Judge Righteously, Live Righteously

Bible Passage: Matthew 7:1–12

Introduction

Back in high school, there was a guy in my friend group who, for all intents and purposes, had a good Christian “air” about him, if that makes sense. Externally, he had this generic moral uprightness, right; he seemed to be a good kid. In many ways, the world would’ve certainly called him a good kid. But what most of our friend group didn’t realize was that the way he lived, the things he struggled with and engaged in, did not align with his profession of faith in Christ. I remember one time - probably sometime around graduation - where he started to open up about his secrets. Before this point, we knew how he felt about certain sins, how he had this alleged Biblical morality for what he would do and wouldn’t do, and how he judged others according to that standard. But now he was revealing the parts of himself that didn’t align with that standard. I don’t know if any of us were entirely sure about why he began to open up then. Perhaps he felt it was a safe space and safe time to do so, or perhaps he recognized the discrepancies in his own heart and hoped opening up would be the first step to change. Regardless of why, it revealed a pretty glaring issue in his Christian walk: he was a huge hypocrite. There were certain sexual sins that, if he ever knew a future girlfriend had committed, he would not be able to marry her; the irony is that he ended up falling into some of those things himself.

Now, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, right? No one expected perfection. But this was more than that. He was pretending to be something outwardly that he was not living inwardly. He would not extend grace to others despite the grace that God had extended to him. He would often be judging others for the very same things he himself was doing, the very things he knew to be wrong, yet for some reason he could not remove them from his life. His judgments of others were flawed, because he lacked the capacity to judge righteously. He lacked the capacity to judge righteously, because he was not living righteously. I wish I had been in a better spiritual place at the time to have helped him. I was intrigued when I saw that I would be preaching on this text because of its profound relevance to things I have lived; the issues I described in this kid’s life are the exact thing Jesus addresses in this part of his Sermon on the Mount. If he could have heard a sermon on this passage all those years ago, or simply had someone tell him to read Jesus’ sermon itself here, I wonder what difference it might have made in his life.

That’s what we will be talking about tonight: Judge Righteously, Live Righteously. Turn your Bibles to Matthew 7:1-12

[Pray]

If there is one thing I hope you take away from tonight, it is this key thought that encompasses this passage:

Key Thought: You must judge righteously, with purity and with discernment, and live righteously, with faith and selflessness.

First we will talk about what it means to Judge Righteously, and then we will look at how Jesus is teaching us to Live Righteously in these verses.

Judge Righteously

Judge with Purity

Matthew 7:1–5 ESV

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.

“Judge not, lest ye be judged!”

How often have we heard these words used and abused? People will often look at this singular verse, pull it out of its context, and use it to argue why Christians should keep their mouths shut about sins we observe in those around us. But what does the full context actually tell us here?

Christ is actually telling us to Judge with Purity. Judge with Purity.

Jesus was a carpenter, and we seem him use this wood metaphor to teach this principle.

Do we have any medical professionals in here tonight? Praise God for you all.

Let’s say you work in the ER, and you have two carpenters walk into the ER. The first guy has a tiny little speck of dust in his eye. It’s irritated and red, but overall, a tiny speck of wood dust in the eye is a relatively minor issue. If untreated, it perhaps could cause some more problems, but it is small and easy to address. No need to do anything crazy, just flush out the speck from your eye. Dude probably didn’t need to come to the ER. This issue should be handled according to its severity.

The other guy has a MASSIVE wood spike sticking out of his head. The dude had absolutely no clue how to operate a lathe, and now he is lumbering around like he tried to put his contacts in with a battering ram. But he says, “Hey, don’t worry about me, my buddy over here needs his eye washed out.”

You’d be like, HUUUUUHH? What the heck are you talking about dude? Your problem is way worse than ol Red Eye McGee over here. We’ve gotta get you taken care of!

No, no, this dude was being dumb and got dust in his eye! Help him!

You would rightly think, “This is the most asinine thing I have ever seen!”

What does this mean?

You cannot appropriately judge someone else for a relatively minor sin when you yourself are entrenched in something heinous. If you are the one with the massive spike in his eye, tend to your own affairs first. Establish victory over your own sins, walk blameless and faithfully first, be made pure, be humble, be compassionate. Only then you can begin to righteously judge your brother with his relatively minor fault, and help him to overcome his sin issue. Compassionate intervention is good. Harsh hypocrisy is no good. He says it in verse 5, right? Don’t be a hypocrite! He’s said that quite a bit throughout this Sermon on the Mount.

Is Jesus saying we can’t address sin issues unless we ourselves are perfect? No. What he is saying is that you cannot possibly seek to tend to the spiritual needs of others when you yourself are in a far worse condition. Because, if you do, you, too, will be judged accordingly. You wanna hold them to this standard? Ok, let’s see how you measure up, buddy.

