Introduction
A. At a COMDEX computer expo a quite while ago, Microsoft's Bill Gates compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles per gallon." Not liking this comparison, General Motors responded to Gates by releasing this statement, "Yes, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?"
B. Judging Others
1. You have to be careful when you judge someone else.
2. Usually when we judge someone else, we are doing it to elevate ourselves
3. And that is exactly what was going on during the time when Jesus was preaching this Sermon on the Mount.
4. The Pharisees had made up a religious system of rules and regulations that they strived to keep to the letter of that law.
5. And they loved to condemn anyone who didn't practice this religion as they did.
C. In a nutshell: We are not prohibited from judging when we use the truth of God's Word as our standard.
1. However, we are prohibited from setting ourselves up as God and judging things only He is capable of judging.
D. John MacArthur comments on this state of affairs in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount.
1. "An inseparable corollary of justifying oneself is condemning others. When anyone elevates himself, everyone else is lowered accordingly. The Pharisees were doing all they could to lift themselves up in their own eyes, including acting as spiritual judges by condemning others."
a. So, with that background of understanding, let's get into the next section of the Sermon on the Mount, that begins at the start of chapter 7, Matthew 7:1
II. Body
A. The Meaning of Judging
Matthew 7:1 NKJV
"Judge not, that you be not judged.
1. Misunderstandings
a. I think that this verses is quoted more by non-believers than any other
b. I guess it's good that non-Christians know some words of scripture
(1) But the problem few take the time to completely understand the message that Jesus is communicating in this verse
c. When Jesus says that we are not to judge
(1) Many people have interpreted that to mean that we have no right to analyze or evaluate the actions of other people
(2) People who take this verse out of context say that we have no right to conclude that a person's behavior, decisions or lifestyle is morally wrong
d. A farmer always prided himself in his straight rows of corn. He told others how he achieved his straight. He said when he planted the very first set of rows, he always aligned the front end of the tractor that was pulling the planter, with a fixed object straight ahead on the horizon. That stationary object guided him to plant a straight row. You see, while his eyes were fixed on that landmark on the other side of the field, a disc-marker, that was attached to the planter, made an identical straight-line mark in the ground next to the planter. Then, that groove marked where the tractor wheel had to ride to make the next row just as straight as the first.
(1) Unfortunately, in the culture we live in, we are increasingly removing the landmarks at the end of the field
(a) There are fewer and fewer permanent markers to guide our culture and our leaders to make good decisions regarding tolerance and acceptance
(b) Morals, values and the God who first gave them are being systematically eliminated from our society
(c) So the moral markers that once guided our society are now constantly being moved at the whims and desires of a society without God
(d) Oh, they have their god, their own depraved desires which pleases the devil no end
(2) So, without that landmark at the end of their fields, many people are planting some very crooked rows when they make decisions on what they'll tolerate or what they will accept into their lives
e. Let me give you just one example from a recent Forbes magazine article...
(1) Around the country, public schools mainstream pregnant girls. Schools that try to express disapproval of teen motherhood run smack into the iron hand of the federal government. Few recognize it yet, but our bumper crop of children having children is in part the delayed harvest of a 1972 federal law that made it illegal for schools receiving federal funds to discipline students because of pregnancy or parenthood. At Eau Claire Memorial High School, the principal was forced to resign and three assistant principals were disciplined for attempting to prevent a pregnant girl from becoming homecoming queen. The government can't legislate good morals, but must it enforce bad ones?
f. By removing the landmarks of good morals and Godly-values we wind up being so ultra-tolerant that we enforce the bad and throw out the good
(1) Friends, that's not what Jesus means when He says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
B. What is Jesus talking about?
1. So, if total acceptance and complete tolerance isn't what Jesus is talking about in verse one, what is He talking about?
a. Lets just take a look at Matthew 7:6 to see some of the other things Jesus taught in this context.
Matthew 7:6 NKJV
"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.
b. In this verse Jesus calls us to evaluate the kind of people with whom we are dealing, because he calls some of them dogs and others wild pigs.
c. Now, that's a pretty clear indication that we are to evaluate, and based on that evaluation, judge the kind of people with whom we're dealing when it comes to our Christian faith.
(1) Look down to verses 15 & 16
Matthew 7:15-16 NKJV
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. {16} "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
d. So, obviously, we are being told to engage in a fruit inspection or character evaluation of a person, if we are going to determine if he or she is a true or false prophet
(1) Turn to Philippians 1:9
e. We often don’t call this judging, we call it discernment
(1) Paul writes in Philippians 1:9 concerning his prayer that the believers would have, among other things, discernment
Philippians 1:9 NKJV
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,
(a) The ability to distinguish between
i) Right and wrong
ii) Good and bad
iii) Moral and immoral
iv) Truth and falsehood
v) And light and darkness
(b) In fact, for discernment is given is so they can make judgments about false teachers for the good, safety and protection of the church
i) Turn to Matthew 18:15-17
2. Lets consider Church discipline
Matthew 18:15-17 NKJV
"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. {16} "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' {17} "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
a. One pastor tells this story. One of the hard issues we had to deal with when I was on the pastoral staff of a church, was the evidence that came to us that one of the lay-leaders in our Single Adult group was sleeping around with several of the women in the group. Obviously, that's in direct violation to what God says should be the conduct of one of His followers. So, the pastor over that area followed the guidelines in Matthew 18, and confronted him individually and privately in a one on one situation. After he was confronted with the evidence, he refused to repent. Then this pastor and one of the elders of the church went to him and talked to him again. He still refused to repent, and saw nothing wrong with having sexual relations with whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Consequently he was asked to resign from leadership in the single adult group. But, he refused to give up his position. So, finally, the church leadership had to publicly remove him from the church. The good news is after several years, he did repent and was publicly restored to the fellowship.
b. No matter, you can call it what you want
(1) But that's hard stuff for leadership to do
(2) That's tough love
(3) But understand also what it was
(4) It was judging this man based on what the word of God says is right and wrong
c. So, if some judging is O.K., and some judging is not O.K., how do we know the difference?
