JUDGE AND JURY
Matthew 7:1-14
Introduction: “Judge not that you be not judged.” is a passage that has been misinterpreted, misquoted and misapplied more than almost any other verse in the entire Bible. It is often quoted by those who are seeking to justify their actions and answer any criticism of their behavior. After all, the Bible does say “judge not”. Does this verse mean that we are to never judge anything? What exactly is Christ talking about? When is judging right? Or is never right to judge anything?
I. What Does It Mean To Judge?
A. The verb that’s translated "judge" (krinete) is one that basically means "to separate", or "to make a distinction" between things, to discriminate. Our word critic is derived from this word. It means to sift out and analyze evidence.
B. Simply put to judge means to observe the evidence, evaluate it, and arrive at a certain conclusion based on the evidence.
II. When Is Judging Right?
A. Judging Doctrine
1. At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can’t get a good argument going in class anymore," he said. "As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that’s it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!" Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions. - Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency, pp. 20-21.
2. The Berean Christians judged the authenticity and trueness of Paul’s preaching.
• Acts 17:10-11 (NASB) “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched (examining) the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
3. Paul instructs the Thessalonians not to blindly accept every doctrine that they hear but to judge all things in light of Scriptural truth.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:21(NASB) “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good”
4. The aim of maintaining sound doctrine and judging, exposing and refuting false teaching is to build the body of Christ upon a solid foundation of doctrinal truth by which its members may be equipped to carry out the work God has called them to do for His kingdom.
B. Judging False Teachers
1. Christ made it clear we are to be aware of false teachers
• Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
2. 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
3. The Devil will use half-truths to lead us astray. He is very subtle in his work. This is why cults are thriving, because there is some truth in these false religions. But, even a clock that doesn’t run is right two times a day!
4. 2 John 1:10-11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”
C. Judging Sin with the Attitude of Correcting those in Error
1. As believers we are not to excuse sin within the body of Christ or to turn a blind eye to it.
2. Paul rebukes the indifferent and self-righteous attitude of the Corinthian Christians toward a brother who had tripped and fallen in his Christian walk.
• 1 Corinthians 5:1-4 “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
3. Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
4. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.”
5. Luke 17:3 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”
III. When Judging Is Wrong?
A. When Christ said, “Judge not that you be not judged”, He was not condoning wrong actions on the part of others but was addressing the attitudes of those who would appoint themselves as both judge and jury. He was addressing an attitude of self righteous hypercriticical negativity that is all too prevalent in the Body of Christ. He was addressing those with a negative spirit and a judgmental attitude.
B. Christ condemmns criticism which seeks to put others down, while elevating ourselves. It is the kind of smug disdain of those who feel superior to others. A smugness that relishes in the shortcomings of others.
C. I heard of someone with a button that said, "If you can’t say something nice about someone . . . then sit next to me so I can hear you better.” - copied
D. It is sad that there are some who feel that their critical negativity is actually their spiritual gift of discernment. Unfortunately they have failed to “discern” their own critical spirit.
E. Christ wants us to stop judging others with a spirit which is contemptuous, nit-pickingly critical, petty, disparaging, continuously fault-finding, hypercritical, biting or sarcastic.
F. Consider what Paul taught the Galatian believers in Galatians 5.
• Galatians 5:14-15 “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
G. It is one thing to exercise judgment, and quite another to have a judgmental attitude. One is an action that might be carried out with right or wrong motives; the other is a negative character quality... This is the central application of 7:1-5. Our habitual response to Scripture must be to say, "What about me?" rather than, "What about others?" (Weber, Stuart, Max E. Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew)
H. Galatians 6:1 points out a clear distinction between exercising judgment and judgmentalism when Paul writes, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
I. Hypocritical judgments are not bad because they are false-the judgment itself may be true. They are bad because they are given in a spirit of self-righteousness; absent is self-scrutiny. – Robert M. Bowman Jr., Orthodoxy and Heresy
J. James 4:11-12 “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He, who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
K. William Shakespeare put it this way: “Forebear to judge, for we are sinners all.”
L. Notice what Christ says is the result of judgmentalism in verse 2:
• Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
If we judge others on the basis of our own improper standards, we place ourselves in the position of being judged by others in the same way.
M. We need to stop being judge and jury. We need to refrain from negativity and having a self-righteous critical spirit. We need to demonstrate the truth of Philippians 2:3. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”
N. Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…”
Disclaimer: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible. Please feel free to use this message as God’s Holy Spirit directs your heart. All texts are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted.
