The second exhortation is “do not condemn, and you will not be condemned”. Condemnation of others is often an unwitting revelation of what is in our hearts. Sometimes we are blind to our own guilt when we condemn the sin in the other person. The third exhortation is “forgive and you will be forgiven”. What Jesus is saying is that Christians can and do forgiven. It is important for the child of God who has been forgiven to forgive others. It’s not to say that we don’t struggle with forgiveness and have battles with bitterness. Or not to say that you are never so hurt and in such emotional shock that you are unable to respond with forgiveness immediately in your heart. But, it is to say that you need to work at forgiving and actual grant forgiveness. It is not easy, but it is right. Who is it that we need to forgive today?
Colossians 3:12-13 “So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.”
The fourth exhortation is “Give, and it will be given to you”. Jesus calls His disciples to not just “forgive”, but to “give” and bless people. The Lord has done that for us, Amen? Multiple times, over and over daily, far more than we deserve. As sinful humans, there is nothing we can do to deserve, earn or purchase the forgiveness, salvation or blessings for our Lord and our God. He calls us to give those who wrong us more grace than they actually deserve. Many carry unforgiveness and cannot seem to let it go. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Follow godly principles, precepts, admonitions and instruction as we learn from Jesus. We love because He first loved us. We are to forgive the offense, but be wisely cautious as trust is earned by the forgiven.
Go the extra step and give a blessing, and a blessing will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. When we bless others, Jesus gives us a “full measure” of blessing, more than we could ever expect. Jesus is forgiving to the forgiving and generous to the generous. Even though we know that we’ll receive the full measure of blessing in Heaven, we need to know that we receive that full measure of blessing on this side of Heaven also, beyond what we could dream or completely understand in what we see and in the unseen.
The fifth exhortation from Jesus is given in a question: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” It is so important for every follower of Christ. Jesus referred to the Pharisees and Sadducees as “blind guides” in Matthew 23:16. The point is simple: do not follow spiritual or any other leaders that are going to lead you astray. We have to be very careful who we listen to and believe. We can always check the veracity of what people say by going to God’s Word in the pages of the holy Bible to see if what they are preaching and teaching is in fact true and following the Scriptures.
The sixth exhortation is to choose your teachers carefully. Jesus says: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Isn’t that our goal as disciples to be like our teacher Jesus? Be careful who you follow, who you read, who you listen to on the radio, and who you watch on your cell phone, tablet, computer and television. If you follow leaders that are shallow, unknowledgeable, and are wrong in what they say, spiritually you are going to suffer because you are being led down the wrong path. Read your Bible and check to see if what they say is true.
The seventh exhortation that Jesus gives is to not be hypercritical. Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye. Are we criticizing something small in someone else, while having serious big issues of our own that need correction? Jesus is showing he absurdity of nitpicking on people’s faults, when we have multiple faults of our own. People in glass houses should not throw rocks. It is hypocrisy. The sins of others can seem so big in our eyes. There is a place for us to confront the sins of other people, but as a general rule, we should be slow to judge and confront. Then be quick to take care of the sin that is in your life, instead of worrying about the sins of others. Christians should not be judgmental.
Remember that Jesus sees our hearts. He sees us as we really are. He took on all of God’s judgment and condemnation In our place, dying a painful and agonizing death of a Cross so that our sins could be forgiven. We don’t deserve for our sins to be forgiven like that. But, Jesus gave His life so they could be and that we could have a personal relationship with God Almighty, our heavenly Father. Jesus calls His disciples to not follow bling guides, but to follow Him. He calls His followers to abandon the hypocrisy that is present in our lives. And to do these things out of love and respect for Him. He made it possible for us to enter the kingdom of God. Entrance into Heaven is only possible through Jesus Christ. Emulate Christ and have others see the love of Jesus through you. May our thoughts, words and actions be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.
In Christ, Brian
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