[0:00] but doctrinally about some things, the judgment seat of Christ and the judgment of it, of the weighing out of your life and your righteousness and your sins and seeing how God will deal with that, even rewards you for those things that come through the fire because they have substance to them.
[0:19] They won't burn up. All right, now moving forward from that, I want to look at three particular areas and passages tonight that carry this thought further.
[0:30] And I want to also make this point that the principle in the proverb we're reading says, a false balance is an abomination or is abomination to the Lord.
[0:40] It doesn't say an imbalance, not just merely an imbalance, like I'm a little too far this side and not so much in here. And I know I like to consider balance in the Christian life.
[0:51] I think it's a very important thing. And I'll even talk about some of that a little bit here. But I want you to notice it's a false balance. It's not just being an imbalance.
[1:02] It's pretending to be perfect or complete or implying that you're true and that you're right and that the scales are where they should be. And you're maybe even falsifying some things to make it look that way.
[1:14] Now let's take a look at first passage, Matthew 23. Matthew 23. Matthew 23. And if you know your Bible, you know you're in some pretty rough ground here where the Lord Jesus Christ has given it to the Pharisees.
[1:36] As they like to say, he's given them the business. Matthew 23. And let's look at verses 23 and 24. The Bible reads here, Christ speaking to them, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
[1:55] For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.
[2:07] These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain in the gnat, and swallow a camel.
[2:18] Now, they're doing some things that they ought to do. But Christ's beef with them is that there's things more important that they're overlooking.
[2:29] And he said, these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Do the other, but you're eliminating an awful lot of what God is expecting of you. You're straining at something so tiny and picking apart something that's just somewhat meaningless, tithing of your cumin, and omitting mercy.
[2:51] Something God delights in. Swallow in a camel, he calls it. And so the first thing here we can talk about a false balance is when you emphasize certain commands in the word of God, but you overlook others.
[3:05] When you can pick and choose what you obey. And when you do that, you end up dismissing things that you don't want to deal with. Or dismissing some things that are true and they're part of God's scripture, but you just don't want to discipline yourself to do them.
[3:22] And because of that, you just kind of let it undone. When Christ said, these ought ye to have done. There's certain things that we ought to do to have a balance before God and to be righteous with the word of God in our hands and not just emphasize the ones that we like and the ones that we can handle.
[3:41] We decide sometimes what's obligatory or mandatory. We decide those things that will attend church. You've got to come to church. Read your Bible.
[3:53] Attend church and read your Bible. Those things we have to do. Maybe even tithe. Give in the offering. Those things we ought to do. But then there's other things where we'll just let our tongue, for instance, run free course all week long and never think twice about the amount of references in the word of God about the tongue and the lips.
[4:18] I was reading recently, a couple times here recently, I came across the same verses where it said burning lips. Burning. I love the way the Bible talks.
[4:30] It's referring to fuel to a fire and then it puts the two thoughts together and says burning lips. So there's just a for instance where we can show up to church and we can even write our check out and we can rip a few chapters off when we have the time.
[4:46] And that's some things we ought to do. But a false balance is pretending that you're okay when you've been leaving an awful lot of things you know to do that are right undone.
[4:57] And for him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, God's not letting you off the hook for that. You've got a false balance. To him it is sin.
[5:08] Now this can be true about your Christian life, your everyday walk with God. It can be true about other things as well. It can be true about doctrinal things as well. Over-emphasizing certain things and just kind of overlooking others.
[5:23] For instance, over-emphasizing the grace of God. That's kind of become over the last ten years somewhat popular. More and more. Over-emphasizing the grace of God to the exclusion of personal sin.
[5:37] And personal repentance and sanctified living before God. Oh, the grace of God covers it all. And just go off to live your life the way you want to live it. That can be a false balance.
[5:50] Pretending that you're right, that everything's good when you only emphasized one thing strong and not the whole counsel of God. Emphasizing the teachings of Jesus Christ.
[6:01] Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Over-emphasizing the teachings of Jesus Christ and excluding or overlooking the ministry of the Apostle Paul. That could be a mess.
[6:12] There's a lot of denominations and big messes because they over-emphasize certain portions of Scripture and don't take a hard look at some others. There's another one here.
