Is It Ever Necessary to Say that Someone is Not a Christian?.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Matthew chapter 7. [0:04] We’re in Matthew chapter 7 this morning. [0:06] If this is the first time you’ve been here, if you haven’t been here during this series, [0:10] what’s going on in this series is that we had an anonymous section on our website where [0:15] we told you guys, everybody in the church, to ask anything that you have questions about, [0:21] any topics that you’d like to hear us preach about, sin, God, lifestyle choices, that type

[0:28] of thing. [0:29] And what we did is we compiled those, and the ones that were asked most frequently, [0:34] we formed a sermon topic around it, and that’s what you’re in the middle of right now. [0:38] And also, during the services, we have a phone number that’s going to be up on the screen [0:43] for most of the time, and that number is so that you can text in a question that you [0:49] may have during the service.

[0:51] I may pique your interest, I may not explain something very well, as happens frequently, [0:55] and you may have a question about it. [0:57] Feel free to text a question into that number during the service. [1:01] Don’t wait until the end. [1:02] Every week, while we’re up here doing the Q&A, we get like 15 questions. [1:08] It’s pretty much too late at that point.

[1:09] We’re not going to get to it. [1:11] If that’s the case, you can email them to us later, and we will do our best to respond. [1:15] But please, while I’m preaching, send those questions, and don’t wait until I’m done. [1:20] But this week, we’re going to be dealing with what I think is a very sensitive subject for [1:27] all of us, and that is the question of, is it ever necessary to say that someone’s not [1:31] a Christian?

[1:32] Is that ever a necessary thing for us to actually think, number one, and then maybe also even [1:38] verbalize to that person, number two? [1:43] The reason that this is a question is that I don’t think it really was a question in [1:48] the New Testament, because the lines were fairly clear back then. [1:53] You were either a follower of Jesus or you were not a follower of Jesus. [1:57] There was no gray area in the early church.

[2:00] And a lot of that had to do with the persecution that was taking place with Christians. [2:05] It wasn’t something that was in vogue. [2:07] It wasn’t something that was a cultural aspect. [2:10] It was something that was completely countercultural in Rome, in Jerusalem. [2:14] And so real persecution was taking place. [2:16] So if you weren’t really a Christian, you weren’t going to say you were a Christian,

[2:19] because the lie about that is to risk your life. [2:23] In our modern culture, though, what we have is that we have so many different variations [2:28] and so many different personal beliefs about what it means to be a Christian that sometimes [2:34] it can be very difficult for us to see through the haze of beliefs that different people [2:39] who claim to follow Jesus have, that it can be very confusing as to say, what’s real [2:44] Christianity, what’s not real Christianity?

[2:46] So it’s a lot easier for us to actually say, well, this is what I think Christianity is. [2:51] This is what you think Christianity is. [2:53] And we just have our different belief systems. [2:57] And even especially in modern culture, we have a bent towards tolerance. [3:05] And that is, we want to tolerate all types of beliefs. [3:09] We want to be politically correct.

[3:10] We don’t want to cause any undue criticism. [3:13] We don’t want to cause any undue conflict or arguments. [3:16] And the tolerance that we have now is far different than the tolerance that we’ve ever [3:20] had in culture before. [3:23] Previously, in older decades, what we had was a version of tolerance that was, you [3:28] and I can disagree.

[3:30] And we can continue to converse about it. [3:32] We can continue to debate about it. [3:34] But we have an understanding that there is an objective truth in this world that we are [3:41] seeking to find. [3:43] And so tolerance was, yes, truth exists. [3:46] That’s what we’re looking for.

[3:47] And we’re going to come together and we’re going to live together as a people who can [3:51] debate about this with an understanding that there is real truth. [3:54] And if I can prove that truth to you, then you’ll believe my truth. [3:58] But that’s not the new tolerance that we have in our society. [4:02] The new tolerance that we have is not that there is a truth out there, is that truth [4:06] exists in here, inside of me.

[4:09] And therefore, truth is relative to all of our experiences. [4:15] So for you to say that my experience is less valid than yours is completely intolerant. [4:22] Because there is no one set objective truth that each and every one of us are chasing [4:27] after but rather the only truth is that which I experience in my life and that which you [4:34] cannot say is wrong because you’re not living my life. [4:38] And whenever we’re having this type of discussion or you’re having this type of talk with someone

[4:42] that’s not necessarily a believer, the number one passage that’s going to be brought up [4:47] is Matthew chapter 7. [4:48] So let’s go ahead and let’s read Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 through 6. [4:53] Judge not that you be not judged. [4:57] For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. [5:02] And with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you.

[5:06] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but you do not notice the log [5:11] that is in your own eye? [5:13] Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there [5:18] is a log in your own eye? [5:20] You hypocrite. [5:22] First, take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck

[5:27] out of your brother’s eye. [5:29] Do not give dogs what is holy. [5:32] And do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn [5:39] to attack you. [5:41] Pray with me. [5:41] Father, thank you so much for your son.

[5:48] For he is the truth that each and every one of us need. [5:52] He’s the life that each and every one of us seek. [5:56] Thank you for your revelation in your word. [5:59] I pray this morning that you would give me word spirit to speak.

[6:04] God, have mercy on me a sinner. [6:06] That you would give us the strength this morning not only to comprehend the message that you [6:11] are giving us, but rather that it would also change each and every life in this room so [6:16] that we could go and seek change in this world today. [6:20] In the name of Christ, I pray. [6:22] Amen.

[6:24] Judge not, lest you yourself be judged. [6:29] In our culture, this is a phrase that is used inside the church as well as outside of the [6:33] church as kind of a trump card. [6:36] If we’re feeling in any way that somebody is being judgmental on us, it’s like, well [6:40] you don’t know me. [6:42] Well you don’t know the life that I’m living.

[6:43] Judge not or you’re going to be judged. [6:45] And we just think, man, that is the trump card that absolutely puts off anybody else [6:50] from possibly having authority over me, possibly having anything to say about my life. [6:55] Because even inside of the church, what we’ve got to experience, what we’ve got to understand [6:59] rather is that this heresy, that truth is relative to everyone’s experience, has creeped [7:06] into the church.

