Judge Not

If there was ever a verse that the non-Christian loved to beat over the head of the Christian, it must be Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged."

And, sadly, many a Christian is so easily duped and befuddled over the meaning of this verse that they lay down, roll over and play dead in the face of obvious sin and violation of God's standards.

Even, I, who know better, have totally blown it when confronted with this verse being horribly misapplied and taken out of context. So, in order to (hopefully) spare you some of the confusion and conviction that I experienced after I DID blow it, I thought that a little bit of expounding might be in order.

Keeping in mind, of course, that I will only handle this topic lightly, and can't possibly cover all of the nuances of such a complicated topic in one blog post. But I'd like to give you a jumping off point to think about or study this topic further.

First of all, that verse, Matthew 7:1, is part of the Sermon on the Mount, one of those sections of the Bible that is somewhat well known even among non-Christians. For that reason, we, who are Christians, ought to be very familiar with it and able to talk about it with our friends and neighbors.

And, yes, clearly, Jesus says those words "Judge not, that you be not judged." But you can't just stop reading there. Like all of Scripture, this verse must be taken as part of a whole. You should never ever take one verse, isolate it from the context in which it was given, isolate it from the whole teaching of Scripture, and build a truth on it. That, my friends, is how heresy is born.

So, let's look at some of the other things that Jesus has to say about how we judge others in the Sermon on the Mount, and a few of the other directions that Scripture gives us on this topic.

First, if you will look at Matthew 7:5-6, you will immediately see two situations which do require that we make a judgment of some kind:

Matthew 7:5-6

"Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

I realize that in verse 5, which refers to the plank and the speck, Jesus is primarily chastising people who are blind to their own sins while at the same time happy to self-righteously condemn every minor infraction of those around them. But, still, clearly, you have to admit that person number two does have a speck in his eye that needs to be addressed. Jesus doesn't say to remove the plank from your eye, and then pat your brother on the back and lie to him that there is nothing wrong with his peepers. That wouldn't be helping the poor guy out at all. He still has a speck to deal with.

What Jesus is saying, is first, see your own sin. And really, see how huge and gross it is. C'mon, you have a PLANK sticking out of your face! Deal with that first! Presumably, once you have, you will be able to approach your brother and his problematic speck with humility, compassion and gentleness. Much like the attitude described in 2 Timothy 2:24-25:

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." (emphasis mine)

And secondly, getting back to Matthew 7:6, the Christian is commanded not to throw their pearls before swine, or give what is holy to the dogs. I'll admit, that verse seems harsh. I've heard people explain it all kinds of ways that seem to strip the plain meaning right out of it. But, the best explanation I have heard, and the one that I ascribe to is this: Don't keep preaching the gospel to those who have overtly and consciously rejected it.

In order to follow that command, you must be able to judge, or discern, who should be considered a swine or a dog. (Hey, I know those are strong, insulting words, but Jesus used them, not me.) I really like the word discern better than the word judge. Because while we are explicitly commanded NOT to judge, we are elsewhere told that we must use discernment. And in verses 15-20, we are told what the criteria should be when we practice this discernment.

Matthew 7:15-20

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, not can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

By their fruits you will know them. By their fruits you will be able to discern who is a sheep and who is a wolf in disguise. That, my friends, in our language, is referred to as making a judgment. And that kind of judgment is necessary so that the sheeps don't get eated by the wolfs.

In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Right before that, in Galatians 5:19-21, we are given another list. This one lists the works of the flesh, the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. And those works are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness and revelries.

Usually, in my experience, when people pull out the "judge not" card, it is for one of two reasons. Either they are blatantly sinning, and resent the idea that another person finds fault with their sin, or they are scared to call a spade a spade. Saying, "but you know, the most important thing is that we don't judge other people," is often a cop out for saying something unpopular, like, "the Bible calls that a sin."

I know that from experience. Because I've pulled out the "judge not" card in the past. And pretty much, my motivation was that I was being a yellow bellied chicken. In other words, I was not willing to deal with the truth, because it might have been uncomfortable to do so. I (think) I'm over that.

Well, let me put it to you this way...by the grace of God, I will do better next time. I will speak the truth in love, with gentleness and humility. But I'll speak it nonetheless. If there are no swine or dogs involved, of course.

Happy Birthday Bathsheba!

Somehow in the past week and a half of a crazy schedule, getting prepped for the Ruth Bible study, having a bout with food poisoning/stomach virus, and heading out of town with the whole family, I have totally missed the first anniversary of Bathsheba's Children!

