Understanding the Law of the Universe.  (Luke 6:37-38)

Anywhere you may choose to go on this planet there are laws to obey. But there is also a law bigger than any earthly law. It's not a local law, it’s bigger than that. It’s not the law of any one country, it’s bigger than that, it's not the law of the United Nations it’s bigger even than that. It's a law that could be reasonably be called the law of the universe. But unlike most laws this one is a little different.

Most laws have a consequence that you could call a penalty if you break it there is some kind of penalty to be paid. Well, this law also has a penalty but it's different than other laws in that if you keep it there's also a reward and that's a little different than we normally think of when we think of laws today.

What law am I talking about? Well, it's really very simple the universal law that's everywhere is the law of sowing and reaping. 

That law is mentioned throughout the Bible, as a matter fact as we study are way the whole bible together, we will keep bumping into this principle over and over again.

This principle is revealed in scripture to apply across multiple areas of our lives. But there is one passage where the Lord himself talks about the law of sowing and reaping this is as detailed a discussion of that law and that it mentions several different areas that it applies in life. It gives more background than any other passage in the Bible. So will you turn with me Luke chapter 6 and let's look at the universal law of sowing and reaping I'm going to begin our reading with verse 37.

37: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

(Luke 6: 37-38)

It doesn't take much to figure out but in these two verses there are four commands.

·          Do not judge.

·          Do not condemn.

·          Forgive others.

·          Give.

You might notice, right away that the first two are negative and the second two are positive. So, let's look at these four applications of the law of sowing and reaping and as we go along, I'm going to mention other areas of our lives where these laws apply as well as when they are mentioned in the scriptures.

Let's take the first one. Do not judge.

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this is, does that mean all judgments are forbidden? There are after all other passages of scripture that command us to judge or make a judgement Let me mention a couple of situations where we are to judge. We are to judge false doctrine; are we not? We are to test the spirits, to use John's phrase in 1 John. 

I think there are passages that say we should judge the reality of whether our actions are sinful and the serious of sins in the lives of others. We are to weight up on the action of the person although not the person themselves. Decide whether an action is in line with scripture or not.

We also know there's a doctrine in the Bible of church discipline. In fact, Paul chides one church for not disciplining somebody. So, there are certain circumstances in which we are to judge a person's conduct. 

Let me give you another example: even the person. In 2 Corinthians, it says, "Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Wouldn't that mean you would have to judge whether somebody is a believer or not so you would know not to get tied up with that person? So, those are examples where the scripture commands us to judge a situation.

So, what's the difference between, not judging, in this passage and the other passages where we are told to express judgement? Well, for one thing, I think it’s the context of this passage. 

I think the point is simply this: This is talking about having a critical, fault-finding spirit. This is the kind of person that's judging everything, most of which is inappropriate. He or she doesn't have all the facts; they are also probably not the one that should be judging in the first place, and because of that they are not judging according to the scripture; they are judging inappropriately.

That is not a biblical type of judgment and that's the kind of judgment Jesus says we are not to do. "One of the most common and destructive sins among believers is jumping to conclusions about others when we don't know all the facts, motives, and circumstances involved." And in this passage, Jesus says don't do that. But if you do, guess what's going to happen? You shall be judged in the same way.

Obviously here is an example of the law of sowing and reaping, as the seed that you're sowing in judging inappropriately you will reap upon yourself.

If a person knew what you said or thought about them behind his or her back, they would probably get upset with you about it. So, if you go around judging people, and people are going to judge you back again, and that's the law of sowing and reaping.

The second command he gives in this message is similar. He says do not condemn. 

Now again there are times when we should not only judge but condemn as well. This is referring to the proper us of the judicial system or its equivalent in society. Let's suppose you were selected for jury duty and the evidence was presented, and it was obvious that the person on trial was guilty. And you were sitting in the jury room it would be appropriate to condemn that person on the basis of their guilt before the law. 

That is not what Jesus is talking about. There is an appropriate time to judge, and there is an appropriate time to condemn, but the idea is that you pronounce them guilty of transgressing the law, your remit doesn’t go beyond that.

What Jesus means here is that if you go around condemning people, going around saying you’re guilty, shaking your finger in their face, you will be treated in the same way also. 

