Bible Truths Conference Nashville TN 2005, Guilty/page 1
By L. Ray Smith
GUILTY OF ALL
What I want you to see today is, that you are no better than this Hansan guy who killed and raped these little children. You're no better. Now I know you didn’t do it, but you are no better. That might be hard to believe, but I am going to try and show it to you.
You know the scripture.
1Cor 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Don’t you know we will judge the world and you can’t even judge little things. You sue at the law, you sue your brothers at the law and so on, don’t you know we will judge the world?
Well let me ask you if we are going to be judging the world one day, don’t you think we ought to be practicing? They say, practice makes perfect, if we are going to do something.
We are the Lake of Fire, we will be judging man and the angels. Don’t you think we aught to have some practice at doing that then? Don’t you think we should be learning to judge now?
Well, we go to Matt. 7 and we read this, “judge not.”
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Is that a contradiction? “Know ye not that we shall judge the world and judge angels?” “Judge not.” Jesus Christ says.
John 8:15, I judge no man.
He is the righteous judge of the world, but “I judge no man.” And in John 12;
John 12:46 I have come as a Light into the world, so that whoever believes on Me should not remain in darkness.
v. 47 And if any one hears My Words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I do not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
Well, how’s He going to judge the world if He says, I don’t judge any man? I didn’t come to judge the world... and you should judge not. How does that fit? Does anybody have any ideas, are these contradictions? Actually they are not.
As you judge... as you condemn... That sometimes, the same word can be used with two slightly different connotations. Though judgment can mean to do good and to set right, it can also mean to render a sentence. Whatever you think you're going to render, it could be bad, because there’s always two possible sentences to be rendered. Innocent and guilty, right? Judgment means to render a sentence. It has no bias as to which way it renders the sentence, it just means to render a sentence. It could be guilty and it could be innocent. But this verse does not stand alone.
THE BEAM THAT IS IN YOUR OWN EYE
Matt 7:1 Judge not, that you may not be judged.
v. 2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again.
v. 3 And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?
This is not a separate parable, this is a continuation of the first two verses. It’s not talking about judging and judging not, and now it’s talking about a beam or a speck in your eye. It’s the same parable!
Now I touched upon this a little bit in another bible study, but we’re going to take it in a little bit different direction today. Because it’s still necessary in the explaining of different parables, because parables explain many different aspects of God’s workings and dealings.
So this next sentence in verse 3, "And why do you behold the mote…" that is a part of the first two verses there, that said "judge not." Notice that there is a period, but verse 3 begins with "And." "And" is a connector you know that connects back to the last sentence. "And" what? "And" in relationship to what I just said, "Judge not, unless you be judged."
Mat 7:3 And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?
v. 4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye?
v. 5 Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the mote from your brother's eye.
Does anyone know what that means? [Comment: Judge yourself first.] That’s true, that’s absolutely true what you are saying, but that doesn’t hold perfectly true with this parable. I’ll tell you why. See sometimes you think a parable is right there on the surface.
Everybody knows what that means. This is not a difficult parable is it? Then why do you try to take the speck out of your brothers eye, when you got a big beam in your own eye? Right? I mean how hard of a parable is this to understand?
Let’s break it down a little bit. Notice what He didn’t say.
He didn’t say, why do you behold the speck in your brothers eye, when you’ve got a speck in your own eye. Why didn’t He say that? Isn’t that logical? Why are you trying to get the speck out of your brothers eye, when you got a speck in your own eye? Get the speck out of your own eye, then you can see to get the speck out of your brothers eye.
Or why didn’t He say, why do you behold a beam, a big log in your brothers eye, when you have a speck in your own eye? First cast out the speck in your own eye, then you can see clearly to cast this big beam out of your brothers eye.
Or why didn’t He say, why do you behold this big timber coming out of the eye of your brother, when you got one in your own eye. Why are you trying to get this big beam, this 2x4, out of your brothers eye when you got a 2x4 in your own eye. What do you think, it doesn’t matter? 'Oh, Christ doesn’t know what He’s saying sometimes?' He just says things. Do you think there is a reason why He said it the way He said it?
Why do you behold the speck that is in your brother's eye, when you have a 2x4, rafter sticking out of your own eye. Why is that the order? Why is that the chronological order? Why is the one who is looking to get the fault out of the one person? Why does he have a bigger fault in himself? Well exactly, he doesn’t know it.
But there’s even more than that. Actually you’re getting to it now. First let’s notice who He is addressing here. Let’s go back to the beginning, to chapter 5, where this whole sermon on the mount begins.
