The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

What Is Great Faith?Sunday, August 2nd, 2026Tenth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:46-7:10
Prayer
O God, we thank You for the healing power of Your Word, the Word who is eternally begotten from the Father, the Word from which proceeds the Love that is the Holy Spirit, and this same Word who was in the beginning with You, who was made flesh and dwelt among us, who lived and died and lives forevermore. Open our eyes we ask, that we may behold the beauty of Your Son, the Word Incarnate, for we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Introduction
Last week we heard from Jesus, The Parable of Two Houses, or The Parable of Two Builders. And as we heard that parable again this morning, we are reminded that everyone is building something, but not everyone builds in faith. Everyone in this room is hearing the Word of God preached, but not everyone of you will obey what is preached. This is the difference, Jesus says, between a wise builder and a foolish builder, between a man whose house can withstand the storm to come, and the man whose life is suddenly destroyed. So how you are building your house?
Well here as begin Luke chapter 7, Jesus encounters a living example of a man who built a house. In this instance, the house is a house of worship, a house for God, called a synagogue. Moreover, this house of worship is built from love, the Jewish elders say of him, he loveth our nation and he hath built us a synagogue. Further, this man is a most humble man (he has dug deep), he considers himself unworthy of having Jesus enter under his own personal roof, and yet because he understands how authority works, he believes that Jesus has the power to heal his servant with just a word, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed, he says.
Jesus marvels at this man and says, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
So if you want to grow in your faith, if you want to build a life that is honest, and firm, and worthy of God, Jesus wants you to consider now the greatness of faith in this Centurion. So that is what will occupy us this morning, answering the question: What is great faith?
Outline of the Text
We’ll divide our text into three sections according to what they emphasize and reveal about the faith of this Centurion.
In verses 1-5, we have The Works of Faith
In verses 6-8 we have The Humility of Faith
In verses 9-10 we have The Reward of Faith.
The works, the humility, and the reward of great faith.
So starting in verse 1, Luke tells us….
Verses 1-2 – The Works of Faith
1Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
First recall that Capernaum is a city on the coast of the Sea of Galilee (about 100 miles north of Jerusalem). And ever since Jesus was rejected by his hometown of Nazareth (back in Luke 4, they tried to kill him), Capernaum has become the home base for his ministry.
So already Jesus has performed (and we have read about) his many miracles of healing, of exorcism, and his powerful preaching in Capernaum (rf Luke 4:31-33). And so it should not surprise us when we read in verse 3 that this Centurion has heard of Jesus. And based on what he has heard, whether firsthand or second hand, he believes that Jesus is divine, and therefore has the power to heal his sick servant.
We read in verses 3-5…
Verses 3-5
3And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
Now what exactly is a Centurion, and why does he go about summoning Jesus in this way?
This title of Centurion (ἑκατοντάρχης), literally means Captain/Ruler of one hundred.
In the Roman military, there were varying degrees and levels of authority, above the Centurions were Tribunes and Legates, and below Centurions were other officers, soldiers, and servants.
Back in Exodus 18, recall that Moses father-in-law Jethro, advised this kind of hierarchy of authority to assist Moses in governing the people.
It says in Exodus 18:25, And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
And so this is just common sense for good government (it’s part of the natural law), and it is how a large number of people can all be united and governed under one head.
So this Centurion is mid-level officer in the Roman government. He has a Tribune and the Emperor above him, and he has around 100 soldiers and servants below him.
And it is this grasp of authority, of obedience and submission to authority, that will later ground this Centurion’s appeal to Jesus. Already her believes that Jesus has divine power, more power than Ceasar himself.
Now just as this Centurion is both under authority, and in authority over others, so also are you. This is true for some of you externally (as fathers and mothers, or bosses in the workplace). But it is true for every single person individually and internally. Your mind, your spirit is to meant to be both ruled and ruler. Every individual member and faculty and power of your body and soul, is mean to work together in submission to your head (to reason enlightened by faith).
In the garden, God created man in His own image, and thus Adam and Eve were subordinate to God (submitting their mind and wills to Him), and then as God’s representatives, they were to exercise dominion/rule/stewardship over the earth (Psalm 8).
So before the Fall, mankind had a spirit/mind that was subject to God, and beneath that a body that was subject to the spirit, and beneath that a world of animals and plants that was subject to their rule. That was the original creational hierarchy of power: God over man, man’s spirit over his body, man’s body over the animals and the material world.
However, at the Fall, that divine order of authority was turned upside down. What did Adam and Even do in Genesis 3?
Rather than subjecting their spirit to God, Adam and Eve chose to obey the Serpent.
Rather than subjecting their body to their spirit, they took into their body and ate what God had forbidden.
Rather than Adam following God and Eve following Adam, Adam followed his wife into sin, and thus the whole order of creation was inverted, and ever since that time we have been experiencing the consequences of sin and death.
Our fall into sin destroyed the integrity of our nature. We became alienated from God, alienated from one another, alienated from our own selves. Because we rebelled against God, now our own members are in rebellion against us.
So this unnamed Centurion (real soldier as he was), is also an analogy for every person in this room. And just as this Centurion is great in his faith, so also he represents what God wants you to become.
Because God intends for you to be the commander/ruler of your own thoughts, passions, intentions, and actions. Your mind is like a Centurion, who is to be ruled by God, believing whatever God says, and then justly ruling over everything within your sphere. The Bible calls this fruit of the Spirit, self-control. Can you govern yourself? Can you command your interior soldiers, your passions, your bodily appetites, to obey God? This is part of the lesson Jesus is trying to teach us here.
Listen to how Scripture elsewhere describes your soul in these military terms.
James 4:1-4 says, Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
So notice your life is like a battlefield, and unless you rule those 100 soldiers within you (with their conflicting and competing thoughts, desires, and passions) there will be war, and there will not be peace. You will be a divided person if you do not command your passions to obey Christ.
Listen to how Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
He says likewise to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, But you, O man of God, flee these things [referring to the love of money] and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.
And in 2 Timothy 2:3 he says, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
So Paul wants every Christian to have the mind of Christ, the mind of a soldier in the Lord’s army, fighting in faith, armed with humility, and then as Centurions under Christ, to bring into captivity every thought.
So do you see how Jesus is meant to come and rule your heart by faith, and that that is where the kingdom of God begins?
Jesus says later in Luke 17:21, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
So outside in the world is the Roman Empire, with its legions and tribunes and centurions and armies. But Jesus Christ is king over all, and his kingdom begins by subduing our minds, and our hearts, and our wills to His power.
This is the more perfect, invisible, and spiritual kingdom of God, which this Gentile Centurion recognizes. He knows by his own vocation as an officer how authority works. And therefore, he believes, even before Jesus has died and rose from the dead, that Jesus has power to heal with a word.
O that we might have great faith like this.
Now we know from Ephesians 2:8 and elsewhere, that faith is always a gift of God’s grace. God’s action always precedes man’s action, and so this Centurion has already been touched by the grace of God.