[7:08] And what we do to keep everybody at arm’s length is we say things like, you don’t know [7:13] me or you don’t know what I’m going through. [7:15] You walk a mile in my shoes and then you can speak truth into my life. [7:21] The reality is, is that that is not a biblical understanding of what judgment is for or even [7:28] what judgment is all about. [7:31] If no one in this world can pass any judgment on anything about our lives, then no one in

[7:37] this world can possibly share the good news of the gospel with anyone else. [7:43] The reality that God came and gave us the gospel is in and of itself a judgment on [7:52] all of us. [7:54] And it is an objective judgment. [7:57] So the question I want to deal with first is basically two questions that I want to [8:01] deal with.

[8:01] Because the way in which this question was most frequently asked is, can we judge? [8:06] Or should we judge? [8:07] Or some of you were a little more aggressive towards me and told me I shouldn’t judge. [8:11] So sometimes they weren’t questions. [8:14] Which was really odd because I thought the assignment was really clear. [8:18] Asked questions.

[8:19] Some of them were really just a couple of paragraphs to me and it’s like, okay, I’m [8:24] feeling you. [8:25] All right. [8:26] Don’t judge me. [8:29] Number one, why is judgment necessary? [8:32] And then number two this morning, I want to talk about when it’s necessary.

[8:35] When is it necessary to say someone’s not a Christian? [8:38] But before we talk about saying whether or not someone’s a Christian, we’ve got to [8:41] first form a foundation of judgment. [8:45] And how judgment really works in our lives and what Jesus is actually talking about [8:48] here in Matthew chapter 7 verse 1 for us to even deal with it. [8:52] So number one this morning when we’re talking about why judgment is necessary, we have

[8:55] to understand that the issue of judgment is about the truth of the gospel. [9:01] And that is first and foremost what Jesus is actually doing in this passage is he is [9:07] forming a real basis for us to understand what the gospel is so that we can have it [9:13] in its clearest and purest form. [9:16] So who is the audience that Jesus is talking about when he says don’t judge? [9:21] Well if we look at the book of Matthew we understand that this is where Jesus is bringing

[9:25] the sermon on the mount to a close and he’s speaking to a Jewish audience, the nation [9:30] of Israel. [9:31] And we have to understand that the people that they know he’s referring to are the [9:36] religious elite of that day who enforced law and that is the Pharisees. [9:42] And so Jesus is forming this statement towards those people who do go around in everyday [9:49] life judging other people.

[9:51] But what he is really condemning here is the basis on top of which they judge. [9:58] When he says lest ye be judged yourself, that’s a very important phrase to understand what [10:02] the Pharisees were concerned. [10:04] Because in Phariseeical tradition what they would say is I’m unjudgeable. [10:11] Because they were the ones who defined what the law meant and so they defined the law [10:18] as to you live up to my standard and if you’re not living up to my standard I will enforce

[10:24] my standard upon you. [10:26] And we understand that in Jewish tradition the Pharisees would use rabbinical tradition [10:32] over top of God’s law which was called the oral Torah and they would invent new laws [10:38] by saying they’re interpreting old laws. [10:41] So they were just putting law upon law upon law and Jesus throughout the book of Matthew [10:46] would say that they were breaking the backs of the Jews with these laws that were completely

[10:51] unfollowable and Jesus is showing the Pharisees he says understand that there is a judgment [10:56] that you’re going to come under and this was completely counter cultural to the way that [11:00] they saw life. [11:02] There is no judgment for them because they are the ones from whom judgment comes. [11:07] So Jesus is condemning self righteous judgment and he’s saying you cannot judge based on [11:15] your righteousness because no one has any righteousness.

[11:20] So Jesus in the entire sermon on the mount is completely challenging everything that [11:26] the Jews would understand as to how to gain righteousness. [11:30] If you read through this great sermon what you’re going to see is Jesus basically leveling [11:35] and equalizing each and every one of us to the exact same standard and that is that [11:40] none can compare to who God is. [11:44] That we are all as Jonathan Edwards would put it under his wrathful hand only hoping

[11:52] that he would be merciful upon us. [11:54] And so the Pharisees saw it as their place to have judgment but not only judgment to [11:59] give mercy to other people and Jesus comes in and says understand that you yourself [12:04] are no good basis for judgment to go out into people’s lives. [12:11] But notice also that Jesus used judgment to condemn false judgment. [12:18] The very phrase judge not lest you be judged is judgment because you’re saying you’re

[12:23] judging me. [12:24] That’s a judgment. [12:26] So anytime you say that to someone their instant retort to completely destroy you would [12:31] be well you’re judging me because I’m not judging you. [12:35] Don’t judge my judgment.

[12:38] And so what we have is just this back and forth that’s never going to go anywhere because [12:42] at the end of the day what we’re found with is in our sin each and every one of us are [12:47] just judging one another and getting nowhere. [12:52] Because we’re using the wrong standard and Jesus came to give us an actually righteous [12:59] standard. [13:00] In his wisdom Jesus uses judgment in a winsome way.

[13:04] He points out sin in a way that attracts people to see the beauty of the gospel. [13:10] The Pharisees had subverted what God wants judgment to be for a lie. [13:14] This is what godly judgment is all about is the protection of truth from error in order [13:19] to keep the message of the gospel clear and true. [13:22] And whenever people attempt to hijack the gospel for anything other than what God intends [13:27] it must be corrected and that is what Jesus was doing right here.

[13:32] He was correcting false judgment and in that he himself was casting judgment not only on [13:40] the Pharisees but everyone as a whole. [13:44] So number two what we have to understand about the type of judgment that Jesus is using for [13:48] us is that biblical judgment is about helping people trust Jesus. [13:55] And the big question that we have to deal with is that how can judgment help people [14:00] to come to Jesus if he removes judgment from my life.

[14:05] What Jesus does in the gospel is he comes and he bears the penalty for my sin on the [14:11] cross and in that he removes all judgment from my life. [14:15] So what often times is tempting for us to do with the gospel is to say well if Jesus [14:19] removes all judgment then judgment is gone. [14:23] So if I am a Christian you speak no truth into my life I am good because I have this [14:29] thing called eternal security.

