Judge Not
I am again going to read this evening’s main passage of scripture from the King James Version of the Bible… The reason is just like last week, it is a widely known passage of scripture and everyone seems to know the wording as it is written in the King James Version….
Read Matthew 7:1-5
This is probably one of the most quoted passages of scripture in the Bible.
Everybody wants to quote the first verse we read here today. Of course most of the people that quote it do not know where it is in the Bible.
As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that most people that quote it would not even know it was in the Bible except that they heard someone else tell them that it was.
You see, most people want to quote this verse when they get caught in sin.
They say, “hey, the Bible says you can not judge me, if you judge me you will also be judged.”
In other words “get off my case.”
They try to use the Bible to justify their actions.
“Don’t be coming around telling me that I’m a sinner, don’t tell me that I can not do drugs and drink all day long, the Bible says judge not”.
“You have no right to judge me!”
And there are many Christians out there who to quote this scripture also.
But all to often I feel that they quote it because they do not want to get involved, or they do not want to do their part, or even sometimes they just want to overlook a problem so they don’t have to deal with it.
“Judge not!”
People want to use it as a cop-out. “ No I am not going to talk to my best friend about the affair he is having with a woman in the church, Not only is he my best friend , he is a Deacon in the church. And besides, the Bible says to Judge not!
I have heard of pastors that will not take a stand on tough issues because they are afraid of what the congregation will say and do.
I have heard of pastors that will not take a stand because they were afraid some of the congregation would leave the church.
a few years ago I heard a story about a church that had a member of the congregation that was an abortion doctor. The doctor gave his tithe and did other things in the church.
He had a pretty good income from his business so the Church thought highly of him. He was the well dressed, prominent type of person.
Well the church got together and elected him as a deacon.
An abortion doctor!
He was a Deacon in the church for a while and one day an anti-abortion group decided to have a peaceful picket in front of the Church because of the abortion doctor being a Deacon.
Well the church members were furious, and the Church filed a lawsuit against the anti-abortion group..... yes, this is a true story...
Are we afraid of this passage of scripture?
Lets look at what is happening in our country today because everyone thinks we can not judge each other.
I’m sure you all have heard of “moral relativism” haven’t you?
It is a theory that is so prevalent in our country today.
Moral relativism is the theory that there is no absolute right or wrong.
People are being taught in many places and believe that there is no absolute right or wrong.
Many different things have come about because of this.
Some School systems across the country have been using this idea for years... we lived in a school district that used this idea, but we home schooled our Kids at the time....
This school district used the system where a student is not graded by how well he knows math.
A student is not graded by how well he knows science.
A student is not graded by how well he can read.
No, they don’t want to do that because if the child is not doing well they don’t want to make him feel bad.
The system does not want any child to think he is a dummy just because he cannot read, or write, or do math.
They don’t want to judge him.
Some schools in this system have decided to grade the students as a whole. They get the entire class together and give them a test.
And if a certain percentage of the students in the class do well enough to pass, everyone in the class gets a passing grade no matter what their individual score was.
And then we wonder why America is doing so poorly compared to other countries that have school systems.
America is close to the bottom in most areas but dead last in some.
I am so pleased with the Melbourne school system... people that have not lived somewhere else don’t understand but we have a great school system and from what I hear the surrounding areas do to...
But I am not here to pick on the school system in our country, I am trying to make a point.
People are being taught that there is no right or wrong and you have heard me talk about this before....
I heard doctor James Dobson talking about this a little over a year ago.
He said he was discussing moral relativism with a man who felt like there was no absolute right or wrong.
Doctor Dobson said he could not get the man to see things his way, he could not change the mans mind in any way but he thought he could finally make his point by asking a harsh question.
He said to the man, “If I were to stand here before you, and if I were to take a two year old child and murder that child right here before your eyes, Is that right, or wrong.
And the reaction Doctor Dobson got from the man scared him.
He said the man looked at him and said, “ I would not particularly like what you had done, I would not necessarily agree with what you had done,
but I could not absolutely say that it was wrong for you to do.
Can we really not figure out why we have had these rash killings over the last few years, in the schools and churches on the streets and everywhere else?
Why, we are teaching folks that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing, as long as they feel right about it.
I mean, we don’t want to judge anyone. Do we?
Do not misinterpret this passage.
You cannot take verse one out of context from the rest of the verses just to make it sound the way you want it.
Let me read our passage of scripture again.
Read Matthew 7:1-5 KJV
The word judge here can mean
“to decide”
“to distinguish”
“to condemn”
“to avenge”
and it can actually mean “to damn”
You see, we cannot judge the inward motives of a person. We cannot see what is in their heart.