It is not on the basis of the Centurion’s good works that he receives saving faith, rather it is from saving faith that he does good works. And so here in verses 1-5 we see some of those works of faith manifest. What are they?
First, observe from verse 2, that this Centurion has a genuine concern for his servant’s welfare. It says he was dear unto him. The Centurion valued this servant, who was inferior in rank, but he acknowledging and valued him, even as he would want to be valued if the roles were reversed.
This is a living out of the golden rule. Jesus just preached in Luke 6:31, And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. And here the Centurion is doing for his sick servant, what he would want to be done for him. Go and get Jesus!
So that’s the first work of faith we notice, kindness, compassion, concern for the life and health of a lowly servant. Loving those subordinate to you as yourself.
Second, observe that his internal faith in God, has built something external, namely a synagogue, a place for the Jews (and others) to hear God’s Word, and to worship the God of Israel.
Recall that Jesus had been preaching regularly in the synagogue(s) of Capernaum, and so it is extremely likely, that this Centurion had funded and built the very place where Jesus has been ministering.
To build a synagogue would have come at significant financial expense. And possibly also at great social expense, since the Jews were not always the best subjects of Rome.
And so this was costly capital, financial and perhaps relational. But the Centurion subordinated his earthly goods to the greater good of worshipping God.
The Jewish presbyters/elders say of him, he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
Of course the Centurion did not know that one day he would need to call in a favor from the Jews to go to Jesus on his behalf in hopes that he would heal his servant.
Notice also that the Centurion does not appeal to his past good works, as a patron of the Jews, when he sends for Christ.
No, the Centurion feels himself so unworthy of Jesus, that he sends the Jewish elders on his behalf. Here is a man who has military authority over the Jews, and yet humbles himself to ask them a favor for his dear servant.
All this is just the first motions of humility. For we learn in the next section,verses 6-8, that on second thought, the Centurion thinks he has been too bold, he asked too much. He does not want to presume upon Jesus coming all that way, and so he sends another delegation, this time of his friends, so that Jesus does not trouble himself for the Centurion’s sake. Behold the great humility of faith.
Verses 6-8 – The Humility of Faith
6Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
This is the appeal of humble faith. And by it we learn that faith is great to the degree that we are humble.
Whereas pride is presumptuous, entitled, expecting favors from God as if we rightly deserve them, the Centurion appeals to nothing in himself, he appeals only to Christ’s power, and on that basis alone, he asks for Jesus to heal his servant.
This is a pure faith. It is pure because it is not mixed with ego, it is not mixed with craving for sensual pleasures. It is asking for God to do for someone else, what only God can do, speak the word and my servant shall be healed.
This is also a pure faith because it comes from love. A love and a value for what God loves and values, in this case, the life of a young servant, dying and at death’s door.
Do you love what God loves, and value what God values, because that is the love that purifies our faith and our prayers to God.
Second, observe that great faith is marked by a recognition of your own unworthiness.
While the Jews say, he is worthy, The Centurion says, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.
But think about this. What has already happened inside the Centurion? Jesus has already entered his heart. Jesus has already given him the grace of faith, and that is why he feels himself so unworthy of Christ coming to him in person.
So dear Christian, you who believe, the Bible says that your body has become a temple for the living God, a dwelling place for the Holy Trinity.
So do you realize how unworthy you are in yourself to have God take up residence within you?
Do you realize that you never could have prepared your soul for grace, unless God’s grace first prepared you?
Do you know, down into your bones, that salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to end, and that unless God makes you worthy, you will never walk worthy of Him?
It says in Ephesians 2:5, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
The Centurion says to Jesus, what every person should say to Jesus, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.
You are not clean until Jesus makes you clean. You are not alive until Jesus makes you alive.You are not a good Centurion of your soul, until Jesus comes and reigns over you. And even after you live a life of faithful service to Jesus, what does Jesus say that you should say to him?
He says to his disciples in Luke 17:10, When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’
Obedience to Jesus is your duty, because we are all debtors to grace. And so the more we think of ourselves as Centurions under Christ’s authority, perhaps the more we shall likewise receive the rewards of faith.
Verses 9-10 – The Rewards of Faith
9When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
10And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
Observe here the two rewards of faith. Two rewards that you also should seek.
The first is the most important, and that is The Divine Commendation: that is, when God judges you and says well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.
Notice Jesus commends the Centurion openly, publicly, and marvels at the faith that He himself gave according to His divine nature. And by this he is illustrating what shall happen when he returns in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33, Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
And in Revelation 3:3-5, Jesus warns the church to keep the faith saying, Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
So do you have an ear to hear what Jesus says to the churches? And are you obeying what Jesus says? It is by the obedience of faith that you shall receive the reward of Divine commendation. Is this what you are aiming at? The glory of God through faith in Jesus Christ?
That is what Paul says his whole mission of apostleship is. He says in Romans 1:5, By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.
The second reward of faith is that the Centurion receives what he asked for: His servant is healed. And as Luke records it, Jesus does not even say anything. The friends simply return the house, and find the servant healed.
Jesus says in John 14:13-15, And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And so this is why we still ask God to heal us, to heal those we love. To provide for us in times of need. Because Jesus wants us to ask Our Father in heaven for daily bread, for deliverance from temptation, for all that we need to reach heaven safely.
At times, God says no to our requests or not yet, but it is always because He wants to give us something more, something better, something that will actually serve the salvation of our soul.
In Paul’s case, it was better for him to have a thorn in the flesh, and to rely upon God, than to have no thorn, and run the risk of self-reliance (2 Cor. 12).
And so we ought to pray and ask God for many things. But most of all, we should ask God to give us God. We should ask God to change our desires, so that we ask for those things that are most good for us.
As it says in Psalm 37:4-5, Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Conclusion
Jesus delighted in nothing else, but doing the Father’s will. And far from that obedience being a hindrance to his joy, or an obstacle to glory, nobody has ever been more joyful and blessed and glorified than Jesus.
And so be like the Centurion, trust Jesus, honor God, love your servants, build up God’s house, send for Jesus in time of need, acknowledge to Him how unworthy you are to have him enter beneath your roof, and Jesus shall gladly come to you, and make his home permanently within you. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Parable of Two HousesSunday, July 26th, 2026Ninth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:46–49
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for the preaching of Your Son, our Lord Jesus. Please grant that we may become obedient doers of the Word as true disciples, rather than being Christians in name only. Rid us of our self-deception, our hypocrisy, our blindness to our sins. Remove the planks from our eyes, that we may see more clearly whether the house that we are building has a foundation, or not. We ask for Your Holy Spirit now, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Ten years ago, I was living in Jacksonville, Florida. And if you don’t know where Jacksonville is on the map, it is on the northeast coast of Florida right by the Atlantic Ocean. And so you can imagine living near the beach has many perks, that is, if you like the sun, and sand, and salt water, and swimming, and beach volleyball, and good BBQ. You can find all that in Jacksonville.
