Judge Not
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Few portions of Scripture are as misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misapplied, as this section we will look at this morning. This one verse has made it to bumper stickers, T-shirts, and is used often by the most radical groups.
The world’s most opinionated people, especially those who are liberal and dogmatic about their positions on politics, people, art, music, literature, and culture, love to throw this scripture into every battle they engage in.
However, when it comes to matters of personal morality and the tables are turned, that same group of people cannot stand opinionated people, especially if they represent conservative Biblical values that speaks out against pre-marital sex, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, gender identity, antisemitism or anything they stand for.
The first seven words of [Mt. 7], “Judge not that you be not judged,” have been taken by some to mean that Christians must never exercise any critical thinking or discerning judgment at all.
This morning I want us to put this scripture in it’s context to understand what Christ is teaching!
Text; Mt. 7:1-12
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For 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?
4 Or 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.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Prayer
Any good preacher could preach 6 or 7 sermons from these twelve verses and do so without misusing the scriptures or deviate from the theology, doctrine and practical application found in them. But to truly understand the first verse in context, all twelve verses need to be read together.
Jesus has just told His disciples not to worry about material things and to seek first His kingdom and righteousness and all our need will be supplied. Focusing on what others have or what we wish we had can sometimes bring the worst out in a person [envy, jealousy] and Jesus warns of our critical judgment of others.
1. Judging Others Critically; 1-5
1. Judging Others Critically; 1-5
Judge- [Krino] “to separate, evaluate, distinguish with discernment, condemn” and a dozen or more meanings that define this word, but it is decided by the context.
In this context given, it is the word “criticize”. It is condemning, always finding fault, being picky, the habit of criticism.
Jesus may well be talking about the self-righteous judgment and criticism of others practiced by the Pharisees.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
But I also believe Jesus is teaching his disciples not to judge others based upon their material possessions.
32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
People who judge/criticize others usually do it through a dark colored lens of their own standard, and that standard is sin. To create your own standard of what is acceptable and measure everyone against it is hypocritical.
[v.2] If we judge others through a dark colored lens we will be judged through one as well by others.
There is an old story about two neighbors, a baker and a farmer. The baker began to be suspicious of the farmer, suspecting that he wasn’t getting his money’s worth when he paid for a pound of butter. He weighed the farmer’s butter on several occasions and finally had him arrested for fraud. The judge asked the farmer at the trial, “I presume you have scales?” “Yes, of course, Your Honor,” the farmer replied. “And weights?” the judge asked. “No,” replied the farmer. “I don’t have a set of weights.” “Then how do you hope to weigh accurately the butter you sell to your neighbor?” the judge asked. “That’s easy,” the farmer said. “When the baker began to buy from me, I decided to buy my bread from him. I’ve been using his one-pound loaves to balance my scales. If the weight of the butter is wrong, he has only himself to blame.” This is what Jesus is teaching here.
Mattoon, R. (2007). Treasures from the Sermon on the Mount (Vol. 2, pp. 193–194). Rod Mattoon.
[vs. 3-5] A person who judges blindly has already formed their opinion about the person he is judging before he knows all the facts of a matter. The plank in his eye has blinded him to the speck of sawdust in the eye of the one he is judging.
We all have issues in our life. The plank and speck are both sin. But we need to sweep around our own front door before we start looking for dirt on others!
spi1 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.
It’s easy to turn a microscope on another person’s sin while we look at our sin through the wrong end of a telescope!
2. Judging Others Righteously; 6
2. Judging Others Righteously; 6
To judge righteously, one must first inspect their own life and motives before we look at someone else’s mess. But every christian must use judgment in their lives to be able to discern between truth and lies, right and wrong, reality and a sham, between spiritual treasures and worldly trash!
If we did not judge [evaluate, separate, distinguish with spiritual discernment] how can you tell the difference between a dog and what is holy or a hog and pearls?
Holy- set apart, sanctified, morally and spiritually excellent, pure and undefiled, character and nature of God
Pearls- precious stones found in shell-fish, mainly in India. They are of great value. “Word of God”
Jesus is saying that the Word of God/Gospel needs to be handled as holy and presented to others discretely.
Two clarifications;
Jesus is not implying that we should refuse to present the Gospel to the outcasts of society. We are all outcasts!
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
There also comes a time when it becomes futile to continue to present truth to those who have continually refused what they have already heard and will not listen.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
Dogs- not domesticated but mongrels, wild animals. No Jew would throw holy meat that had been consecrated in the temple to a dog!
Hogs/Swine- Swine were unclean and considered the vilest of all animals to a Jew. A Jew would never have tried to domesticate a pig, nor give them their valuables. [Antiochus Epiphanies sacrificed a pig on the temple altar during the time of the Maccabees]
A dog nor a hog will not respect what is holy and valuable and neither will some people. So we must judge, with spiritual discernment, how we can share the gospel with people and when it is time to move on!
8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,
11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
We are never to withhold the gospel from people, but you cannot force it upon a person either. And we are never to judge them over their response to the Gospel. That it God’s job!
3. Pray; 7-11
3. Pray; 7-11
Prayer is the difference between spiritual discernment and critical judging!
Ask, Seek and Knock;
We are to ask God for wisdom to be able to evangelize the lost without condemnation. Or to encourage a brother without criticizing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
We are to continuously seek God in prayer for wisdom. It’s not a one and done deal!
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
17 pray without ceasing,
Knocking on heavens door in prayer is about getting God’s attention, God knows what we need before we even ask Him. Knocking in Prayer is all about our motive for praying! The difference between spiritual discernment and critical judging!
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Prayer is “Asking, Seeking and Knocking” for those things that will make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The Golden Rule; 12
4. The Golden Rule; 12
Verse 12 actually reflects back upon verse 1-2.
The Golden Rule requires two things of us;
Demand true justice: insist that men be treated justly in all situations. [Law/Prophets]
Treat others as yourself: do good to others
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Jesus is simply saying, “Think of something good you wish someone would do for you, then do it for them.”
Close;
Jesus never gives one the right to judge with criticism nor condemnation, but with spiritual discernment, mercy and compassion with the hope of restoring a fallen brother or seeing a lost soul saved!
But Jesus also never tells us to roll over and not defend our faith! In a world of darkness people need to see His Light, and we are to stand up and shine for Him.
To “Judge Not” is to look beyond one’s faults and seeing their needs, just as Jesus has done with each of us!