The man who is blind to his faults is like the one mentioned in Psalm 36:2

Psalm 36:2 ESV

2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

Remember the story of David and Bathsheba. When the Lord sends Nathan to rebuke David, he uses this case of a thief stealing a poor man’s ewe lamb. David pronounces harsh judgment upon this thief. What Nathan reveals to David, is that he just pronounced harsh judgment upon himself.

We will be judged according to how we judge others. The Lord is quick to humble us with the things that make us proud. Absalom was proud of his hair, and ended up being hanged by it. Samson’s eyes were fill with lust, and they ended up being gouged out.

Sin makes us impure. The blood of Jesus makes us pure, hallelujah. If your life is not characterize by a pure heart (not a sinless one, but one that seeks to be as devoted to sinlessness as possible), a repentant heart, and kind and gentle and lowly heart, then you may not judge the sinfulness of others. Either judge in purity, or devote yourself to being made pure.

To Judge Righteously, we have to judge with purity, and second, Judge with Discernment.

Judge with Discernment

Matthew 7:6 ESV

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.

What is holy? What are these pearls? What is a dog? Is swine just alcoholic strawberry juice? What is Jesus even talking about here?

In verses 1-5, Jesus teaches us to judge from a proper posture: one that is not harsh, but pure and gentle. In this verse, Jesus adds a qualification to how we should wield that judgment.

This idea, do not give what is holy to dogs, was a Jewish principle and parable, meaning to literally not give wild dogs the remnants of the temple sacrificial food offerings. Dogs do not appreciate the value of the holy offering. Likewise, pigs do not appreciate the value of the pearls.

These holy things, these pearls, are a metaphor for the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news that Christ came to proclaim. Jesus is saying that you should not continue to put the gospel on those who want nothing to do with it. If we bring faithful judgment through the proclamation of the gospel of faith and repentance, and someone rejects it, we do not continue to throw our pearls at them. They do not see the value in what is being offered to them. Do not try to force the gospel upon those who do not want it. If you do, Jesus says, they will trample over it, seeking to destroy it, and then they will turn to destroy you.

When Jesus sends out his disciples, he says something similar Matthew 10:12-14

Matthew 10:12–14 ESV

12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

Jesus is telling us to be discerning in how we judge. If we bring righteous judgment to those who are living in sin, and through our discernment, we can see they are not being receptive to the gospel, it is not our job to beg them, or force them, to accept it. This requires an acute awareness of the Spirit, and a humble, contrite heart that truly desires to see the gospel change people’s lives. This isn’t easy, and it may feel harsh, but at the end of the day, Christ does not force himself upon his bride. He invites her, and she must respond.

This calls to mind the story of the Rich Young Ruler. This can be found in a few of the gospels, but it occurs in Matthew’s gospel in Matthew 19:16-22

Matthew 19:16–22 ESV

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus makes clear what this young man must do. He must sacrifice his idol of wealth, and follow Jesus. The man is filled with sorrow (but not repentance), and walks away.

Jesus doesn’t beg him. He doesn’t say, “Wait, rich young ruler, how about you just start with getting rid of a few of your possessions, and then we go from there? How does that sound buddy…?”

No! Jesus accepts the rejection. He does not compromise on what he calls this man to do. He does not beg. He does not throw his pearls before the swine. He simply carries on to the next thing. That is what he is instructing here.

If we are to judge righteously, we are to judge with purity and with discernment.

Next, we will look at how Jesus instructs us to live in regard to others. We are to live righteously.

Live Righteously

The way we live righteously, is first, by living with faith.

Live with Faith

Matthew 7:7–11 ESV

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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are 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!

God is so unimaginably, magnificently faithful to us. Ask, you will receive. Seek, you will find. Knock, it will be opened to you. These verbs - ask, seek, knock - are all verbs we see used in the context of the kingdom of God. Jesus is telling the disciples that if they will genuinely seek the things of God, in faith, it will be given to them. Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

He will supply our every needs, if we seek him in faith! He clarifies this, right, in verses 9-11. If your son comes to you hungry, will you not feed him? If your son asks for something clean (a fish), would you give him a dirty substitute (a snake)?

If you, being evil, or a bunch of schmucks, know how to be faithful and generous to those whom you love, then you can trust that the almighty King of Heaven, Sovereign Lord, Creator of the Universe will be supremely faithful and generous to you, whom he loves!

He urges his disciples to trust in God, who has proven himself faithful, generous, and true, time and time and time and time again. And forevermore, he will be.

We are to live in faith, ask in faith, seek in faith, hope in faith. In the ways we pray, in the decisions we make, in the thoughts we think, all of it is to be done in faith.