However, living by the beach also has some downsides, namely hurricanes. In fact, in Jacksonville we have something called “Hurricane Season,” which runs from June-November, with storms usually being the worst from August to October. So for about half of the year, there is always this possibility that a tropical storm will develop in the Ocean, and then depending on its severity, and how close it comes to land, you might be fine, or you may have to board up your house, leave the state, and drive to Georgia (as some of my own friends and family have had to do on occasion).
Now in the 2.5 years that I lived in Jacksonville, I was blessed to never have to evacuate because of a hurricane. However, right after I left Florida, and moved to the rolling hills of Moscow, Idaho, Hurricane Irma hit the Atlantic coast. Hurricane Irma was a Category 5 tropical storm, and 5 is the highest category of tropical storm there is.
134 people died in Hurricane Irma, and there was about $77 billion dollars of damage done. At its peak the winds were blowing at 180 mph. which made Irma the third-strongest hurricane in the Atlantic, ever recorded.
When that storm hit, some people called it “Irmageddon,” because it was  as if the world had ended in those places.
Well in our text this morning, Jesus concludes his Sermon on the Plain with a very serious warning. And that warning is, a storm is coming. It does not matter who you are, or where you live, a category 5 hurricane is coming, and if your house is not ready and in good order, there will be death, there will be damages. You will not have a home to come back to. For as Jesus says in verse 49 the ruin of that house was great.
And so there are really two big questions that Jesus places before us in this passage, and those questions will form the outline of our sermon:
1. Why don’t you do what Jesus tells you to do?
2. What kind of foundation, if any, is your house built upon?
So, 1) Why don’t you obey Jesus? And 2) Does your house have a foundation that can withstand the coming storm?
Starting in verse 46, Jesus poses this first question saying…
Verse 46 – Q1. Why don’t you obey Jesus?
46And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
This is a question that you must ponder for the rest of your life. Why don’t you obey Jesus like he tells you to?
First observe that Jesus is directing this question at professing believers. This is not a question for atheists, or secularists, or worldlings, it is a question for people like you: baptized Christians, sitting in the pews, singing the Psalms, going to church, taking communion, and hearing the Word of God every week. So this question is aimed at all of us who profess Jesus as Lord.
Second, observe that the question is Why. Why do you call Jesus Lord Lord, and then not do what your Lord says? Do you have a good answer to that question?
When Jesus asks Why, He wants you to be a little self-reflective. He is telling you to go look in the mirror, look at your past, look at the story of your life up to this point and think about how you got here. And then after that self-examination, explain to Jesus why you have not obeyed the one you profess as Lord.
So how well do you know yourself? How well do you understand your own heart, your motives, your intentions, your goals, your duties, your temptations, your relationships, your past? Do you understand the story-arc of your life and where you are within it?
Because if you lack this self-knowledge, you will not be able to answer this why question accurately. You will be living in a fantasy world, and not in reality. You will be your blind-self leading your blind-self into a ditch. You will be like a doctor trying to do heart surgery with a chainsaw and a blindfold. It’s not going to go well.
Self-deception is a massive problem for us. As James 1:22 says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
So we need God’s help, we need the Word of God, we need pastors and parents and wise and virtuous friends to tell us what we cannot see. Why don’t you obey Jesus, what is wrong with you?
Well let me give you a place to start. You can discover just by asking this Why question, that at least some of the answers might be ignorance, forgetfulness, laziness, a lack of real knowledge in our minds.
Perhaps we’ve heard the golden rule but don’t remember the golden rule, and so we never stop to think in the moment, “How I can love this person in front of me as myself?” “How can I do good to my wife, or husband, or children, like I would want someone to do good to me?”
Or take another example, we don’t remember that we are supposed to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and so we get angry, we get defensive, we lash out at the people who hurt us, rather than doing what Jesus says, namely, turn the other cheek, when they revile you, bless them. Let all your speech with seasoned with the salt of grace.
Or, we forget the gospel: that God forgave the infinite debt of our sins, and so we withhold forgiveness from others, exacting justice from our debtors, while expecting mercy from God. Jesus has something to say about that! He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy. (James 2:13).
2 Peter 1:9 warns against this gospel forgetfulness saying, For he who lacks virtue and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. And so forgetfulness is an enormous hindrance to obeying the words of your professed Lord.
And then on top of our own ignorance and forgetfulness, then there is the additional problem of our bodily state. Our physical desires, passions, concupiscence, infirmities, pains and pleasures that can obscure our ability to think rationally, logically, clearly in the light of faith.
Paul says in Romans 7:23-24 of this fleshly power, But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Only Jesus. Only Jesus.
An example of giving in to this desire for sensible goods includes all the sexual sins, fornication, lust, adultery. And then sometimes more subtly we simplycling too tightly to money as our security, or our health, or some toy or hobby that we think we cannot do without. We forget that Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:8, And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Are you content?
Or perhaps you value too highly some earthly relationship, your job, your reputation, the esteem of other people (all good things). But we forget that Jesus said, Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, sad, and hated. Whereas a Woe (a danger) is upon those who are full, laughing, and self-satisfied.
When you breathe the air of Babylon all day long (and by Babylon I mean America), it can choke out Heaven’s breath within you. And that is exactly what the world, the flesh, and the devil are conspiring to do: they want to choke out and quench the fire of the Holy Spirit within you, that supernatural love we call charity, without which you cannot see God.
And so are you guarding this Divine flame? Do you treasure the sanctifying grace that the eternal God has placed within you? The whole Trinity of persons who reside in your soul? Because if you do not keep your heart with all diligence (Prov 4:23), the cares of this world will stomp you out!
Jesus will describe a couple chapters later, in Luke 8:12-14, the different kinds of people who call Jesus Lord Lord and how they die in their sins.
He says in the parable of the soils, Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. And the ones on the stony ground are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
And so you see, there are many reasons why people hear the Word of God, call Jesus Lord Lord, but then do not obey. Do you know what your reasons are?
Whatever you come up with, we can basically reduce all those reasons down to three: 1) ignorance, 2) forgetfulness, and 3) selfishness. That covers just about everything.
1. If you are ignorant, perhaps it is because you never stop to listen and listen closely with all of your attention, you don’t try to understand what Jesus is telling you, because you don’t want to obey, you don’t want anyone telling you what to do. Of such people it says in Psalm 14, The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
2. But most of you are not ignorant at all, and that makes your disobedience even worse, because James 4:17 says, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Ignorance can excuse you a little (1 Tim 1:13), but once you have been told, and told again, once you have recited and understood the Ten Commandments (as we do every single week), you are now responsible to do them.
And so worse than ignorance is forgetting what Jesus told you to do. And this is why David says in Psalm 1, and Psalm 119 (and many other places) that memorization and meditation on God’s Word (day and night) is how you avoid sin.
He says in Psalm 119:11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.
And what does Jesus say right before posing this why question to us? He says in Luke 6:45, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
So what is in the treasure of your heart’s memory. What do you dwell in, and think about, day and night? For the blessed man of Psalm 1, it is the Word of God. And so also for every true disciple.
It says in Romans 8:5-6, For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
So some of you need to confess to Jesus today, “the reason why I don’t obey you, is because I don’t value your Word enough to think about it and remember it.” Forgetfulness and laziness are your why.