[14:31] And so it doesn’t matter what I do grace is sufficient and judgment is gone. [14:37] Well I would say that what we have done there is we have really taken what Jesus is doing [14:42] in the gospel and rather than redemption we are turning it into license. [14:48] In other words we are saying that Jesus rather than redeeming us out of sin he is actually [14:53] giving us a license to excuse our sin. [14:56] And that is not the message of the gospel that we really have.

[14:59] Jesus reveals all our sinful in need of redemption. [15:03] In John chapter 9 verse 39 here is what Jesus says about what he is doing with judgment. [15:10] Jesus said for judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see and those [15:16] who see may become blind. [15:19] And so Jesus is saying that if you are going to quote him in Matthew 7 chapter 1 you have [15:23] also got to quote him right here where he is saying the very reason that he came into

[15:28] this world was to judge it. [15:31] He came in order to give judgment. [15:33] He came to show those who are sinners what it means to be righteous and that is through [15:40] him but he also came to show those who think that they have righteousness that they have [15:47] no righteousness. [15:48] And that is what he means when he says I came to make the blind see as well as to take those

[15:53] who think that they see and make them blind. [15:55] He came to be the great equalizer. [15:57] He came for both sinners and the Pharisees. [16:01] He came for the religious as well as the irreligious. [16:05] He came for absolutely everyone and he came casting a judgment onto this world. [16:11] The very fact that God had to come and die for sin has to be understood as the greatest

[16:16] judgment that any of us have ever seen in our lives. [16:19] Because it is an indictment number one that we are sinful but number two how grave our [16:25] sin actually is that it cost the Son of God his very life to pay atonement for. [16:33] That the ransom that God required for our sin was so great that God himself was the [16:40] only payment sufficient to cover all of our sin. [16:45] The reality is that if you are excusing your sin by telling people not to judge you, you

[16:51] are not taking your sin as harshly as God himself takes it and you are actually making [16:58] light of the work of Jesus. [17:02] The reality is there is no judgment that anyone in this world could offer upon me that is [17:07] great enough to show the sickness of sin that exists in me apart from Jesus Christ. [17:14] Therefore I say say your worst it is probably true. [17:18] The only real understanding of sin that each and every one of us could have is to respond

[17:23] in the way that Paul did when he says I am the chief of sinners. [17:28] The apostle Paul had a profoundly correct view of his own sinfulness. [17:36] So for each and every one of us who walk through this world excusing ourselves and claiming [17:40] some form of righteousness because of our pious lifestyle, it is a denial of the very [17:46] gospel that God came to save us with. [17:50] More so, it is really a refusal to understand the work that God desires to do into our

[17:59] lives. [18:00] The righteousness of Jesus then came to change us so that we would be like Jesus. [18:07] Notice what Jesus says in John chapter 7 verse 24. [18:11] This is a very true reality that we must embrace and that is don’t judge based on appearances. [18:18] Don’t judge based on appearances. [18:20] I have done that so many times in my life and a lot of the times I have been wrong.

[18:24] Sometimes you are not. [18:26] It doesn’t excuse it. [18:27] Sometimes you are not. [18:28] I mean there is logic. [18:30] But there is also this reality that that is the basis upon which the Pharisees judged [18:35] so they wore these huge religious garbs and these prayer boxes on top of their heads

[18:40] and the tassels. [18:41] I mean they just went the whole nine yards and formalized religion and they said because [18:45] I dressed this way, because I look so profound, I understand that I am righteous and Jesus [18:51] looks at me and challenges that and he says no I don’t judge based on appearances. [18:54] I judge actually the inside of the heart. [18:56] And what he is actually doing there is he is saying who he really is because he is

[18:59] God and only God can actually see what is going on on the inside. [19:02] But then he says but judge with right judgment.

[19:08] So Jesus didn’t come so that we would use zero discernment on one another. [19:16] He didn’t come so that we would never have any right to say man the life this guy is [19:25] living is not appropriate. [19:28] The life this person is living is clearly against scripture. [19:31] No what Jesus actually came to say is he came to say no what you have been basing your [19:36] judgment on that is wrong but understand what I came to do was give you a right baseline

[19:41] on top of which you can judge.

[19:46] So the statement that no one can judge you, number one is shown completely deficient because [19:52] of God. [19:53] Because he came to judge you. [19:55] But number two it is shown deficient based on changed lives. [20:01] That Jesus came not to remove discernment and judgment that you place but to transform [20:08] it into his.

[20:11] So we are not to be like Jesus in every way but our mindset.

[20:16] We are not to be like Jesus in every way but our wisdom. [20:20] We are not to be like Jesus in every way but the way he talked to people.

[20:27] We are to be like Jesus in every single way including how we judge one another. [20:33] So what does that look like? [20:34] What does that look like? [20:35] Well in Jude chapter 3 he puts it this way. [20:40] Beloved although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation.

[20:46] I have to pause right there as a rabbit trail but that is such a profound phrase. [20:51] The only thing we do in the inflexible scripture is we don’t stop and ask what he is saying [20:54] there. [20:55] What he is saying there is I wanted to write you about something but he is clearly saying [20:59] the subtext there is I couldn’t do it.

[21:03] I wanted to write to you about something that we have in common namely salvation and Jude [21:08] is saying but I couldn’t. [21:11] So what is Jude doing? [21:12] Jude is judging.

[21:17] He is saying someone there doesn’t have salvation that I hold in common. [21:23] So Jude is actually saying somebody is not a Christian.

[21:27] I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once [21:36] for all delivered to the saints. [21:40] In other words there is something going on in the church that Jude is writing to where [21:44] they are mixing true Christianity with a false version of it and Jude is saying I have to [21:50] write you to tell you to fight for the faith. [21:53] The term that he is using there is the term that a pugilist would use for boxing.

[22:00] He is saying I am writing to you so that you will get a little more hostile to those who [22:04] try to mix truth with error. [22:07] For those who try to say false lifestyles are actually righteous lifestyles. [22:12] I am writing to you to say get a little uncomfortable in your meeting space because you are going [22:15] to have to call some people out.

[22:19] He is saying we are not all one in the way that we think we are one. [22:24] What is he using there as the basis for that? [22:27] Friends he is using Jesus. [22:29] He is saying there is one definer of faith. [22:32] Who delivered the faith to the saints? [22:37] Jesus.

