Court Is In Session

One of the last things that Jesus did, before ascending to heaven, was to tell His followers about the power He was putting into their hands: "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you." And with that He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." (John 20:21-23)

That's a huge privilege and responsibility He gave to little old us. We're just the Assistant Manager. But He's a Manager who delegates the big assignments!

As long as we are here on earth, we're given heavenly authority over people. Matthew 16:19 says: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

That's a pretty awesome "power of attorney" that Jesus has given to us. Even the weakest Christian in the kingdom of God has incredible authority at their fingertips. Heaven's authority. The question is, how are we using this authority? Done any binding lately? Done any loosing lately? If you're thinking, "I need to start using this power," hold on. You've been using it already - daily. It's not a formal thing where you need to preface it and say "I hereby loose so and so…" Every Christian is delivering judgment before the throne of God. Some are turning in lots of "guilty" verdicts. Others are turning in lots of pardons and "sentence served" deliberations. You might say, "Wait, I haven't played jury for anyone." But as a Christian, we are doing jury duty full time, 24/7. Why? Because Jesus gave us the authority. And we have His ear, even when we forget He's listening. And we are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus, according to Ephesians 2, verse 6. Whether we are conscious of this or not, we are giving testimony to God constantly.

The devil is very conscious of this. As a matter of fact, that's the devil's "in." Scripture calls Satan the "Accuser of the Brethren." That's a fancy title for a Prosecuting Attorney that wants every defendant to go to jail. But how does Satan even get into the heavenly court room? Revelations 12 says that Satan has been hurled down from heaven. Some people debate whether that has already happened, or is yet to come. But let's suppose for a minute that he's been kicked out, or "disbarred." Are his days as a Prosecuting Attorney done? Not if he can get us to do the accusing!! After all, we are seated on high with Christ. He has already said that if we don't forgive someone, they will not be forgiven.

So all Satan has to do is tamper with us, the jury. We don't even have to know court is "in session!"

Picture a drama skit. A couple is gossiping at the dinner table - not knowing court is in session. Satan prods the husband to gripe some more about his boss. Heaven is listening. Then Satan prods the wife to complain about the kids, and the neighbor. Again heaven is listening, recording every word. The sentence is passed.

But that's not the end of the story. Those who accuse don't get off clean! Matthew 7:1 says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." So we're not only on the witness stand, we're also on trial! Whatever sentence we hand out to our neighbor - we are handing the same sentence to our selves!

How severe will the sentencing be? It depends on the sentence that we dished out. Small measure out, small measure back. Big measure out, watch out! Tidal wave! Is that fair? Well, when we judge another, we are saying that we could do better. And God gives us the chance to prove it, by removing his grace and seeing how far we get on our own. As James 4 says, "God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud." Criticizing others is a major form of pride, or superiority.

So how much hot water are we in? Well, define "judging" my brother. How much criticizing can I do, and still be okay? Jesus spelled it out for us, by showing different degrees of malice, and the penalty for each.

In Matthew, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

Again, it boils down to the severity of sentencing that we deliver: Jesus says that whatever measure we use on others will get used on us. "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more." He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:24-29)

I believe this parable has more than one application. On the heels of a man being critical, it talks of a man scattering seeds. I believe these seeds are the criticisms he voices against others. He measured other's faults, now these very faults begin to grow inside this man's spirit, and in the circumstances of his life, though he doesn't have a clue what the source is. We truly do reap what we sow, and that includes our criticisms.

There are two calls to action. The first is for us to work very hard at being merciful, and interceding for those who sin against us, rather than judging them. We need to be very careful to avoid making bitter judgments against others. As Hebrews 12:14 says, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

The second call to action is to dig out the old seeds in our lives. How can you tell if you are "being measured" with the same measure you used on someone else? Jesus says all we have to do is look at the fruit in our lives. "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:43-45)

If we have dropped some bad seeds on the ground, we'll have some funky fruit popping up. If the fruit you have is okay, don't sweat it. But if you have rotten fruit, and you can't seem to change it, you may have an old seed problem to deal with. And it's not too late to put down the right seed, mercy, and to change your fruit.

In Isaiah 58, God gives us a wonderful invitation to do just this, to come clean. "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

In Matthew 18, Jesus gives us an excellent process for handling grievances with each other.

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." The first step in resolving disputes is to go to the other person, one on one, and confront them in love. Give them the chance to repent, or to help you see their side. If that fails, then bring in one or two other mature believers to help reconcile. We have no right to speak badly about someone if we have not first taken these steps.

Jesus followed up this process of reconciliation by telling a story that underscores how seriously He takes our choice of mercy or bitterness. The Lord described a man who owed his master a huge sum of money, and the master forgave the debt. Later, this servant beats up his neighbor because the neighbor is unable to repay a small debt. This person who had just been released from a huge debt chose to have his neighbor "thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (MT 18:15-35)

Jesus has shown us tremendous mercy, and forgiven us a huge amount of sin. But when he sees us putting our brother into a spiritual prison over a small infraction, the Lord takes action. When we act unmercifully, we disqualify ourselves from God's great mercy.

Perhaps you know what it is like to be "turned over to the jailers to be tortured." Has your unforgiveness toward another placed spiritual chains on you? Perhaps now is the time for your great pardon.

Jesus teaches us, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:36-38)

Jesus then tells us how important our words are to Him: "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (MT 12:34) Our words are the fruit that identifies what's in our heart. He continues, "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (MT 12:36-37)

Why would our words be such a big deal? Because they have so much power, far more than we know. We may not realize it, but we are blessing people - or cursing people - when we talk about them. Heaven is the court room, Satan is the Prosecutor, and we are on the witness stand. Will we help the "Accuser of the Brethren" make his case against others? Or will we speak gracefully of others?

Jesus tells us that whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. He has given us incredible authority over our brother man. That's why we will be accountable for every word we utter. Our words become reality for those around us.

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