The Sermon on the Mount #7
Obstacles to Kingdom Life – Judge not…
Matthew 7:1-6
CHCC: October 21, 2007
INTRODUCTION:
This is the 7th in our series on The Sermon on the Mount, so I want to take a minute to review. This sermon is a cohesive talk by the most brilliant Teacher who ever lived. Each point builds on the one before. By the end of the sermon, Jesus has given a full picture of how to live the good life here on earth … and for eternity.
He started by explaining that a “blessed” life is available to everyone … even those the world would judge as unworthy. This introduction is often called “The Beatitudes” and it is some of the most beautiful prose in the Bible.
Then Jesus dove into the nitty-gritty of life. He explained that His Kingdom is a Kingdom of the Heart. If we want to enjoy a blessed life, we need to get rid of anger, contempt, lust, verbal manipulation, and revenge. We need to care more about pleasing God than about impressing people. And we need to live for God, not for money and possessions.
Now, when a person has done all that, what could possibly stop them from enjoying the full Blessings of God? The answer is all too predictable. Just about the time you get your own act together, what do you want to do? Most of us start looking around and see if everyone else is living up to our new and improved standards.
So it shouldn’t come as a shock when Jesus chooses this moment to say, Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
1. Measuring cups Matthew 7:1-2
Unfortunately, that verse is often misunderstood. In his book, The Power of One Another, Bob Russell tells about a young woman who commented to her friends that she thought the lifestyle of a certain Celebrity was “wrong.” Well, she found out that was the “wrong” thing to say! Even though the Celebrity led an openly sinful lifestyle, her friends reprimanded her harshly for evaluating it. In fact, they were very judgmental about her judgmentalism! (p.11)
When Jesus said, “judge not,” he was talking about a “condemning judgment.” Jesus was NOT talking about discernment. In fact, Jesus taught that we need to use our judgment to know right from wrong … true from false, and wisdom from foolishness. Jesus encouraged this discerning type of “judgment.”
In this sermon, Jesus is saying, “Don’t be the kind of person who blames or condemns others.” For a lot of people, condemning and blaming is the only way they negotiate life. They can’t imagine how anyone can attain “success” without controlling people through intimidation.
I remember one time years back when I went to the work place of one of the church leaders. As I approached his office, I overheard someone loudly lambasting an employee. I was shocked to realize the cruel, demeaning words came from the church leader I’d come to see. We all know that some bosses think that’s the only way to run a business. But it’s not a management style that comes from Scripture!
Many people use this same technique in the home. C.S. Lewis commented that the greatest examples of incivility he ever observed were in the home --- specifically parents to their children. It’s far too easy to fall into the habit of disciplining our children with a harsh judgmental attitude. That method may produce short-term obedience … but it doesn’t build the kind of respect and love that God intends for our homes. Children, like anyone else, will resent condemnation. Worse than that, they will pick up the condemning attitude and turn it back toward their parents.
I read that General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." Wesley replied, "Then, Sir, I hope you never sin." Jesus said, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Back then measuring devices weren’t perfectly equal … because they weren’t mass-produced. If your measuring cup short-changed people, they would use that same measure when you needed something from them.
In the same way, if you constantly criticize your children, they will focus on everything that is wrong with you. If you intimidate the people under you at work, they will find every way they can to undermine you. If you blame others, they will look for a way to blame you. If you are pushy, plenty of people will push back.
Jesus went from talking about Measuring devices to another illustration from everyday life: Planks and Specks of sawdust.
2. Planks and Specks Matthew 7:3-5 The greater sin…
This illustration came straight out of Jesus early days as a Carpenter. And again it shows his sense of humor. He said, Why are you condemning someone for the speck of sawdust in their eye when you have a plank of wood sticking out of YOUR eye?
Why is it that we can be so intolerant about other people’s faults and so blind to our own?
o When you get angry, you have a bad temper; when I get angry, I’ve had a bad day.
o When you don’t like someone, you’re a bigot; when I don’t like someone I’m a good judge of character
o When you compliment someone, you’re a flatterer; when I compliment someone I’m an encourager
o When you’re late you’re inconsiderate; when I’m late I have a busy schedule
o When you oversleep you’re lazy; when I oversleep I’m exhausted from all my good deeds
But what if the other person has a really BIG fault and they need to be corrected? And what if your faults are nowhere near as bad as theirs. How can Jesus say YOU have a Log in your eye compared to the Speck in theirs? I think the answer is found in the topic Jesus was addressing here: a judgmental attitude.
I believe a condemning attitude IS the Plank. There is no sin worse than the sin of Pride. A judgmental attitude will make it IMPOSSIBLE for you to help anyone with their faults. That attitude blinds you …and makes it impossible for God’s Grace to flow through you.
Mother Theresa once said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Jesus interacted with the most notorious of sinners, but no one felt condemned by him. Sinners were drawn to Him because they could sense His genuine regard for them.
