The Mote and the Beam

Introduction

Jerry White and his friends were embarking on the adventure of a lifetime in the spring of 1984. Jerry and his two friends decided that they were going to go camping in the Banias. This is a region in the northern-most part of Israel near the Syrian border on the edge of the Golan heights. It is a beautiful region, one that had been inhabited for over 2,000 years up until 1967. This region was known as Cesarea Philippi during Jesus’ ministry and is the site of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Son of God. Needless to say, this is an area with rich history.

On this beautiful sunny day in April of 1984, Jerry led his friends on a hike through the beautiful landscape. They enjoyed the sights and sounds and the spring weather as they went. There was no path through the area, so companions picked their way through the green hillside that was overgrown in parts with shrubs.

Then all of a sudden, there was an explosion. Jerry was thrown to the ground, and when he looked down, he saw that his foot had been blown completely off by the explosion. He was quickly losing massive amounts of blood.

Jerry and his friends had wandered into a minefield, remnant of the 1967 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria. It took six months and several surgeries before Jerry was finally able to go home.

Minefields are an expected danger in war zones to soldiers. But it was the furthest thing from Jerry’s mind, 17 years after the Yom Kippur War. This 20 year old civilian thought he was headed in a safe direction, only to find out that he had been horribly wrong. That lack of understanding caused him to lose something he would never recover, a foot and part of his leg.

Last week we started our journey into the last section of the Sermon on the Mount. We discussed the meaning of the first words of Matthew 7:1, Judge not.

We saw that this command is directed toward Christians in particular, and we also saw that these words cannot be taken at face value. We MUST take them in context - the context in which they were delivered (the Sermon on the Mount) and the context of the whole Bible.

If we take these words out of context, then we could never exercise judgement. We would not be able to form opinions or analyze situations or actions and determine whether they are good or bad, but clearly, throughout Scripture, and even this Sermon on the Mount, there are expectations that Christians should be able to judge between that which is good and evil.

We must be able to make determinations about false teachings and true teachings, the philosophies of this world and the philosophies of God, and between good fruit and bad fruit.

So, what does Jesus mean when He tells us, “Judge not”? He means that we are not to judge people in a sense of condemnation. We are not the final judges; that is His position. We can judge actions as right and wrong, but we cannot judge intentions of the heart.

It also means that we should not go around with a hypercritical spirit. We do not judge based on preference or personality, we judge based on principle.

Last week, we say the command. Today, we look at the reasoning behind the command as we progress into out study today titled The Mote and the Beam.

The Mote and the Beam

As we look at the reasons we must not stand in condemnation toward others, we will see that Jesus’ case is unanswerable and His logic inevitable. This will be a deeply convicting study for most, if not all, of us, for this mindset of hypercriticism and judgment on others is so easy to fall into.

Let us start, then, by reading the verses we will be focusing on today. Matthew 7:1-5

Matthew 7:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 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? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged of God

We find the first reasoning not to judge in the first verse, directly after the command, “judge not.”

Matthew 7:1 KJV 1900

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Here we find a very practical reason to not judge others, and that is “that we be not judged.” But what does it mean? The simplest way to interpret this is: Do not judge other people if you wish to not be judged by others. Do not criticize others, or you yourself will be criticized by others. Now, this is perfectly logical, and we can see it in action somewhat. Those that do not engage in constant criticism of others are usually not subjected to much criticism by others. So we can say that this interpretation is true to an extent.

But interpreting that statement solely in this manner would be wrong. While we must accept that this is a true in a general sense, Jesus goes much further than this.

We are commanded not to judge other that we might not be judged by God.

Now, it is important that we understand that this command is given to believers. This whole Sermon is for Jesus’ disciples. So, we know that this does not have to do with judgment dealing with condemnation, as believers are not under condemnation. Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1 KJV 1900

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

But we must understand that though children of God will never suffer judgment concerning salvation or condemnation, there are other judgments that we fall under.