[6:22] Over-emphasizing God's positive attributes. His love and His mercy. I mean, who doesn't want to hear about that? And then dismiss and just play down and minimalize His wrath and anger and His judgment.
[6:36] It's a false balance because it presents itself as truth. The grace of God. The love of God. The Lord Jesus Christ and His words.
[6:48] Blessed are the... And it presents it as truth as if it's fair. As if it's right. And the truth is, it's not a balance of the diet of the Word of God.
[7:01] And so there can be a false balance in doctrine just as much as it can be in your Christian life when you emphasize certain commands or certain things in the Bible but then overlook others. Now stay in the passage, Matthew 23, and let's continue down a few more verses.
[7:15] Verse 25 through 28. Let's see something else. Christ continues His railing here of these scribes and Pharisees.
[7:25] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleansed first that which is within the cup and platter, and the outside of them may be clean also.
[7:43] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within, full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness.
[7:55] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
[8:06] There's another side here of this false balance is when you have a show of righteousness on the outside, but you're coming up way short on the inside. The outside looks like it's all good and balanced.
[8:19] I'm doing it all right. Everything is right and perfect and claiming with your own mouth and with your testimony to be right with God. And maybe you are on the outside. But it's a false balance.
[8:32] And it's abomination to the Lord if the inside doesn't match the outside. Amen. These guys are coming up way short on the inside. The outside is clean.
[8:43] The inside is filthy. It looks like it's right. It appears outwardly to be just, to be exact. It appears outwardly everything's in place. It is true.
[8:54] It is in submission to God. But that's not the case at all. And these men emphasize their outward appearance so much. It was a false balance.
[9:05] Their dress, their mannerisms, their standards. Christ said, you appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
[9:17] In John chapter 7, verse 24, Christ said, judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. There's another time that Christ talked like, look back at Matthew chapter 6 while we're close by here.
[9:31] There's another time that Jesus Christ addressed some of this to these men. Back in chapter 6, they were all about that outward appearance.
[9:48] As we read that they appear unto men. Now in chapter 6, verse 1, he says, Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them. That's them giving.
[10:00] Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
[10:12] Fairly I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. So in giving.
[10:24] The second category was in praying. He addressed that, verse 5, when thou prayest. Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to stand. They love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
[10:41] Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. He tells them to get in your closet and pray. Get in there in your closet where you talk to God and God will see you in secret and reward you openly.
[10:53] Then later on in the passage, verse 16, he talks about fasting. Moreover, when you fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast.
[11:05] It's all outward. It's all for a show. It's all for them to be seen of men, to have glory of men. And they're a bunch of showboats. And you know what?
[11:15] Today, the church is in love with that. The church loves some big, polished figure. Smooth-talking, good-looking, good singing.
[11:26] They love it. They come in masses to that stuff. You want to find a big work, you're going to find, if you've got a big church somewhere, there's a talented man behind it.
[11:39] And it's talent. I'm not attacking every single person that has a big church bigger than this one, believe me. It's not the small man syndrome going on here. But those places have it. There's some talented guy, or there's some good-looking guy, and his beautiful wife, and they just have a ministry.
[11:56] And a bunch of them are just a bunch of showboats. It's the truth. You watch them or pay attention to it very long, and you'll probably get sick of it. But the church today, they're in love with it.
[12:06] They love their gifted singers. They love their gifted speakers. And they appear unto men to worship Christ. But the truth is, they're vain. They, just like these, want the glory of men.
[12:18] And they love the attention. And I believe it's a false balance. A false balance to present something on the outside that you're not on the inside. And the same hypocrisy that we read about Christ addressing these Pharisees, it's very alive today.
[12:34] It's alive in a different name, in a different form, but it's out there. And so remember, those that were outwardly righteous and clean, these guys, outwardly righteous and clean, they're the ones that stood against the work and the ministry of Jesus Christ, what he was trying to do.
[12:56] They made his word of none effect. And a false balance that they have is abomination to God. It still is. Let's come back to Proverbs chapter 16.
[13:08] And I'll get chapter 16 and chapter 21. Proverbs 16.
