Fourth Sunday after Trinity
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Today in our Gospel text we find the passage of Scripture that is most often quoted by unbelievers. People who believe that the Bible is a book of fairy tales written by delusional prophets who were high on mushrooms are nevertheless happy to quote this passage authoritatively whenever it seems helpful. And by this passage, I actually mean two words.
If you had a Sharpie, imagine that you took it out and began crossing out every word written in your Bible until you were left with the two words: Judge not. This, sadly, is how many people read the Scriptures. And not just unbelievers. Christians too.
“Hey. You shouldn’t be fudging the hours on your time sheet. That’s stealing from your boss.” “Judge not!” God says that sex is to be reserved for the marriage bed. “Judge not!” Gossiping and talebearing destroys relationships and harms the church. “Judge not!” It is as though nothing else written in the Word of God matters. “Throw out the Ten Commandments. Throw out every admonition to live a chaste and holy life. Throw out the hundreds of warnings against sin. Why? Because these two words give me a blank check to live any way I please, and don’t you dare try to say anything.”
But anyone who is willing to read the Bible beyond these two words will discover that far from forbidding every kind of judgment, God actually commands and requires it. Jesus says in John, chapter 7, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (Jn 7:24). We are to judge preaching, 1 Corinthians 14. We are to judge doctrine, 1 Corinthians 11. We are to judge false teachers and false Christians, Matthew 7 and 1 John 2. We are to judge the deeds and workers of darkness, Ephesians 5.
This week I read an article about a musician who claims to be a Christian but is living an openly sinful life in defiance of God’s Word. She had a message to Christians which I can’t repeat, but basically said, “Don’t you dare…judge me.” One of her fans quoted Jesus in support of her sinful life: “Only the sinless may judge her or anyone else. Who amongst you is without sin may cast the first stone.” The fan was referring to the story of how Jesus stopped the public execution of a woman caught in the act of adultery. But there’s a big difference between telling people to sin no more and killing them with rocks. “Casting the first stone” is not a metaphor for telling people that their behavior is sinful. Casting the first stone literally means throwing rocks at people’s heads until they die. Jesus stopped the execution. But then he said to the woman, “Go and sin no more.” Was Jesus casting the first stone? Was He judging? No. He was showing mercy. And mercy includes the words: “Sin no more.”
There are two kinds of judgment in the Bible: hypocritical judgment, which Jesus forbids, and righteous judgment, which is commanded. The world can’t understand the difference, and so it uses Jesus’ words, “Judge not,” to avoid turning from sin. But hypocritical judgment is not the same as calling someone to repentance. Hypocritical judgment is when we go beyond saying, “what you’re doing is wrong,” and try to condemn a person to death or hell. It is absolutely the business of the church to say, “God’s Word says that this behavior is sinful.” That is right judgment. It is not our place to say, “Because you are a sinner, you deserve to be punished for all eternity, and I’m going to make sure you get what you deserve!” That is hypocritical judgment.
Have you ever been so angry at someone that you said, “I hope he burns in hell!” That is the judging that Jesus forbids. He alone has that authority. He will be the Judge on the last day, not you or I. Or maybe you’ve thought, “I will never forgive her for what she did to me.” Unforgiven sin keeps people out of heaven. Do we have the authority to choose who gets forgiven and who does not? No. When I speak the words of absolution, do I forgive only the people that I like? Of course not. I speak as I am commanded. I am a steward entrusted with God’s forgiveness, but it does not belong to me to use as I see fit. A faithful pastor must forgive the sins of every repentant sinner, and the same is true for every Christian.
“Condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Lk 6:37). Unforgiveness is not an option for a believer. “But, Pastor, you don’t know how much he hurt me!” It doesn’t matter. How much did you hurt Christ? Whose sins nailed Him to the cross? Since we have all confessed that we are poor, miserable sinners who justly deserved temporal and eternal punishment, what business do we have trying to carry this sentence out upon others. Jesus says, “Be merciful.” Why? Because God has been merciful to you. Don’t pass judgment on others and condemn them to hell. Why? Because you would be condemning yourself. And because that judgment was already executed upon Christ. The sentence we deserved was carried out upon Him. Jesus has paid the eternal price for our sins. We have no business trying to collect on a debt that has already been paid.
But don’t confuse hypocritical judgment with righteous judgment. Righteous judgment is speaking the truth about sin according to God’s Word. You are commanded to do this. When your relative asks, “Is it wrong that I’m living with my girlfriend?” you must tell him that it is. Speak the truth in love. Why? Because you want to see him be punished? No. Because you want him to turn from sin and be forgiven. Because you want him to experience the blessing of marriage according to God’s institution. Because you love him.
The world calls speaking the truth in love hate. But the world has gone mad. Pay it no mind. Instead, speak the truth with gentleness. Jesus died for us sinners, but not so we can hang on to our sins. Jesus died to take them away. The love of God does not give us permission to go on living in sin. The love of God compels us to turn and be forgiven. This is not hate. It is right judgement. It is mercy. It is love.
The right judgment of God is this: Your sins are forgiven. Real sins. But even more real forgiveness. They are forgiven because Jesus was condemned in your place. The eternal consequences have been removed. There is no reason for anyone to suffer the final judgment of God, because Jesus has already suffered it in our place. And because you have been forgiven much, you can love much. You can speak the truth in love, to your fellow Christians, to your family, to your neighbors, inviting everyone you encounter to turn from sin and live. This is not hypocritical judgment. It is righteous judgment. It is mercy and forgiveness. It is love. Amen.