3. Now this third reason, selfishness is really at the root of every other sin (including ignorance and forgetfulness). Selfishness, or more properly speaking, inordinate self-love (also called pride) is where you imagine that everything revolves around you, rather than God. The Bible calls this sin by many names such as being self-willed, prideful, haughty, exalting yourself over others, etc.
And so while Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God, the proud man seeks first his own kingdom, he seeks first his own desires, and thus makes himself his own “Lord.”
This is the chief sin of our day, we imagine that we are self-made, self-determined, self-actualized, and so we worship our own selves. And this selfishness is a kind of coup d’état, a revolt, against reality. Because who has all authority in heaven and on earth? King Jesus.
And so to exalt the Self over Christ is to deny the crown rights of King Jesus. It is functionally to deny that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. And the Bible calls that denial of reality, idolatry, blasphemy, worshipping a false god.
Think about what we you doing when you make Yourself the center of the world. You are imitating the devil, Satan, the father of lies. Listen to how Isaiah 14 describes the fall of Lucifer. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. In the garden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to do what he had already done, make himself like God apart from God. And this just cannot be done. Because we are creatures, and Jesus is the Creator of all.
When your life becomes all about elevating yourself, moving up in the world, you imitate the devil who fell from an exceeding height. Whereas what did Jesus do? Jesus came down, Jesus descended, Jesus took to himself our mortal flesh, he suffered and died for a world that held him in contempt and despised him. Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, and Jesus subjected his human will to his divine will, and that perfectly.
And so are you obeying Jesus when he says, follow me, imitate me. In Luke 14:11 he will say to his disciples, For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
So do you know why you don’t obey your Lord? Do you think you can go on living in disobedience, and that without eternal consequence?
In case you are unsure, Jesus is now going to give you a window into your future. And he does this by telling the parable of two houses. And in this parable, the houses represent a person’s life and eternal destiny. And behind this parable looms the all-important question which is, Can your life withstand the storm of final judgment?
Jesus says…
Verses 47-49 – Q2. Does your house have a foundation?
47Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
First observe what is common to both men in this parable. If we look closely, we will see that there are three things they have in common:
1. Both men hear Jesus’ sayings.
2. Both men build a house.
3. Both men have a storm hit their house.
Apart from that, everything else is different.
One of the first differences we should notice is that the man who builds his house upon a rock, is said to do three things in verse 47, Jesus says, Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them,I will shew you to whom he is like.
So the wise man comes to Jesus, hears Jesus, and obeys Jesus. Whereas the other man (the fool) only hears and nothing more.
So what is signified here by coming to Jesus? Well, this is most certainly referring to faith in Christ.
Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews in John 5:38-40, But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. And so notice coming to Jesus is believing in Jesus with a living faith, and in the next chapter, Jesus promises in John 6:37, All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
So have you come to Jesus with a living faith (a faith that works by love)? Do you have His word abiding within you? Is that Word bearing good fruit in your life? If not, then perhaps you have not actually believed.
James 2:26 says, faith without works is dead. To profess Jesus as Lord Lord and then to not do what he says, is exactly what James is talking about. That’s a dead faith and it cannot save you, quite the contrary, it will only make your condemnation worse.
Now if we look at the story of what this faith-filled disciple is like, Jesus assigns to him three actions. And if we put them in order of execution they are as follows:
1. He digs deep,
2. He lays a foundation on a rock,
3. And then third, he builds his house on top of it.
So what is signified by these three actions in the parable? Digging, laying a foundation, and building. How does this relate to our real spiritual development?
First, let us think about digging. If I hand you a shovel, and say go and dig the foundation for your new house, how long do you think that will take? Without an excavator, withouta tractor, or a skidsteer or a backhoe, you’re going to be digging for a while. And Jesus says, the true disciple digs deep. Moreover, you know, the bigger the house, the taller and wider the house, the deeper and wider you must go with your foundation.
Now in Luke 16, Jesus will tell the Parable of the Unjust Steward. And in that parable, when the steward is about to be fired it says, Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
And so here we have verified this idea that digging is both laborious and humbling work.Not all are willing to dig. And so I think rightly the best commentators on this passage identify digging with humility.
To dig into the earth is to humble yourself, it is to get down and spend time with the worms. To dig deep is make yourself base (very low), and despised, even nothing, because you know what 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 says, But God has chosen…the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
God loves the humble, the nothings, because only when your soul is empty of your ego, can God come and fill it completely.
And so while many are too proud to dig (they tell themselves there is no storm to come, I can drop my RV here on the sand), true disciples dig deep, we seek to decrease so that Jesus may increase within us.
It says in Proverbs 3:34, Surely He scorns the proud, But gives grace to the humble.
And in Psalm 149:4 it says, For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
The kingdoms of this world are built on pride, and pride comes before a fall. Whereas the Kingdom of Heaven is built through the humility of Christ, and that is why God’s kingdom shall ever endure.
So if to dig deep is to humble yourself, we can say that laying the foundation is to knowing the love of God in Christ.
Paul says in Ephesians 3:14-19, For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love [that’s the foundation], may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
And so the true disciple has no other foundation but the love of Jesus. Of course, ultimately it is God who lays this foundation within us. It is He who gives grace. It is He who pours out His love into our heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). And this is part of the mystery of salvation. Paul says in Philippians 2:13, it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
So that whenever you humble yourself, it is God who has first granted you humility. Whenever you dig deep and lay a foundation in His love, it is God who is pouring that spiritual concrete. And then when you build your house, as Psalm 127 says, Unless the Lord builds it, you labor in vain.
So you know you are working with God to build your house, when  your life only exists for His glory. Then you say with the Apostle Paul, I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
So are you co-worker with God in the building of your life? Are you rooted and founded in charity (in friendship with God)? Does the edifice of your soul look more and more like Jesus with every year that goes by? Or have you left your first love, and become pre-occupied with other things?
Conclusion
Remember what is common to both men in this parable? A vehement storm is coming. And so who are you more like in this parable? Are you humble, is love your foundation, and are there good works of charity adorning your house?
Jesus says in John 14:21, He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
So do you want to see the face of God? Are you actually looking forward to that hurricane of final judgment, because like a flood of fire, it will burn away everything ugly, everything corrupt, everything sad, everything evil, and crooked, and perverse shall be destroyed, and then only what is true, and good, and beautiful, built on love, shall remain.
May God grant you to humble yourself, to be rooted in His love, and be a doer of His Word patient until the end. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

How to Judge JustlySunday, July 5th, 2026Sixth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:36–45
Prayer
O Father we thank You for Your Son, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We thank You that out of the abundance of His heart, He has spoken to us good things, even the greatest thing, that is, the way to eternal life. Grant us to follow Him, in our words, in our deeds, in our judgments, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Last Sunday we answered the question, What kind of judgements does Jesus forbid when he says, Judge not, lest ye be judged? And we said that there are three principal judgments that God forbids in His Word and they are (do you remember them?): 1) The Usurped Judgment, 2) The Rash Judgment, and 3) The Perverse Judgment.