Instead, be merciful, just as your father also is merciful." 

So, the point is you ought to be living a loving life; you ought to be showing mercy. But that doesn't mean that you should overlook sin; it simply means that as a characteristic of your life, you should be a merciful and a loving person.

Now, the truth of the matter is God in the end is the one who judges. So, you don't need to do His job unless He allows for it within the limited areas in which God has handed over authority to civic society, in the way this principle was established in the Old Testament.

But that doesn't allow any of us to find fault with the rest of us. In other words, don't go around judging and condemning.

The law of sowing and reaping is applied in the Bible to all sin. If you sin so, shall you reap. As a matter of fact, The Book of Job says in chapter 4, “Even as I have seen those who plough iniquity and so trouble reap the same”.

So, if you sow iniquity, you reap inequity. If you sow trouble, you will reap trouble. Proverbs 22:8 says, "He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow." So, those who sow the seeds of wickedness will reap a harvest of sorrow—the principle of sowing and reaping. "Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword"—the principle of sowing and reaping.

Now, those are the two negative things. Let's look at the two positive things he says in verse 37: Forgive, and it will be forgiven. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." 

So, how did God forgive you?

Unconditionally, freely, totally. Then that's the way you are supposed to forgive others.

What Jesus is saying here is, “if you forgive, you will be forgiven”. Does that strike you as odd? I mean, does that sort of imply, that if you don't forgive, you won't be forgiven?" Is forgiving somebody else the requirement for you being forgiven by God? How do you explain that? 

This problem crops up in other passages of scripture as well. The answer is quite simple, there are two kinds of forgiveness—judicial forgiveness and parental forgiveness.

When you trust Christ, you're forgiven of all your sins, right? That is God acting as a judge, But He looks at the payment of Christ on the cross for your sin and He says, "You are forgiven based on what he did." At that point, you become a child of God, and God becomes your father. 

But after that, can you fall out of favour with your father? Can you get in trouble with your father? Can you displease him? The answer to all those questions is a resounding Yes!  But there is always parental forgiveness available. Like in 1 John 1:9, where it tells us.  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins."

God, the judge, forgave you judicially. You're forgiven; nothing can change that. You're going to heaven.

But there's parental forgiveness also along the way after that. You can get in trouble with God the Father, but when you confess, you experience the parental forgiveness of Him saying, "You are forgiven for you are my beloved child."

Putting these passages together, I concluded years ago that what the Bible is teaching is this: if I live a loving life, if I live a merciful life, if I am a forgiving person as part of my character, then when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ, as John says, "Love will casts out fear," remember he is talking about judgment, Christ, and if you've lived a loving life, you have nothing to fear at the judgment seat of Christ. 

Mercy always triumphs over the judgment. But if you've not, God's not going to give you the rewards you didn't deserve to receive.

So, I think this is to be taken very seriously. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Show mercy, and you will experience mercy. Live a loving life, and you will be loved by people as well as the Lord.

Again, this is the principle of sowing and reaping. This is a biblical truth, eloquently stated the way Jesus says it: "If you give, it will be given to you." What's going to be given to you will be given in good measure.

This is the point of these two verses: "For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." There it is the law of sowing and reaping, the law of the harvest, what I am today calling the law of the universe, because it applies to everyone on this planet. It's the law of cause and effect; that's what it is and it applies to the whole world as we know it.

So, he is saying, "Give, and it will be given back to you." Sometimes because of what some of the TV preachers have said about this, I'm almost uncomfortable saying it. But it’s like making an investment, invest, and you get more back. I

I'm uncomfortable with thinking about it that way, that, and I am comfortable saying it because that is what the Bible teaches. This is one of a few things I'm not comfortable majoring on because of how some other Christians have overreached on this principle, but I have to say it because that's what the bible says.

Paul when he talks about this issue in Corinthians applies to the idea of sowing spiritually, and in the context, he's talking he applies it to the ministry of the word.

If you minister to people spiritually, you're going to reap materially. If you're in the ministry, the word it says this in.

(1 Corinthians 9: 11)

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

Now let me go to the next level. Another passage is in 2 Corinthians, Paul teaches that if you sow materially, you reap materially. It's in 2 Corinthians 9. He says.