Matt. 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He (Jesus) went up on a mountain...
He always went up into the mountains to get away from the crowds. I mean it isn’t like He didn’t like the valleys, the valleys are fine, He did it to get away from the crowds. You see it in every sense portrayed in the movies. Jesus Christ from the time He started His ministry was mobbed day and night for the rest of His life. Do you know that?
You see Him in the movies and you watch these TV shows about Christ, you see Him walking down the road with His twelve apostles, just talking. Walking through the village or down the street. No, that’s not the way it was. He was always mobbed! He couldn’t walk, He couldn’t get through the crowds sometimes. Why? [Comment from attendee: Because He healed everybody.] Exactly.
I mean if He were out there walking down the street... if someone told me, there was this guy healing people down in Nashville and before that He was healing people over in Montgomery or Birmingham. I would be, let me out of here. I’d say, Lord I’ve got these knees and ankles and You know all this stuff. He healed people by the thousands and thousands. All His ministry, all He did was heal people, and they just pressed Him.
The only way He could get away was to go up in the mountains or go out in a ship, to get away from the crowds. You know you can only take that for so many hours a day and you got to get away. Usually He Would sneak up in a mountain someplace. They would be, 'where did He go.' They would hang around because He would be back and then they would bring some more sick people, because that was the way it was.
"When His disciples came unto Him" (Matt 5:1). He was up there in the mountains with only His disciples. Now understand Christ only talked to the masses in parables. But that doesn’t mean He didn’t also talk to His disciples in parables. He certainly did and here is a case of it. There are numerous parables in this, what we call 'The Sermon On The Mount.'
So what Jesus Christ is saying here, when He says...
Mat 7:3 And why do you behold the mote
Who is the you? His disciples, these are not Pharisees and Pagans or the masses of Jerusalem and Judea or Galilee or whatever. These are His disciples and He said, Why do you, you disciples of mine and maybe even at this point He was looking at one of His apostle’s when He said that. Because this is the very occasion where Jesus Christ picked his 12 apostles. It was at this time on this mountain, right here is where He hand picked 12.
Mat 7:3 And why do you (My disciples) look at the mote in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam in your own eye?
Why would His disciples have more sin? I think we can see that this beam has to do with sin and character flaws and all of that. Why would they have a bigger problem than their brothers? Why would the people that were following Christ, loyally following Christ, learning to do good and to be good and to love God. Why would they have more sins than their brothers, who’s not up on the mountain?
He’s saying you're looking to get a mote out of your brother’s eye... and He didn’t say it 'appears' that you have it, you really do have a beam. It isn’t what appears to be a mote, He says to you, and this is all from the prospective of YOU. “Why do YOU” try to get what YOU think is a speck out of your brothers eye, when you have this beam in your own eye. You follow me?
Why doesn’t He reverse it? Why doesn’t He give the guy credit for at least making some improvement, to where the log is down to the size of a beam? But their brothers out there, who are not following Christ and learning and overcoming, you know they still got this 2x4 in their eye. Why doesn’t He give some credit for progress that was made?
Because they are following Him. Some of these disciples were baptized by John in the Jordan, so they did repent of their sins. Then John was killed and some of them started to follow Christ, because John pointed Christ out. He’s the Man, there’s the Man to follow. Not me, I’m not even worthy to tie His shoe strings.
So some of these people had already repented of their sins, but still Christ says, it’s your brother that has the little speck and it’s you that’s got the 2x4. It just doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s a PARABLE!
How many have watched Charley Brown? Charley Brown cartoons are very ingenious, because the writer would write the story on the level of little children. I mean you could follow it, if you just watched them with the mentality of a little child, then you can follow the story. But right in there was this other story, way up here, for the adults.
Charley Brown was written for adults. Adults could follow the top story line that was going on, and at the same time the children’s story line was going on. So children and adults could watch it at the same time and they both have a lot of fun laughing at it. The children would laugh at something that you thought was just to simple, and you would laugh at something and they would say, ‘Dad what are you laughing at.’ You know it takes a certain maturity to understand at that level of humor.
Well some of these teachings are that way. There’s a level down here, low. But there’s also a level up here, high, if you have spiritual eyes to see it.
THE FEW AND THE MANY
I said yesterday that Christ said once, “How is it you know not this parable, then how will you know all parables” (Mark 4:13). This is just another one of them, that’s all. He said this is the few and the many. Many called, few are chosen. We find that all through the parables, don’t we, just all the way through. Here’s another one.
The disciples who were following Christ, that had a beam in their eye, a 2x4, these are the few. The ones that had the speck in their eye, these are the many. But how can that be?That doesn’t make sense. It makes sense if you understand that this parable is part of the first two verses.