The Bible tells us of three different types of judgement.

Three Types of Judgment

There is a failure to differentiate these, and because of that, sometimes there is confusion.

1. Eternal judgment

This is the judgment that determines a person’s standing before God. This is the final judgement that will determine the separation between Christians and non-Christians, the sheep and the goats (as Jesus once put it). This is the first kind of judgment. This is a basic judgment that determines a person’s final destiny, whether in heaven or in the lake of fire. This judgment is based solely on whether a person has a relationship with God or not. The relationship with God is one that is by grace through faith. There are no good works that you can do to earn that relationship or to be spared condemnation. It is only through Jesus Christ that you can be saved.

2. Judgment that we are subjected to as children of God

This judgment is one that we are under as children of God. Again, this is not to see if we retain salvation or anything like that. That determination has nothing to do with how we live. However, those that are children of God, those that have by faith trusted and received Jesus as their savior, we live our lives under God’s eyes. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church a warning about how some were suffering God’s judgment on their lives because of how flippantly they were treating the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 KJV 1900

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

The purpose of this type of judgment on the Christian is to turn our hearts back to God. This is not for destruction, but for discipline. Though if we refuse and refuse to turn back to God, it may end up in destruction of the body (death) though it will never mean the loss of salvation.

1 Corinthians 11:30–32 KJV 1900

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

We see that we in these verses that in this case, God used sickness to judge some members of the church in Corinth, and even death on others. But the reassurance is that that judgment is for the purpose of chastening, not condemnation. What does “chasten” mean? It means to punish with the purpose of training or correction. In other words, discipline. The Bible further teaches us that if we were to judge ourselves, if we were to self-examine, find sin, condemn that sin, confess it, and turn again to Jesus, we would not suffer this kind of judgment.

Christians get this kind of treatment from the Father because we are His children. Hebrews 12:6-7

Hebrews 12:6–7 KJV 1900

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

There is a purpose, and the purpose is to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ. We do not like this chastening, this chastisement. But in the end, it serves a good purpose. Hebrews 12:11

Hebrews 12:11 KJV 1900

11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

The Bible is very clear that those that are not under God’s chastening are not His children.

3. Judgment of rewards

The third type of judgment exists is also taught in Scripture and this is the judgment of rewards. This will happen in the future, after this earthly life. Romans 14:10b

Romans 14:10 KJV 1900

10 For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Paul was writing to the Romans and telling them to not judge one another about questions regarding the observing of days, the eating of particular foods, and so on. Why? Because each of us will have to bear our own judgment, and God is responsible for that.

He writes about the same thing to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15

1 Corinthians 3:13–15 KJV 1900

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Again, this is judgment for reward, not for salvation. And that is what Paul means that even if everything is burned up, if none of the works that a particular Christian did were for the right reasons, then that person will still be saved, even though everything else got burned up. They have no rewards, but they will will still be saved, because our salvation is not gained through works, neither is it maintained by works.

The Bible reiterates this concept in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11a

2 Corinthians 5:9–11 KJV 1900

9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted [acceptable, well-pleasing] of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men...

Once again, Paul is not teaching that we need to do works to be accepted as children, according to Ephesian 1:6, God has already made us accepted through Jesus Christ (not by anything that we do). But the phrase that “we may be accepted of Him” means that we would be pleasing to Him. That our words, deeds, and attitudes would be something that please God.

Why? Because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the reward of things done in our Christian life.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade others. We give the Gospel, not flippantly, but passionately. We live our lives to be the best salt and the best light we can possibly be. Why? Because otherwise it is bad. It is a waste. And it will result in loss. Loss of what? Loss of rewards.

What kind of rewards? How exactly will this affect our eternal life in glory? Well, the Bible doesn’t say much else about it. It is my personal belief that one of the things that we will do with the rewards given is to cast them at Jesus’ feet. None of these rewards are for boasting. Nobody is going to be going around heaven comparing crowns and jewels. Nobody is going to be comparing square footage of their dwelling place with others. We are not storing up treasures in heaven so that we can have the best bedazzled robes, it is so that upon receiving these rewards, we, in turn, can present these to Jesus - the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lamb that is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.