"I say then, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”. So, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver”.

(2 Corinthians 9:6-7). 

Giving is like sowing seed, he says. If a farmer only plants a few seeds, he will only harvest a small crop. On the other hand, if he sows a great deal of seed, he will reap an abundant crop. It is the law of the harvest. 

Now listen to the next verse: 

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

(2 Corinthians 9:8). 

Paul, I believe, is arguing that God can always give you more so that you can perform other good works. In other words, God can see to it that the generous giver will always have their needs met and resources left over for their participation in all good works before the Lord.

Paul assumes that the liberal and cheerful giver will always have something to give. Giving is, to the natural eye, should lesson one's store, not increase it. The Bible says it's the way to increase your store house is to give, because giving in sowing and investing, not just handing over.

With me so far? You sow spiritually, and you reap materially. You sow materially, and you reap materially. Now it's going to get really interesting in Galatians chapter 6. He says, "Sow materially, and you will reap spiritually."

It's the exact reverse of 2 Corinthians Chapter 9. Let me read the passage:

Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

(Galatians 6:6).

So, in this case, you are sowing money. Okay, keep reading. He says in the passage.

"7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”.

(Galatians 6:7-8).

Now, it can take a whole sermon to explain this short passage. And I will do that when I eventually go through Galatians. But to put it very, very simply and very quickly: To sow to please the flesh is to use your money on your earthly pleasures, and what you're going to reap is decay. Al the stuff you buy is going to go corrode or go bad. 

But if you use your money to sow the things of the Lord, you're going to reap spiritually; and you're also going to reap the reward of everlasting life.

I remember hearing the story of a man who pledged to giving a certain percentage of his income. When he started the amount as a percentage amounted to a couple of pounds a week. However, he enjoyed success in life and the amount the percentage represented increased. So, he was soon giving £10, £20, £50, £100, and then £500. At that point, he called His pastor, "Please come see me. It's urgent." The pastor arrived, and the man said, "Is there some way I can be released from the promise I made years ago. How can I get released?" The pastor replied, "I'm afraid you cannot get released from the promise." Then the Pastor said, “But there's something I can do. I can ask God to shrink your income so that you only need to give a couple of pounds again.

I believe, this principle is applied to all types of giving. Is that not fascinating? 

·          You sow spiritually, you reap materially.

·          You sow spiritually, you reap spiritually

·          You sow materially, you reap spiritually. 

·          You sow materially, you reap materially. 

That's the law of sowing and reaping, the law of the harvest. Is that incredible? And by the way, this applies to all the areas of our lives, on both sides of the moral coin.

A selfish life will lead to a lonely end.

A violent life will often lead to a violent end.

But the law of sowing and reaping applies to righteousness also. Hosea 10:12 says, "So to yourself righteousness, reap in mercy." So, you can sow sin, and you can sow righteousness, again that’s the law of sowing and reaping.

Now, I want to conclude by summarizing everything I said with three straightforward principles. I've heard these many times before. In another context, I put it; this is the first time I ever laid out scripture to go with them. Here are three principles.

Principle number one: You reap what you sow (Luke 6:38). "But with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Principle number two: You reap more than you sow. You sow a seed, and what happens when you get more than just one plant, right? The Bible teaches that one seed produces many seeds. It's like sowing to the wind. Principle number one: You reap what you sow. Principle number two: You reap more than you sow.

So, principle number three: You reap after you sow. There's a lapse of time between sowing and reaping. There's a song that says, "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." We continually go out in the world weeping, bearing seed for sowing; shall doubtless come again later rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

Now, he's talking about the fact that the Jews were living in captivity in Babylon, and when they returned to Jerusalem, they were in sorrow. Now they're shedding tears, but God is going to restore them, and they're going to reap joy. 

I want to end with that passage by saying that those who live sacrificially for the sake of the gospel may endure hardship, but what is that compared to return on our investment, the joy of seeing souls saved and one day being in heaven worshipping the Lamb of God forever and ever?"

In conclusion, you can either sow weeds, or sow wheat, you sow seed, and you gain a harvest, but you cannot sow weeds and expect to reap wheat.