John Favel, a famous 17th-century Puritan preacher, had this to say about criticizing and condemning others. “It is easier to declaim, like an orator, against a thousand sins of others than it is to mortify one sin, like Christians, in ourselves; to be more industrious in our pulpits than in our closets; to preach twenty sermons to our people than one to our own hearts.”¹ There have been many a ‘hellfire and brimstone preacher’ whose primary tool was smoking fiery rhetoric designed to scorch people into heaven throughout the ages. Was Jesus this type of preacher? Did Jesus minister condemnation? If He did, then we should strive to be like Him. But, if he wasn’t, we should stand up and take notice. Why You Should Lift People Instead of Criticizing Their Failures is our focus on this week’s Light On Life Podcast.

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#016: The Secret to Prophecy [Podcast]

[Tweet “You’re not God’s policeman. Quit writing tickets for other peoples sins.”]

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

It’s always good to monitor your thought life and your conversations to see if they line up with the scriptures. How are you doing in these areas with respect to criticizing and condemning others? 

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: How does the knowledge that God is not criticizing and condemning you helped you in passing that on to others? Please share thoughts in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

You can find information on the subject of the Kingdom of God in the resources listed below.

1. #S6-015: The Value of Knowing the Gift of God [Podcast]
2. #S6-014: How to Conquer Prejudice the Jesus Way [Podcast]
3. #S6-013: What Does It Mean to Be Born Again from God? [Podcast]
4. #S6-012: Nicodemus: Is His Life a Positive Example to Follow? [Podcast]

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Podcast Notes

Are You Open to the Gifts of God’s Spirit?

• During His one on one encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus said the following to her.

John 4:16–19 (ESV) — 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

Jesus and the Gifts of the Spirit

• Jesus flowed in the gifts of the Spirit.
• The Spirit anointed him without measure.

John 3:34 (ESV) — 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

• Again, and I have said this repeatedly, he did not help people with His powers as God.
• He laid aside those powers and ministered to people’s needs as a man: specifically as a man anointed by the Spirit of God.
• So, what you see in this encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well is a manifestation of one of the nine gifts of the Spirit listed in First Corinthians twelve.

1 Corinthians 12:4–10 (CJB) — 4 Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being served. 6 And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone. 7 Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good. 8 To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; 10 to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues.

• Out of these nine gifts, seven of them were actively in use during the Old Testament.
• The only two gifts not in use during the Old Testament was tongues and interpretation of tongues.
• Those two gifts came into use on the day of Pentecost and are part of the church age.
• Notice verse that we read, ‘Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good.’
• On this particular day, in this specific well, Jesus functioning as a prophet under the Old Covenant, by the Spirit of God had a ‘particular manifestation of the Spirit for the common good of a woman.

Jesus Calls Attention to A Woman’s Sin without Criticizing and Condemning

• The manifestation the Spirit of God gave Jesus was the Word of Knowledge.
• Jesus, by the revelation ministry of the Spirit, knew about this woman’s revolving door past.
• She had taken five husbands into her bosom.

Historical Background: Marriage and Divorce Under the Law

• The following is from The New International Commentary on the New Testament.

A woman could not divorce her husband in Jewish law. But under certain circumstances she could approach the court, which would, if it thought fit, compel the husband to divorce her (see, for example, Mishnah, Ket. 7:9, 10). Or she might pay him or render services to induce him to divorce her (Git. 7:5, 6). In theory there was no limit to the number of marriages that might be contracted after valid divorces, but the rabbis regarded two, or at the most three, marriages as the maximum for a woman (SBk, II, p. 437).²

• So, it is possible that the five husbands this woman had were divorced legally according to the oral law of the Jewish leaders.
• They interpreted the Law of God differently than the Lord intended.

Matthew 19:3–9 (NKJV) — 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

• The problem wasn’t the five husbands the woman received a divorce from.
• No, the problem was the sixth man who wasn’t her husband, a man she was illicitly involved with.

Criticizing and Condemning: The Truthful Reaction of the Woman at the Well

• Note that her loose life was not characterized by lying.
• When Jesus put her on the spot because of her lurid lifestyle, she didn’t lie to Jesus.
• She could of but choose not to.
• Could it be Jesus startled the woman into telling the truth?
• In either case, look at how the conversation continued after Jesus said to the Samaritan women, go and call your husband.

John 4:20–26 (NKJV) — 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

• The conversational exchange switches from the woman’s ‘living together’ arrangement to where is the right place for a Samaritan to worship.
• Notice that Jesus did not steer the conversation back to boyfriend number six.
• He didn’t continue to put His finger on the woman’s sinful sore spot.
• He didn’t heap condemnation upon her for her past sin.
• Now when I’m speaking of condemnation here, I am referring to having a negative connotation of one’s behavior based on one’s conscience.
• Jesus did not negatively judge this woman because of His own conscience or His own sense of what was the right way for this woman to live.
• That is what I mean by not being a minister of condemnation or not being ‘holier than though.’
• Now, why didn’t He do it? Because he knew that He was the answer to the woman’s sin.
• Did you pick up on the fact that the woman didn’t repent or offer remorse when the gifts of the Spirit exposed her?
• She didn’t mention to Jesus that she needed to offer a sacrifice for her sin to the priest per the Law.
• Despite this, Jesus never played the condemnation card.
• He was not a minister of condemnation.
• Jesus didn’t push that button.

Criticizing and Condemning: Jesus Encounter with An Adulterous Woman

• The encounter with a Samaritan women’s sin is not the only time Jesus responded by not playing the criticizing and condemning card.
• Look at John eight for a moment.

