Judging others
Matthew 7:1-7:6
Introduction-
This morning we will look at Gods Word and see what Jesus Himself says about judging others.
I think it is appropriate as we are blasted these last days with election ads that slam each other, condemn each other, exaggerate, disgrace, lie, mock, threaten, even bribe each other, and at best twist the real truth. No matter what side of any issue that you are on, the feedback is intense, directed and one sided.
I asked Stephon this week to put “Don’t forget to vote” on the church sign. Would you believe that created a ruckus with some I come into contact with outside of the church because they felt they had to give me their view of how they were going to vote. That was a reminder “get out and vote”, not a political statement of how to vote.
I saw one post on Facebook that says that they will be off Facebook until after the elections.
Negativity is at its highest point.
Tension so high that no one is really listening to each other. Everyone is talking and no one is listening.
Some of you right now want to jump up and voice your opinion.
What does the Lord say about judging? About loving people who do you wrong?
Matthew 7:1-7:5
Luke 6:37-38
Both Matthew and Luke record that we should love our enemies and do good to those who deceive and want to take advantage of us.
What do we know here?
Red letter/ Jesus own words
Jesus is talking to believers
It comes right after do not worry in Matthew and after love your enemies in Luke 6
Here’s what else we know
These scripture are used very often by unbelievers as a weapon to those that would come against them.
They may not know the Bible but they know these verses.
Nations operate on different principals and standards than the average person. (Let me explain)
If we as a nation would show weakness and lack of unity, it would not take long before another superpower would come in and take over. That is because power and might is the shield of protection. Safety in this country is maintained by strength. The nation with the biggest gun wins. To lay down our guns does not guarantee peace.
But is that how God wants individuals to act? Is that how believers should be acting toward each other and to others that share a different point of view than we do?
Hear me this morning, I am not… telling anyone that they cannot share their views, protect what they believe is Christian values, try to move this country in the right direction, or to change what they believe is wrong. I am saying… this morning that God does give us clear direction on how we are to do that.
Don’t be mad at the messenger!
We are not to judge and condemn.
We are to forgive and give.
We are to practice unconditional love not just with fellow believers, but even our enemies, trusting that the justice of God will make it right in the end.
Main thought-
Christ gives directions to believers to be more worried about their own faults than to go looking at other people’s faults.
There is an appropriate and inappropriate way to judge others.
Jesus very direct words to begin this passage “Do not Judge”
To take this in context is not to relieve his followers of the need for discerning right and wrong. (Repeat)
It is to properly know when to judge and how to judge.
We know the unbeliever or person far from God’s favorite verses in the Bible:
(1) “Judge not lest you be judged” Matthew 7:1
(2) “He who is without sin cast the first stone” John 8:7
Why are these there favorite verses? Because they use these verses to escape accountability to God.
He is guilty before God and doesn’t like to hear it – just like a thief would like people to stop judging him and saying that stealing is wrong, especially the cops and lawmakers (until the thief becomes the victim of theft). But there’s bad news for those that take scripture out of context.
We often hear from unbelievers and some Christians that the Bible says that we are never supposed to judge others. To put it as nicely as possible, that is not true!
We judge and evaluate and make decisions based upon common sense every day. If you don’t you would be in trouble.
So what is Jesus saying?
Do not judge!
With wrong motives or you will be judged the same way.
Without having all the facts or you will be judged the same way.
With a judgmental attitude or you will be judged the same way.
Jesus is condemning being judgmental.
Jesus is telling us how to judge.
Everyone knows a jerk!
Everyone knows someone that gets under your skin.
It seems like God is always bringing those people in your path to see what you are going to do with them.
Matthew goes as far as saying that we need to get the plank out of our eyes before we attempt to get the speck out of someone else’s.
Luke says to turn the other cheek when someone strikes you. I don’t know if I could do that, better not try that in case I am having a not so good Jesus day. I would have to defend myself and ask for forgiveness afterwards.
“Judge not lest you be judged”
He is commenting on how to judge, not forbidding it.
He is condemning hypocritical judgment, in which the person judging does a poor job making judgments about his own life, but thinks that he is an expert at solving the same problems in other people’s lives.
You know anyone like that? Their life is a mess and there always telling someone how they need to fix theirs.
Jesus warns that such a person is inviting scrutiny in his own life on the same issues. Get the plank out of your eye before you get the speck out of someone else’s.
