Good morning and welcome in. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of James.
James 2:10-13
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
This passage in James teaches us about those who are unmerciful and unforgiving.
Matt 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Some people want to grade sins, determining that certain sins are worse than others, but in the Christian Life if you have committed adultery then you are also a murderer. This is a hard concept for many people to understand, but it’s true. If you only sin once in your entire lifetime then you are lumped together with all of the rest of us
Imagine if they treated adultery with the same punishment as murder in society. Imagine if somebody who stole milk money at school got the same punishment as somebody who robbed a large bank. Many people will quickly determine in their own mind that one is worse than the other, while in the eyes of God they are the same because they both result in the same penalty, death and damnation at God’s judgment.
In fact, the Apostle teaches us that if you have sinned in just one little point, then you are just as guilty as everybody else. The carnal nature has a tendency towards pride. Instead of people looking at their own faults, they minimize them and then point the finger at somebody else, claiming that others are far more terrible than themselves. In doing this, it makes them feel like they’re not such a bad person and it puts them in a better light than others around them. It makes them feel like a good citizen while the truth is it’s simply a lofty fabrication in their own mind. They’re only lying to themselves.
1 John 1:8-10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Remember that if you claim you have never sinned, you are calling God a liar, which actually is yet another sin called blasphemy. Unbelief of the truth is a sin in and of itself. All of us have sinned. Each of us have our own particular faults that we need to be forgiven for, so that through Gods grace we can eventually overcome them and someday through faith,l inherit eternal life.
Rom 3:9-12
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
The key word in this passage that I want you to take notice of today is the word “none“. This word is defined in the dictionary as ,”not any”. Many people want to feel like they are a decent upright person while the truth is they aren’t. Scripture has concluded that there are none righteous. There is not a single person on the face of this Earth who has not sinned at one time or the other. With this in mind, how is it possible to stand in judgment over others when each of us are guilty sinners? How does a sinner judge another sinner? Rather than judging this sinful world and destroying it, the Lord Jesus died on the cross in order to save us. This is the same way that he wants us to treat each other. He shows us by His example at the cross that He wants us to be merciful with each other.
Matthew 7:1-5 – Judge not, that ye be not judged.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Instead of judging and looking at others, each of us need to take a look inside of our own hearts and recognize the fact that we are imperfect. We need to understand our faults and our shortcomings so that each of us can admit them and confess them to God. God truly wants to save everybody because He wants all men to come to repentance. He wants each of us to turn away from our sins and to come to Him for forgiveness. He doesn’t make it difficult for us to obtain it because He is ready and waiting to forgive us. What God wants is a simple admission of fault, owning up to what we truly are, a world of sinners. He wants us to take the forgiveness that we receive from Him and give forgiveness to others.
Luke 6:37 – Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
How can a sinner judge another sinner? To do so would only exalt yourself above the other person in self-righteousness. it would be no different than the way that the proud Pharisee spoke about the humble publican. The truth was he was just as big a sinner as the publican. The problem was that he didn’t want to accept that fact in his own life and admit his own faults. He only wanted to stand in judgment over his fellow man.
Rom 2:1-4
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Do you grade the sins of others worse than your own? Maybe it’s time for you to realize that you have flunked out with the rest of us. It’s time to come to Christ Jesus. It’s time to get forgiven.
Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye-bye everybody.❤️
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