to go to our brothers and sisters and address their sin with them. Scripture encourages us to do that. It tells us not to be eager to be fault finders,
[00:52:02] yes, but it does tell us to go before other Christians and address these things. Now you might be thinking to yourself, self, who am I to tell anyone else what to do? Well, as a believer
[00:52:20] and a fellow believer, we're to encourage others to be faithful to God's word. And if you believe that God's word is the authority for how to live, then you can have confidence in sharing that word
[00:52:31] with your friend. God often uses other people to speak words that we need to hear to convict us of our heir. A famous example of that is the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12, correcting the heart of the
[00:52:50] king of Israel, King David. In our epistle, Galatians chapter 6 this morning, our epistle reading pointed that out for us. Turn there with me in your Bibles. This will be the last reference we look at. Galatians chapter 6, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are
[00:53:11] spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted. Paul tells the Galatians to restore a brother who is caught in sin. Caught here, the picture is being overtaken or surprised, caught off guard, ensnared, trapped. It's like in a cartoon
[00:53:38] if someone's on a boat and they're fishing and they get caught up in the net and they're held up by their legs up over the ocean. What does that person need? That person needs help. Being caught
[00:53:52] up in sin is like that. We need help from others. Ultimately, we need the saving and atoning work of Christ, for which we can be thankful to God for, but we also need fellow Christians, someone to
[00:54:04] step in and maybe cut us free from this ensnaring net we found ourselves in. Being caught in sin is serious. It's serious to our own spiritual health. It's also serious in that it hinders our helpfulness,
[00:54:22] our usefulness in the kingdom of God. So what can you do for your friend? In order to help our fellow believer, Paul says to restore him gently. And this is a beautiful picture here.
[00:54:39] Restore here means to mend or to complete or equip or prepare. It's the same word elsewhere in the New Testament for a fisherman who is repairing those broken or torn nets. It's also used for supplying what is lacking for a believer's faith. Restoring here brings with it the notion of
[00:55:02] making someone useful for their intended purpose. Restoring someone who is trapped in sin is a work of God Almighty, mending them and making them useful for His purposes again. And sometimes you are called to be a part of that work by God's grace in someone's life. This is the aim and the
[00:55:31] goal of addressing someone else's sin with them. This idea of them being mended and restored to usefulness. And so what does that look like? Practically speaking, out of true concern for your fellow believer who is trapped in sin, and by speaking the truth in love, you would go and
[00:55:52] respectfully bring up their sin to them. You want to do this in a way that's not embarrassing?
[00:56:00] It's not calling them out before a bunch of others? You certainly don't need to talk about it with a group before you go do it, right? I really think this person's got this sin going on.
[00:56:11] No, go directly to them. You need to be prepared. You need to pray through what you want to say.
[00:56:19] you need to ask for God's guidance and hopefully there are some passages of scripture you'd like to share with this individual when you do this you should have God's promises of the gospel and sanctification be at the heart of what you are sharing do not beat them over the head with the
[00:56:39] law bring them grace and truth just as Jesus Christ came to bring us and you should remind them of why you're doing this, of your motives to restore, and if possible, share ways in which
[00:57:02] the Lord has worked in your life, removing that log in your own eyes so that you can remind them that the grace of God is at work in us. But don't expect them to agree with you immediately.
[00:57:21] Listen to them, pray with them, let them know that you're with them, that you're for them, that you're there if they need to talk about this anymore with you.
[00:57:32] Perhaps plan to follow up with them about it.
[00:57:36] But again, this isn't something that we need to beat someone over the head with.
[00:57:42] The idea is not that you show up at someone's door, read them a list of offenses, slam the door and turn around and walk away.
[00:57:50] We're walking this road together.
[00:57:56] Speak the truth in love, seek to restore, listen well, and ask God for his wisdom.
[00:58:03] That's how we can help others see clearly.
[00:58:07] A lot of the application this morning is informed by a book I read called Peacemakers by Ken Sandy.
[00:58:13] And in that book, the author points out the primary principle for Christians dealing with other Christians.
[00:58:19] The primary principle should be this, to glorify God.
[00:58:24] In your interactions with other believers, are you motivated by a desire to bring God glory and to honor him with your life?
[00:58:32] Are your actions the actions of a follower of Christ who is showing the world around them the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus? Are you fueled by a desire to see others knock down a peg? Or are you fueled by a desire to see the power of the gospel
[00:58:52] displayed in their life? If your guiding principle is glorifying God, then I think you can confidently discern when to address fellow Christians about their sin. The person that Jesus condemns here is not the person who can't see sin. It's the person who sees everyone else's sin but his own.
[00:59:18] Jesus does not tell us to ignore sin, but he tells us to confront our own sin and then help our brother see clearly. So no, we are not to judge others, but we are to deal with our own
[00:59:34] sin so that we can rightly help others see. As a church, Cottle Creek should be characterized not by judgmental people. We also shouldn't be known as folks who let sin go unchecked. We should be
[00:59:49] known as a place where sinners help other sinners by the grace of God. See clearly. Let's pray together. Gracious God, we thank you for your word this morning, this challenging word, this word that makes us all mindful of the many ways that we fall short. I pray, Lord, that you would help us
[01:00:19] to be molded more and more into the mind of Christ so that we would be a fellowship that is not known for being judgmental of others, but of a fellowship that helps others, that bears one another's burdens,
[01:00:39] but helps each other see clearly so that we may be restored to youthfulness in your kingdom.
[01:00:48] Lord God, we pray that you would do this so that we would be more useful to you and that you would help us not to be overly critical of others.
[01:01:05] Help us to walk out the gospel in our lives in grace and truth.

[01:01:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:01:10] We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

[01:01:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:01:18] Well, for our closing hymn this morning, we're going to sing number 437, O God, to us show mercy. Let's stand and sing.

[01:01:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:01:45] We'll go with God's blessing.

[01:03:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:03:54] The Lord bless you and keep you.
[01:03:57] The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[01:04:01] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, both this day and forevermore.
[01:04:06] Amen.