So those are our three types of judgment we see in the Bible: Eternal judgment, judgment (chastisement) of children, and judgment for reward.

The main reason we do not judge is so that we not be judged by the Lord, and so that we will be able to stand confidently in His presence at that time. 1 John 2:28

1 John 2:28 KJV 1900

28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

The second reason for the command to not judge is that

We Will Be Judged by the Same Standard That We Judge Others

Let’s continue our reading in Matthew 7:2

Matthew 7:2 KJV 1900

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Again, this is not simply stating that how we judge others will determine how others judge us, but going beyond that, knowing that God is our judge, we understand that God will apply the same standard to us that we use on others.

Look at Romans 2:1

Romans 2:1 KJV 1900

1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

When we judge others, we are asserting authority and knowledge. If we in turn fail to meet our own standards with which we judge others, we then condemn ourselves to the same type of judgment.

James 3:1 says this

James 3:1 KJV 1900

1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

This is not simply an admonition to pastors and teachers, but to anyone that claims authority and knowledge over others (judgment). When we do not live up to the standards that we judge, we will receive a greater condemnation, a greater judgment than those that have not passed judgment on others.

Parents, if you teach your children that they should follow Jesus, and you do not follow Jesus, God will judge you for that. If you teach your kids to put God in first place, but you do not follow that, God’s judgment awaits you. Judgment of what kind? Well, either the judgment here on earth or the judgment for reward, or both.

And if we sit as an authority in judgment over others, we have no right to complain when we are judged by that same standard. We claim to have this knowledge? Then we must live up to it.

The third and final reason to not judge others that Jesus gives (remember, we are speaking of being hypercritical and merciless), because of the hypocrisy in this kind of judgment judgment.

The Hypocrisy of Hypercriticism

When we engage in hypercriticism, as we saw last week, we do not do it out of love for others or love for God. When I walk into a place and start looking for everything I can find that is wrong, I am not doing it out of love. I am doing it out of some sick, twisted pleasure that I get when I find fault in other people’s work.

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7:3-5

Matthew 7:3–5 KJV 1900

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? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

When I interact with someone or listen to them and begin nit-picking everything they did or said that was wrong, that is not out of love for them or God. It is out of that same twisted pleasure that I gain from putting someone else down. It is self-serving and self-aggrandizing, and this is what Jesus calls the bigger problem.

Hypercriticism is the beam in our own eye. We would like to thing and persuade others that we are simply seeking truth and righteousness, but that kind of judgment is characterized by all sorts of unrighteous qualities. It has not love; it shows no mercy; it is not introspective in the least; and seeks to put down, not restore the other person. None of that is behavior that characterizes someone who hungers and thirsts after righteousness.

Those with a hypercritical spirit become very interested in the person they are criticizing rather than the principle that may be wrong. The real desire becomes one of condemning someone rather than restoring them. That attitude then renders us incapable of true judgment. If there is any kind of bias, personal feelings, enmity, or ulterior motives we lose the objectivity and can no longer be true examiners.

Therefore, the personal element must be completely excluded if there is to be true and righteous judgment. It is true what has been said before: “So often we fail to differentiate between the person and his action.”

In this condition, the condition of unrighteous judgment, we are incapable of helping others. We give the impression that we are all about helping someone else correct the blemishes in their lives, but we cannot do it because of the beam in our own eye.

We have heard the phrase “the blind leading the blind,” and it is ridiculous to think of a blind person trying to guide another blind person through busy streets. But what is even more ridiculous to think about is a blind ophthalmologist attempting to perform surgery on another blind person to heal them of their blindness.

And that is exactly what the thought that we should have when we think of someone with a beam in their eye attempting to extract a speck out of someone else’s eye.

