"Who Are You To Judge Me?"

By Pastor Lohn Johnson, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, www.gslclexington.org   Text:   John 20:19-31   To His disciples Jesus declares, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained."   INTRODUCTION:  My dear friends in Christ, the movie Simon Birch is a study of an unusual boy who has an unusual faith.  [Clip one] There is a scene where little Simon has a run in with his Sunday School teacher.  [Clip two]  Here we see the stereotypical Christian who judges someone without love and a lack of understanding.  This teacher and Christians like her give Christians a bad name all too often.  I’m sure Simon could have said to the teacher: “Who are you to judge me?”  Especially when you find out more about her as the movie progresses.
I.  We hear these words spoken from time to time: indeed, judging others is "out" in our world today.
	A.  Tolerance and acceptance are watchwords of the day; we are not to be critical of the behaviors and practices of others.
			1. We have even reached the point where missionaries are criticized as "intolerant" for trying to share the Gospel in foreign lands, because they aren't accepting of the false religions that they find there.   2. "Who are you to judge me?" It is an automatic defense when anyone is criticized, when we want to set the critic back on his heels.
					a. It is a deadly trap for the critic because according to our society today, there are few things worse than being judgmental. The label itself can ruin you.    b. And in this sensitive world that doesn't want to be judged, we hear our Lord’s words of our text and cringe. Is the practice of forgiving and retaining sin an appropriate thing to do in a non-judgmental world?
	B.   Well, first let us deflate a highly-annoying myth. We do not live in a non-judgmental world, despite how so many voices preach the virtue of tolerance.
			1. People make judgments all the time.  By the judgments they make, they choose if they will attend a church and what church they will attend; by their judgments they decide where they will send their children to school; by their judgments they decide what causes they will support, and much, much more.   2. And those in the world who preach that we must tolerate everything also condemn those who don't tolerate everything. They themselves are making judgments.
					a. No, don't be misled: When someone says "I tolerate everything and anything," they are saying, "I do not have any values and standards  that are worth standing up for. There is nothing that I consider to be beneath me."   b. How absurd. That means you have no standards at all. Your life is adrift with no foundation.  Nothing is too low for you.   c. The virtue for life in this world is not to be non-judgmental; the skill is to make sound judgments based on truth.
II.   We need to set the myth of toleration aside, and move on to what is true. The truth is from God’s Word from words like what Jesus says in our text.  So what does it mean to forgive sins and retain sins? Is this some rarely-practiced, mysteriously shrouded ritual of the Church?
	A.  It's true, in this world that denounces anyone who judges anything at all, we see a Jesus who commands His Church to forgive sins and to retain sins. And in this world someone might put up with being "judged" forgiven: but tell someone they are not forgiven, and you're likely to hear "Who are you to judge me?" But we must remember forgiving and retaining sins is nothing else than to declare to people the Word of God. It means to tell them what the Law of God says about them, and the consequences of their sin. It means to tell them what the Gospel says about them, that Christ has died for their sin.
				1. So, let us take the example of a man who has been caught, oh, spreading rumors about someone else.  In speaking with the man, we say, "You know, God declares in His eighth commandment that spreading rumors is wrong. He commands, `Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Therefore, according to God's Word, what you are doing is sinful." This is hardly a prejudicial judgment. It is a statement of fact, a statement of what the Lord says in His Scriptures.   Let us say that the man responds, "I don't care what the Bible says. I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing." How do we respond? Once again, with the Word of God not ours: "Then I must tell you, according to God's Word, that because you are not repentant you are not forgiven. I would urge you to repent, cease this sin and confess it, or else you will face God's judgment." This is what it means to retain sins: It means simply to declare what the Lord says about a person's unrepentance. It means to tell them that since they want nothing of God's forgiveness for their sin, they do not have it.   If you're in a conversation like this, you are likely to hear, "Who are you to judge me?" The answer is simple: "I am no one, and I am not judging you. I am simply declaring to you what the Word of God says about you; in fact, I am proclaiming God’s love and concern to you about your actions.” This is quite true: We are merely messengers, not the Judge of heaven and earth.   2. On the other hand, let us say that when the man is confronted with God's Law, he says, "You're right. What I am doing is wrong and sinful. I repent and will not do that anymore." How do we respond? With the Gospel! "Then I have the joy of telling you that Jesus has died to take away your sin, that God doesn't hold this sin against you, and that you are forgiven!" This is what it means to forgive sins: To announce to them the forgiveness that God has for them, for the sake of Christ.   Let us go further to make this important point and imagine for a moment that the man smiles and wryly remarks, "Well thanks, but a fat lot of good it does me if you forgive me. Who are you to forgive me, and how does that count before God?" Our answer is back to God's Word: "You're right!  It doesn't matter much that I forgive you, because I can't take away your sin. What matters is that, for the sake of Jesus who died for your sin, God forgives you!"