You know, a couple weeks ago I was reading the chapter on prayer in Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. It’s a book on a bunch of spiritual disciplines. And in the chapter on prayer, he describes how we like to give God an out when we pray. If we are praying for healing, we might pray, “Father, heal this person, in Jesus name; allow doctors and medicine to bring restoration, or by your very hand bring about a miraculous healing. But Lord, if it be not your will… bring peace and comfort and blah blah blah…”

Have you ever prayed like that? I have, like a ton! And I did it with good intentions. I never wanted to get someone’s hopes up in case the Lord did not bring healing. I didn’t want to disappoint someone if their prayer wasn’t answered in the way they desired. I wanted to give God an out, rather than simply ask in faith.

Do we ever see prayers like that in the Bible? When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, he simply says “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” That is not the same as saying, “Lord, I am asking this thing in faith. But just in case you weren’t sure, if that isn’t your will, I’ll vibe with it.”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays about what is to come with his trial, prosecution, and execution. He asks for the Father to deliver him, but his will to be done, not his own. That is a unique circumstance, I think. Because, what we see here in Matthew 7, is that Jesus simply directs us to live and pray in faith! We can leave it up to God to determine how he chooses to respond, but we do not need to give him permission to have an out. We do not need to give him permission to respond to us a different way. If I see myself appropriately, and I see God appropriately, I will simply come to him as my Father and ask in faith. I can be hopeful and trusting in his will, knowing that if he does not grant me what I asked for, it was not what I needed to receive.

If we seek God with a sincere and humble heart, he will bless us. Perhaps not in the ways we think or desire, but in the ways we truly need to be blessed. He first and most significantly blessed us with his son Jesus. And if we genuinely ask for him, seek him out, knock on his door, he will let us in. And what more could we ever need?

So, to live righteously, we must live with faith, and we also must live with selflessness.

Live with Selflessness

Matthew 7:12 ESV

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

I think there is something important here to recognize. As you grow more familiar with Jesus’ teachings, the more this idea might click in your memory.

Jesus references “the Law and the Prophets”. As far as I could find, this exact phrasing appears three times in Matthew’s gospel. We’ve already seen one of them, back in Matthew 5:17

Matthew 5:17 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

We have the second usage here in Matthew 7:12.

The third usage is all the way in Matthew 22:34-40

Matthew 22:34–40 ESV

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew’s whole goal with recording his gospel account is to demonstrate that Jesus truly is the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for all this time. Part of that thread is linked by Christ’s connection to the Law and the Prophets. All that the Law and Prophets spoke about was foreshadowing Christ. In Matthew 5, he ties himself in as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. In Matthew 22, he summarizes the Law and the Prophets with two commands, one pulled from Deuteronomy 6:5, and one pulled from Leviticus 19:18. There is a two-fold relationship. The vertical aspect, how we view and respond to God, and the horizontal aspect, how we treat others. We see that displayed perfectly in Christ, as the Messiah, and he leads us to live in the same way according to his power and righteousness, not our own.

In Matthew 7, we see, in essence, a summary of this Sermon: to teach us how to live obedient and righteous lives before the Lord. That culminates in verse 12 in regards to how we treat others, how we live horizontally. Treat others how you want to be treated. Be selfless and sacrificial in how you interact with others.

Pride is inherent to the human condition. It was the progenitor of the fall. And pride tells us that we are the most important person in the world, and thus we deserve to be treated as the most important person in the world.

Jesus? Well, he tells us here that we should treat every other person as if they are the most important person in the world...

DANG IT! What does that mean for me? What about my comforts? What about my pleasures? What about my keen ability to pick out sin in other people’s lives? What about my desire to do whatever I want when I want?

Jesus pulls a big Elsa move, and says “LET. IT. GO.” Frozen and Frozen 2 are some of my favorite Disney movies by the way, love it when I can reference them.

Jesus is saying LIVE WITH SELFLESSNESS.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. What does that mean for us? That Jesus is modeling to us what it means to treat others how you want to be treated, as if they are the most important person in the world. As the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus is modeling what it means to truly love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. He is modeling what it looks like to love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus literally died for you. Think about that for a moment. The King of Kings, the Son of God, the Holy One, literally, excruciatingly, gruesomely died for you. Why? Because he loved God, wanting to fulfill his will, and loved us as himself, wanting to make us reconciled to the Father so we too could dwell with God. That is the ultimate act of selflessness.

So, Jesus says, be like me. The Law and the Prophets points to me. The Law and the Prophets tell you to live as I live. Set down your pride, and treat everyone you meet as if they are the most important person in the world. Give as much to them as you can, even at the expense of your comforts, your pleasures, yourself, and if they reject you, that’s ok. Be selfless. Be like Christ. That is, ultimately, how we can live righteously.