[22:38] No prophet, no priest, no king was sufficient. [22:42] We see that through the Old Testament that everyone is sinful. [22:46] That even the ones chosen by God are still sinful and they go off base. [22:51] The wisest man that ever existed, Solomon, is still sinful so he doesn’t do it right. [22:55] So God himself comes as prophet, priest and king and delivers the valid, the true faith [23:01] to absolutely everyone and that is what Jude is saying.

[23:06] He is saying some of you are attempting to change the faith that Jesus himself came [23:11] to give us.

[23:14] Therefore when the truth of the gospel is blurred by someone’s insistence on claiming [23:18] faith in Christ it is necessary to identify him or her as an unbeliever.

[23:25] Don’t get me wrong. [23:27] I know that this is where tension comes in. [23:29] This becomes a very tense subject, it becomes a very personal subject. [23:33] It becomes something that each and every one of us are not necessarily going to be [23:35] comfortable with or think that we are sufficient to do. [23:40] I can’t do that.

[23:42] I don’t have the prerequisites on my resume to be able to call someone else out. [23:49] I agree you don’t. [23:51] Neither do I, but Jesus does. [23:53] So what Jesus came to do was actually give us a baseline not based on us for which judgment [24:00] needs to be put in place and that baseline is him.

[24:07] Jesus is the archetype for what it means to truly be human. [24:13] So Jesus is not only the one who comes to give us justification. [24:17] He is not only the one who comes to give us salvation. [24:19] He is the one who comes to set everything straight and set a standard for what it means [24:24] to be holy and righteous. [24:27] Therefore he is the goal of what life is all about.

[24:31] That’s what it means to be a Christian. [24:33] It means to be a follower of Jesus. [24:35] It doesn’t mean to be a follower of a tradition. [24:37] It doesn’t mean to be a follower of a person’s teaching. [24:40] It means to be a follower of Jesus Christ himself. [24:44] And that is the standard for what Jesus is giving us.

[24:50] If we skip down a few verses we actually see in Matthew chapter 7 that Jesus gives us a [24:56] thing to base judgment on. [24:58] Look in Matthew chapter 7 verse 15 where Jesus himself says, [25:02] Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous [25:06] wolves. [25:07] You will recognize them by their fruits.

[25:09] Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes? [25:12] Are figs from thistles? [25:14] So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. [25:20] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [25:26] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [25:30] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

[25:34] So Jesus gives us this standard.

[25:38] It’s just this clearly logical metaphor. [25:41] See, if you go to an apple tree you will not get oranges.

[25:47] If you’re growing tomatoes you probably shouldn’t expect an avocado.

[25:53] Expect from the tree what the seed is, unless you grab the wrong seeds and then you’re [25:59] going to get a tree that you didn’t expect. [26:01] But the tree itself is the definer by which the fruit comes forth from. [26:07] Therefore if it is an apple tree it will be apples. [26:10] And Jesus is saying, if it is a person who is my follower, I’ve left a legacy upon which [26:18] you can look to define what it looks like.

[26:23] Therefore understand if they come from me they will at least be attempting to be like [26:27] me. [26:29] They will not be bringing you falsehoods, they will not be bringing you lies, because [26:32] they can’t.

[26:36] Because God Himself came and said this is what it looks like. [26:40] Therefore do this. [26:42] And to say otherwise is erroneous. [26:46] So how do we do this? [26:47] How do we do this? [26:49] Well first I want to point out something that I think is somewhat hard for us to wrap our

[26:53] minds around. [26:55] But it is that Jesus tasked the church with affirming a person’s faith. [27:00] I want to challenge how some of us, not everybody, some of us may view church. [27:07] I think sometimes we view church as a place that we go. [27:10] I think we view church as a hobby for which our Christian life is helped out with. [27:15] I think some of us view church as just a place that we go to get filled up because the week

[27:19] was very hard. [27:20] But the church is actually an institution that was founded by Jesus Christ Himself in [27:26] order to keep Christianity and the gospel pure. [27:31] In order to help us to see truth from lies. [27:36] And I’m not saying that the church always does this. [27:38] What I’m saying is that’s what the church is for.

[27:41] And those who have taken the church out of that category, well they are putting themselves [27:46] into harm’s way. [27:48] I believe many people are deceived by false teaching number one, false living number two, [27:54] and division number three because they are not connected to a true local church who [28:02] helps them to see falsehood from errors. [28:04] The entire reason that Jesus founded the church, the entire reason that Jesus founded

[28:09] leaders within the church and elders within the church is to protect the clarity of the [28:14] gospel and to protect its purity and to protect its people. [28:20] And that is what Jesus installs in Matthew chapter 16 when he says, Peter, on top of [28:25] the pronouncement that I am the Messiah, I will build my church. [28:28] And he says, it’s a very interesting thing. [28:30] And to the church, I give the keys to the kingdom of God, therefore whatever you bind

[28:34] on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you bind in heaven is bound on earth. [28:37] In other words, I’m giving the truth of the gospel to the church, therefore when the church [28:41] says someone is a believer based upon their profession, that is what the task of the church [28:46] is to do. [28:46] It is to affirm your faith. [28:49] You do not have the authority to affirm your faith.

[28:52] You don’t need the church to be saved, but the church exists to help you continue in [28:58] salvation and to affirm and identify you as a believer. [29:02] And right there that sounds so hard for us because we are like, who do you think you [29:05] are? [29:05] Don’t judge me. [29:07] Right.

[29:09] Because we exhibit in our lives self-authority. [29:14] All you need for salvation is Jesus. [29:17] That is biblical. [29:19] But you are not called to follow him on your own.

[29:23] You are called to depend on the church.

[29:28] Matthew chapter 18, Jesus deals with the topic of sin in someone’s life. [29:34] Because of time I will not read the entire passage, but it is the reality of sin taking [29:38] place between two individuals and then he gives steps in which to deal with that sin [29:43] and the final one when that person will not repent is that it is brought to the church. [29:50] When that person will not repent, Jesus says you deal with that person as a publican. [29:54] You deal with that person as a tax collector and a Gentile.

[29:59] What tax collectors and Gentiles were understood as in Jewish culture were people who did [30:03] not have God.

[30:06] Therefore, Jesus is saying the church has the authority to affirm someone’s faith or [30:14] to tell you you are not exhibiting true faith.