	B.   This is what it means to exercise the forgiving and the retaining of sins. We do not set ourselves up as mind-readers or writers of new laws; the Church is simply called to tell the world what God declares in His Word.
				1. The pastor does so publicly, on behalf of the Church, especially on Sunday morning. Take, for instance, the confession and absolution at the start of the service.
					a. How does the absolution go? "Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins." Note the phrases here.   b. The pastor says he absolves you by virtue of his office as a called and ordained servant of the Word. He is not the one forgiving you; he is a servant of the Word, declaring God's Word of forgiveness to you. And so he goes on to declare that he forgives you in the stead and by the command of Christ; he is announcing that Christ, not he, is taking away your sins. This goes right back to our Gospel lesson.  The apostles were not to forgive sins on their own authority or by their own power: That would mean nothing! No, they were sent as Christ's ambassadors, announcing to people that God forgave them for the sake of Christ.   c. Though not an apostle, the pastor carries on this apostolic ministry publicly, on behalf of the Church.
				2. But that does not mean that only the pastor can exercise the forgiving and the retaining of sins.
					a. Any Christian, in conversation with another, is set free by Christ from sin to declare God's Word, to tell people of His holy Law and wondrous Gospel.   b. Maybe we can look at it like this: When Leonardo da Vinci was painting his masterpiece, "The Last Supper," we are told that he had a quarrel with one of his companions. In revenge for the wrong he had received, he painted his companion's portrait as Judas in his great picture. After he had done this, his work was complete except for the face of our blessed Lord. It was da Vinci's ambition to paint the noblest and most perfect portrait of Christ that had ever been put on canvas; but try as he did, he could not succeed. In the meantime, his conscience was working, and at last he took his brush and painted out his companion's portrait and forgave him his wrong. That night in his dreams da Vinci saw a glorious vision of Christ which thousands have gazed at in wonder ever since.   Forgiveness given gives peace.  Forgiveness from a pastor, forgiveness from a lay person brings us to see Christ.
		C.  So until the end of time, the Church is to proclaim the Word of God, His Law to accuse and His Gospel to absolve. We do not do so to judge, but to save.
				1. To that end I declare to you your sin, but I do not do so with joy. I do not do so to make you angry. Indeed, I do not do so to judge you, for I am not the judge. Any opinion that I have about you, you are free to disregard and ignore.   2. But whatever God says about you is true; and to ignore His Word and continue in sin will bring judgment upon you. Not from me, but from Him.
CONCLUSION:   Our Lord Jesus has died for your sins. He is risen from the dead. He lives and reigns to all eternity. This same Son of God is present with you today, forgiving your sins and granting you life and salvation. When He died for you at the cross, God judged Him guilty for all of your sins. And because He has died for you, God the Father declares you "not guilty" because Jesus has died in your place. We rejoice that Christ has unlocked the door, that the gates of heaven are opened. There is no sin too great that the cross does not cover. You are forgiven. Now that same word of forgiveness we have received we speak to others.  We speak His Word not as those who judge, not like that Sunday School teacher, but as those who are delivered from judgment. We speak not as those who wish to condemn but as those who in Christian love desire that others be delivered, too. And deliverance is ours this day, we want as many others as possible to receive that same deliverance, too. Amen.