Remember: Key Thought: You must judge righteously, with purity and with discernment, and live righteously, with faith and selflessness.

Application

How should we respond to this?

You know, I think back to that guy in my old friend group. That hypocrite who always looked right past his plank. There came a day when he could see the plank. Let’s set the scene. He was driving to an event he was serving at, dark on a Thursday night. He wound through these back streets, when he stumbled upon a small church. As he drove past, he saw the small, dimly lit sign. It had Romans 8:1 displayed in those blocky little letters.

Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

As I drove past that sign, and read that verse, I could hear that still, small voice of the Spirit, reminding me of the work Christ had done in my life. I was that kid. I was the hypocrite. I had been battling sins for years and years, and I yearned for deliverance, yet judged others harshly before I found mine. Christ reminded me that night that he did not die to condemn me. He did not die to cast judgment upon me, unless I chose not to receive him. He died so that I might live in him. So that the same mercy and grace he judged me with, was the same mercy and grace I must judge others with. That night didn’t lead to drastic transformation, but it was the first domino.

We cannot even begin to apply the principles from the Sermon on the Mount unless we are disciples of Christ first.

The very first thing you have to know is whether or not Jesus is your Lord and Savior. This will mean absolutely nothing to you if you do not pick up your cross and follow Jesus first. Who is Jesus to you? Is he merely a smart teacher who said some good things? You have to yield yourself to Jesus, to see your deep need for a Savior by recognizing your own sin. You have to repent, meaning seek forgiveness and turn away, from your sin, and trust Jesus by committing your life to abiding in him and his Words. He died, and rose from the dead, so that you to might be restored to life from the death that sin brought. He died and rose, so that you could experience the glory of God in Christ, and live in true freedom.

If you are in Christ, what do you do?

You examine yourself.

1. Examine yourself

How are you living? Do you live with a plank in your eye that you need to get taken care of? Do you find yourself judging others while you still haven’t figured your own mess out? That is a very real place to be, guys. I’d bet almost all of us have engaged in hypocrisy throughout our lives. But it is not ok to stay there.

Be honest with yourself and examine your life. Make the necessary changes. If you have a grievous, habitual sin, confess that to Jesus. Do it tonight. Confess that to a trusted friend or pastor. Do that tonight, if you’re able. Don’t just sit on in. Let the Spirit transform you.

2. Share the gospel, but be discerning

I’m sure there are many of us, and likely all of us, who have dear people in our lives who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior. It can be terribly difficult, and sometimes frustrating, to see people reject him. But evaluate those situations: are you casting your pearls before swine?

I have a tenuous relationship with my father. In reality, we now have practically no relationship. I still seek to pray for him to be saved, to turn from his sin. But I stopped begging him to change. It brought much peace to my life.

Of course, this requires us to actually try to share the gospel with people. You can’t just use this as an excuse to not witness to people whom you think might reject it. No, you have to share. But it is ok to shake the dust off your feet if they aren’t having it.

3. Remove idols of security from your life

It is too easy for us, quite often. In our first world, middle/upper-middle class lives, we don’t have much tangibly to worry about. Sure, things do happen, sometimes big things. But the average person has a pretty relaxed environment, with a lot of options and opportunities at our disposal. We cannot let that lead us away from trusting in the Lord to supply our every need and sustain us in all things. We must remove the idols in our lives that we trust in more than we trust the Lord.

Pray for your faith to deepen. Ask the Lord how you can live more faithfully. How are you giving of yourself to the Lord? How are you seeking to control your environment so you don’t need to trust in God? Is your hope in the income you earn from your job? Is your joy and satisfaction dependent upon your relationships with your significant other, or your friends, or your family? Or are you sustained by the power and love of Christ. Good things can become idols if we are not careful.

I’m not saying quit your job just because you make good money. I’m not saying become a hermit so that your only relationship is with Jesus. I am saying, reject the idol of security that your job becomes. Recognize that your finances are a blessing from God. Recognize that your relationships are a blessing from God, but your true joy is found in the Lord alone.

4. Give yourself up for others

Take up your cross, just as Jesus did. Bear the reproach of the world so that they might see the love of God on display. Do you have a friend in need, but your time is too precious to give to them? I’ve been there many times. It is so easy to lose sight of that. It is so easy to become self-important, to prioritize ourselves over others. Yes, you must be healthy - physically, spiritually, emotionally - but you cannot use those as excuses. Sometimes we over-emphasize our need for rest. It’s ok to be a little bit tired, at times, if that means serving others as Jesus would serve them. It’s ok to be a little bit weary, if that means you could wash someone’s feet.

Key Thought: You must judge righteously, with purity and with discernment, and live righteously, with faith and selflessness.

[Pray]