[30:20] We see again in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, but what is the intent? [30:24] The intent is always redemption. [30:27] So what I want to do very quickly is I want to give three places in the New Testament [30:31] where you are told to say someone is not a Christian. [30:36] Then when I close, I want to close with what is the point. [30:39] Is it just that we are now the new Pharisees?

[30:42] Because that is a way that you can go. [30:44] You are going to be going the wrong way. [30:45] You are going to take a left and you should take a right, but you can do that in a wrong [30:50] way. [30:51] So I want to deal with three instances. [30:54] Number one, when is it necessary to say someone is not a Christian?

[30:57] Well, when repentance of false teaching is refused. [31:02] We already looked at Matthew chapter 7 where he said false teachers will come in as ravenous [31:07] wolves.

[31:09] He identifies a difference. [31:11] Every time Jesus talks about his followers in the gospels, he calls them sheep. [31:17] He tells Peter even at the end of the book of John, he says, feed my sheep. [31:20] Feed my sheep. [31:22] So if you are not a sheep, that means you don’t know Jesus. [31:28] So what he is doing is saying if somebody comes in and they give you false teaching,

[31:32] they exhibit authority over the church, they proclaim that they are one of us, yet they [31:37] give false teaching. [31:38] They have disguised themselves as sheep, but inwardly they are wolves. [31:42] In other words, this is not a Christian. [31:44] In 1 John chapter 4, and we covered this a few months ago, John writes, beloved, do not [31:50] leave every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

[31:54] For many false prophets have gone out into the world, and then down in verse 5 he says, [31:58] they are from the world, therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

[32:04] What is he saying when he is saying they are from the world? [32:07] He is saying they are not saved. [32:10] He is saying they are not Christians.

[32:13] This is something that for me is very serious because I understand that in the book of James, [32:19] Jesus as a teacher will be judged by a harsher standard for everybody, so I am terrified [32:23] of getting it wrong. [32:25] If you are not terrified of getting it wrong, don’t teach. [32:28] Because I am terrified.

[32:31] That is why we focus so much on the word of God, because I know I can’t get it wrong [32:34] when I am there. [32:35] I can get it wrong when I am here, not there.

[32:39] False teaching is very serious. [32:41] This is why last week, and I catch heat every time I do it, it is why I said Joel Osteen [32:46] is not saved, because he is a false teacher.

[32:52] He is subverting the gospel. [32:55] He is saying the gospel is not about redemption to the kingdom of God. [32:59] The gospel is not something that is going to cause you suffering. [33:02] The gospel is not something that is going to cause you to make sacrifice. [33:05] The gospel is going to make you healthy. [33:06] The gospel is going to make you wealthy.

[33:08] The gospel is going to make all your dreams come true. [33:11] I think 1 John 4 verse 5 is this great testament to why thousands flock to his church.

[33:19] He is of the world.

[33:22] You tell me you have the power to make all my dreams come true, I might follow you too. [33:26] But I am not going to get Jesus, I am going to get me. [33:28] I am going to get a false teacher. [33:29] And in the end, I am going to get hell.

[33:36] This doesn’t mean… [33:38] I can’t stay too long here, because I have to move on.

[33:44] This doesn’t mean that if you have been deceived by false teaching, you are not saved. [33:49] It is not what it means.

[33:53] Now, if you are shown the truth of the gospel, and somebody loves you, I pray someone loves [34:02] you enough, someone loves you enough to come, that is why I say it, because I love you. [34:05] It says, this is false teaching. [34:08] Here is the gospel. [34:09] Here is what it is going to do in your life. [34:10] Here is what it is going to call you to.

[34:14] And you say, no, health and wealth is better. [34:17] You don’t love Jesus. [34:20] You love money.

[34:22] It doesn’t mean if somebody is ignorant and they go around teaching false teaching, that [34:27] they are just condemned forever. [34:29] It means that if somebody goes to them and corrects them, and trust me, people have tried, [34:33] and they say, nope, not going to repent, then they are lost.

[34:39] Number two, when repentance from sinful actions is refused.

[34:46] Matthew chapter 18 was very clear on that. [34:49] First Corinthians chapter 5 is so clear, it is ridiculous. [34:52] Someone in their church has a particularly heinous sexual sin, and they will not repent [34:58] of it. [34:58] And in first Corinthians chapter 5, I think it is starting in verse 12, there it is, [35:05] for what have I to do with judging outsiders?

[35:08] Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? [35:10] God judges those outside, purges the evil person from among you. [35:14] Well, how crazy is that, man? [35:16] Next time somebody, if it is in the church, don’t judge me. [35:20] Well, first Corinthians 12, boom.

[35:25] All right, what Paul is saying is about the purity of the gospel, it is about the truth [35:30] of the gospel. [35:31] He is saying, if you continue to just excuse licentious lifestyles, the gospel is not clear [35:38] anymore.

[35:40] Repentance of sin is part of the gospel.

[35:45] And if you are not calling people to that, then you are not preaching the gospel. [35:49] And if you just keep going and saying, brother, repent, brother, repent, and they won’t repent, [35:53] then you have no choice but to say that you are not a Christian.

[35:58] And what Paul actually says in first Corinthians 5, he is saying, if you excommunicate this [36:02] person from the church, that is a witness to the gospel to them.

[36:08] Because you are saying, you are outside of the gospel, and then you are just basically [36:12] saying, God can save you, but I am giving you to Him now.

[36:19] Romans chapter 6 and 7 reveal that to be a Christian is to be transformed into someone [36:24] who seeks Jesus. [36:26] I love Romans chapter 6 when it says, don’t you understand that when you are baptized [36:30] into the death of Jesus, you were raised to a life like His, therefore you are no longer [36:35] a slave to iniquity, but rather you are now a slave to righteousness. [36:38] Therefore, those who walk in new life follow Jesus.

[36:42] But then I also love Romans chapter 7 where it says, look, it is not going to be easy.

[36:50] To call for people to live righteous lives is not a call to perfection. [36:56] It is a call to struggle. [36:59] It is a call to struggle.

[37:02] That is why this topic is so tense.

[37:07] When you are not struggling with sin, and you are just saying, I love it, I love it [37:14] so much, I don’t want to be away from it.

