Daily Reading and Devotional from the Gospels
Luke 6:37–45
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
What do you think is the most quoted part of the Bible?
I debated a friend on this question once. Do you think it is Psalm 23 that says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”? This is certainly a precious passage to all who believe but I really doubt it is the most quoted part of the Bible. Could it be John 3:16 about how God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son? The reference is seen on fan made signs at sporting events and street side graffiti but I don’t think the words themselves are the most quoted part of Scripture. When Tim Tebow appeared on national TV with the famous reference beneath his eyes 94 million inquisitive people googled John 3:16. Could that mean that people know the reference but not the words? I believe the most quoted part of the Bible is actually a phrase from today’s gospel reading,
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged…”
I have heard and read this phrase quoted more times than I could begin to count. Actually, I should say that I have heard it misquoted. The phrase is used as a justification for all manner of sin. It is used as a way to say, “I will do what I want and you have no right to disagree or disapprove.” “Do not warn me that my actions are contrary to the revelation of God, if you do then you are judging”. “Do not preach what the Bible clearly says or I will throw this verse in your face and trump every argument no matter how strong the Scriptural case that you are making”
I believe an honest examination of the Bible will reveal this verse is not the get out of jail free card that many have thought. It most certainly is not telling the Bible believer to hush. Jesus surely taught us not to assume the judges bench putting ourselves in the place of God but that doesn’t mean we are to sit back in silent approval of sin. The job of all believers, bald and hair laden alike is to herald God’s message. His judgments are not flawed like ours. In verse 41 of today’s reading Jesus used an illustration about a man removing a small splinter from another’s eye. The would-be eye doctor had a big problem, he had a much bigger piece of wood in his own eye. Jesus didn’t forbid helping the other fella see more clearly. Rather he instructed the man to continue the splinter surgery he had originally intended, just remove his own big beam first. (Vs.42) We must as believers continue to declare God’s word with all of it’s comforts and warnings so that others can see the truth. We must be careful to do it in a spirit of grace and humility and first apply our Lord’s teachings to ourselves.