THOU ART THE MAN
(Outline is based on
"The Sin of Faultfinding"
By: Guy F. Hester from Pulpit
and Bible Study Helps
November 1991 Editor-in-Chief: Spiros Zodhiates)
Scripture: Matt:
26:20-25 "Is it
I?" II Sam 12:1-14 "Thou
art the man" Matt.
7:1-5 "Judge not"
I. IS IT I?
Matt. 26:20-25;
Luke 22:23; Mark 14:19, 29 -->
"not I" John 13:22-25
"who is it?"
Peter said in Matt. 26:33 "yet will I never be
offended"
A. We should
rather say:
"If it be possible that others may be
offended, there is danger that I may be also."
But it is common for those who think too
well of themselves, easily to admit suspicions of thers.
1.
Peter stumbled --> so might I.
2.
Judas fell --> so could I.
It was a great moment of
emotion; it was a moment of splendid honesty.
When Jesus made His statement.
He forced them to come face to face with himself; and the question they
asked Him was not, "Is it my neighbor?", but, "Is it
I?". It was a moment when every
man suddenly woke to the fact that there was within himself--howsoever he hated
it--something of the capacity for treachery. (G. Campbell Morgan Mk 14:19)
B. No good thing
in the flesh Romans 7:15-25 "evil is present with me"
(II
Cor. 5:1-3) The body of flesh is a heavy burden, the calamities of life are a
heavy load. But believers groan because
burdened with a body of sin, and the many corruptions that are still remaining
and raging in them. This make them complain,
"O wretched man that I am!!!"
Rom 7:24 (M. H.)
C. "take
heed" I Cor 10:1-2 "take heed lest ye fall; many
Israelites failed v. 5 But with many
of them God was not well pleased:
Others have fallen, and so may we. (M. H.)
There
is a proneness in good men to be over confident of their own strength and
stability. We are ready to think
ourselves able to grapple with the strongest temptations, to go through the hardest
and most hazardous services, and to bear the greatest afflictions for Christ;
but it is because we do not know
ourselves. Those often fall soonest
and foulest that are most confident of themselves. Those are least safe that are most
secure. Satan is most active to seduce
such; they are most off their guard, and God leaves them to themselves, to
humble them. (M. H.)
D. Hezekiah
1.
Heart lifted up II Chron 32:25
2.
Left for trial II Chron
32:31 Isa 39:1-8
E. Other
Scriptures:
1.
Romans 11:20 "Be not
highminded, but fear:" We need not
to fear, but God will be true to His Word; all
the danger is lest we false to ours. (M.
H.)
2.
Hebrews 4:1 Coming short Who is it? Is it I?
We
cannot know what men are, much less what they will be, but those who appear to
be sent of Christ we must receive, till the contrary appear. (M. H.)
3.
John 6:70 "one of you is a
devil"
We must not be too sure
concerning any. God knows those that
are His; we do not. (M. H.)
God knows which one is "a devil".
Advancement to places of honour
and trust in the church is no certain evidence of saving grace.
F. Extra Comments
on "Is it I?"
1.
Matthew Henry --> Holy fear
of ourselves, and not presumptuous confidence, is the best security against apostasy from
God, and final rejection by Him.
2. Apostle Paul --> I Cor 9: 27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection: lest by any means, when
I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. It is not with good reason Paul wrote
I Cor 9:27. *
A preacher of salvation may yet miss it!!!!
3.
Thomas A. Keimpis "Imitation
of Christ" --> We cannot trust
ourselves, we are often in need of grace and wisdom.
4. G.
Campbell Morgan --> One thing that a man cannot know is himself.
5. Jeremiah 17:9-10
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?
I
the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to
his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
" O wretched man that I
am!!!!!!!!!!!!"
II. THOU ART THE MAN
II Sam 12:1-14
Psalms 32 , 51
A. Time had
passed (approx. 1 year) --> reprisal from God had not been immediate.
Eccl.
8:11 "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed
speedily, therefore the heart
of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."