[13:27] And just look at verse number 2. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
[13:41] Now keep that in mind. Go to 21 and verse number 2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts.
[13:55] Now the Lord's not pondering like just considering, but rather it's like what we read earlier, weighing. And there's judgment going on with God in the heart and the spirit of man.
[14:06] And the thought that we got out of that first part was all the ways of man are clean in his own eyes. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.
[14:17] And a false balance can present itself here as well, because man says it's right to him. It's okay. And I'm doing fine. And what I'm doing is right. It makes sense to me.
[14:28] And I think it's right. And the problem is what he's doing is indicating that he's just. This is what I'm doing is completely just and righteous and right with God. It's all good.
[14:38] But often he's justifying himself against himself or against others and not weighing or judging his actions against the holy standard of God.
[14:50] It's right in his own eyes. But, but the Lord. Both times, but the Lord. And so it's obvious there's something missing. There's something lacking in that man's eyes and what he's perceiving to be right.
[15:03] Like, let me give you an example. Look at, this is a kind of a Proverbs chapter 30. This is a real easy one to see. There's nobody that will argue this one. Just an example of where somebody will make it right in their own eyes, but the Lord doesn't see it that way.
[15:20] It's a false balance. Look at Proverbs chapter 30. Come near, in the middle there. So, verse number 20. Such is the way of an adulterous woman.
[15:32] She eateth and wipeth her mouth and saith, I've done no wickedness. Really? Really? An adulterous woman? She's not guilty?
[15:44] But you know what? She's justifying it in her own eyes. How would she do that? Well, he doesn't pay attention to me. Well, he doesn't care about me. He doesn't love me anymore. And says, in her adulterous affair, I'm not doing anything wrong.
[16:00] I just need attention. I just need love. It's not my fault. It's his. Now, we get an adulterous woman is guilty. So guilty in this law, she's going to be stoned to death.
[16:13] Done. It's the end of your life under the law of Moses. Yes, you have done wickedness. But she justifies herself. She finds a way.
[16:24] My dad would always say this. It's stuck with me. Everybody has an angle. He'd always just stuck with me forever. And I see it all the time. Everybody has a way of justifying the way, when they see it.
[16:36] Even if they don't see it that way, they can justify it that way to make it work for them. And you've got to watch man being right in his own eyes. Look back at chapter 3 while here we're in Proverbs.
[16:51] Proverbs chapter 3. And you know these verses as well. Verse 5, 6, and 7. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.
[17:04] And notice this, lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. Be not wise in thine own eyes.
[17:16] Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Amen. Now, leaning on your own understanding, being wise in your own eyes, can certainly obviously lead to you justifying sin or something that's wrong.
[17:31] But you've declared, I'm right. I'm right with God. This is fine. There's nothing wrong with it. It's completely balanced. It's a just weight. And no, it's a false balance.
[17:42] You're pretending that. I'll give you one more passage. We've got a minute here. Go to Isaiah 5. This is the last scripture we'll turn to. Isaiah 5. This comes up one more time here that I want to mention.
[17:59] Of being wise in their own eyes. And it's not right with God. Verse number 20 and 21. Isaiah 5.
[18:10] 20. Woe unto them that call evil good. Now, if there's something that's evil, and you call it good, does that make it good? This is easy.
[18:21] Of course not. So it's still evil. It's still wrong. God still doesn't bless it. He's still against it. But you call it evil. So what does that mean? Nothing.
[18:33] It's wrong. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil. Oh, well, I don't believe that that's the way it is. Well, I just feel like it should be this way for me. And well, that's his way. That's his truth.
[18:43] Will they meet this? No. There's a truth. God is the one who will determine the truth. And I want to know what God says is truth. So I'll go to his book.
[18:54] And just that's the only thing I'll go to is his book. Whatever it says, that's where I'll stand. Behind the book. Nothing else. Not the church. Not the nation.
[19:05] Not the man. Not the ministry. The book. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil. That put darkness for light and light for darkness. That put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
[19:16] Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. And he goes on to say in verse 23, they justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.
