Volume 3, Issue 4

February 25, 2025

“How do we know when we have done enough?” my son asked after coming home from a Bible study where they had discussed Matthew 7:5, the verse about removing the beam from your eye before the speck in your brother’s eye.

 

In essence, the question was how do we know when we have eliminated enough sin in our own lives to be qualified to speak into the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are walking in sin?

 

This verse is in the paragraph that begins with “Judge not, that you be not judged” (7:1), and this entire passage is used to label Christians who call out sin as legalists. Unfortunately, many Christians have allowed the world to tell them what this passage means.

 

While I’m not going to do a deep dive into this passage here (though I did in my personal study last week), there are a few things we need to consider. This is part of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus was speaking to His followers, not lecturing the Pharisees or other false teachers of His day. And the end of the paragraph calls us to be discerning in whom we approach (“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” [v. 6]), so it is not telling us not to judge ever.

 

This passage is more about our posture than our perfection.

 

I was immediately reminded of the letter to the church at Ephesus in the book of Revelation. They were reprimanded because they had “abandoned the love you had at first” (2:4). They were really good at discernment, recognizing false teachers, and holding the line of truth, but they weren’t humble about it. They enjoyed being right. As a result, they were not viewed as a loving church.

 

I was also reminded of the Ephesians 4:15, where we are told to speak the truth in love.

 

What these passages teach us is that our motivation for correcting a fellow believer matters. Are we simply seeking to be right? Or is our correction motivated by our love?

 

When we correct brothers or sisters in Christ, we should do it because we love them too much to let them stay on the path that leads where they are headed, not because we just want to be right. We should do it with a posture of humility, knowing that but for the grace of God, we could be walking that same path.

 

In this day of social media, it is very easy to sit in judgment and call out sin when we can’t possibly love the people affected because we don’t actually know them. It is also easy to conflate people and situations because we aren’t privy to the details. 

 

If your reprimand is not tempered with humility, coming from a place of love for your fellow believers, then it is time to examine the beam in your eye.

As you sit in the book of Numbers this week, I wanted to send you a couple of links to help you understand a bit of what was going on. The first link is one of my blog posts which I will share again later when we really start seeing the genealogies. The second link is from gotquestions.org and helps us understand why God wanted a census in the first place.

 

As you read the article from Got Questions, notice that the Levites were not included in the census. Go back and read Exodus 32:25-29 to see how the Levites were chosen to take care of the Tabernacle.

As we wrap up the book of Ruth this week, keep in mind that the significance of Ruth's story could not be fully appreciated until many generations later. She put one foot in front of the other and walked through her life never knowing that her obedience would be the avenue through which God would bring the Messiah into the world, giving us the opportunity to finally be reconciled to Him.

 

She didn't seek to do "great things" in her life.
She didn't expect to leave her mark on the world.
She didn't try to leave a legacy.
She simply obeyed God and served Him where she was.

 

Ironically, the nearer kinsman redeemer chose not to redeem Ruth because it would impact his legacy. Now we don't even know his name!

 

Your story won't end with you, either. Seek to serve Him faithfully for the rest of your life, knowing that He is in control and will guide your steps. Then you'll know your legacy is in great hands!

Gleanings were stalks of grain left after the first cutting of a harvest. Sheaves were the bundles of grain stalks tied together to take them to the threshing floor, the place where they would beat the grain to separate the wheat or barley from the stalks. The workers often slept at the threshing floor during the harvest so they could protect it from thieves, animals, and weather.

 

Leviticus 19:9-10 says, "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God." God had established a way for the poor to provide for themselves and their families, but they had to work for it, it was not simply provided by the landowners in the form of a required tax or donation.

 

Ruth didn't know if anyone would let her glean in their field because she was a Moabite, but she didn't sit at home and pray for food. Work is an act of faith. She stepped out in faith, and God led her to the right place. She asked permission to glean even though she had a right under the law to be there, and she impressed others with her work ethic.

 

Boaz, in turn, went above and beyond what the law required. He not only allowed her, as a foreigner, to glean in his field, but also told his workers to leave extra for her, even pulling stalks out of the sheaves for her to collect. He invited her to eat at his table and instructed her to glean only in his fields where his workers were harvesting as a way of protecting her.

As we wrap up the book of Ruth, it is important to remember that we don't accumulate knowledge just for the sake of knowing more. This knowledge should change us. What is one take-away from the book of Ruth that will change you? I’d love for you to reply to this email and let me know.

 

Also, next month, we will be sitting in the book of Micah. If there is a book you would like to study in the future, please let me know. I will do my best to dive into books you want to study.

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