EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
7/25/2026 5:33 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-2“The Goal of
Kingdom Love”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
6:37-38
Message of the verses: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged;
and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be
pardoned. Give, and it will be given to
you. They will pour into your lap a good
measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured
to you in return.”
In my earlier SD I wrote about the first of four
commands, in which there are two negative and two positive, and now I will
begin to write about the second command in this evening’s SD.
The second command, do not
condemn, and you will not be condemned, which is similar to the first
command. This one adds a sense of
finality to the idea of judging, or setting oneself up as executioner. Christians need to keep in mind that apart
from God’s grace they would be no better than the unregenerate. Now we will look at what Paul reminded Titus
in Titus 3:3-7,
“ 3For we too were
once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to
various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in
malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4But when the
kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not on the
basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but
in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6whom He
richly poured out upon us
through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being
justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life.”
Now Instead of judging and
condemning others, Christians are called to pardon, and they will be
pardoned. They are never more like
their heavenly Father than when they forgive others. There is no room in kingdom love for a
believer to hold a grudge or being bitter.
Like Jesus in (Luke 23:34) and Stephen in (Acts 7:59-60), believers are
to forgive their enemies no matter how hostile they may be (cf. 17:3-4; Matt.
18:21-22; Mark 11:25). Now I will quote these verses in the order that they are
seen above.
(Luke 23:34)
“34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
(Acts 7:59-60)
“59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called
out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60
And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not
hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
(cf. 17:3-4; Matt. 18:21-22; Mark
11:25)
“3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother
sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the
day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.’”
“21 ¶ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord,
how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven
times?” 22 Jesus said to him, "I do
not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven times.” (490)
“25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if
you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may
forgive you your trespasses."
MacArthur writes: “The final
command, give, and it will be given to you, calls for generosity. In
return they (i.e., unbelievers) will pour into your lap a good
measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The Lord’s illustration, taken from a
scene His hearers would be very familiar with, vividly pictures the blessing
the disciples will receive. J. Jeremias
writes,
‘The measuring
of the corn is a process which is carried out according to an established
pattern. The seller crouches on the
ground with the measure between his legs.
First of all he fills the measure three-quarters full and gives it a
good shake with a rotary motion to make the grains settle down. Then he fills the measure to the top and
gives it another shake. Next he presses
the corn together strongly with both hands.
Finally he heaps it into a cone, tapping it carefully to press the
grains together, from time to time he bores a hole into the corn and pours a
few more grains into it, until there is literally no more room for a single
grain. In this way, the purchaser is
guaranteed an absolutely full measure; it cannot hold more (cited in Darrell L.
Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995], 607-8).
“The goal of all four commands is to
have sinners not judge or condemn believers, but be forgiving and
generous. If that is happening, it
indicates that unbelievers have accepted them, and they have an opportunity to
proclaim the gospel. When believers love
non-believers like God does—compassionately, kindly, mercifully, and
forgivingly—they demonstrate the transforming power of salvation.”
7/25/2026
6:22 PM
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