We cannot tell why a person is doing what he is doing.
Only God can do this
Jesus spoke this scripture. He was talking to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were looking for the Messiah.
They were looking for the savior of the world to come.
They were looking for the heavenly king to come.
But how did they feel about Christ?
They decided that he was not doing things the way they thought things should be done.
They did not feel like he was going to rule the kingdom in a matter befitting them.
They decided that Christ was not the one they were looking for.
The scribes and Pharisees were very rigid and severe in their judgment of others.
They were conceited and proud.
They wanted to justify themselves.
But to justify themselves they judged and condemned all those about them that were not exactly like them.
And by doing this, they missed God himself in their presence.
We must be careful.
I remember reading a story one time.
It was a true story written by a pastor.
He said that he had been saved when he was in his twenties.
He said not long after he was saved, he was traveling from one town to another, and he was walking.
He said when he came into one town on Sunday morning he decided to stop and go to worship services in a local church.
He had on blue Jeans and a t-shirt.
He was wearing tennis shoes.
He was just a little bit dirty because he was traveling and traveling by foot no less.
He said when he entered the worship service he caught the last few minuets of an early service.
He enjoyed the end of the message and decided that he would like to hear the entire message. so he just stayed in the pew to wait for the next service.
Well, as people started coming in , they were all staring at him. This made him uncomfortable but he was there to worship and hear a message from God.
When the preacher got up to preach he announced.
“I usually preach the same message in both of our services, but I believe that I should preach a different message now.”
The man said that the preacher preached on hell, damnation, and the need for Christ, which did not bother him a bit, except for the fact that people kept staring at him, even the preacher.
He said when the preacher gave the invitation people looked at him. People even turned around from in front of him, and asked him if he needed to go foreword.
Someone finally even came over and took his hand and told him they would take him foreword.
He kept telling them he was a Christian, but they did not believe him.
Why?
Because of his appearance.
This man was being Judged because of the way he looked and the way he dressed.
They looked at his outward appearance but they could not see into his heart.
And we cannot see into the heart of others either.
I would venture to guess that most of us have judged someone like this before.
Be honest, don’t we sometimes look at a person and make that decision in our mind weather they are a Christian or not?
Or because someone goes to a specific church or denomination we decide that they are not a Christian.
We cannot do this. Only God knows what is in a person’s heart.
We are not to judge someone’s motives.
We are not to judge the heart.
But don’t tell me that I am not to judge someone’s outward SIN.
Matthew 7:17-20 Christ says.
Matthew 7:17-20
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
By their fruit you will recognize them.
The late Dr. James McGinley put it like this, And I love this quote- many of you have heard me say it many times before,
He said,
“I am no judge, but I am a fruit inspector.”
And we to can look and see if a Christian is producing fruit.
If I confront a member of the church that is having an affair that half the church knows about, I am not judging him.
Matthew 18:15-17 says
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. [16] But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ’every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ [17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Is that judging a persons heart?
No,
It is judging their outward actions.
We are told to do this in the word of God.
If I am sinning and you see it, you should confront me.
Should you condemn me,
No.
Should you disrespect me?
No.
Should you be harsh?
No.
But confront me so I may get right with God.
But one of the biggest things Jesus is saying here is not to be hypocritical.
Verse 3 said,
Matthew 7:3
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Now the word mote is referring to a dry stalk or twig, a straw or even chaff.
Something small.
I could not very well be effective preaching against drinking alcohol if you saw me buying beer all the time could I.
As a matter of fact, I would not be very effective preaching about anything if you saw me buying beer all the time.
That would be hypocritical.
One of the worst witnesses for the cause of Christ is a person that goes out and condemns others for their sins, while the entire town knows that they are having an affair, or they have a gambling problem, or whatever.
Jesus said, get your life right first, then you can help your brother.
So we can confront others with sin if we only look at their fruit, if we only judge the outward sin, and not the inward motives.
Then we are to do it in a loving way, not a condemning way, we are not to be harsh.
Jesus said we shall be judged the same way we judge others. If we judge harshly, we will be judged harshly.
And then, we are not to be hypocritical.
Before we can help a brother or sister in Christ realize their sin, we must be pure before God.
If there are any here this evening that the Holy Spirit has touched and said,
You need to get right with God.
If there are any this evening that God has shown you how you are quick to condemn others, or maybe how you are harsh to others,
Would you just come and pray here this evening/
Ask God to help us be pure and blameless before him so we can help others, not condemn them.
And if there are any here this evening that do not know Christ as his savior.
Please don’t wait another day.
For tomorrow may not come.
Would you come tonight, as we sing a hymn of invitation.
