Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
Luke 6:37-38

Introduction

I remember when my second daughter Sarah was born most people commented on her appearance by saying, “She looks like you.” And as she has matured, people continue to comment that she looks like me. Now at first, I was offended by such a comment. I thought to myself, “I don’t want a girl to look like me. In fact, I don’t know if a boy looking like me is that great either.” But the more I dwelt on Sarah’s appearance and people’s comments, I began to realize that there is something very endearing about her looking like me. It means she is mine, bearing my genetic makeup, and perhaps even having some semblance of my appearance. She, and only three other people, can call out to me as their ‘daddy.’

It makes sense that children should resemble their parents and it makes sense that Christians should resemble their Savior. In Luke 6:37-42, Jesus continues his sermon to those gathered around Him on the plateau of the mountain. And here he tells his listeners that his disciples, that is Christians, must be like Himself. Christians resemble Christ by their hearts and actions. The five ways that Christians resemble Christ are 1) Christians do not judge or condemn, 2) Christians forgive readily, 3) Christians give abundantly, 4) Christians receive abundantly, and 5) Christians examine themselves. We’ll talk about the first 4 today and number 5, next week.

Christians Do Not Condemn or Judge (v. 37)

So the first way Christians are like Christ is by refraining from judging or condemning. Jesus says in verse 37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned.” Let me first tell you what Jesus is NOT saying from this verse. He is not saying that Christians should avoid evaluating others’ ethics and spirituality. The NT, including Luke 6:43-45, is loaded with evidence that Christians must use judgment to aid and support others in their walk with the Lord. Paul can’t get any clearer than 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 and the Christian’s responsibility in judging others in ethical and moral issues: “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” Unless Christians judge those in the church, the church would be overrun by sin, as we see happening in the church in Corinth.

So what does Jesus mean then? Jesus is prohibiting not the reality that sometimes God calls us to judge, but rather the judgmental, self-righteous spirit that assumes there is no hope for those who are morally corrupt. Jesus denounces the attitude that assumes everyone else has sin except me. And this is why the judgmental person is often blinded by his own sinfulness. A good example of such a judgmental person was David in 2 Samuel 12. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba. When Nathan comes to confront him on his sin, and begins to tell the story of the rich man who steals the lamb from the poor man to feed his guests at a feast, David responds this way in verses 5-6: “Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” In other words, David is so blinded by his own pride that he cannot see that he himself is the guilty culprit who is mentioned in this story. And so David is furious with his judgment against the man who has done such a thing, not realizing at all that it is David himself who is the scoundrel.

Paul Tripp warns against such pride:

What could be more threatening than the thought that, as sinners, we have an amazing capacity to deceive ourselves?”…How could this good man [David] end up in such a bad place? Such is the dangerous deceitfulness of sin and the disaster of the hardening of the heart…sin isn’t an event; no, it’s a progressive movement of the heart that results in disobedient behavior. (Paul Tripp, Whiter Than Snow, 110)

Dave Harvey, in his book, When Sinners Say I Do, exhorts believers to be self-suspicious of our motives. (Dave Harvey, When Sinners Say I Do, 63-65) Because sin is real, even our best motives are tainted by sin. And without such self-suspicion of our own hearts, we fall into incredible temptation to deceive ourselves. Surely, if David, who was a man after God’s own heart, can be so deceived by his own sinfulness that he became hardened to his sins of adultery and murder, that he became judgmental and condemnatory, surely then, this can happen to any of us. The Hebrews writer says: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin,” (Heb 3:13) he is writing that to all Christians. You and I, like David, are very susceptible to be the judgmental person who judges and condemns others. So what stops us from being in such a place? The answer is humility. James tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Those who walk in humility are promised continued grace, reminders of what Christ has done for such a person on the cross. And one way that this is seen in our lives is by inviting correction to our lives. C. J. Mahaney describes this well: “We must pursue humble and aggressive participation and that means consistently confessing sin as well as inviting and welcome correction from others.” Here are some questions that C.J. notes we could and should welcome from others:

1. Do I confess sin consistently?
2. Do I confess specific instances of sin and not just general categories or general references to sin?
3. Do others find it easy to correct me?
4. Do others know the areas of temptation in my life at present?
5. Do they know the most pronounced patterns of sin in my life at present? (C. J. Mahaney, Humility, 129-130)

Imagine if David asked such questions to others. He would at the very least probably have realized he was living in sin before Nathan’s rebuke. To kill the judgmental heart requires humility. Remember, pride hardens one’s heart. God opposes the proud. But to the humble, our God is so gracious, and forgiving, and loving. Asking such questions genuinely to others is just a means to the end of having what David realized after Nathan’s rebuke as recorded in Psalm 51, “the joy of your salvation” and a “willing spirit.”