Now this morning we are going to answer the question, What kind of judgments does Jesus command us to make? Or put another way, How can we judge justly? Because right after Jesus forbids all those sinful judgments that are contrary to charity, he spends the rest of his sermon explaining how to judge in a manner that truly pleases God and leads to a life that is founded upon the rock.
So it is not enough merely to avoid sin by withholding judgment, we also have to learn how to render righteous judgments that are in harmony with God’s will, consistent with God’s love, and that is what the rest of The Sermon on the Plain is all about: How to judge in such a way that leads to eternal life.
Now we can start to learn how to do this by way of comparison with those three judgments that God forbids. So before we expound the words of Jesus in our text, let’s briefly review those three sinful judgments we must not make, so we can learn to do the opposite.
1. First there was the Usurped Judgment. And we said that this is any judgment that God has not delegated to you to make (so it’s outside your jurisdiction, “outside your lane”). This includes judgments about all final things, all hidden things, and all future things. Those judgements belong exclusively to the Lord, and we must not pretend to have the power, the knowledge, or the wisdom to judge better than He.
Now beneath God’s Supreme Court, He delegates a measure of His judicial authority to human beings. In Romans 13 and elsewhere we learn that God delegates authority to civil magistrates, to parents, to husbands, masters, elders, and so forth.
And so in order for a judgment to be righteous, you must at the very least, have the God-given authority to either punish or reward the person in question.
And so we said that one of the ways you can know if you are making a usurped judgment, is if you lack the ability to reward or punish the person accordingly.
For example, if you cannot lawfully execute the criminal for murder, then it does not belong to you to determine whether he is guilty or innocent.
So unless God is going to require you to give Him an account for that person or case, then it is not your place, it’s not your duty, nor your responsibility to be a judge. Instead, you should simply withhold judgment.
As Paul says in Romans 14, Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls… But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
So a minimum requirement for a judgment to be righteous/just, is that God has assigned to you His own judicial authority, otherwise it is a usurped judgment.
2. Second, there is the Rash Judgment. And this is anytime we jump to conclusions about someone or something without having sufficient evidence to prove it.
It is human nature that you easily believe what you want to be true. And therefore, it is the mark of a corrupt mind, to wish that bad things are true about anyone.
And so usually rash judgments arise from an evil root, from evil suspicions, or from a bad conscience.
For example, the thief imagines that everyone else steals too. The liar imagines that everyone else is as dishonest as he is. The guilty often impute their own guilt to others. And the Bible says that all such evil suspicions are contrary to the love of God.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5-8, charity thinks no evil,does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
So love never fails to believe the best about someone, because that is how we all want other people to treat us. We would like everyone else to always put the best interpretation on our words and actions, rather than imputing to us some evil motive.
Now this judgment of charity (that believes the best and desires the best for others) is true even after someone has been convicted of a sin or a crime. And that is because Christians believe in the forgiveness of sins, in the correction of sinners through repentance and faith. We believe that God has the ability to convert sinners into saints, to convert compromised Christians into faithful Christians, to convert hypocrites and Pharisees (like Saul of Tarsus) into upright and honest citizens of heaven.
Our earthly perspective is extremely limited, and this is in part why Christian must not make rash judgments, it is folly in the first place, and it is contrary to the mind that is one fire with the love of God.
It says in Proverbs 18:17, The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
And so the opposite of a rash judgment then is a deliberate judgment, a judgment that waits until the biblical threshold for evidence is satisfied, and then only after that is someone declared guilty. Until then, you must regard them as innocent.
3. Third, there is the Perverse Judgment. And this refers to any judgment that is contrary or inconsistent with the Word of God. Under this category of perverse judgments are included sins like: partiality, respecting of persons, taking a bribe, using unjust weights and measures, or tipping the scales for one’s own private gain. Against such perversions of justice, God issues the strongest condemnation.
For example, James 2 warns the church saying, My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
And then he says a few verses later, So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
So to summarize, in order for a judgment to be just, First, it must not be usurped but rather declared by the lawful authority. Second, it must not be rash, but rather deliberate and based on sufficient evidence to prove the case. And then third, it must not be perverse, but rather in accord with the Word of God. Those are three essential requirements for a judgment to be righteous/just.
Now Jesus is going to cover those same three themes but from a few different angles in verses 39-45. And so let me give you the outline of our text.
Outline of the Text
Back in verses 36-38, which we considered last week, Jesus teaches us to judge with mercy, even as God has judged us in His mercy. And then he proceeds to give us some guidance in how to do this:
In verses 39-40, Jesus gives a parable about following the right Master, because you will become like him.
In verses 41-42, Jesus requires that we examine and judge ourselves before judging someone else.
And then in verses 43-45, Jesus illustrates how to judge/discern between the good and the evil.
So, 1) Who should you follow? 2) Who should you judge first? And 3) How do you discern between good and evil. These are the questions Jesus will now address.
Verses 39-40 – Who should you follow as Master?
39And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
Now in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus applies this same parable, about the blind leading the blind, to the Pharisees and their followers (Matt. 15:14), and then later he denounces them saying, Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24).
And so the Pharisees become a kind of cartoon embodiment of this parable: they style themselves as leaders and teachers of the people, as those who have the law of Moses and can see why the nation is in such a sorry state. But Jesus says in reality, they are blind leaders leading blind followers into the ditch, and that ditch is eternal damnation.
So here is a warning for all leaders, for all that are in authority (pastors, parents, husbands, masters, magistrates), and it is that we are responsible for where we lead other people. And therefore, we need to know and see if we are following Christ in all of our decisions.
This is one of the reasons why it says in James 3:1, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
So how do you know where you are going? How do you know (as a disciple) who you should follow? Jesus is pointing out a major problem here that we have as ignorant human beings: how can a blind follower even know that he is being led astray? Since the disciple is not above his master, how can the disciple know whether his master is worth following?
The answer Jesus gives is that you must decide whether or not you want to become like that master.Whoever they are, if you follow them, if you obey them, Jesus says you will eventually become like them.
So Jesus is saying in effect, Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be like the Pharisees? Do you want to be like the world and imitate them, or do you want to like God?
Because Jesus is God, He knows all things, He says that He is the way, the truth, the life, and that He alone is the one who you should call Master.
Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 23:8-12, But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren…Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
The Apostle Paul knew this well and says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
In Ephesians 5:1 he says, Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
So only Christ is worth following and imitating absolutely, because He is perfect God. Call Jesus alone Your Supreme Master. And then every leader beneath Jesus, including the Apostles, are only to be imitated insofar as they imitate Christ.
And so as parents we say to our children, obey me as I obey Christ. As husbands we say to our wives, submit to me as I submit to Christ. As elders and pastors we say to you, imitate us only to the extent that we imitate Jesus. For none of us is worth of imitating in every respect, we all have many faults and weaknesses, so imitate Christ who is perfect God and perfect man, follow Him.
This means you need to know who Jesus is, what he does, how he lives, how he models his own teaching.
