The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

THE MORAL HYPOCRITE (Romans 2:1-6)

We live in a world where man does not like to admit that his sinfulness and rebellion against God are at the heart of the problems of society.  We talk easily about how men are naturally good and that it is society that makes them bad.  We have a hard time taking responsibility for our actions in our society.  We are much more comfortable discussing imperfections, weaknesses, mistakes, and errors in judgment as the cause for our faults.  These terms are more socially acceptable, and almost everyone identifies with them, for we all have weaknesses.  

But an outright acknowledgment of guilt before a holy God, a 100 percent acceptance of responsibility for wrongdoing, is difficult for most people to do.  Yet, it is this kind of honesty that is the first step to the freedom from sin and guilt that God longs to give us and has provided for us in the death of Jesus Christ. 

It is easy to see the fault in others, to consider yourself as better than the other person.  It is even easier to praise the punishment of somebody else, but we become horrified when we are the subject of the punishment for doing the exact same thing.  When we judge others, there is no excuse for doing something wrong, but when we are judged ourselves our excuses are intended to exempt us, to explain our sins.  

God sees through our excuses and sees the sin. 

Listen to this podcast and learn how God condemns the moral hypocrite.

CAN YOU JUDGE A PERSON BY THEIR COVER? (James 2:1-7)

How good are you at judging a person by their outward appearance?

Can you define a person’s character by the way they dress, or how they speak?

As a believer, we know that the world judges us by how we dress, how we act, and the things we say.  Our purpose on this earth is to create a desire in people to want to know more about Jesus Christ by what they see in us.  Paul tells us that even in our deepest trials we are to have our hair fixed and a smile on our face.  The world needs to know that our relationship with Jesus Christ makes a difference in how we handle adversity.

But what does the Bible say about how Christians are to treat others?  

Are we to treat someone who is dressed in nice clothes differently from someone who is dressed shabbily?  

Are we to treat someone who has the outward appearance of success differently than you do the homeless person you see on the street?

Are we to judge the value of a person based on the color of their skin, the quality of their speech, or the length of their hair?

James will tell us that as a Christian we are to treat others without distinction to their outward appearance or their place in society.  Jesus was just as gracious to the woman at the well as He was to the rich young ruler.  He was as kind to Lazarus the beggar as He was the ruler of the synagogue.  

This is the way our churches should be, they are to be hospitals for sinners, all sinners, not some special, select, club, for the sisters of society.  

Listen to this podcast to learn how a Christian is to behave towards others.

Who Is My Judge? (1 Cor. 4:1-5)

Who is it that can judge you?  Who has a voice that can make a difference in the way you act, the things that you work on, and the things that you feel are important?  Who is it that establishes for you the absolute truths about what is right or wrong? Is it your conscience?  Is it your wife or husband? Is it your friends? In today's lesson, Paul is going to talk about who his judge is and who the Christian should be allowing to determine what is right or wrong for them.

This study is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.