Also, the judgmental person at some level delights in being more ‘morally sound’ then others. John Calvin describes this spirit of judgmentalism well: “We see how all flatter themselves, and every man passes a severe censure on others. This vice is attended by some strange enjoyment: for there is hardly any person who is not tickled with the desire of inquiring into other people’s faults.” Calvin is right, there is hardly any person who does not enjoy the sins of others. The reality is, sin is enjoyable or no one would ever sin. And so, it is the judgmental people who often have critical spirits and are quick to gossip. They are not compassionate towards the sinner but they actually take some pleasure in another’s downfall.

The judgmental person also is a person who does not extend mercy to others. Remember last week when I had stated that we are to be merciful, even to those who are our enemies, because the Father has been merciful to us? Well, the judgmental person is not merciful because he deems himself in a sense to be the god of his world. He becomes the moral standard of what is right or wrong. Paul tells us that God is supposed to be the Judge and Avenger of wrong in Romans 12:19. The judgmental person attempts to usurp that role from God and take over as judge.

Jesus also points out the benefits to the person who is not judgmental or condemnatory. This person will not be judged or condemned himself. Instead, James tells us in James 4:6: “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” And you will find this to be true. The more gracious you are, the more Paul tells us in Romans 5:5 that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Jude 1:24 tells us that God’s love “is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” The promise of Scripture, found in Jesus’ words to withhold condemnation and judgment, is that when you trust in Him by turning away from your natural tendency to judge others and condemn others with a critical and judgmental spirit, God will fill you with His great joy. He will lift you up.

Christians Forgive Readily (v. 37)

The second way Christians are like Christ is by forgiving others readily as He says in verse 37. Again, Jesus demonstrated this most visibly on the cross when he continued to pray the prayer: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Think of the worst thing that anyone has done to you. And perhaps, there are people in this room who have some terrible spiritual, emotional and maybe even physical scars because of the sins of others against you. Well, according to Isaiah 53, as terrible as our sufferings might be, Jesus’ was horribly worse. He was crushed and bruised by God because of us and for us. He was oppressed and afflicted, but didn’t utter one note of defense. He was led to slaughter. Isaiah tells us that He was “put to grief” and was crushed “out of anguish.” Jesus understands pain that comes because of the sins of others like no other. And yet, He still forgives us.

And He calls His followers to do the same. Therefore, Christians are never in a position to say, “I will not forgive,” no matter what has occurred. It simply is not possible in light of what Christ has done for us. Because Jesus’ death on the cross makes any sin of ours forgivable, no matter what you have done, not matter how heinous you believe that sin to be, there can be no limits on our forgiveness as Christians. John Ensor illustrates this forgiveness (John Ensor, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, 181) through Pastor Walter Everett’s story. In 1987, his son Scott was shot to death by Michael Carlucci. Carlucci was sentenced to the state pen for 10 years. Pastor Everett, despite his pain, wrote a letter to Carlucci and eventually paid him a visit in prison. Carlucci told Pastor Everett that after receiving his letter, Carlucci knelt before God and had asked for forgiveness. After their discussion together, they stood, embraced, and wept. Pastor Everett said: “Christians won’t be able to understand why Jesus came and what Jesus is all about unless we forgive.” After serving his time, Michael Carlucci met decided to wed and Pastor Everett officiated over the wedding of his son’s killer. Such forgiveness is only possible when you understand just how much you yourself have been forgiven.

Christians Give Abundantly (v. 38)

The third way in which Christians look like Jesus is by giving abundantly according to verse 38: “Give, and it will be given to you.” Again, Jesus command essentially goes back to an understanding of God’s giving to us. John 3:16 tells us that God gave us His Son. James 1:5 tells us that God is a generous God. And Paul tells us in Romans 8:32 that God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. So it doesn’t make sense if Christians are not generous and giving to the Lord, to advance His Kingdom, and to care for the poor. Today, I know Hands at Work USA is asking people to sponsor their work. Don’t sponsor their work because you feel sorry for orphans and widows. If you do it, please do it because your God has generously given His own Son for your sake. May that be what compels you to give to the poor. May that be what compels you to tithe your incomes. May that be what compels you to be hospitable and kind to others.

Christians Receive Abundantly (v. 38)

The fourth way in which Christians look like Jesus is by receiving abundantly according to the latter part of verse 38: “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Jesus’ image here refers to the measuring process of corn. Essentially, the seller of corn crouches on the ground with the corn between his legs, shakes it, and moves it around for the grains to settle. (Darrell Bock, Luke Volume 1, 608) Then he presses the corn together with both hands, puts it into a cone, bores a hole in the cone and keeps putting more corn in the cone until he is able to squeeze every single grain. It’s not too dissimilar to the coffee grinding machine I use at Costco. I stick the whole beans in the coffee grinding cone on the top and turn the machine on. As each bean sinks down into the hole for grinding, I take a plastic utensil to push every remaining bean down that hole. Usually, I try to get the last bean, making sure I get the most for my money.