How does Jesus judge the world as the one who knows all? It says in Psalm 98:9, He judges the people with equity. We know from the gospel that Jesus gives ample time for people to repent, he calls them to repentance, he pleads them to turn back from their crooked ways, and he goes to the cross to suffer for you, to pay your debts, to forgive your sins, to demonstrate by his actions God’s bleeding love for humanity.
How much does God desire the salvation of His people? Well how much is the life of Jesus worth? That is how much. An infinite price was offered to rescue you from the infinite debt of sin. So how can you look upon Jesus, his life, his perfection, his cross, his resurrection, and not be moved to love Him?
How can you look upon the mercy that was shown to you upon the cross, and then turn around and demand justice from your brother?
Jesus says, The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
So if you were to look at all the judgments that you have made, would they look like the judgments that Jesus makes? If not, then you are not following Jesus closely enough.
How can we learn to judge more like Jesus? Jesus says you need to start by exacting justice of yourself first. Examine yourself and accuse yourself for your sins before God’s mercy seat, and then you will be able to see more clearly. He says in verses 41-42…
Verses 41-42 – Who should you judge first?
41And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
These are familiar words to many people, and yet how often we fail to obey them. Do you even know that you have a beam in your eye? Do you know what your besetting sins are? Can you name your sins the way that God in His Word names them? Because the only way a beam can get removed from the eye is by you confessing them to God as the sins that they are and begging His pardon to remove them from you.
Until you have washed your eyes with the tears of contrition, you will not be able to see or judge rightly.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:15 that only the spiritual man can judge spiritual things.
And he says likewise in Galatians 6:1, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
So why is it, that you are so quick and sure about the sins of others, but so slow and uncertain about your own sins?
Jesus is saying that if you are quicker to judge your brother (or sister) than you are to judge and condemn your own self, then you are a hypocrite, and you are unqualified to judge anyone if you cannot judge your own self rightly. If you do not know the state of your own conscience, how can you pretend to judge another man’s state?
A hypocrite is someone who desires to appear what he or she is not. Whereas a true Christian is someone who desires to appear as he actually is, as someone who desires to be like Jesus, who too often falls short of accomplishing that desire, and yet by God’s grace, keeps getting up so that he can make progress in imitation of Christ.
Remember, a Christian is a disciple, a follower, a student, a learner. None of us are perfect masters or perfect judges. So we should not act as if we are.
Now there will be times when you have confessed your sins, you have removed the plank, and so you can see clearly now to remove your brother’s speck. And the way you’ll know that you are ready to remove that speck, is that you are possessed by the spirit of gentleness.
For here when it comes to removing sin, the gentle hand is the most steady hand. You want the hand of an experienced surgeon who can remove the sin with as minimal damage as possible. That is the spirit in which we should address one another.
Listen to how St. Augustine comments on this passage. He says, When we have to find fault with anyone, [first] we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should bethink ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity. But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us.
That is the spirit of gentleness in which Jesus commands us to judge each other. It’s the judgment of charity, the judgment of mercy, the judgment of compassion that comes from having our own multitude of sins erased by Christ. To lament our brother’s sin as if it is was our own, this is how we love one another as we love our own self.
Third and finally, Jesus teaches us what to do when a person or a case is doubtful. How do you discern between good and evil? To answer this Jesus gives us the analogy of a tree and its fruit. And he says that what fruit are to a tree, words are to a man’s heart. Jesus says in verses 43-45…
Verses 43-45 –How do you discern and judge between good and evil?
43For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
First observe that a person’s heart can only be known to us by their words. This is in keeping with that earlier principle that God alone can judge the hidden things, the hidden motives of the heart, whereas we can only judge those things that are manifest, the spoken and written words of a person.
And so it is not usurping God’s judgment, to conclude that a man is evil because only evil words ever come out of him. There is real causal connection between the heart and the mouth.
And therefore, if a man’s words are mixed, we must conclude that his heart is also mixed, and that is the case for almost all of us as believers.
We love God, but we still love ourselves too much. We go to church and praise God, but then we are also easily angered and sometimes yell and curse other people. We are a conflicted bunch. Our old sinful nature is still there (the old man), and yet we have been given a new nature, a new heart, and are told to put on the new man in Jesus Christ. As Christians we now have a choice, of what kind of treasure we want to gather up and store in our heart.
If you store up Jesus, if you store up gracious thoughts, humility, meekness, the mind of Christ, then good will come out of you. But if you don’t, there is plenty of evil treasure remaining in our flesh that would love to come out. And Proverbs 10:2 warns us, Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: But righteousness delivereth from death.
Now James 3 is basically an inspired commentary on this passage from Jesus. Listen to how he describes the inconsistency of our heart. It says in James 3:2-12,For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
So what are the implications of this mixed nature of our heart and words when it comes to judging other people?
Well for starters, this is another good reason to judge other people with charity. Because we all have said things we regret. Things we would like to retract, undo, and have everyone forget. And so even when a person is speaking evil words, can we honestly say that we have never done that too?
This is the beam in many of our eyes. We have evil thoughts, we have spoken evil words, and yet are quick to impute evil motives to others. This should not be so brethren.
A second implication is that only time will tell if a tree is ultimately good or bad. So be patient with others but be urgent with yourself. Recall what John the Baptist came preaching at the beginning of Luke, bear fruits worthy of repentance…even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
If you know anything about fruit trees, some of them can look totally dead in the winter, when in reality it’s just not the season for fruit. And sometimes a tree can look green and healthy in the spring, and yet summer comes and it never produces anything that tastes good.
Later in Luke 13:6-9, Jesus will give a parable about this saying, A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
Conclusion
So what kind of tree are you? What do your words say about your heart? And are you producing fruit for God? Because if not, Jesus says that on the day of visitation, you will be cut down and cast into the fire.
And so I charge you, all who hear, repent of your sinful judgments, your hypocritical judgments, your perverse, rash, and usurped judgments. Cleanse your heart with the tears of repentance, and then cling to Christ and his cross by faith. Because that is the only safe place where mercy triumphs over judgment.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Judge NotSunday, June 28th 2026Fifth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WALuke 6:27–38
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your judgments which are true and righteous altogether, we thank You most especially for your promise that There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Grant us to walk and to live forever in the Unity of the Trinity for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
This morning we come to what is probably the most misunderstood verse in the whole Bible, Judge not, lest ye be judged. This saying from the Lord Jesus, which is recorded here in Luke 6:37, and in Matthew 7:1, is a verse that many unbelievers know by heart, they’ve got this one memorized, and sometimes they like to shout this in our face whenever we tell them, “to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.” Their response is often, Judge not. Who are you to judge me?
I remember some years back, when America was in the throes of trying to normalize and legalize same-sex marriage. You could hear this verse shouted at protests, at pride parades, and it was intended to silence specifically Bible-Believing Christians who wanted to defend what God says marriage is (A lifelong covenant between one man and one woman). Only God can judge me. They would say. Love is love. Love wins. These were the slogans the world ripped from the Bible and twisted to defend what God calls an abomination (see 2 Peter 2:6-8).
