Matthew 7

Verses 1-2

Does Jesus forbid all judgment, or a certain posture and spirit of judgment?

Verse 1 is a verse that gets twisted by many people. Many Bibles will render it as “Do not judge or you too will be judged,” and that is not the case.

This verse is better read as, “Do not judge in order to escape or your own judgement.” Or in other words, Jesus is describing the heart behind judgement.

The reality is, that sometimes judgement is a necessary thing. For example:

Part of us being able to identify other believers is by judging whether they have fruit or not.

But, if you judge others to make yourself feel better or to glorify yourself, or are overly critical towards others in a spiteful manner, then Jesus says by that standard you will be judged.

However, if we judge by the bible, and what it says and how it calls us to live, then by that are we judged.

What kind of judgment is required to identify fruit?

Judgement from the Holy Spirit and the Bible. They work hand in hand to sharpen our discernment if we are truly seeking the will of God.

If you are just wanting to live after the flesh, then they won’t.

John 7:24 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

What is righteous judgement? How does this help you better understand proper judgement?

Notice the wordage in verse 2. Jesus is not saying “if you judge” or “if you measure.” He is using words that imply we will have some form of measurement.

What do you think is the proper way to measure?

Ephesians 4:13 “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”

Our measurement is Christ for ourself, and the Word of God for others.

How can we practice this righteous judgement?

How can “not judging” become a cover for avoiding difficult but necessary confrontation?

Is it possible that refusing to confront sin can sometimes be as unloving as condemning someone harshly?

What does it look like to judge in a way that seeks restoration rather than humiliation?

Verses 3-5

Jesus is essentially saying, “how are you going to call out someone else for sin, when you are guilty of the same sin yourself?

What might lead someone to do this?

Does this show a spirit of wanting to truly help someone in their walk with Christ, or a spirit of pride?

When Jesus says to not consider the beam in your own eye, the word consider means to contemplate, and to see clearly

This means 2 things when for us:

This means that before you find yourself getting into that moment of judging someone, He wants you to stop, and contemplate on your own sins. Is this something that you are also guilty of? If you are is there a better way to go about this?

It also means to see clearly, and the truth is, sometimes we might not even see it in ourself that we may be guilty of that sin.

People who judge like that without taking a moment to consider themselves, literally can not even see themselves clearly. This is why it is so important to be in prayer and the Bible, and to just stop and take a moment.

Verse 4

In verse 4, Jesus says how can you tell someone that you can help them with their sin, or to stop doing something, when you are guilty of it yourself?

If i was broke and homeless, how could I tell you how to make a lot of money?

What does this about how important it is to have a rich private worship with God before we work publicly for Him?

Your public works for God will only be as good as your private worship of Him.

You can only pour as much water out of a cup as you have poured into it.

Verse 5

Jesus commands us to first out the beam out of thine own eye. This means that He obviously wants us have a strong focus on improving ourselves and our walk with Christ.

How might seeing clearly help you be able to cast out the mote of someone else’s eye?