John 8:3–11 (NKJV) — 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, four they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

• Neither do I condemn you is what Jesus said.
• Here are some ‘where’ questions: like who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• For example, where was this woman’s self-esteem as her sin was dragged out publicly?
• Where was the male partner who committed adultery with her?
• Where were the accusers of this woman once Jesus wrote on the ground?
• You can answer all of those for yourself, but they are indicators of why condemnation is a faulty way to operate.
• There are too many two-faced areas that pop up when you take on the role of criticizer and condemner.
• The point here is that this woman, just like the Samaritan women of John four, did not face railing criticism and condemnation from the lips of Jesus.
• He was and is not a minister of condemnation.
• If He wasn’t, then why are you criticizing others?
• Now, notice what Charles Swindoll called the Boomerang Effect.
• And with that thought, here’s the quote of the day.

The boomerang of condemnation often injures the one throwing. The Pharisees condemned the woman in order to condemn Christ. But they ended up the only ones condemned, not by Christ but my their own hearts.³

• You see, stacking slurs of criticism and condemnation upon others only causes the pile to fall back on top of you.
• Digging someone’s grave only buries yourself.
• You know Sharon and I just went and did a tour of an underground cavern.
• There are echo’s in a cavern.
• You put words out in an echo chamber, and your words rebound right back to you.
• That’s what happens when you put condemnation out into the world; those words come back to haunt your own heart.
• Don’t condemn people; show them the way out.

Jesus Speaks on the Subject of Criticism and Condemnation

Luke 6:35–37 (NKJV) — 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

• Pay attention here to the words ‘love your enemies.’
• Now, Jesus was not a hypocritical teacher of God’s Word.
• He walked the walk and talked the talk.
• So, that means He practiced loving His enemies.
• Jesus loved them.
• He cared about His enemies.
• Jesus wanted to help them.
• He was kind to the unthankful and the evil.
• Jesus was merciful.
• He refused to judge and criticize.
• Jesus did not heap condemnation.
• That is everything in these verses that He told us not to do.
• Jesus would not pile criticism and condemnation on top of people, and neither should you.
• You should not be a minister of condemnation.
• Quit it.
• You’re not God’s policeman.
• Quit writing tickets for other people’s sins.
• Nine times out of ten, they either already know, or they have an inkling that they are in deep weeds with their actions.
• They don’t need your criticism and condemnation.
• People need to know how to get out of it.

Defining Condemnation from a Legal View Point

• The word condemnation means to declare guilty.
• It’s a verb whose usage in Luke six is as an action word.
• Condemnation is something you do with your words.
• It means to pronounce guilt and a punitive sentence on someone in a legal context.
• Jesus said, ‘Don’t sit as a judge heaping sentences of condemnation on people: that’s not why Jesus came.

Why Jesus Came: The Legal Part of Condemnation

John 3:16–19 (NKJV) — 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

• God the Father did not send His Son Jesus to criticize and condemn the world.
• Think about that for a moment.
• The whole world is messed up.
• Think of the rampant sin that is just gushing through the people of planet earth.
• Serial killers, psychopaths, demon-possessed destroyers, and butchers of humankind, the list goes on and on, and yet the Father God did not send Jesus to condemn any of them.
• Why not?
• They are already condemned.
• Sinners already know they are sinners.

Believers in Jesus Are Not Condemnation Worthy

• Take a look at verse eighteen of John three: ‘He who believes in Jesus is not condemned.’
• No condemnation is the message of Jesus, and it is the message of the letters of Paul.
• When the scriptures reference condemnation in this context, it speaks of not passing judgment from a legal point of view.

Romans 8:1–2 (ESV) — 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

• Why should you not be a criticize, and why is there no condemnation?
• The reason is that Jesus took your place and mine, and He bore sins judgment in your place.
• You cannot be judged as guilty because Jesus was your substitute, and He was sentenced as guilty in your place.
• So, you have no condemnation, no judgment, legally because of your status in Christ.
• That is a positional statement, and it shows what you possess in Christ Jesus.
• Here is the gist of this message today: just because you have a ‘no condemnation’ bumper sticker plastered on your spirit does not give you the right to verbally become an abusive criticizer and condemner of other people’s actions.
• Jesus didn’t do this, and you shouldn’t either.

Paul Practicing Not Criticizing and Condemning

1 Corinthians 4:1–5 (NKJV) — 1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

• Here is how you should consider other believers: servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.
• Keep it right there; these are the boundaries that will keep you safe.
• If you read this set of verses, you will see that the Corinthians were judging Paul’s faithfulness according to their conscience.
• Paul told this bunch of mistaken believers that it was a small thing to be judged by them; he didn’t even judge himself.
• He did not allow the Corinthians to criticize and judge, and Paul didn’t allow himself to judge himself.
• Paul is talking about self-condemnation, you know, beating himself up like we often do.
• No, Paul says, the Lord judges me.
• That means he listened in His Spirit for what God judged him on, what God dealt with him about.
• He didn’t do digging up stuff against himself.
• Paul, also in this set of verses, gives you the reason why such judgments are inappropriate.
• Look at what he says here.
• Listen to Paul’s words: “Therefore, judge nothing before the time.”
• Why didn’t Paul criticize or condemn himself?
• Because it simply wasn’t time.
• Today is not the time to be criticizing and condemning yourself.
• It is time to be living for Jesus, to be obeying the call of God on your life, to be listening to and be directed by the Spirit of God, to be walking out your salvation with fear and trembling, and to be building up the Kingdom of God.
• That’s what time it is.
• All this other woulda, coulda, shoulda stuff is useless and vain.
• Don’t beat yourself up, and don’t beat up others. That’s one of the messages we can get from Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well.
• You guys have a great God week in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

#S4-041: Why Your ‘Want To’ Needs to Be Fierce to Receive Healing from God [Encore Podcast]

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