“And why do you not
judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the
magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to
the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you
in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last
penny” (Luke
12:57-59).
Over and over again God’s Word tells us that
true disciples have been born again into a whole new life… “Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the
new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our baptism is a picture of the end
of our old life and the beginning of our new life in Christ… “We were
buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in
newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Evidence of the new birth is the grace
of God working in us to empower us to live a raised life, a life that is raised
above and beyond the corrupt and imperfect ways of the world… “Now this I
say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds. They are
darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians
4:17-18). The raised life increasingly reflects the life of our Teacher,
Jesus Christ to the dark and needy world around us… “A disciple is not
above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his
teacher” (Luke 6:40). In today’s discourse, Jesus teaches that broken
relationships, damaged even to the point of litigation, are opportunities for
true disciples to show the difference that walking with Christ makes. Evidence
of maturing discipleship is rejecting the imperfect judgment of the world and
trusting the judgment that belongs to us.
Because we have confronted and confessed our
sin we know the weight of guilt. The cause of brokenness in
relationships is sin. Unconfessed sin infects the heart with guilt… “For
your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:11).
True disciples agree with the Holy Spirit inspired declaration of David that
unresolved offenses lead to the kind of guilt that inhibits our fellowship with
God and with each other… “Cast me not away from your presence, and take
not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). The world’s judgment deals
with the circumstances of the offense while the judgment that belongs to us
deals with the hearts of the offenders and seeks the restoration of
relationships as well as the pursuit of justice.
Because Christ lives in us we know the wealth
of forgiveness. True disciples never forget the debt that God has forgiven
us in Christ… “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Being ever
mindful of the great forgiveness Christ has granted to us should compel us to
seize every opportunity to share that kind of forgiveness with others… “Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
Jesus taught that freely given forgiveness is confirming evidence that we’ve
truly experienced His forgiveness… “For if you forgive others their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not
forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). The world’s judgment is concerned with
recompense and retribution while the judgment that belongs to us is an
opportunity to show others the depth of forgiveness we have in Christ.
We know the wisdom of the one true Judge.
No earthly judge can ever uncover all the details of a case. Each litigant
presents the facts with a personal bias… “The one who states his case
first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs
18:17). Only God knows every detail and the motivation of the hearts
involved in every case… “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths
of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). Only God can give perfect justice in
every case… “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by
God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). The judgment of the world in imperfect but the
judgment that belongs to us reveals and delivers the wisdom of God.
As we grow up into Christ, we learn to
resolve conflicts and preserve relationships by relying upon…
The Judgment that Belongs to Us.
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