Who Are You to Judge

We live in a world that is very eager to tell the truth about others. It can be common for us to feel like the world we live in is eager to give each of us a star rating as well. As human beings created in God’s image, we are designed to care about our reputation, we long to be approved, and we have an empty space in our souls until our reputation is settled and secure. That hole in our souls can only be filled by God’s approval, which we can receive by the free grace of God through Jesus Christ. This gospel truth equips and empowers us to resist the temptation to slander another, and to withstand when we are slandered by others.

Sermon Outline:

I. The Definition of Slander

II. The Disaster it Causes.

III. The One Divine Judge

IV. The One Way to Live

Sermon Discussion Questions:

1. How important is your reputation to you?

2. If someone wrote an online review about you, what would you hope people would notice about you? What would you hope people would forgive and overlook about you?

3. How is slander harmful to us and to our community, not just when others do it, but also when we do it?

4. When think of God looking at you, what is the expression on his face? What if anything could you do to change that?

5. If you more fully believed that your reputation in the Father’s eyes because of Christ was perfect, righteous, and secure (and truly unaffected by whether you have the approval of others) how would your daily life look different?