AND, I've been saving a story just for this occasion. So here it is, a little bit behind schedule...

God works in big and small ways, my friends. Sometimes the small things turn out to be big things. Like this blog.

A little over a year ago, my husband started blogging. You can find a link to his page on the left. I had never really thought that much about blogging up until that point, but suddenly, it seemed to be just the thing I was searching for. I was in the midst of a serious spiritual awakening (OK, I don't really have any idea what to label the "thing" that I was experiencing, so consider "spiritual awakening" my best shot at describing something that is beyond my ability to describe.)

I had all of these thoughts and realizations hitting me one after the other "bam, bam, bam." And I didn't know what to do with them. I was pretty much wearing out my friends by going on and on about God and the Bible every time we spoke. I can see that there is a time and a place for that, but honestly, it was getting to the point of obnoxiousness. I am all for being effective and persistent and deliberate, but there is a point...you know what I am talking about...when it becomes ineffective, annoying and alienating.

Anyhow, blogging seemed like the most awesome prospect for dealing with all of the things that I just had to get out, and feel like I was getting them out in a way that other people could hear them, so to speak.

Only one problem. My husband highly, highly, values online anonymity. He was solidly against me writing a blog. And girls, I must tell you, I am solidly FOR Biblical submission, of each wife to her own husband. To be fair, he wasn't totally against the blog, period, but there were so many "cautions" and "conditions" associated with the whole thing that I almost felt like it wasn't worth the effort. And he was highly skeptical that I could blog effectively and still remain anonymous, based on what I wanted to talk about on the blog. (You have noticed nary a reference to my kids, haven't you? That is absolutely deliberate. If they were fair fodder, this blog would have twice as many posts.)

And so, after only two posts, I deleted this blog. I actually deleted it. I mean, I went online, signed into my account, fooled around with the various menus, found the button that says "Delete This Blog" and clicked on it...twice.

And twice, I got an error message, informing me that the blog could not be deleted, due to some technical problem the site was experiencing. I thought that was sort of strange.

So the next day, I did the same thing. I signed in, etc, etc, and deleted the blog. Same response. Technical problem, no deletion possible. Hmm.

Then I realized. Sometimes God uses small things to make bigger things happen. Small things like technical glitches that prevent a blog from being deleted. So I just kept putting up posts, and eventually I even told some of my friends about this little project of mine. A few of you found me online and started reading and leaving comments. And one or two of you have even emailed me privately, or spoken to me in person, about things that you have learned from this little thing I do on the side, when I have the time, that have affected you personally.

And now, a whole year later, I am almost crying about it. I had no idea I had all of this in me. Or better yet, that the Holy Spirit was waiting to put it into me, so I could put it all here. 'Cause really, friends, I'm not that smart, I'm not more spiritual than you, I don't have a higher degree of Biblical comprehension. I just love God. And I love His Holy Word. And I really want others to love both of those things like I do.

So, if Bathsheba's Children has done either of those things for you, mission accomplished. Its a big thing. And it was a little thing that got it all started (and kept it going.)

PS-to the very first person to leave a comment on this blog--Classic Mama, you have no idea how exciting that was for me.

Ruth Session One!

Well, friends and readers, I have an announcement to make. I have officially taught my very first Bible study session. A session that I actually researched and wrote by myself, that is.

For those of you who have been reading this blog consistently, you may have seen me mention the Ruth Bible study occasionally. It is a 7 session Bible study that I am (still) writing for my local MOPS (that stands for Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I will be teaching it once a month. And last week I taught the first session.

I have posted an audio recording of the session on another blog. And I would be glad for those of you who either know me personally or comment here regularly to have access to it. But I'm a little bit cautious about online privacy, and for that reason I'm not going to post a direct link to the other blog where the file is posted. If you want it, you will need to email me from my profile page. If I recognize you, I will send you an email with the link.

I really do have some other things I'd love to post about, but I've been super busy for the past week. But check back in a few days. I never can resist writing a post for too long. Some things just need to get said!

The Sword of the Spirit

After Jesus was baptized, Scripture tells us, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

There are a few things in just that one sentence that are pretty interesting. Did you notice that Jesus temptation was not outside of God's plan, but seems to actually be part of it? After all, it was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus out there into the wilderness. He wasn't tempted to journey out there by Satan. God planned that it would happen exactly as it did happen.