Jesus gave one more illustration in order to bring home his point. First he talked about measuring devices: with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Then he talked about specks and planks: how can you get the speck out of someone else’s eye when you have a plank in your own. Now Jesus talks about dogs and pigs.
3. Dogs and pigs Matthew 7:6 Unwelcome wisdom
Matthew 7:6 says: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Jesus is still talking about the problem of having a judgmental attitude. The underlying issue in a judgmental person is actually CONTROL. Some of us feel like we have to control the behavior of other people. We try to control them by criticizing them or intimidating them or nagging them so they will do things our way.
But if that doesn’t work, there’s a sneakier way to try to control other people. We throw our pearls of wisdom at them. But unwanted advice is rarely appreciated. The person you toss your advice at is probably no more interested in it than a pig would be interested in pearls.
I heard a story about a small town prosecuting attorney who called a grandmotherly little lady to the stand as his first witness and asked her, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”
She responded, “Why yes, I’ve known you since you were a bothersome little rabble rouser. I told you back then you’d better straighten out, but you turned out to be the lying, cheating scoundrel I always said you’d be. You’d better take my advice and stop your shady dealings or you’re going to end up in jail right along with that pathetic defendant over there..
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Well, uh, Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"
She replied, “Yes, I used to baby-sit that lazy good-for-nothin’ kid. He was so slow-witted that I advised his parents to send him to a military academy where they could whip some sense into him. But they wouldn’t listen. And there he sits, pretending to be a big shot when everyone knows he’s a useless alcoholic. If he wants my advice, he’ll shut down that fraudulent law practice of his and check himself into rehab along with all the other losers.
At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said sternly, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, I’ll throw you in jail for contempt of court!"
That’s about how welcome our judgmental words of wisdom can be. For some reason Christians seem to get the idea that it’s their place to straighten everybody else out.
I remember years back a woman in another Church came in to complain about her husband. She had some valid complaints. They had small children, but he didn’t like to stay around the house and help out. And on Sundays she nagged him to come to church with her.
Now, this lady was no pushover. She told me all the things she’d done to try to whip him into shape. After she finished, she asked me what else she could do. Well, since she asked, I told her. But she didn’t like what I said. I told her that nagging her husband was never going to change him. She was treating him like one of her kids.
Later on she told me she was furious. She went straight home to complain to her husband about the stupid advice I’d given her. But to her surprise, her husband said, “Well, I agree with Ed.” She told him, “Alright then, I hereby resign as your mother. And whether or not you go to church is your decision since you are an adult and can figure it out for yourself.”
The next Sunday, without nagging, she and the kids left for church while her husband was still drinking his coffee at the kitchen table. But just before church started, her husband came in the door and sat with the family. When church ended, he drove himself home. And after that he started coming to church with his family.
Joyce Meyer talks about a similar experience. She said that for years she resented her husband’s obsession with Sports. She tried everything she could think of to change him.
But one day, she walked in and found him watching a football game on TV … and listening to a hockey game on the radio … while he sat there cleaning his golf clubs. She realized her efforts were futile.
In a book called Seven Things that Steal Your Joy. She writes, ‘I tried and tried to change my husband, but it never really helped. As a matter of fact, it only made things worse because people rebel when they know someone is trying to remodel them.
People want to have the freedom to be who they are. Everyone wants a little space. No one wants to have to endure judgment and criticism from somebody else who is constantly trying to rework them.
Finally, Dave and I made an agreement that we would stop trying to change each other because, otherwise, our marriage wasn’t going to work. …
If God has given you a marriage partner who seems very different from you, most likely He did that because your spouse has some gift or ability or characteristic that you don’t have but need. Together you complement each other with your strengths and depend on each other in your areas of weakness.” (chapter 1)
That’s true in marriage … and it’s true in all of our relationships. We block the blessings of God’s Kingdom when we condemn, blame, and nag those around us. And we waste our efforts when we try to force all our “wonderful ideas” upon them. There is a better way … and Jesus Castillo is going to tell you about it next week!
CONCLUSION:
In the Kingdom of Heaven, we can simply ASK for what we want … from others and from God. We don’t have to try to control others … because we know that ultimately, God is in control. And we don’t set ourselves up as the judge because we know that is God’s place.
Max Lucado says, “We aren’t good enough to judge. Can the hungry accuse the beggar? Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf?” In the same way, can the sinner condemn the sinner? Absolutely not!
He goes on to say, “Be careful! The Peter who denies Jesus at tonight’s fire may proclaim him with fire at tomorrow’s Pentecost. The Samson who is blind and weak today may use his final strength to level the pillars of godlessness. A stuttering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next. Don’t call Noah a fool, you may be asking him for a lift.”
In the Kingdom of Heaven, we don’t need to set ourselves up in judgment of others. Only God has the right to judge because only God knows the heart. And only God has the power to transform a life.
(Sermons #8 and 9 of this series were preached by Jesus Castillo and Dallas Henry)