Why is He berating them here a little bit? I mean He’s not just casually talking, as He says.
Mat 7:5 You hypocrite (He‘s calling His own disciples hypocrites), first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shalt you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye.
Now follow this. They’re JUDGING their brothers!
They’re saying I think I see a speck in your eye, I think I see a character flaw, I think I see a sin in you, that needs attention. Let me see if I can get that out of there for you, while I’ve got a beam in my own eye. But I want to make this judgment here you see, I see a problem with you, let me correct it.
Jesus Christ said.
Mat 7:1 JUDGE NOT...
That’s what’s wrong with all this. That’s what’s wrong with looking in your brother’s eye and saying I think I see some character flaw in there, let me help you get those out of there.
[Question asked about criticism] Criticizing is a negative thing. You have to know what the attitude of heart is, certainly.
But how far do you carry this, down to your own children? You see a problem with your own children, but you can’t tell it to them, because you will be judging them? No. This has to do with a negative judgment rather than positive. That’s why He said.
Mat 7:1 …that you be not judged.
v. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
You see. But if you are judging your child out of love... I would want that kind of judgment to be judged by on me. I would want to be judged with the same kindness of heart I would try to judge my children with. You see.
But Christ is presenting this from more of a negative aspect, you see. So He says, “Don’t judge.” He says right behind that, why would you go and look at your brother and say let me get that mote out of your eye, when you have a big timber in your own eye. He said.
Matt 5:7 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
The problem is with the disciple. He is not calling the brother who got a speck in his eye a hypocrite, is He? No. He’s calling one of His disciples that would try to get a speck out of a brother's eye, He’s calling him the hypocrite.
What is the problem here? The problem is this. We look at this as being literal. As I’m giving you this story, you're thinking of a person with a little speck in his eye. Are you not? Sure you are. But then you're thinking, but that means a sin or character flaw. But then I’m talking about this big beam and you're thinking, yea I know it’s like some big character flaw. But your still thinking pretty physical, because when it comes to "cast out the beam in your on eye," your thinking, 'yea, well whatever this character flaw or sin is, get rid of that.'
But it doesn’t work that way. You don’t get rid of a beam by just pulling it out and throwing it away, no. It’s going to take a long time to get that beam out, because it’s big. This represents big sins, big character flaws, huge shortcomings. It’s not like you can pull it out of your eye and it’s gone. It’s going to take time.
Well then, why does He use the analogy of the eye? Where does the real sin come from? The eye? The HEART!
Why didn’t Jesus Christ say, why do you try to purify your brother’s heart, of some small sin, when you got a heart that is corrupt? Why didn’t He say that? That’s more in keeping with where the sin comes from, right, the heart?
There’s more to this 'parable' than meets the eye (pun intended). He could have said something like that, you know... 'why are you trying to purity your brother’s heart, of some sin and your heart is so corrupt. First clean up your own corrupt heart, and then you will have the proper disposition to correct your brother, that has a problem in his heart.' Doesn’t that make more sense, since that is where the problem initiates.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
But out of the HEART. Isn’t that where we should go to clean it up? Isn’t that where you will have a splinter and the big log, is in the heart? Why the eye? Because there is more to these parables than you see initially on the surface.
Because it is we, the carnal mind, that lives by SIGHT, right? Paul says if you live by faith, that you don’t live by sight or perception (actually the word in Gk. is perception). He said, for we live by faith, not by perception (2 Cor 5:7). Perception is what you see, the King James translates it "sight," that’s good, that’s a good word.
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Now, so people who are carnal look at things through sight of the eyes, physical appearances, rather than through faith and the spirit. If you are going to use physical eyes to look at physical things... if you put something big in your eye (like a beam), you won’t be able to see very clearly, will you. I mean you can have a speck in your eye and you can still drive a car. It may be blinking and watering a little, but you can still drive a car. But you can’t do anything if you have a beam in your eye. It hinders your eyesight, when you are looking through a beam in your eye, to your brother eye. It’s just a miracle that you can see a speck.
But I’m telling you, why you’ll only see a speck. Because you’re not living by faith and your living by sight and the carnality of the mind, through sight and what you see. When that sight is impeded you don’t see very well, so you think your brother has a speck in his eye, he does not. He has a beam in his eye too. But you can’t see it with a beam in your eye. Are you following this? You can’t see it with a beam in your eye. If you get that beam out and you say, 'OH! I thought it was a speck, it’s a beam!'
Believe it or not this is going someplace.
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