Judge Not- Build My Life (Obeying Jesus) #1; Build your Life #27

Intro: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” If you were to Google the phrase “the most misused verses in the Bible,” that verse would top the list in almost every article that comes up. There are plenty of others too, e.g., I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Phil 4:13). Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.When we read texts like that, it’s not uncommon for us to be guilty of narcigesis(about me, a form of eisegesis- reading into the text).

The reason we so often commit the fallacy of eisegesis (narcigesis) is because we fail to read the text in its context. An old hermeneutical principle (a rule for biblical interpretation) proves true- a text taken out of context is just a pretext. What that means is that we’ve already decided what we want something to mean (pretext)-so we need to find a verse (text) to hang our belief on (proof text).

We don’t want to be guilty of twisting Jesus’ words to fit our meaning, so instead of eisegesis (or narcigesis) we want to do exegesis- pulling the meaning out of the text, like drawing water from a well.

Let’s look at the context of Jesus’ famous command to “judge not.” Matthew 7:1-6, Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4Or 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. 6 “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. 3 ways to obey Jesus’ command:

1. We can’t be HYPERCRITICAL of Others. Vss. 1-2

Judge- pass judgment on, in the sense of evaluating, to form a critical opinion of something by examination or scrutiny. To judge is morally neutral b/c we must make judgment calls about a lot of things.

E.g., the recent election; people evaluated, formed a critical opinion, and made a choice; a decision, a judgment call. John 7:24, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

ILL: the story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet(Luke 7:40-50). A pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to his house to eat. A woman of ill repute came in & stood at Jesus’ feet weeping, she washed His feet with her tears, wiped them clean with her hair, kissed His feet & anointed them with fragrant oil. When Simon saw it, he made a judgment call- if this man were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this is who is touching Him. Jesus knew his thoughts & told him a story-

a creditor had two debtors; one owed 500 hundred denarii & the other 50, but neither one could repay him, so he freely forgave them both. Jesus asked Simon- which of them will love him more? Simon answered- I suppose the one whom he forgave more. Jesus said- You have rightly judged. That’s our word, but Jesus wasn’t done.

Jesus said to Simon- Luke 7:44-50, Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Jesus made a judgment call, didn’t He?

Jesus judged that the woman had a lot of sins, & that because He forgave her, she loved Him greatly.Simon, maybe he wasn’t as bad a sinner as the woman, but he harshly judged her. Sitting in the seat of judgment, Simon would have condemned both Jesus & the woman.

So, let’s understand, to judge not does not mean to make no judgment calls. We must evaluate options & make decisions every single day, & at its root that’s what this word means. The kind of judgment Jesus refers to goes beyond critical evaluation to a hypercritical condemnation.

Romans 14:10, But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. All Christians will stand before Christ for judgment, & how do you want to be judged by Him?

Whatever measure we have used on others will come back to us. i.e., whatever we dish out to others, we better be prepared to receive back from Jesus. James 2:12-13, So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. In our judgment call of others, it pays for us to be merciful rather than judgmental. Don’t be hypercritical of others.

2. We can’t be HYPOCRITICAL about Ourselves. Vss. 3-5

Notice the scenario that Jesus sets before us: we see a speck of sawdust in our Christian friend’s eye, but we’re looking past a plank in our own eye. We can’t say- Brother, let me help you with that little piece of sawdust while a plank (beam of wood) is sticking out of our own eye.

Vs. 3; Look- merely to see the speck; Consider- to perceive clearly; in the sense of being fully aware of it, that refers to the beam in our eye.

ILL: It reminds me of a story- A couple moved into a new house. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the woman saw her neighbor hanging her wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better soap.” Her husband looked on, remaining silent.

Every time her neighbor hung her washing out to dry, the woman said the same thing- “those clothes aren’t very clean, someone should show her how to wash.”

A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “Look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?” The husband replied, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

And so, it is with us. How we view someone else’s dirty laundry depends on the cleanliness of the window we’re looking through. So, we don’t need to be too quick to judge others by their little faults, when we’ve got big ones of our own to deal with.

Jesus isn’t saying it’s wrong to see the speck, He’s not even saying it’s wrong to want to help our Christian friends remove the speck.

What Jesus is calling hypocrisy is the desire to drive out other people’s faults (vs. 4, remove) but not deal with our own.

Hypocrite- actor, a person who professes certain beliefs & opinions to hide what’s really going on. When Jesus has used this word before, it was about a person who did the right things but for the wrong reasons (e.g., giving, praying, fasting, so that others see you). In this instance, I think the “hypocrisy” is doing something so that others do not see you. It’s dealing with someone else’s sins while not facing up to your own.

It is a Christian duty to help brothers and sisters when they are in sin. Galatians 6:1-2, 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. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. To fulfill that duty, we have to judge ourselves.

1 Corinthians 11:31-32,For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. It’s not wrong to judge, but we better judge ourselves first. It’s not wrong to point out others’ sins, but it is wrong if we turn a blind eye to our own sins. To judge not, we must not be hypercritical of others, or hypocritical about ourselves, and we must not be careless with holy things (proverb in vs. 6).

3. We can’t be CARELESS with HOLYThings.

Vs. 6 is hard to interpret in light of the others. It just kind of hangs out there on its own, and that’s the way most interpreters deal with it. I even found one who said do not use it as a biblical word, & another that said it probably doesn’t need to be taught in certain churches. His reasoning is that the text is about witnessing & evangelizing, & that some have no such zeal to evangelize.

Most commentators say that it’s dealing with the gospel, & being discerning about who we witness to,specifically those who had ample opportunity to hear & receive the gospel, but who have decisively & defiantly rejected it (Carson, Stott, Calvin, etc.). In light of the context, I have a different application of the verse. We should not be hypercritical of others or hypocritical about ourselves. Having dealt with our own sins, we have the Christian duty of helping others deal with their sins.

Jesus gave us a pattern for dealing with others’ sins (Matthew 18:15–20)- 4 steps for restoring people who are in sin:

1) if someone sins against you, go to them personally to tell them their fault,if they hear you, it’s all good, but if not, then 2) you take 1 or 2 others with you so that they can hear the evidence & witness the interchange, if that doesn’t work, then 3) tell it to the church (this is where church discipline comes in), 4) if they don’t listen to the church & repent, then treat them like a “heathen & a tax collector” (i.e., an unbeliever & outsider, describes unrepentant sinners).

I think we can apply heathens to the “dogs” & tax collectors to the “pigs”. Dogsare those who are outsiders (i.e., heathens, unbelievers). No self-respecting, law-abiding Jew would own pigs, & Jewish tax collectors sold out their own people for profit. I think we can apply this text to people who have professed Christ, they are supposed to be brothers & sisters in the faith, yet they have traded it in for the flesh.

2 Peter 2:20–22, For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

How I think it applies to our text- when we want to help someone to shun their sins and be restored to the faith, we have to be careful with how we approach them. Be discerning about what we say to them. We might even have to decide, it’s just not the right time. They aren’t ready to receive corrections. If they aren’t ready to receive it, they may turn you on and tear you up. Proverbs 9:8, Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.”

So, this full text is not about“not judging”, as much as it is about how not to judge- we should not be hypercritical, hypocritical, or careless.

The problem with judging others is that we can’t even judge ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? The problem is our own sin. The problem is our own lack of discernment. It’s probably best to not judge, but commit ourselves to the One who judges righteously(1 Peter 2:23).