MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2026
12:37 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: “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.”
We come to the end of this section we have been
looking at through the lens of John MacArthur’s commentary, and actually only
have one more chapter in MacArthur’s commentary to finish up chapter six in
Luke’s gospel. I have to say that there
is much in this sixth chapter to look at, and it ends with this section which
is very much like the Sermon on the Mount seen in Matthew chapters 5-7. What we have here is just a small portion of
that sermon Jesus gave.
Now Christ closed this section of
His sermon by giving four commands, two negative and two positive that, if
obeyed, will lead to the ultimate purpose of loving others with kingdom love.
Let us now look at the first
command, do not judge, and you will not be judged, does not preclude
assessing a person’s spiritual condition and confronting their sin. MacArthur then has the following verses in
reference to this section: (cf. 6:42-45;
17:3; Matt. 7:6; 1 Cor. 5:5, 11-13; 1 Tim. 5:20; 2 Tim. 4:2; James 5:20; 2 John
10).”
(cf. 6:42-45; 17:3; Matt. 7:6; 1 Cor.
5:5, 11-13; 1 Tim. 5:20; 2 Tim. 4:2; James 5:20; 2 John 10).”
“42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother,
let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see
the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your
own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your
brother’s eye. 43 "For no good tree
bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs
are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of
his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces
evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
“3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother
sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,”
“6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do
not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to
attack you.”
“5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the
Lord.”
“11 But now I am writing to you not to associate
with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality
or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat
with such a one. 12 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.”
“20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them
in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”
“2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of
season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
“20 let him know that whoever brings back a
sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a
multitude of sins.”
“10 ¶ If anyone comes to you and does not bring
this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,”
“In fact,
Christians are commanded to be discerning, to be ‘shrewd as serpents and
innocent as doves’ (Matt. 10:16; Cf. Col. 4:5).
(Cf. Col. 4:5)
“5 ¶ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the
best use of the time.”
“(I
discuss the importance of discernment in the church in my book Reckless
Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1994.) What this command does forbid is harsh,
critical, compassionless, vengeful condemnation of one’s enemies as if one was vested
with final judgment power (see the discussion of v. 28 above.).
I think that I will save the rest of
this section for this evening’s SD.
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: This section is something that I desire for
the Holy Spirit to work on in my life, as sometimes I am quick to judgment, but
need to allow the Lord to handle things as it will then be perfect.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord to do the things
in the way that He wants them done in the treatment of my wife in dealing with
her cancer.
7/25/2026
1:21 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment