LESSON: The way you are gracious toward others is the way Christ will be gracious toward you.
INTRO: "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17
"The Law came through Moses but grace...came through Jesus Christ."
John 1:17
I. Do Not Judge, v.37
Means: Do not play the role of a judge, as if you were to be people's spiritual evaluator.
Quote: "There is one Judge & Jury
-God" (Broadwater)
II. Do Not Condemn, v.37
Do not have a critical spirit toward others, where you regard them as inferior or undeserving.
(e.g. Luke 18:9-14 Pharisee & Tax Collector)
Quote: "Christ forbids a certain kind of spirit--he forbids a self-righteous spirit--a better-than- thou spirit--a spirit of superiority that looks down on others as inferior." (Broadwater)
Forgive, v.37
As God, in Christ, has forgiven you, so you are to forgive others.
Give, v.38
Give generously, for God will give back richly and proportionately.
Quotes: "Gifts given reluctantly, out of obligation, are less like
gifts and more like taxes." (Unknown)
"Of all that a person does in his life, there is no truer measure of a person than that which he gives."
(Robt. South)
LESSON: The way you are gracious toward others is the way Christ will be gracious toward you.