The Danger Of Judging Others Series

Opener:

Good morning Church ! We here this morning to celebrate our Lord! Today we are beginning a new 3 week series entitled Nuggets from the sermon on the mountain. This morning we are tackling an important topic that really permeates our culture. We hear about it on talk shows, we see ads during the election cycles, and social media is filled with it. The reality is that we live in a world that is looking and judging others.

During Jesus ministry, He often dealt with sin. We understand that Jesus loves the sinner but hates sin. One of the sins that Jesus often dealt with more directly than any other sin was not adultery (yes, He addressed this) was not taking drugs (we know drugs are wrong), but the sin He addressed a lot was the sin of self righteousness. Really this is one of the deadliest sins. You can find it anywhere you look. Whether a person is educated or uneducated, if they are wealthy or not, if they are a believer or not. Through all walks of life we see this attitude of judging others rampant in our society. I have heard Christians give excuses as to why they are judging other Christians and they have said something along these lines “ I am not judging you. I am just inspecting your fruit.”

Jesus gives us a warning about judging others. Let’s turn our bibles to Matthew 7:1-6 NKJV - 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

When you judge others, you basically are passing a sentence on to them, you are passing a verdict. You are condemning them. Judging others is the favorite past time of the self righteous. Jesus tells us that no one has the right to judge other people except for God.

I. Four qualities of a self righteous person

A. Using the wrong standard

a. Before we get any further, I believe that there are four qualities of a self righteous person that we can look into this morning.

b. The first quality that seems to always be present is that they always use the wrong standard while judging others.

c. This is when they compare others to themselves. It is the thinking and mentality that I am the one to set the standard.

d. The reality is that we all have blind spots or areas of weaknesses in our lives and the problem is that we simply don’t see these areas.

e. Many times we are able to see other people’s faults and point them out really easily but we are oblivious to our own faults.

f. The reality is and what I have seen in my life is that when I begin to judge others, I have the tendency to judge them for the things that I dislike about myself.

g. When we measure by the wrong standard, we are basically trying to play God.

h. The bible warns us is Romans 2:1-2 NKJV2 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

B. Excusing ourselves

a. The second quality of a self righteous person is that while accusing others of wrong doing, they are excusing themselves.

b. In other words, everybody else is guilty but I am totally innocent.

c. Someone that does this, we would call a hypocrite. A person whose actions does not follow what they believe.

d. By excusing ourselves, we forget the sin in our lives. It is like this person has amnesia but only for themselves and for others they remember every minutia detail of every wrong that they have committed.

e. So when people are self righteous, they label their own sin with a lesser degree. Oh, I am not gossiping , I am just sharing a concern that I have. I’m not being critical, I just have the spirit of discernment.