Now moving to verse 5

Matthew 7:5 KJV 1900

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

We see here that those that engage in this type of judgment are called hypocrites. What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite was an actor who played a character. This person would assume the role of someone completely different than himself and portray that character in a play. To be a hypocrite is to wear a mask. To pretend to be something that you are not. In this case, to pretend that you care about righteousness and truth and the benefit of others when in reality we are glad to find this blemish in another’s life.

One person goes to the other and says, “What a shame that there is this defect in your life!” But there is so much malice displayed by such an action, and what’s worse is that when we approach someone in this spirit, we enjoy it! We do not mourn over their sin. It doesn’t break our hearts to know that they are in sin. And why would it, if we have not taken the time to mourn over our own sin.

If we want to really help others, then the first step is to look inside and examine our own selves. Having a judgmental spirit is like a beam in our eye compared to the speck, the mote in another’s eye. There is nothing more terrible than this for a Christian. The other person may have fallen into immorality, deceit, apathy, or outright rebellion. This is a speck in their eye. It is damaging, and if it is there for long, it can cause severe damage to the eye. (Remember that we have spoken about the eye being our focus on Jesus, and if we have both eyes focused, we will be full of light; but if we have a split vision, if we are trying to focus on Jesus and other things, then we will be full of darkness rather than light.) Sin that is not dealt with is damaging to the eye, but it is a speck compared to having a judgmental spirit. Jesus says that that is a beam in comparison to other sins.

Why? Because in that spirit of judgment, I believe that my spiritual eyes are fine when they are not, I am really messed up! jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:23b

Matthew 6:23 KJV 1900

23 ...If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

If you are full of darkness (if your acting on any other attitude that is contrary to that of the Holy Spirit’s i.e. a judgmental spirit...) and you think that you are in the right, Jesus exclaims, “How great is the darkness that you are in!” And it’s darker than normal because you think you are fine.

You are effectively walking through a deadly minefield while thinking that you’re taking a leisurely stroll through a beautiful countryside. Continue in that path and you may suffer deep loss.

Invitation

James 1:19 offers very good advise to all of us. “19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

Don’t ever be quick to judge someone. Listen and observe, examine your self and examine your motives, and then (and only then), in a spirit of meekness and love go to the person and point out the speck that they may have.

Bow heads, close eyes

To the unsaved: God is the righteous judge. He will judge one day those people that have not put their faith and received Jesus as their savior. On that day, the condemnation will be pronounced, and that condemnation is an eternity in a lake of fire, forever separated from the Lord.

But God made a way to receive forgiveness from sin and freedom from condemnation. It is through Jesus.

For Christians: Are you hypercritical? Do you get judgy? Is there a satisfaction when others struggle with sin? When you confront, does it bring you joy to point out their faults? Does it make you feel important to think of yourself as better? If you are struggling with any one of these things or if God has pointed out something in your life, would you raise your hand saying, “Bro. Mike, pray for me. This is an area that I struggle in, but today I am going to start giving that to the Lord and let His Spirit live through me.”

Life Groups

We are going to start our Life Groups a little differently from now on. Before we begin our questions about the sermon, from now on we will start with this question:

What has God been doing in your life throughout this last week? Or, What is God doing in your life now?

What, if anything, stood out to you from this sermon? Are there any questions or concerns?

1. What does it mean to judge others according to the context of Matthew 7:1-5?

2. In what situations do you find it hardest to avoid being hypercritical, and why?

3. How can we ensure that our judgments of others are constructive rather than condemning?

4. What can you tell me of the three different types of judgment?

5. What steps can you take to develop a more compassionate approach when confronting others about their faults?

6. Why is it important to be 'slow to speak' and 'slow to wrath' according to James 1:19?

7. Can you identify a recent situation where you judged someone prematurely? How could you have approached it differently?

8. What is the significance of the metaphor of the 'mote' and 'beam' in evaluating our own sin versus the sin of others?