Matthew 7:1-5
Judging Others
7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
How many of us would willingly admit that we read this passage and dropped out heads in humility? How many of us admit that we had to repent of our own transgressions when it comes to judging others?
Matthew 7:1-5 is quite often misapplied and abused in the world. Especially today. We live in a culture that seems to attack Christianity, calling any opposition to cultural norms as an -ism and that we are opposing peace. Scripture is clear about what is expected of God’s followers and what He expects if we are to be called children of God. What does that look like? It looks like this:
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
The lesson Jesus has in Matthew 7:1-5, is not about not reproving the sins and faults of others, it is about making sure that our “house” is in order and is “kept clean”, being found faultless in the eyes of the Lord before we pass unfavorable judgment and opinions of others.
J.C. Ryle said it perfectly when he said that what the Lord condemns is a censoriousness and fault finding spirit. He says “A readiness to blame others for trifling offenses, or matters of – indifference – a habit of passing rash and hasty judgements – a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors and make the worst of them – this is what the Lord forbids.”
Just reading that over and over again, doesn’t that just make you melt at the knees in repentance? Isn’t this what sin we are likely the most guilty of, especially as Christians? If you are sitting back thinking, “oh no, no me, I would never….I’m blameless in this area. I would never….” Well, I wrote a little skit for the ladies at our study. I would be curious to know how many of you think the same thing about your actions after you read the skit.
Scene set up: So five women are in church. One woman sitting in the front row, with a large hat placed upon her head thinking to herself, ” I just know I’m going to get sick”. Woman two is right behind her, coughing and thinking to herself that she just cannot understand why someone would sit in the front row with a big ole hat, a third woman with a baby and small child whom she is trying to keep quiet for the study also thinking that she and her family are going to get sick due to the coughing, and a fourth woman is sitting across the isle in full view of the other three, sitting very astute and aware of the other three women and the way they look or are acting. Woman four thinks to herself, “Wow! We have the big ole hat in the front row, the cougher and the kids who are out of control with the crying and fussing.” The fifth woman is the leader.
The leader asks: “Are there any prayer requests?”
Woman in the front row: “Please pray for me as I have appointment with the ENT this week regarding the hearing loss I am having. I am having issues hearing people talk unless I am close to them. Pray also for my patience as my rescue dog has chewed up all of my hats and this is the last one I have to keep my head warm in church.”
Woman 2 who is coughing: “I would like to ask for prayers of healing of my throat. I choked on an almond and while trying to dislodge it I scratched the back of my throat and the doctor said it could take a few weeks to heal. Hence why I’m coughing. It’s very uncomfortable.”
Woman 3 with the children: ” Please pray for my family. For me to get some sleep at night and that my focus during the study would glorify the Lord. The baby has his days and nights mixed up, the three old has decided to use the walls of the new house as his coloring book, the 7 year old came home with a note saying that there is lice in the classroom and my husband is traveling all month. Please pray for his safety and my sanity.”
Woman 5: “Any other requests?”
Woman 4: “Please pray for the words of Gods gospel truth to penetrate this soul and that humility will flood and take over my prideful spirit. That I would be thankful to a holy God who has shown me the my judgemental heart.”
Can anyone relate? Obviously, I came up with this little character sketch so I for one can obviously confess I can relate. This lesson has touched my soul. Not necessarily the exact content of the skit, yet the idea gets the point across.
Why did Jesus need to teach this lesson? I mean, weren’t all of those He preached to his followers? Yes they were, yet they had been taught over the years by spiritual leaders who had taught in folly, against God’s Word so that they could live as they wanted, making up rules that suited their life styles so as they thought, to not offend God. Well, Jesus was making right the wrongs they taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Thomas Brooks wrote in the Precious Remedies Against Satans Devices, that the Pharisees would quite often compare themselves to those who were seemingly worse than themselves so as they would be proud and that they would bless themselves with praises in order to stand above the sinners they compared themselves to. Jesus on several occasions described the character traits of the pharisees.
Matthew 23:24 – 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Luke 6:39 – 39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
When we censoriously judge others, we invite judgements upon ourselves and we also are placing ourselves upon God’s throne. For we all know that God is the ultimate master, God of creation and that by taking on God’s role and taking over His throne we will quite certainly be judged according to the same measuring stick of which we ourselves used. How do we know this to be true?
Mark 4:24 – 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
Ezekiel 34:17 – “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.
What else happens when we continue to be censorious over others? Sinclair Ferguson declared in his study on the Sermon on the Mount that the sin of censoriousness can be so deeply overcome that one can become blind to it. So sensitive to the sins of others, that one can become decensitized to the sin in ones own heart. WOW! Harsh and yet so obviously truthful do you not agree? If not you, do you know anyone with a habitual censorious spirit? Always criticizing, always placing judgment on others? What does that look like on the outside? Not a pretty site is it?
Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote that there are three categories as to judgement: Judgement which is final and external; Judgment which is what we are subject to as God’s children vs. those who do not know Him nor want to; Judgment of rewards, in other words, the blessing of a life eternal. These considerations are not only detrimental as a reminder for ourselves, they are an important part of understanding the christian life.
Not only are we going to be judged by a righteous holy God based on the standards of which we judge, yet we will also be judged by those same standards from the world in which we live. Do we want and accept judgment from others? Especially those who are not seemingly part of the Kingdom? What does an outspoken declaring Christian look like when they judge others? Does the word hypocrite come to mind? Ouch….painful this learning is wouldn’t you say? Kieth Troop wrote that being hypercritical is as arrogant as being hypocritical. Read that again. Understand the difference? Is there one?
Far too often Christians think of sinning as sins of the flesh being punishable. After all, a church that exercises church discipline oftentimes does so based on sins of the flesh. Yet what about that censorious spirit that overtakes a gathered group that claims to be fellowshipping? John Ortberg wrote in Everybody’s Normal Until You Get to Know Them, that the church is most scandalized by the sins of the flesh. Yet Jesus was most scandalized by the sins of the Spirit. Consider that statement for a moment and understand that people know they have sinned when they sin in the flesh, yet many times, the sins of the spirit slip by without one consideration. People think they are spiritually mature because they have avoided all of the sins of the flesh, yet they are blind to the fact that they crippled by the sins of the spirit and ability to love. Hence he says, the sins of the spirit are the most dangerous and most destructive sins of all. Let us remember this lesson in John 8:1-11
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John Ortberg suggested that many walk through their days without even realizing it, carrying stones in their hands which are ready to be slung in any direction: Judgemental thought; superior attitude; impatient words; bitter resentments. Quoting Ortberg, “People stand around you – trembling in brokenness, guilt, fear, lostness – but you’re so caught up in your own self-righteousness you don’t even see them. Or worse yet, you see them and you are not moved. You don’t even notice – you aren’t in the life-saving business anymore.”
This…this is what Jesus was teaching! We need some perspective before we can even contemplate a chastising thought or action. We should not be judging harshly, rashly, uncharitably, unmercifully, or with a spirit of revenge for that is God’s prerogative. He is the only one who can try the heart. What must we do in return or rather? We need to help council our brethren! We must have discernment! We must make sure that we are not a stumbling block for another and we need to build up one another. If we take the path of having a prideful spirit, we not only set ourselves up for destruction, we are also setting up our brethren for destruction and judgement before the Lord.
Romans 14:13 – 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Romans 14:18-19 – 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
So what must we do instead? How about counseling with the Lord about our own actions and focus on our own thought process? How about spending time comparing ones self, internal and external actions, with the Word where satan’s truths will be seen vs. against others, as the pharisees did, where we may look like angels. (Thomas Brooks). As the saying goes, “Judging a person doesn’t define who they are, it defines who you are.” May want to read that again.
Now, before we close for today, let’s keep in mind that this verse is not saying that we are to allow the culture craze to “love all” to be our platform with this scripture verse to back it up. We are to be discerning what it is that goes against God. Nothing more. We are to make sure that we are blameless before a righteous God before we cast any reprove against another. We should practice a meekness and easiness of spirit. Matthew Henry wrote in the late 1600’s early 1700’s that meekness may be considered with respect to both God and our brethren. He wrote that “Meekness softens the wax, that it may receive the impression of the seal, whether it be “for doctrine or reproof, for correction or instruction in righteousness. That it opens the ear to discipline, silences objections, and suppresses the risings of the carnal mind against the word, consenting to the law that it is good and esteeming “all the precepts” concerning all things to be “right” even when they give the greatest check to the flesh and blood.” He also says that before we can put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit we must first wash in the laver of true repentance, not only for our gross and open extravagances of passion, but for all our neglects and omissions of the duties of meekness.
From the outside to unbelievers, oftentimes, the christian community appears to be, as Rosaria Champagne Butterfield declares, exclusive, judgmental, scornful, and afraid of diversity. Scaring away those whom Jesus came to save. She wrote that “there is a core difference between sharing the gospel with the lost and imposing a specific moral standard on the unconverted.” Perhaps, it is better that we focus on our own shortcomings long before we offer up the shortcomings of another?
Drawing nearer to Jesus, no matter what, is the key to conversion, true repentance, and meekness in spirit. Understanding and accepting that we are all sinners and that through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus, we are on a journey to an eternal life without death. Let us understand that a regenerated heart should be convicting us not just fleshly sins, yet also of spiritual sins. We should be giving glory, honor and praise to a loving God that continues to sanctify us for an eternal blessing of a life serving Him.
God bless you this week friends. Hope this has been a blessing to you and that the Lord is glorified.
Next week….Let’s talk about Matthew 7:6. And yes, there is a lot to be said.