Though we lay aside thoughts of sin committed
and go on, God does not so easily forget.
B. The word comes
from the prophet.
God's Word in the mouth of His ministers must
be received, whether it speak terror or comfort. (M. H.)
C. David is quick
and harsh in his judgment. Matt 7:1-5
David
had killed Uriah with his pen. Those
that contrive wickedness and command it are as truly guilty of it as those that
execute it. (M. H.)
David had looked, lusted, and fell.
Nay, many are guilty of that in secret, which
they have the face to punish others when it is discovered. (M. H.)
Reflect
that perhaps the fault of which you complain might, on a strict examination, be
discovered in yourself; and that it would be unjust publicly to express indignation
against your own crime. (M. H.)
Men's
being so severe upon the faults of others, while they are indulgent of their
own, is a mark of hypocrisy. (M. H.)
Those who blame others, ought to be blameless
and harmless themselves. (M. H.)
Our zeal against sin must be guided by
discretion. (M. H.)
There
is a society within the veil into which no unclean thing shall enter, a church
of the first-born, in which are no false brethren. (M. H.) Hebrews 12:23
III. JUDGE NOT
Matt. 7:1-5 (*Excellent introduction on pg 87 of Matthew
Henry Commentary.)
A. Judge -->
to assume the office of a judge
(Vine's)
B. What would
become of us, if God should be as exact and severe in judging us, as we are in judging our brother; if he should weigh us in
the same balance? (M. H.)
C. It is common
for those who are most sinful themselves, and least sensible of it, to be most forward and free in
judging and censoring others (M. H.)
D. Read Luke 6:37-45 Sometimes we should leave it alone and let it be manifest with
time in the fruit bearing
season. (M.
H.)
Wise men may act when wiser men do
nothing. The wisest man know which to
do and when. (M. H.)
E. "The Sin
of Faultfinding"
1. Perhaps there is no more common than the sin
of faultfinding. Husbands find fault
with their wives (the next time you find fault with your wife's judgment, stop
and think about whom she married), wives find fault with their husbands,
children with parents, parents with children, etc. Even in the church, it seems that there are those who are
constantly looking for faults in others.
In the church we have a lot of spectator Christians. They expect the preacher, song leader, Bible
school teacher, etc, to perform for them while they sit back and look
for their mistakes, find fault and criticize.
2. Matt.
11:16-19 Faultfinders are never
reasonable, logical nor consistent.
They found fault with John
because
he neither ate nor drank and they found fault with Jesus because he did eat and
drink.
F. What is
Faultfinding?
1. Faultfinding is being hypercritical. There is a difference between being critical
and hypercritical. Not all
criticism is bad.
There is constructive criticism.
Hypercriticism delights in criticizing for its own sake. It is condemning one because of difference
in judgment (Ex: food and drink of Romans 15). It is the exaggeration of matters of judgment
and expediency.
Luke 19:20-24 "Out of thine own mouth" David pronounced his own judgment as we often do.
(austere = sharp, hard, exactness)
2. Faultfinding is putting personal prejudice
in the place of principle. Jesus
instructed, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous
judgment: (John 7:24). We need to make certain that it is the error
of the man, or his sin, that condemns him and not our own prejudices. It is so easy to justify those who we like
and condemn those whom we dislike. (*
Use illustration: "Be Sure You See
the Tree in All its Seasons")
John 7:23-24
Judge = to form an opinion (Vine's)
2. Faultfinding is imputing motives. It is not always possible for us to know the
motive behind the deed. Paul
asked,
" What man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man . . ."
(I Cor. 2:11). Yet, human behavior can
never be properly evaluated without taking into account the motives. No court assesses the penalty for a crime
until the motive is established. John
7:50-51 Is it murder, manslaughter, or
self-defense?
The scale of justice must be used before the
sword of justice. (M. H.)
