Judging

Introduction

Opening ILL:  Can you hear me now?

A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and concluded that she was becoming hard of hearing. So he decided to conduct a test without her knowing about it. 

One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room. Her back was to him so she couldn’t see him. Very quietly he whispered, “Can you hear me?” There was no response. 

Moving a little closer, he asked again, “Can you hear me now?” Still no reply.

Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but still no answer. 

Finally he moved right in behind her chair and said, “Can you hear me now?”

To his surprise, his wife responded with irritation in her voice, “For the fourth time, yes!”

Transition: It’s a lot easier to see the flaws of others than to recognize our own flaws. 

Some act as if God has appointed them to be the morality police of society. 

Others believe we should ignore sin in the lives of others.  

So what should we do?

Jesus teaches us to lovingly and humbly address sin in the life of fellow believers so they might repent and experience forgiveness and restoration, but to take a different approach with unbelievers.

This morning, from God’s Word, we will discover that those who’ve experienced grace should extend grace.

TURN: Matthew 7 (1st book in NT, btw Malachi and Mark)

The opening verse of today’s passage is one of the most well known, even among unbelievers, and yet also one of the most misunderstood verses.

Whenever the values of our culture conflict with Biblical truth, often among the first response is “The Bible says ‘judge not’! (Of course, that begs the question, are they judging those who judge?)

The assumption is that the Bible teaches that the most loving thing we could do is mind our own business!

Today, we’ll see that that’s not what Jesus is saying at all.

READ:

Matthew 7:1–6- 1 “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. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

PRAY

Those who’ve experienced grace should extend grace.

Matthew 7:1-2- 1 “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.

JUDGE NOT- to evaluate the quality or to condemn, pass sentence

Jesus is clearly not warning against any acknowledgement of the sinfulness

Matthew 18:15a- 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault...

What Jesus is prohibiting is passing a sentence of final condemnation, writing them off without seeking restoration and redemption

THAT YOU BE NOT JUDGED...- doesn’t imply that there’s a way to avoid the judgment of God nor that the Christian cannot lose their salvation and our relationship with their Father

But they can suffer consequences from sins which have not be sufficiently dealt with including the hindering of our fellowship with our Father.

We should extend the same restorative grace to others that God has extended to us

Matthew 7:3-4- 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?

THE SPECK- “dust particle” a spiritual flaw

IN YOUR BROTHER’S EYE- Jesus is addressing sin in the life of a fellow believer, not one outside the faith

THE LOG THAT IS IN YOUR OWN EYE- conveniently overlook even worse sin in their own life

LET ME TAKE THE SPECK OUT…- how can we nitpick the sin in someone else’s life if we’re not dealing with sin in our own life

Matthew 7:5- 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.

HYPOCRITE- “actor,” used 3x in chapter 6 of one who pretends to be religious but are just putting on a show usually

Here: one who acts superior and righteous but in reality they are blind to or willfully ignoring their own sin

Perhaps thinking that their sin is not as bad as what others struggle with

FIRST TAKE THE LOG OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE AND THEN...- We don’t have be perfect before we can help our struggling brother but we can’t ignore our own sin

If we were to wait until we have it all together before we help our brother in Christ, we would never be able to help others and effectively be on our own

Even as we deal with our own faults, we can gently and lovingly call our brother to repentance in hopes of restoration

Galatians 6:1- 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

We can do so humbly knowing that we to have a propensity to stray

Transition: But Jesus warns...

Matthew 7:6- 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

DOGS- wild dogs lived in packs outside of town or as scavengers in town

“Dog” is often used as an insult to those outside the community of God’s people

PIGS- regarded as the most ritually unclean of all animals

Together with DOGS refer to unbelievers, that is, those outside of God’s people

So while His previous teaching pertains to addressing brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus now turns attention to outsiders to the faith

HOLY- that which has been set apart for God

PEARLS- objects of great value

Together with the reference to those things which are HOLY refer to spiritual truths about righteous living which Jesus has been revealing in this sermon

TRAMPLE THEM UNDERFOOT- those who have not experienced the grace of God have not been set free from sin’s power and do not have the advantage of the Spirit living within

They are no more capable of living a life pleases God than a dog or a pig is capable of appreciating the value of holy things or fine pearls

ATTACK YOU- if we insist on trying to persuade them to live right when they’ve not yet been made right with God through faith in Christ, they will only reject and resent you

That’s why Paul wrote…

1 Corinthians 5:12- 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

While we extend grace to our fellow believer by gently addressing sin in a their life as we seek restoration and spur them toward righteousness living, but that is not our responsibility to those outside the faith.

Our goal when it come to the lost is not behavior modification but redemption.

2 Corinthians 5:17–20- 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

We extend grace to the lost by sharing the Gospel and invite to them to faith in Christ and reconciliation with God.

Transition: Those who’ve experienced grace should extend grace.

Conclusion

Closing ILL: A spotless kitchen may harbor as many bacteria as a less tidy one, says a surprising new finding from the University of Arizona.

That’s because the most germ-laden object in a kitchen is often the sponge.

Researchers tested sponges and dishrags collected from five hundred kitchens across the U.S. and found that as many as one out of five contained salmonella bacteria.

Almost two thirds had at least some other bacteria that, when ingested, could make people ill.

Gospel Connection: Until we’ve been made clean by faith in Christ, we will never be able to help others experience cleansing.

Have you experienced the cleansing of the Gospel?