[37:19] Friend, you are not following Jesus.

[37:24] But when there is sin in your life, and you want it to die so bad, you just keep begging [37:30] God, give me strength, give me strength, I don’t want to fall anymore, I don’t want [37:34] to fall into sin anymore. [37:35] God help me! [37:36] I love you more than I love sin, but I am so weak. [37:39] Well, you are struggling with the same thing the apostle Paul did.

[37:42] Friends, that struggle is good fruit.

[37:48] The terror needs to come in your life when the struggle stops.

[37:55] First John chapter 2 verse 1 reminds us though, that when we do sin, our struggle is a struggle [38:01] in hope, because we return to find our hope in Jesus. [38:06] The great writer John says when we do sin, if anyone does sin, know that you have an [38:12] advocate in Jesus Christ.

[38:15] It is the hope in our sin friends. [38:17] But some of us are in sin and we are not looking for hope, and that is when we need to be called [38:21] out.

[38:24] Thirdly, when repentance from divisive actions and attitudes are refused. [38:30] Titus chapter 3 verse 10 and 11 says, as for a person who stirs up division after warning [38:34] him once and then twice have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person [38:38] is warped and sinful, he is self-condemned.

[38:47] Paul gives the example of a person who causes division within the church. [38:51] He is writing to a young pastor as to how to deal with his church and he instructs him [38:54] that a person who causes division must be expelled and labeled as a non-believer because [38:59] of unrepentance. [39:01] This can be gossip, this can be slander of others, seeking to sinfully subvert authority [39:06] in the church, or lying about people and plans.

[39:10] The unity of the local church for the mission of Jesus is vital, therefore a person who [39:14] attempts to disrupt that must be dealt with. [39:16] Paul tells the leadership to deal with it. [39:19] Notice though the warning.

[39:22] Some of you might be sitting there, oh man I gossiped about someone yesterday, don’t [39:26] put me out of the church, I won’t, don’t worry. [39:31] I’ll warn you.

[39:36] Sometimes I crack myself up.

[39:41] It does not mean that if you sin in this area that you are done. [39:45] I hope I made that clear in our last point. [39:47] He says to warn them. [39:49] But if repentance and reconciliation with the one that you lie against, the one that [39:54] you seek disunity with, if you just won’t seek it, if you’ll never run after it, if [39:58] your hope is not love, if your hope is not unity, then what else can be done but to put

[40:04] you out. [40:05] The mission of the church is too important, therefore God says this person is from Satan. [40:11] Put them out.

[40:14] Finally this morning I want to deal with the intent. [40:20] Intent. [40:21] Because I believe the motivation of the Pharisees is what exposed their sinfulness.

[40:26] Jesus judges finally this morning in love so that people will repent.

[40:36] This is what is so counterintuitive to the gospel yet it amazes me and causes me to worship. [40:42] Is that Jesus is the only person to ever live who had self-righteousness. [40:51] Do you understand that? [40:53] Jesus was righteous.

[40:56] Yet he never exhibits it.

[41:01] Philippians chapter 2 says he empties himself of all of the function of deity. [41:07] Never wanting the world to see him as someone who is self-righteous so he walks around [41:12] as the humblest of people. [41:16] He is just so profound in the life of the God who created everything that exists if [41:22] it doesn’t humiliate you.

[41:26] If it doesn’t cause you to look at yourself in disgust and say what a wretched man. [41:31] That’s what Paul says at the end of Romans chapter 7. [41:33] He says what a wretched man that I am. [41:35] Is there any hope for the man of sin that exists inside of me in Romans 8.1. [41:39] He says oh and excuse me at the end of Romans 7 he says oh praise God for Christ Jesus [41:44] and then Romans 8.1 therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are found in

[41:48] Christ Jesus.

[41:50] He is saying it is all about Jesus.

[41:54] The God who comes lives 33 years on this earth, dies for the sin of humanity and never once [41:59] looks at the world who is living in rebellion against him and says who do you people think [42:03] you are.

[42:06] He lived among us and didn’t kill any of us. [42:08] How crazy is that?

[42:12] There were times when the disciples praised God and said how long do I have to deal with [42:15] these guys.

[42:19] They loved the humanity of Jesus. [42:20] He had a good sense of humor.

[42:23] Look at this God. [42:25] We think there is something special about us.

[42:32] Repentance is the key every time Jesus lays down any judgment. [42:36] It’s for our good. [42:38] It’s for our good. [42:39] It’s with the hope of repentance. [42:41] It’s with the hope that you will turn from your sin. [42:44] The hope that you will run to him.

[42:45] The hope that you will cling to him for righteousness. [42:48] The hope that you will find your identity in him. [42:50] The hope that you will find your security in him. [42:51] The hope that you will find your hope in him. [42:54] Because he is Jesus. [42:56] And he is worth it.

[42:57] And he is worthy. [42:59] And he is good. [43:00] And he is holy. [43:01] And he is righteous. [43:02] And he is everything.

[43:04] Our intentions must be all about Jesus or we risk being the very thing we say we hate [43:10] and that is Pharisees. [43:13] Judgment is a very serious matter and must be used with caution and trepidation. [43:18] This is why Jesus gave us the church. [43:22] Relationships of discipleship aid us in gaining and using discernment. [43:26] But what I want to finish with is I want to finish with how Jesus did this and what

[43:30] that can teach us is Jesus never picketed anybody. [43:34] He never marched on Capitol Hill. [43:36] Jesus never does anything like this. [43:38] Jesus is so winsome and I think that is something that we have lost. [43:41] I was talking to guys about this this week. [43:43] Jesus is just so winsome when he does things and it’s just like what in the world does

[43:47] winsome mean? [43:47] You have probably used it. [43:48] I have used it before. [43:49] I was using it before I knew what it meant because it sounded cool. [43:51] But Jesus is so charming in his judgment that you are like thank you for that. [44:00] You just told me I was the son of the devil.

[44:02] Well thank you. [44:04] He has this weird way of saying things where I am thanking him for calling me out. [44:08] And I think we need to work, I know I do, we need to work a little harder at this. [44:14] About being able to communicate the gospel in ways that show its beauty as well as its [44:20] force.