We know from James 1:13, which says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone", that obviously God was not the one who tempted Jesus. And in fact, God never tempts anyone. But is seems pretty clear that God allows us to be tempted, just as here He allowed Jesus to be tempted. I find that comforting. God is sovereign even over my temptations. They don't catch him by surprise.

But what happens next, in the account of Jesus temptation in the wilderness, is equally fascinating.

First of all, let me just say, that sometimes the Bible understates things to the point of humor. I don't mean to be irreverent about God's Word, but when I read Matthew 4:2, I just had to grin.

"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry."

You think? I'd say something more like, "He was starving to death" or "He was famished." But, still, we get the point; Jesus was feeling real, physical, (probably) overwhelming, hunger.

I'm trying really hard to stay on my message here, and I haven't even gotten to it yet. But this section of Scripture is just full of interesting things, and I can't help but point some of them out. Like, for instance, did you notice that Jesus fast lasted for 40 days? Does that number sound familiar for some reason? How about the length of time that it rained in the days of Noah? Or, how about the number of years that Israel wandered in the wilderness before entering the promised land?

But here is the what I really wanted to point out. Satan tempts Jesus three times and with three different sins. But each and every time, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, refutes Satan by quoting Scripture. He uses the same defense against temptation that is available to every single one of His children: Scripture.

When Satan tempts Jesus to exhibit a lack of faith in God's physical provision for Him, by turning stones into bread, Jesus says:

"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) This is a quote of Deuteronomy 8:3.

When Satan tempts Jesus to pridefully prove that He has the power of God to call angels at His whim, by telling Him to throw himself off of the temple wall, Jesus says:

"It is written, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" This is a quote of Deuteronomy 6:16.

And finally, when Satan tempts Jesus with an offer of kingship, a way to rule the earth without suffering on the cross, if only Jesus will bow down and worship Satan, Jesus replies:

"Away with you Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD you God, and Him only you shall serve.'" This is a quote of Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20.

Now, if that is not sufficient motivation for all of us to get to know and understand Scripture, let me point out one more thing. And this last bit kind of gives me chill bumps when I think about the potential damage it can cause.

In this encounter between Satan and Jesus, Jesus is not the only one who quotes Scripture. Satan does the same thing. Only when Satan quotes Scripture, He does it out of context and twists its intended meaning.

When Satan tempts Jesus the second time, by suggesting that He throw Himself off of the temple wall and call on angels to rescue Him, He adds this little barb:

Matthew 4:5-6

"If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over You,'

and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Satan is quoting Psalm 91 to Jesus. The problem is, Satan is quoting it in exactly the opposite way it was intended. Psalm 91 is a declaration of trust in the care and provision of the LORD. It contains that famous verse, "I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, In Him I will trust." (Psalm 91:2)

When Satan tempts Jesus to throw Himself off of the temple wall, He is tempting Jesus to test God, instead of have faith in God. Testing God is a result of little faith, not a result of great faith.

I don't know about you, but I find it startling and disturbing that Satan quotes Scripture. And if Satan can know and quote Scripture, twisting the truth right out of it, then we can be sure that Satan's servants can as well.

Let me counter that statement by saying that Jesus is already declared victorious. The battle has been won, and Satan has been defeated. He is still our enemy, and he can still cause us harm, and we need to be wary of him, and his servants.

But we have God on our side. And we shouldn't forget that. And, we shouldn't forget that God has provided us with an extremely powerful weapon against evil: the sword of the Spirit: God's Word.

But the sharpest, most lethal sword in the world isn't going to do you any good sitting up on a shelf collecting dust. The more time you spend with your sword, the more precise you will become in defeating the enemy.

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

The Slaughter of the Innocents

I started my day reading in the Gospel of Matthew. Even though I know what is coming, the account of King Herod killing all the baby boys in Bethlehem always upsets me. Especially since I have become a mother myself. I cannot even begin to image watching a soldier wrench my precious child from my arms to murder him.

Matthew 2:16

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determinded from the wise men."

I was already emotional because baby Jesus had just been born (in my reading), and for some reason that always makes me cry. Then Herod orders all of those sweet innocent babies put to death.

The next verses only added to my emotional drama.

Matthew 2:17-18

"Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more."

I sort of felt like weeping myself. Not too long after that, it was time to get the day started, get the family out of bed and feed everyone. I turned on the news.