3. Faultfinding is forming an opinion without all the
facts. We must not judge without full information. We alsomust have knowledge of the Word of
God as it relates to those deeds. John 12:47-48 Judge
= to condemn (Vine's)
4. Faultfinding is a failure to try to understand the
circumstances. (Empathy vs. Sympathy) It
is not being
willing
to excuse or exercise mercy. It is
condemning the person instead of the deed, the sinner instead of the sin. John 8:15-16 A carnal mind (fleshly mind) is not capable of true judgment.
5.
Scriptures:
a. Acts 10:42 God will judge
through Christ, by the Word.
b. Romans 2:1-11
C. Romans 14:1-15
G. What Jesus
Said About Faultfinding
1. Do not be a faultfinder. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." This sounds like a very personal and practical
reason,
but what does it mean? It simply means
that we will get back just what we give.
As we do to others, they will do to us.
Usually those who are always finding fault with others are the most
sensitive to criticism themselves. They
delight in pointing out the faults of others, but are very much upset when any
mention is made of their own faults.
[Have you ever heard, "You can dish it out, but you can't take
it?"]
This
text is not a prohibition of all judgment.
This fact is easily seen in the context. Look at verse 6: "Give
not that which is holy unto dogs . . . ."
Thus we must exercise judgment and discrimination. Notice verse 15: "Beware of false prophets
. . . ." Can one do this
without exercising some kind of judgment?
Also note verse 20: ". . .
by their fruits ye shall know them."
This calls for judgment on our part.
The
judgment that is condemned is a self-righteous, faultfinding judgment. It is possessing a feeling of superiority. Peter wrote, ". . . Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble"
( I Peter 5:5). It is the tendency to regard others with contempt.
2. Do
not try to help others correct their faults or even look at the faults of others
when we have faults equal to or even greater than those of our fellow man. "And why beholdest thou the mote that
is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that 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" (Matt.
7:3, 5). This is not a prohibition of
helping a brother correct his faults, but rather a prohibition of hypercritical
faultfinding. Paul said, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted: (Gal. 6:1). Paul says
that it is the spiritual who may help a brother in correcting his
faults. That is one who considers
himself, looks at his own life, and remembers that he is subject to the same
temptations. The one who is spiritual
is the one who has removed the beam from his own eye and can now, "see
clearly to cast out the mote" out of his brother's eye (Matt. 7:5). Let us help our brother get rid of his
faults, but let us first get rid of our own. I
Cor. 2:14-16
3. I
Cor 4: 1-6 I Cor 6:1-4 I Cor. 10:29-33 II Cor. 5:10-11 Col.
2:16
II Tim 4:8 Hebrews 12:23 Hebrews
13:4 James 2:12-13
James 4:11-12 James 5:9 I Peter 1:17 I Peter 4:17-19 Rev.
19:2 Rev. 20: 11-15 Rev. 20:11-15
4.
We can profit by the faultfinding of others regardless of what their
intention might have been in their consideration of us. Although the critic's motive may not be
good, and his choice of time and place to criticize may be most inappropriate,
that does not mean that we cannot learn from his remarks. There is the possibility that there is some truth
in the criticism that he has given. We
can train ourselves to learn from unpleasant truth from our critics. [Charles Spurgeon once said that an honest
critic could be a preacher's best friend.]
5.
The Pharisees found fault with Jesus because He ate and drank with
sinners (Matt. 9:10-13). Simon Peter
found fault with Him because He allowed a sinful woman to touch Him (Luke
7:36-39). If Jesus, the sinless Son of God, could not escape the faultfinders
and critics of His day, should we expect to escape them today? The first rule in learning how to deal with
those who find fault is to accept that a certain amount of it is inevitable. In fact, the Bible warns us against trying
to please everybody (Luke 6:26). Recognize
that it is inevitable that people will find fault with you if you follow
Christ; for, all of those who "live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution" (II Tim. 3:12).
IV. CONCLUSION
Pride blinds the eyes from
seeing the great depths of divine grace.
Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost. Are you a seeker of a faultfinder? HOP I - 139
When betraying the Lord by
sin is mentioned, we should first ask the Lord, "Is it I?" , before
He sends the prophet to say, "Thou art the man."