[19:30] They look at a wicked man and say, no, you're fine. You're fine. You're good. No pay. I'm sorry this ever came up. You're fine. You just pay me what I need to be paid. And you, righteous man, shame on you.
[19:42] You never should have said that to him. You never should have looked at him. You never should have expected him to do that for you. You never should have said that to him. You never should have said that to him. You never should have said that to him. You never should have said that to him. And so the judge here is a man.
[19:54] He's making these false statements claiming that they're good. Claiming that they're light and that they're sweet. And that it's truth. And it's a false balance.
[20:06] It's not true. It's not a true balance. And what I see here in this passage and through this scripture and comparing it to our age today is that the false balance that we're reading about and considering is a mark of a Laodicean age of today.
[20:23] Of where we live. They like to emphasize certain commands in the word of God and just ignore others. Just have it the ones that we like. The ones that we can preach.
[20:33] The ones that we were raised on. But there's some things we just ignore. Or having a show of righteousness on the outside. Coming to church and doing your thing. Doing it week after week and showing everybody I'm a Christian.
[20:48] But not walking with Jesus Christ. And not having a true fellowship with him as your savior. And pleasing him from your heart. Having a show of it on the outside but inside you're falling far short.
[21:00] And the third thing that's about this is this false balance. This is when we say that it's okay or it's right. We end up justifying things that are ungodly. They're right in our eyes.
[21:11] They're okay for us. And we haven't really weighted against the word of God. That shows us this mark of a Laodicean age. A false balance. Judging against a faulty standard.
[21:22] Now to close the verse we began with. Set of false balance is abomination to the Lord. But a just weight is his delight. A just weight is his delight.
[21:34] A just weight is equal. It is true. It is trustworthy. It is exact. A just weight is in that marketplace scenario. It's being transparent and open and completely up front.
[21:47] This is exactly what it says it is. The scales line up as they should. It's right. There's nothing lacking. There's nothing deceptive about this. It's perfect.
[21:58] And it's complete. That's what a just weight is. I said last week that a false balance repulses God's nature. It contends with who he is.
[22:09] And it opposes who he is. But a just weight. That represents his nature. That satisfies his nature. It embodies who he is. He is perfect.
[22:21] He is complete. In Matthew chapter 6 verse 48. Jesus Christ said. Be ye therefore perfect. Even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. Now in Jesus Christ.
[22:34] We are perfect. We are complete. In Colossians chapter 2. You're complete in him. In Jesus Christ. You and I are just. We are justified.
[22:46] We are declared righteous. We are pure. We are pure. And so many more things. But. The more of you that there is. On the scale of your life.
[22:58] The more. That you're wanting. The more of you that's on this side. Where Jesus Christ wants all of you. He. He's judging you.
[23:08] Against himself. And the more of you. That's over here. The more. This side's wanting. The more of your own will. That's present. On this side. Is where this side's wanting.
[23:19] The more. That you allow. And justify sin. And just. Neglect it. And not. Want to deal with it. Or develop. A discipline. That God calls you to develop. The more your side is wanting.
[23:31] The more you make exceptions. For whatever reason it is. Your side falls short. And it pretends to be fine. Because it's a false balance. And the only thing.
[23:43] That can measure up. To the Lord Jesus Christ. Is this King James Bible. And so when you get this book in you. And this book starts to do things.
[23:53] Inside of here. And starts to show you things. And clean you up. The more you get you. Out of this equation. And you become conformed. To the image of his son. This book will transform you.
[24:05] It will renew your mind. To think. And to speak. And to talk. And to desire. What he desires. Your thoughts will be pure.
[24:16] Your heart will be right. Opening that book. Will conform you. To being that just weight. The just weight. That we need to be.
[24:27] So a false balance. You understand. It's not an imbalance. It's a false balance. It's presenting something. That's not true.
[24:40] And that's an abomination to God. And who do you think. Needs to worry about that. More than anybody else. I don't think it's the lost world. Because I don't think they.
[24:50] Are presenting much of anything. I think it's the Christians. That know better. They're the ones. That got to be careful. That they're not presenting. A false balance.
[25:02] Before the Lord. And before each other. So let's dismiss with that. We're right on time. With 730. And I hope that little study there.