[44:23] And I want to close and I hope this makes sense to you but in dealing with verse 6, [44:30] really to me the hardest part of this, and it is the first place where he says don’t [44:33] judge and I am going to judge every one of you.

[44:38] Where in Matthew chapter 7 verse 6 Jesus says this, [44:42] Do not give dogs what is holy. [44:45] Do not throw your pearls before pigs, unless they trample them under foot and turn to a [44:50] ! [44:51] They will attack you. [44:52] Jesus is not saying that we should withhold the gospel from certain people, that we regard

[44:58] as unworthy of it. [45:00] But he is a realist and acknowledges that after multiple rejections and mockery of the [45:06] gospel the time may come to move on to others. [45:10] But here is what he says in this, it is so beautiful, [45:13] as he lays down lines and distinctions, but in a way to draw me in and not want to be [45:21] one of those dogs.

[45:25] That is why this kind of judgment is necessary, because it makes me realize that I am a dog [45:30] and I don’t want to be like that. [45:33] So I need this Jesus who is the only just judge.

[45:45] Jesus cast his pearls before dogs and we killed him for it.

[45:54] Have you ever thought about that?

[46:00] What he is saying there is if a pack of wild dogs and pack of wild pigs comes they want [46:06] to eat your food and you throw pearls down in front of them, they are going to chew [46:09] it up and it is going to taste terrible. [46:11] So they are going to spit it out and they are going to come and tear you apart because [46:14] you are the best food around.

[46:19] He is a charmer.

[46:24] He says I am going to go and I am going to die because the alternative is I tear you [46:32] apart with hell. [46:34] But I am going to die so you won’t have to.

[46:40] And then he gives me his pearls of righteousness.

[46:45] This is a good God who worked to find ways to communicate his gospel to a world who didn’t [46:55] want it. [46:57] And we need to find winsome ways of using judgment.

[47:06] As Joey comes up, every week we partake of this meal of communion, the Lord’s Supper. [47:20] We have the cup which represents the blood of Jesus. [47:23] We have the bread which represents the body of Jesus. [47:26] And I love this analogy because it was so clear Jesus was literally torn apart for [47:33] us.

[47:38] For me to understand who I am can only be seen if I understand who he is. [47:45] And he is the good God who was so loving that he would die for a sinner like me and sinners [47:55] like you. [47:58] Jesus came to bring judgment and then he took it on his own shoulders for you and for me. [48:07] And there are times when we have to look at others who attempt to subvert and pervert [48:14] the great joyful message of what Jesus came but when they do that they tear apart the

[48:20] greatest message ever known. [48:22] And the only loving thing for you and I to do is to say no.

[48:28] Let me give you the real gospel so that you can be saved too.

[48:35] Friends, if you are a follower of Jesus this morning, he invites you to take this metaphor [48:42] of his life entering your life to proclaim to one another, I love Jesus. [48:48] I am going to live for Jesus. [48:50] Not because I am good, because he is great.

[48:55] If you are not a follower of Jesus, oh friend, you have got to know him. [48:59] You have got to know this great God who loves you so much to hold your sin against himself [49:08] and give his righteousness to you. [49:12] I will be over here, I would love to talk to you, I would love to share the gospel [49:14] with you. [49:16] But if you are here and you are a follower, there are six tables all around the room,

[49:19] proclaim the gospel right now. [49:22] Hello again everyone, while you are finishing communion we are going to go ahead and get [49:26] started with our question and answer time. [49:28] We are doing things a little bit different during this series instead of the songs at [49:31] the end of the services. [49:33] We are doing some question and answer, but we will move quickly here and have you guys

[49:37] out here in plenty of time. [49:38] I do want to call the ushers forward to do offering right now. [49:43] Offering is part of our worship, those that call village home, this is part of us giving [49:46] back to God the resources that he has given to us. [49:49] But if you are a guest or visitor with us this morning, we definitely don’t want you [49:52] to feel obligated to participate with that.

[49:55] We would love to get a connect card from you. [49:57] We will jump into it and as I say each and every week more questions than we can get [50:02] to. [50:02] Thank you guys so much for asking all these questions. [50:05] We will do our best, please email us. [50:07] If you guys did that last week we really appreciated that because we loved the opportunity to

[50:11] get to interact with you on email. [50:13] Jumping right into it, how do we practically go about helping someone see that their beliefs [50:19] or actions don’t line up with Christianity? [50:21] How do we do that without being a busy body? [50:23] I think that is always the fear, at least it should be. [50:29] Because the alternative is that you anointed yourself with morality police, which is never

[50:33] good by the way. [50:35] I think the truth to me is, is scripture.

[50:41] If you focus on scripture then you can’t go wrong because it is God’s word. [50:49] So constantly saturate yourself with scripture, memorize scripture which I think is very [50:55] lost on many people in this culture. [50:58] Know scripture. [51:00] And the second part is know people. [51:02] There is going to be moments when maybe you are talking to somebody you don’t know and

[51:07] God is just going to work through you and give them truth that way. [51:10] But if this is someone that you actually have a relationship with, you know how to communicate [51:14] and love them enough to know who they are and how to communicate effectively with them. [51:21] That is me. [51:23] And don’t be busy bodies. [51:24] I think the easiest way to do that is, number one, know where your righteousness comes from.

[51:30] You are no better than anybody else. [51:32] There is no such thing as superiority among people. [51:36] Then number two is keep yourself in check. [51:40] If you think you are being a busy body, maybe you need to go and talk to a village group [51:44] leader about that. [51:47] We are so convinced that we can only listen to our own wisdom.

[51:52] That is why God gave us other people. [51:54] Go gain wisdom from someone else.

[51:57] Question that came in was, even if all this is true, you know, theologically, aren’t [52:02] we better off just kind of letting God do the work and focusing on God’s love?

[52:10] The last part of that is that judgment is part of God’s love.

[52:15] And I think ultimately that is something, I think, you know, if you didn’t get to the [52:19] podcast when Pastor Nate was talking about 1 John chapter 4 after verse 6, go listen [52:27] to that because we have a really bad definition of what love is. [52:30] Our definition of love is what I talked about at first, tolerance with no boundaries. [52:35] That’s not love. [52:36] In the end, that’s hate.

