Jesus’ sermon on the level place in Luke’s Gospel includes one of the most misunderstood and, therefore, misapplied command. Luke 6:37 reads, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” How many times have you heard this verse misused? Notice, what begins looking like sin going unaddressed (v. 37) ends up with sins corrected (v. 42 logs and specks removed). However, Jesus hits us hard by calling some of us, hypocrites. Jesus knew who taught His disciples before He arrived. He knows the default setting of our hearts. I’m a hypocrite whenever I fail to be transformed by God and, yet, try hard to clean up others. Our ability to make disciples hinges on our not being hypocrites. Rather than be offended by Jesus’ name-calling, we need to be upended. Our faith-families must contain a core of people who allow the Holy Spirit to conquer their sins so they, in turn, can help others conquer their sins. The worse thing I can do is attempt to soften Jesus’ approach (especially in this politically correct environment). Better, probably, to allow the sting to hurt enough so we take off our self-righteous masks.
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So is it best to exemplify Jesus’ approach in your approach with a more edgy sermon?
Al, I wouldn’t try to create an edgy sermon. However, I do not want to soften Jesus’ approach at the risk of losing the shock value of His name-calling (in this case). I believe I need to feel the sting of hearing Him call me a hypocrite.