The Truth About Judging Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

If there is one verse in the Bible that everyone will know, regardless of their faith, it is Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.” So, it is common that most people will take one of two approaches: First, some will go to the extreme to say that what Jesus meant is that Christians are never to make any judgments about any person, ever. The other extreme says, “Yes, that’s what the words say, but what Jesus really meant was…” and then they redefine the words of Jesus. Both of these approaches fail to properly and biblically expound the text. Rather, they take the verse out of context, or they insert meaning into the text that isn’t there. The reason is because we are looking for the text to say something that is agreeable to our own reasoning.

We will do neither this morning, but rather, we will examine the text in the context of Jesus’ sermon and then apply it to our lives today. It is not up to the text to agree with you, but rather, it is up to you to come to agreement with the text. Before we do that, let’s read the passage together:

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:1–6 LSB)

It is so easy to look around us and make judgments about people while we conveniently forget about our own struggles. It reminds me of a story told by Kathy Plate of Orlando, Florida. She said, “While visiting a neighbor, her five-year-old son, Andrew, pulled out his kindergarten class picture and immediately began describing each classmate. ‘This is Robert; he hits everyone. This is Stephen; He never listens to the teacher. This is Maria. She chases us and is very noisy. This is Stacy; she’s snooty.’ Then, pointing to his own picture, Andrew commented, "And this is me. I’m just sitting here minding my own business." (Jeffery Anselmi, Sermon Central)

Most of us see us as the one who is just sitting there minding our own business. While the rest of the world around us has lost its mind. Have you ever had a situation where someone unfairly and unjustly judged you? Have you ever been in a situation where you made a bad decision and felt that everyone around you was judging you, whether they were or not?

A small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial -- a grand-motherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes, I know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you will never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?" She replied, "Why, yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to babysit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s lazy bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the state. Yes, I know him."

At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, you’ll be jailed for contempt!" (Dru Ashwell, Sermon Central).

The passage's context is the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus talks to his disciples of the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. Specifically, Jesus has spent most of his sermon upending the false religious system. They had denied the Word of God and had established their own standards. The Pharisees believed in an external morality rather than the condition of the heart as Christ taught. Their worship, prayer, fasting, giving, and wealth were based on a hypocritical piety that looked down on others who failed to live up to their man-made standards.