Well, what exactly does this verse mean in context, to judge not lest ye be judged, especially when elsewhere Jesus commands us to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24).
In what senses should Christians judge other people, or judge what is right and what is wrong, and in what senses must we not? These are important questions to answer, especially when our salvation is on the line.
Jesus says very plainly here, if you judge not, you shall not be judged. If you condemn not, you shall not be condemned. Therefore, unless you would like God to judge and condemn you, well then, you need to understand and observe what Jesus is teaching here.
And so to help us understand this passage, I have organized this sermon and the next sermon around two basic questions:
Q1. What kind of judgements does God forbid?
Q2. What kind of judgements does God commend?
What kind of judgements are sinful (and therefore prohibited), and what kind of judgements are truly pleasing to God?
So this morning we’ll answer that first question about forbidden judgments, and then Lord Willing next week we’ll focus on the kinds of judgments we must make.
So first let’s get the context of Jesus’ word fresh in our mind.
Review of the Context
Recall where we are in the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus began his sermon by telling us where true beatitude (eternal happiness) can be found. And he told us that beatitude is found by hating/contemning every earthly good that this world can offer and instead choosing to love God supremely above all else.
He then expounded what this supernatural love which we call charity, does in the face of enemies and people who hate us. Rather than hating them in return (tit for tat), we love them with the very love with which God has loved us. We hate the sin, but we love the sinner for God’s sake. We hate all that is evil and immoral and corrupt, because we love God who is most Good, Wise and True. And therefore, what we desire most for our enemies (and everyone) is their conversion and conformity to God. The friendship that we have with God, we want everyone else to have too. That is how you know have God’s love inside of you.
Jesus then goes on to say that when we follow through on this love for our enemies, both in our heart’s disposition, and in act, then we attain to the divine reward, which is the increase of our unity with God (the enlarging of our heart), and the imitation of God as His beloved children. Thus, in verse 36 Jesus says, Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
This brings us to our text, verses 37-38, where Jesus now prohibits judging and condemning other people, while commanding that we forgive and give to others the way that we would like to be repaid. Jesus says…
Verses 37-38
37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
So we could summarize these two verses by saying it is just the Golden Rule of verse 31, applied in the realm of judgment.
Now what exactly is a judgment? In a broad sense, a judgment is a determination of what is right or wrong, good or bad, true or false. Between men and neighbors in society, a judgment is more specially a determination of what is owed to someone, it is the declaration of what is just.
So Jesus is saying that for those who have received God’s love and mercy over and above what was justly owed to us (wrath, punishment, condemnation), we now owe to everyone else, for God’s sake, the judgment of charity. As Paul says in Romans 13:8, Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
So Paul is just summarizing and applying what Jesus teaches here in verse 31, and verse 38, as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. With whatever measure you use to judge others, God will use to judge you. If you are generous in your judgments, putting the best interpretation on everyone’s actions, that is how you will come to be judged.
James 2:13 makes this same point when it says, For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
So that is a summary of how Christians are to judge other people, and we’ll say much more about that next week. We must judge from charity. We must judge the way we want God to judge us.
Now there many ways that we can judge unjustly, or think we are showing mercy when in fact we are perverting God’s justice. And so let us consider all the sinful judgments we need to avoid, lest we bring God’s condemnation down upon our heads. What kind of judgments are not judgments from charity?
Q1. What kind of judgements does God forbid?
There are three principal judgments that God forbids in His Word, and they are:
1. Usurped Judgments
2. Rash Judgments
3. Perverse Judgments
Sometimes a judgment can fall into all three of these categories, but let us consider what exactly these three sinful judgments are, and how we may avoid them.
The Usurped Judgment
1. What is a usurped judgment? A usurped judgement occurs whenever we make ourselves a judge in a place or a case where God has not given us that job.
All judgment ultimately belongs to God, and therefore God alone can delegate judicial authority to people subordinate to Him, whether to the civil magistrate over the people, to parents over their children, to masters over their servants, to husbands over their wives, and so forth.
There is a judicial hierarchy that you must respect, acknowledge, and not transgress. There may be appeals from a lower court to a higher court, or from one sphere to another, but an inferior is never permitted to make himself judge, jury, and executioner over his superior, that would be transgress and usurp the judgment God has established.
This is what Paul teaches in Romans 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
So what might be an example of a usurped judgment?
This would include all final judgments that belong to God alone to render. For example, a person’s eternal destiny, whether they are elect or reprobate, their rewards or punishments, their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in this life, and so on.
Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 4 of forming such judgments specifically about minister/pastors in the church. He says, Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
So one of the ways you know that a judgment is usurped, is when you lack the authority to actually reward or punish the person accordingly.
Paul makes this same point in Romans 14 when he says, Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
So before you start to form a judgment in your mind, first ask yourself, is judging this person a duty God has assigned to me? Are the people or matters involved things that God Himself will ask me to give Him an account for. If the answer is no, then leave it alone, mind your business, focus on judging yourself and those who are under your authority according to God’s law.
This is the “stay in your lane” principle that we must learn to observe, lest we subvert the real authorities that God has ordained.
Now there are two main classes of cases that are reserved exclusively for God’s judgment, and therefore we must withhold our own private judgments about them. And they are 1) hidden things, and 2) future things.
Hidden things include all secret thoughts, motives, and intentions of the heart. And this is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
Paul is saying that he has examined his own heart, and he is not aware of any unrepentant sin in his life, his conscience is clean. However, no man has the power to absolve himself before the throne of God. That judgment he has of a clean conscience does not automatically justify him, only God can do that.
Moreover, Paul knows Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? And he knows Psalm 19:12, Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
And so the logic of withholding judgment about people’s motives runs as follows. If we you scarce know our own heart, our own motives, and why we do what we do, how then can we be so bold to judge with certainty the heart, motives, and intentions of others? They might not even know why they do what they do.
And so we do not usurp the judgment of God by trying to peer into secret things. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:11, For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God (who has revealed them to us).
So hidden things and future things and final things, are God’s jurisdiction, not ours. And so leave those things to Him, and you will be safe from usurping the judgment of God.
Now the second class of judgments we must avoid are rash judgments.
The Rash Judgment
2. What is a rash judgment?
A rash judgment occurs when we lack knowledge and certainty about the matter or person(s) involved, and then based on that lack of information, we pronounce a judgment as if we are certain.
For example, the Bible says that you need two or three eyewitnesses in order to convict a person of murder, and therefore it would be a rash judgment for a court to execute a person based on mere suspicion, or hearsay, or public opinion, or even based on just one eyewitness who claims they saw the whole thing (and perhaps they really did).
God says in Deuteronomy 17:6, At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Now this means that sometimes guilty people (even murderers) will “get away” with very serious crimes. And yet it is God’s will that we leave vengeance to Him, and refer all doubtful cases to His final judgment.
In God’s wisdom, it is better that in this fallen world, the guilty sometimes appear to “get away with it,” rather than running the risk of putting an innocent person to death. God’s law for human judges has a kind of built in mercy to it. It sets limits on our judgments, and forbids us to speculate beyond them. We cannot execute a person for murder just because we think they are guilty.