C. Example of the Pharisees
1. The Greek word for judging in this first verse of Matthew 7 literally means "acting as a judge."
2. It was specifically used in cases that required someone to "to pass a verdict or pronounce sentence; or to declare that a person is guilty."
3. So what Jesus is warning against is doing something that is the exclusive prerogative of God.
4. And this is what the Pharisees were doing in Jesus' day. Let me give you two quick examples:
a. Jesus had healed a blind man
(1) Turn to John 9:34
(2) The Pharisees asked the man about the healing and when they did not like his response
John 9:34 NKJV
They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
(3) And my favorite, the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18
(4) The Pharisees judged the common people and the non-Jews who didn't know the law like they did
(a) Turn to verse 11 in Luke 18
Luke 18:11 NKJV
"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men; extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
(b) That Pharisee put himself in the place of God and condemned the tax collector
D. What is clear
1. So, you can see that what Jesus is telling us to do, is to be on our guards so we don't do something that is the exclusive prerogative of God
a. He's basically saying, "Don't be self-righteous, only God is capable of that!
b. Now, I'm going to assume something, this must be a big problem with most human beings, that means most of us in here this morning
c. Because, if it isn't a problem then Jesus really made a big mistake by devoting so much time to this problem in his Sermon on the Mount
d. So, if it is a common problem, then we all have to come to grips the problem, and learn how to handle it God's way
2. So, how do we judge without being judgmental? Jesus gives us three ways to do this...
a. Three things to keep in mind before you judge
(1) You are not the final authority
(2) Look at verse one again.
Matthew 7:1 NKJV
"Judge not, that you be not judged.
(3) Remember you are not the final authority–only God is
(a) Lets turn to James 4:11-12
(b) If you pronounce judgment on someone else, with any other standard than an accurate application of God's Word, then you have taken on a responsibility that is exclusively reserved for God and God alone!
James 4:11-12 NKJV
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. {12} There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
b. We aren't called to stop being discerning, or to stop applying Scriptural principles to everyday living
c. But we are called to refrain completely, from playing God
3. A second thing to keep in mind is found in Matthew 7:2
Matthew 7:2 NKJV
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
4. He's saying, people who are quick to condemn others, will be judged according to their own standards
a. In other words, the same way you deal with others, that's the way God will deal with you.
(1) The psalmist talks of this in Psalm 18:24 - 27
b. Here it is in plain English... If you are quick to condemn someone for greed, you can rest assured that eventually God will expose the greed in your life
Psalms 18:24-27 NKJV
Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. {25} With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; {26} With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. {27} For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.
c. If you are quick to condemn the sexual sins of others, God will eventually put your sexual sins on display
d. If you don't believe me, just look at what Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert were publicly condemning other TV evangelists before their falls back in the late 80's
e. But if you have been slow to condemn and quick to forgive, then the Lord will be the same way with you
(1) Turn to Matthew 7:3 - 5
5. Third thing to remember is what one preacher calls the plank principle...
Matthew 7:3-5 NKJV
"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
a. We know that Jesus is using an exaggeration to get His point across
(1) No one can have a plank of wood lodged in his eye
(2) It's virtually impossible to walk around with a speck or splinter in your eye because it is so painful
(3) A plank would be absurd.
b. The key to understanding the "plank principle" is the word "look" in verse 3
(1) Jesus is talking about people who are looking to condemn others.
(2) People like this are looking for wrong in the lives of others
(3) They seem to derive a malicious sort of pleasure from putting their finger on the weak spots in someone else's life
(4) It's almost as if they enjoy spotting evil
c. A preacher gave this illustration: I once had a man in a church I served, who told me he had the "gift of criticism." And he exercised that gift, to keep the pastors on their toes. Well, friends, if he really had that gift, it came from the devil, not from God! Because there is no gift of criticism given by the Holy Spirit
d. Here's the "plank principle".
(1) Critical people are so absorbed with looking for evil in the lives of those around them that they become blind to their own faults
(2) Jesus reminds us that we can never judge another without first judging our self.
(3) That way we can never consider our self above a brother or a sister who is struggling with a sin in his or her life
e. Then, when times come when we do have to admonish a fellow believer, based on the Word of God, we do so as a co-sinner, or an equally fallen saint
(1) In this way we treat each other as brothers and sisters and as equals in the Lord
(2) None of us, in other words, can consider ourselves as being any better than anyone else
(a) Turn to John 8:7
(3) Remember what Jesus said when a woman caught in adultery was dragged before Him
John 8:7 NKJV
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
III. Conclusion
A. Now we barely touched on dogs and pigs
1. But, it is enough
a. There is a story of a man driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn't there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said. "Hand over the wallet immediately!" The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?"
2. If you measure out the grain with a generous measure the Lord will measure back to you with a generous measure
3. If you measure out the grain with a miserly measure the Lord will measure back to with a miserly measure