What Jesus is saying is that Christians do all that they can to place themselves in a position to receive the most they possibly can from God. They are not satisfied with just getting by. They press, push, shake to get the last grain. They are zealous pursuers of God. Like Maxwell House coffee’s slogan, “good to the last drop,” Christians will not stop until they experience God to their fullest. The person who I think of who loved to receive from God was David. It was David who wrote such words as Psalm 36:7-9: “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” And David demonstrated this pursuit of God focus and zeal when he welcomed the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. Samuel recounts: “And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (2 Sam 6:13-15)

What David teaches us through his delightful words in the Psalms and through his actions as recorded by Samuel is that followers of God should be absolutely enthralled to know Him. This season is Christmas and most of you will be giving and receiving gifts. And on Christmas one of my favorite times is not to receive gifts, but to give gifts, especially to my children. I love seeing their anticipation, their zeal, their passion. When we tell them it’s time to open the gifts, they squeal with delight and they tear the wrapping paper off like lightning. But there was one Christmas where it was quite a different Christmas. Before we had Jack, Charisa, Sarah, and Elisabeth were all terribly sick with body aches and bad fevers. We told them it was time to open the gifts but they were so lethargic in doing so. In fact, they started crying as they opened the gifts. You know something is truly wrong when a child opens gifts with indifference and lethargy and even sadness on Christmas day. It isn’t supposed to be this way. Something is terribly wrong. It was as if they it wasn’t Christmas.

And my friends, when God gives us the gift of His Son and if we are indifferent, lacking zeal, and passion, when we are not pressing, and shaking, and stirring to get every kernel, every last drop of God’s presence in our lives, we act as though Christ is not the precious gift He truly is to us. We should be dwelling on God’s rich mercy every day. We should have tremendous joy because of God’s giving us His Son. And we should love to receive from God the treasure of having the Gospel at the forefront of our lives. This motivates our desire to love our enemies, to give to the work of the Lord, to delight in God’s Word by reading it, to depend on God through prayer. These are not burdens, but rather privileges. And if we are not experiencing this, then our view of our Savior’s work on the cross for us is far too dim. Elyse Fitzpatrick rightly observes that we cannot will ourselves to reflect this joy. It must come from truth within. She writes:

It’s ridiculous to get up in the morning saying, ‘Today, I’m going to be very happy,’ or ‘Today, I’m going to be angry.’ That’s because our emotions don’t work that way. Our emotions respond to and reflect our inner thoughts, and it’s only as we center these thoughts on God’s character that we find joy springing from our hearts. Are your emotions ever warmed by thoughts about God’s majesty? (Elyse Fitzpatrick, Idols of the Heart, 199)

I hope you are longing and ready to receive from our King who loves us with such love and wants to give to you abundantly. And the way we know this to be true is that God’s Word reminds us from Genesis to Revelation that He loves to save you and to have you know Him as Savior. As Zeph 3:17 declares:

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Phil Ryken shares exactly what God wants to give us and has given us:

Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. This is the unspoken premise of the game of chess, for example. When the king falls, the kingdom is lost. Therefore, the king must be protected at all costs. Another notable example comes from the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill desperately wanted to join the expeditionary forces and watch the invasion from the bridge of a battleship in the English Channel. U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower was desperate to stop him, for fear that the Prime Minister might be killed in battle. When it became apparent that Churchill would not be dissuaded, Eisenhower appealed to a higher authority: King George VI. The king went and told Churchill that if it was the Prime Minister’s duty to witness the invasion, he could only conclude that it was also his own duty as king to join him on the battleship. At this point Churchill reluctantly agreed to back down, for he knew that he could never expose the King of England to such danger.

King Jesus did exactly the opposite. With royal courage he surrendered his body to be crucified. On the cross he offered a king’s ransom: his life for the life of his people. He would die for all the wrong things that we had ever done and would do, completely atoning for all our sins. The crown of thorns that was meant to make a mockery of his royal claims actually proclaimed his kingly dignity, even in death.

And He did this so that you and I could receive God’s favor as adopted sons and daughters. Isn’t this reason enough to pursue Him and receive from Him no matter the cost to our worldly treasures?

What stirs your hearts to want to pursue God? Is the knowledge and reality that King Jesus surrendering His body to be crucified for you enough for you to want to be like Him? Do you trust that your love Christ will lead to such joy?

Next week, we’ll look at the last way that Christians look like Jesus. It’s one that is so important that I wanted to spend a whole message on the subject. Christians examine themselves.