Now if you find that hard to accept (because you have a strong sense of justice), you need to be very careful, because what you might be saying in your heart is, “I know better than God how to run this world down here. I know better than God what the laws of justice should be.” That is a dangerous logic to follow, and it is what Jesus is prohibiting here. Don’t make a rash judgment when you do not have certitude, when you cannot see the whole picture.
This is especially where we as Christians must learn to walk by faith and not by sight. We pray and sing the psalms that cry out for God’s perfect justice to come into this world that is abundant with injustice.
We have to trust that God knows better than us, how to order the world, even if it means that someone we know is guilty (because we saw them commit the crime), goes free. In such cases, we have to trust that God’s Supreme Court will one day settle accounts with everyone, including us. A final judgment is coming for all, and we must learn to live in light of it.
Moreover, that hope of justice should give us peace and rest as wait. We can be patient and forgiving because we know that all our earthly appeals to the heavenly Supreme Court shall receive a perfect verdict one day, one that we will say Amen to.
Of course, our hope for all people is that they find mercy on that day of judgment, and turn away as soon as possible here and now from all and every sin they are engaged in.
Think of how patient God has been with you. If God had just executed us at the first big sin we committed, well, none of us would live long enough to even seek His mercy. But God is patient with us in our evil, and so we must be patient with others as well.
If you believe that God is a perfect judge, then practically this means that whenever you are in doubt about some case or controversy or dispute, you can just withhold rendering your own judgment (even in your heart and mind), and instead say, “I don’t know.”
Most of the time, those controversies and disputes are none of our business anyways, and so we would be committing a twofold sin by both usurping judgment from God or the lawful authorities, and then making a rash judgment about things we do not know with certainty.
By the way, this also applies in parenting and disciplining children. If the kids are fighting, and it is uncertain who hit who and who hit first, well only discipline for the things that they confess to, or that you were eyewitness to. Teach your children that you are under God’s law, and that you are only disciplining them as an instrument in God’s loving and restraining hand.
God bless my mother, who would say to us children in doubtful circumstances, be sure, your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:21).
We are going to miss stuff as parents. But that’s okay, if we ask God to catch and discipline whatever we miss.
Now that standard of needing 2 or 3 witnesses before rendering a formal judgment also applies to cases in the church, and so let me say a word about this since this is a protection for you as members and for us as elders.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:1, In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
And in 1 Timothy 5:19-20 he says, Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.
So unless there are two or three independent witnesses who can confirm and substantiate the accusation being made, the church cannot even accept it or proceed to a formal investigation of it.
Instead, what you must do is follow the process laid out in Matthew 18. Jesus says, If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
So that is the process Jesus sets forth to help prevent rumors, scandals, evil suspicions, and those situations where everyone feels like they have to pick a side.
There are going to be sinners and big sins in the church, and our first instinct should be to cover as much as we can in love (as Peter says, charity covers a multitude of sins), and then when something is too big to cover in love (because it would be unloving to do), we should first remove the log from our own eye, so we can see clearly to confront the person privately, and only after they refuse to repent do we bring others in.
Here must be careful to observe what Galatians 6:1 tells us, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
So all of you must learn to hate in yourself, the formation of any evil and rash judgments, whether about an individual, or a group, or a whole class of people. You must ask God to shield your ears from rumors and lies, so that all gossip, slander, and evil opinions become utterly distasteful to you.
It says in Proverbs 6:16-19, These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
And Paul warns of such people in 1 Timothy 6:4-5 saying, He is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
So this might be the strongest argument for some of you to get off social media, to stop listening to those podcasts, stop texting with those people in that group chat. If they are these kinds of people, who want you to form evil opinions about someone else, From such withdraw yourself. Otherwise, you will become like them.
It says in Proverbs 14:7, Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.
And in Proverbs 13:20, He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
So don’t be a fool by dwelling amongst fools. It is okay to form an opinion or first impression about someone, but beware that an evil opinion or a bad impression can very easily become an evil judgment, or worse, you go looking for dirt to confirm your evil suspicions about someone.
That habit of mind (which many media and news industries run on) is totally contrary to charity, which Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5-8, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Imagine a news station that had charity as its governing rule.
So use this golden rule of love as your guide for judging others. Would you like someone to judge you without having all the facts, without knowing all the details, without first hearing everyone out? If not, then withhold your own judgments, think the best about everyone, and don’t worry about people deceiving you (they will).
But it is far better to think good about someone who is actually secretly evil (to let the guilty go free in your mind, because you lack evidence), than to think evil about someone who might actually be innocent. Jesus forbids such rash judgments, and Scripture condemns them in the strongest of terms. So be on guard against this.
Third and finally, there are perverse judgments.
The Perverse Judgment
3. A perverse judgment occurs whenever we judge something contrary to the law of God.
It says in Exodus 23:2, You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
It says in Proverbs 28:4-5, Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all.
It was the perversion of justice amongst God’s people, who had God’s law to guide them, that brought down upon Israel the most severe punishments. Judgment begins with the house of God.
For example, Isaiah 5:20 says, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! These are the people who pervert God’s justice.
Psalm 82 is all about this. It is a declaration that God shall punish all those earthly judges (called gods or elohim) who in the name of God pervert what God’s law required. It says, God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.
This is the cry of the church for God to judge, for God to come and make things right.
Conclusion
And so I close by returning to where we began, those scenes where the world is shouting at us, Judge not lest ye be judged, so that they can defend sodomy, homosexuality, abortion, trans-surgeries, and whatever new perversity they come up with next. What are they doing? They are making perverse judgments about right and wrong. They are charging Christians with hating them, when in fact what we hate is the evil and future punishments they are inflicting upon themselves if they do no repent.
And so to keep the words of Christ truly in that kind of situation, what must we do?
First, you must be courageous to agree with whatever God says in His Word. Whatever God judges to be right and wrong, good and evil, that is our judgment as well. We agree with Him that sin is destructive, it deserves eternal punishment, and that all have sinned and fallen short of His infinite glory. That is the bad news we proclaim before the good news.
And then we believe in our hearts, and proclaim to the world, that God delights to show mercy. He says in Ezekiel 18:23, Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? And it says in 1 Timothy 2:4, He desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
If that is God’s revealed will to the world, then that should be our will for the world as well.
All judgment belongs to God and that is a great gospel truth. Because on the cross, Jesus suffered the single greatest act of injustice there ever was or ever shall be. Man murdered God, and appeared to get away with it. But in God’s infinite wisdom, He turned the greatest act of evil, into His greatest act of good for the human race. Through our injustice, God manifested His own perfect justice, and He crucified our sins in the innocent body of Jesus, so that we could be justified. As Paul says in Romans 3:26, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
And so if God can turn our injustice again Him, into the instrument of showing His mercy and grace towards us, then we can trust Him to do the same with all the injustices that we suffer down here.
So go to Jesus, go to the cross, and give all your sins and sinful judgments about others to Him. He will blot them out in the ocean of His mercy.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.