Jesus says that once a person is able to make good judgments about his own life, then he is competent to take the speck out of someone else’s eye.
A person who learns is then in a good position to give advice to others. AA, NA, Celebrate Recovery programs, people that kick the habit are then able to help others with the same problem and have and show mercy..
So this morning, we have to find out what things we are to judge and what things that we are not to be judges.
The great word of today is tolerance.
That word applied today by society’s standards means that no matter what someone believes and what someone does we are to be tolerant of their decision and not judge them.
The Bible does not teach tolerance in the way society defines it.
The Bible does not teach us to accept everything that comes down the pike, and to put our approval on it. (Salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross is narrow thinking, and we do not have to apologize for God’s Word.)
Hebrews 13:9-A
“Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.”
Matt. 7:15-
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are raging wolfs.”
Ephesians 4:14-
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
We are to judge doctrine- to make sure that we are staying pure in God’s Word.
We are to judge teachers, preachers, so that God’s word is not watered down or polluted by individual thought and a mixture of several doctrines to create our own religion.
We are to judge and line up our decisions to God’s Word.
God’s word is the final authority.
God’s Word is the majority in ever decision even if no one else would agree with Him.
Here’s where it can get interesting!
We are not to be tolerant when it comes to our beliefs and everything should line up and match up with God’s word and what He commands us to do.
We can do it with the love of Christ being our motive.
Our motive as believers is to restore our relationship with God and help others begin or restore their relationship with God.
Most unbelievers when confronted with God’s word for change in their lives will cause them to be defensive. They will attack the fact that we (believers) are not perfect and pointing out their faults while living okay with our faults.
They judge their conduct against our unrighteousness. It is hard to show them that it is not us against them. It is living up to God’s word.
They would rather show you your faults than admit that they have sin in their lives or admit that they need to make changes.
“Don’t judge me”, “you don’t know me”, right! In their mind, you have not earn that right to judge them because they feel you do not know them well enough.
It very clearly tells us that judgments based upon conduct can be dealt with in a loving but purposeful way but when we are trying to look inside someone else to determine motives we have to be careful because no one knows our hearts except God.
Church discipline is almost unheard of anymore.
Because no one is willing to line up their behavior against God’s word and be disciplined correctly by the consequences of their actions.
They call someone in the church that is not perfect a hypocrite.
Hypocrite-
“A person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.”
Both sides can be hypocritical.
Again it amounts to God dealing with sinners and all of us are welcome.
The church cannot be perfect because you and I attend it.
Jesus loves sinners, died for all sinners and welcomes all sinners.
Self-righteousness leads to fault finding, and a hyper critical spirit and attitude manifests itself and will keep you from receiving what God intends for you in your life.
Now that we discussed this for a minute, let’s digest this passage with the right attitude.
“Do not judge or you 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.” (Stop a minute)
One verse I found says it like this-
“Don’t condemn others, and God will not condemn you, God will be as hard on you as you are on others. He will treat you exactly as you treat them.
With little information, we can make some very bad judgments of others. They are made too early and without knowing everything that God is doing or will do in that person.
How a person looks
How we hold unto gossip that we have heard.
Categorize people. Profile them.
How many here this morning have been hurt by bad judgment rumors or lies?
How quick are you willing to do it to someone else?
Some people will hide behind, “Don’t judge me” to avoid reality of what we know.
But there are an awful lot of people also with a self-righteous attitude that are trying to play God by reading someone’s motives and heart and only God can do that.
(3) “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in our eye. You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will clearly see to remove the speck from your brothers eye.”
Jesus is telling us that if we must be critical, don’t waste your time looking around to others, let our critical spirit begin with us. Look in the mirror. Look into our own hearts.
If we do that, we won’t have time or energy to be critical of others, and when we do correctly look at others, it will be with a heart of compassion instead of a heart of self-righteousness.
Conduct can be judged, it is an outward action, but it can be done in the love of Christ instead of a hammer of righteousness.
We all like to be inspectors, but none want to acknowledge things in our own lives.
There is only one true judge and His name is Jesus. He tells us not to judge by emotions, but by love.
The same grace we desire Jesus to show to us is the same grace we should show to others.
Close,
All sinners are welcome in the house of God.
All sinners need God working in tier lives.
All sinners should show the love and mercy of God to others.
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
Jesus is very clearly telling us that self-righteousness is a boomerang that will come back around to us if we are judging others outside the love of Christ.