[52:39] So understand that God’s love involves judgment. [52:42] What was the first part? [52:44] Aren’t we better off though just focusing on preaching God’s love and kind of not focusing [52:50] on the sin part at all? [52:51] I mean you partially answered that. [52:54] I’ll just, in a simple way, no.

[52:56] Because you can’t preach God apart from this because this is part of who God is. [53:02] You know, so that’s it. [53:05] Can’t we just live by example? [53:07] There’s one question. [53:08] No. [53:10] Example is very important.

[53:11] Therefore keep yourself checked. [53:13] It’s like, you know, if you tell somebody don’t and then you do, well, that’s not effective. [53:18] But number two, in St. Francis of Assisi gets a bad rap because he said, you know, preach [53:23] the gospel at all times, use words if necessary. [53:25] He probably didn’t say that, number one, and even if he did, he was wrong. [53:29] Romans chapters 10 says, how will they believe if they’ve not heard?

[53:33] The gospel contains words. [53:36] It’s good news. [53:38] So you have to speak.

[53:42] Getting into some questions more specifically on issues. [53:46] Are there some doctrinal positions that are so dangerous that people who hold them might [53:50] not be saved? [53:52] Yeah. [53:52] And I won’t beat the dead horse that I’ve already beaten this week and last week, but [53:56] that’s one.

[53:59] You know, and just, you know, certain things like when you start messing with the atonement [54:06] about saying that the penalty for sin was laid upon Jesus and you take that away, well, [54:11] that’s very, that’s a, man, we, and I’m not going to pronounce anybody lost right now [54:16] without talking to them personally. [54:18] But when you take, you know, and theologically it’s called penal substitutionary atonement. [54:23] When you don’t believe Jesus died for my penalty in my place, well, then I don’t know what

[54:29] he died for. [54:31] So that’s where you really start skirting some weird lines. [54:33] When you take the deity of Jesus away, stuff like that, then it becomes very dangerous [54:39] teaching because, and I think, here’s what the scripture has in mind, it’s not necessarily [54:44] that one person, but the persons their teaching is going to affect. [54:49] And so that’s why they have to be stopped.

[54:52] This question came in enough times, this week and last week actually, that at the risk of [54:57] stepping in it, we’re going to ask it. [54:59] What parts of Catholic theology would maybe be considered non-Christian?

[55:08] I may need an eighth week of cow tipping.

[55:13] Just a, I’ll just give you a few. [55:15] I think some Catholics may be saved, all right, but here’s the key. [55:19] If you hold to Orthodox Catholic, or Orthodox Catholic doctrine, then it’s problematic because [55:27] it does not teach that Jesus is the only intercessor between God and man. [55:32] It lays out a priesthood where I have to go confess to priests. [55:36] It deifies the mother of Jesus.

[55:41] It exemplifies human authority by saying that anything that the pope says while he’s on [55:47] the seat is scripture, so they have no closed canon. [55:51] So when they say stupid stuff like, follow the pope on Twitter, and you have less time [55:56] in purgatory, it’s like there’s no clearer false doctrine than that to me. [56:00] All right, so you’ve just harmed millions of people. [56:04] And so it’s a lot.

[56:08] A lot. [56:08] I mean, that’s why we’re called Protestants.

[56:13] Question that came in twice here. [56:16] So we agree that we need to call out sin sometimes, but the question is one of amount. [56:22] Like when, how often, again, how do we avoid being busy bodies? [56:26] If you see a continual pattern in someone’s life of anything that’s taking them away [56:34] from Jesus, as someone who loves them, you need to step in. [56:39] It’s not going to be easy, but you need to do it.

[56:42] So when you see unrepentant sin, that type of thing, or if you’re in, here’s the deal. [56:48] If you’re in conversation and somebody says something that doesn’t gel with scripture, [56:52] I mean, correct them and do it by showing them scripture and that you love them. [56:58] Don’t be like, well, you’re stupid.

[57:01] That’s rarely helpful.

[57:04] It could be some point, but when patterns are what I like to see, because the longer [57:10] someone is in a pattern, the harder it’s going to be for them to get out of it. [57:14] And that’s just logic. [57:17] So when you see a pattern of sin, because sometimes we don’t look in the mirror for [57:20] ourselves very clearly, so we don’t see it. [57:24] Step in, love them, help them.

[57:28] One last question here. [57:31] What would you say about celebrities in our culture that claim to be Christians, but [57:36] clearly are not exhibiting Christian values? [57:40] I think that’s a struggle sometimes because we don’t know them. [57:45] And sometimes that makes it harder to call them out specifically. [57:49] If I went home and put on Twitter that this person is totally wrong, it’s never going

[57:54] to reach them. [57:55] All right. [57:55] So what am I doing? [57:58] But I think here’s what I think is helpful for celebrities. [58:01] If you’re elevated to a point where you have influence, yeah, you should do something. [58:05] But we don’t understand the effects of that on generations coming behind us.

[58:11] So just like people like.

[58:18] I don’t want to stir the pot. [58:20] People. [58:21] OK, I’ll use this person as an example. [58:23] Katy Perry. [58:24] OK, she’s a singer, father and mother are in some way involved in ministry, but nothing [58:32] that she’s doing is helping anybody get towards Jesus.

[58:35] Everything she says and does helps people get away from Jesus. [58:39] Here’s what I want to do with my kids is I want to use that as an example of, hey, [58:43] here’s how the gospel can be subverted. [58:47] This is not a follower of Jesus.

[58:50] All right. [58:51] This is not what it looks like to follow Jesus. [58:53] Therefore, don’t follow their example. [58:55] And so that’s how I would do it. [58:57] You know, people like that, people like the Kardashians. [58:59] I mean, it’s not hard to see the error.

[59:04] But it’s loving to help other people see the error.

[59:09] I think that’s all we have time for. [59:11] Please email us. [59:11] But would you go ahead and let’s pray, Father, thank you so much for today. [59:16] I pray that you would aid and guide our growth to maturity in you. [59:22] Help us to saturate ourselves with truth so that we will know lies. [59:27] Help us to involve ourselves with other believers in the local church so that we can

[59:33] have discipleship relationships so that we ourselves won’t be tempted to stray.

[59:42] God, give us more grace every day. [59:44] In the name of Jesus, I pray. [59:45] Amen.