Why We Must Be Good Loggers

Christ calls a certain class of person "thou hypocrite" in Luke 6.42(KJV). A hypocrite back then was an actor, like a theatre actor. According to Christ a hypocrite was a person who claimed to follow and honor God, but could clearly see the small imperfections in the people around him, and was blind to the humongous imperfections (the logs) in his own life. This kind of person was an actor. They pretended to serve God, but someone who is not interested in seeing his own large flaws is not a true servant of God; he is nothing but an actor.

This is why we must be good loggers. If we truly serve Christ, then we will remove the logs in our own eyes, before we go about clearing specks out of other peoples' eyes. If we do this we will not be hypocrites. We will be faithful servants. Hypocrites are hypervigilant, except with themselves. True Christians are grace-filled loggers.

The Dangers of Man's Logic

In Jeremiah 43.2 this morning. The remnant who had been left in the land promised Jeremiah that whatever God spoke through him, they would do. “Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us.” (Jer 42:5 ESV) Jeremiah comes back in 10 days and tells them to remain in the land of promise. Jeremiah 43.2 is their response. "Jeremiah, you are lying!"

Why this response? Human logic and reason. There were two great powers in the world at the time. Babylon and Egypt. If Babylon was your enemy, then Egypt was your friend. For protection from Babylon, you go down and live in Egypt. They took everyone and moved into Egypt. In 568 BC, Babylon conquered Egypt, just as Jeremiah prophesied.

This is the danger of Man's logic and reason, and the necessity of faith. Sometimes the proper thing to do is not to rely on your reason, especially when there is a conflict between what seems smart, and what God calls you to do.