I have known that September 11th was coming. For a few months I have had today's date floating around in my mind. I always wonder what each anniversary will be like, if I will find it as jarring and devastating as I did the first time around.

This morning, it was almost too much. I stood in my kitchen, with my children safely out of view, and let myself just cry. The news was showing footage of that day that I remember so vividly. I can tell you all the details of that morning, but I'll spare you my recollections. I'm sure that you have some of your own.

All of those people in the airplanes, and in the towers, and in the Pentagon--murdered. Thousands of years ago, in a remote Jewish village, hardly important enough to garner King Herod's attention, and obviously not important enough for him to travel to in order to see the "king of the Jews" that the maggi came seeking, all of those baby boys--murdered.

In the case of September 11th, 2001, it seems that those responsible may escape earthly justice. And King Herod obviously never faced a judge and jury for his atrocities.

So what on earth are we to do about such horrible crimes, and such horrible injustices, that are never answered for here on earth?

Well, I've kind of answered my own question in the way I posed the question. Some justice just won't get done here on earth. But there is one Judge that every single human being, from every period of human history, will have a date with. And there will be no escape from His justice. He is El Roi, the God-Who-Sees. And all will answer to His justice one way or another.

King Herod already has. As far as the other well known terrorist who will remain nameless on this blog, you can be sure that he will too.

Isa 66:16

"For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh;"

A Dog By The Ears

I almost laughed out loud.

You see, very occasionally, I get fired up. I try to contain myself, and I usually do a good job. But there are times when I wish I could get problem-causing (in my opinion, of course) people in a room, sit 'em all down, and set 'em all straight. And you know, sometimes that is exactly what is called for. (But I think it's pretty rare, especially for me to be the setter-straighter.)

Tonight, I was searching through Scripture, trying to find that "perfect" verse to call down on another person. I was full of righteous indignation, too. The other party was clearly in the wrong, and clearly blind to that fact, and clearly needed some setting straight.

And I found the perfect verse all right, but it wasn't for the other party.

Proverbs 26:17

"He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears."

Duly noted, Lord, duly noted. I'll just let that dog pass on by...

And it gets better.

Proverbs 26:20

"When there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And when there is no talebearer, strife ceases."

Gotcha. No more tale-bearing-strife-causing wood for this fire.

Sometimes we just have to put our fingers in our ears and stop listening. Cause, girls, I can do without the strife.

Got Guilt?

Got guilt? Oh, of course you do. And if you haven't done anything lately to feel guilty over, I bet it doesn't take much effort to think back to some occasion that brings that unwelcome sinking sensation in your gut.

So what are we supposed to do with guilt?

To start with, I think we should recognize that not all guilt is a bad. Sometimes we are so eager to get rid of the unpleasantness of guilt that we fail to deal with the problem that is causing us to feel guilty to begin with. This is a bad thing. If you feel guilty, ask yourself why. It might be that you actually need to repent of something. Often, we are reluctant to repent, and guilt is the byproduct.

But there are plenty of times when guilt is just self-condemnation.

The Bible teaches clearly, and in so many places, that those who are found in Christ have absolutely no reason to feel condemned. This truth is so startling and revolutionary that I think we sometimes gloss over the profoundness of it. I mean, come on, God can't really mean that we are totally washed clean and forgiven can He? Surely there is going to be some cosmic extraction of penance or sudden onslaught of punishment, isn't there?

No. There isn't.

It has already been taken care of. Yes, all of it. Yes, really, even THAT thing.

When Jesus came to this world in the flesh, and died on the cross, every bit of it was paid for. The big word for this is "propitiation" and the Greek for propitiation is hilasmos. The literal definition of hilasmos is atonement. Jesus atoned for our sins. He made them right by paying the price for them.

1 John 4:10

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

We, who have faith in Christ, are declared pure, because Christ has made us pure.

1Jn 3:3

"And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

What right in the world do I have to accuse and condemn what God has declared pure, including myself?

Romans 8:33,34

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

Have you ever thought about it that way? When you point a finger of self-condemnation at yourself, you are disagreeing with God. You are claiming that what Jesus did on the cross wasn't really sufficient for you and your sins. Do you really think you are that significant? Do I?

Listen, I need to be reminded of this just as much as anyone. Lately, in particular, I feel like Satan has been making quite an effort to remind me of who I used to be.

But God, through Scripture, tells me who I am in Christ. And that is the opinion that not only counts, but is perfect truth.

Rom 8:1

"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."