Matthew 7:1-6

We live in a world that uses slogans all the time—in advertising, politics, and even religion.

Matthew chapter 7 has as many striking sayings as the previous ones—sayings easily turned into slogans.

The trouble with slogans is that, while they fix an idea in the mind,

that idea can often be misleading and convey a completely wrong impression.

That is certainly the case here.

Christ’s injunction against judging (7:1), the so-called ‘Golden Rule’ (7:12) and building on the rock (7:24)

have all been used to support wrong and dangerous teachings.

Therefore, it is vital that we continue to read Christ’s sermon as a whole and take these verses in their context.

The first few verses, about judging, strike a very different note from chapter 6, with its stress on God’s care for his children, although this subject soon returns (7:11). It is best to see them, not as just another aspect of the righteousness that the kingdom requires, but as an introduction to the conclusion about judgement, at the end of the chapter. That will distinguish between true and false disciples, genuine believers and hypocrites like the Pharisees. The first six verses warn us against various errors in preparation for this.

“Judge not” is the sort of statement that our culture would eagerly embrace,

without bothering to discover precisely what Jesus meant by it.

But was Jesus really opposed to all judging?

Would Jesus condemn anyone who condemned others?

Would Jesus let each man’s conscience be his guide?

The first step in discovering Jesus’ intent is to put his teaching in its biblical context.

The last verse of and the first verse of

both begin with prohibitions: “Do not worry” (6:34) and “Do not judge” (7:1).

When Jesus says, “Do not worry,” he forbids a negative attitude toward our own affairs—worry.

When he says, “Do not judge,” he prohibits a negative attitude toward others—a critical spirit.

Just before that, Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33).

Here Jesus reinforces that command, [as He supplies the BIG IDEA for our passage] saying in effect,

“Do not criticize the unrighteousness of others. Address your own unrighteousness first, then perhaps you can address others.”

Jesus is Concerned about Your Assessing others. (1-2)

Do not judge (7:1–2)

Doriani, D. M. (2008). Matthew & 2. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (Vol. 1, p. 271). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

"“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. "For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.” ()

Do not judge (7:1–2)

One of the dangers that threaten the sincere seeker after God’s ‘kingdom and his righteousness’ is that of looking down on others who do not do so.

Righteousness can easily become self-righteousness,

so Christ begins by warning his disciples

not to think that they stand in God’s place as judges.

On the contrary, they too are subject to judgement and must act accordingly.

‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged,’ Jesus warns.

Contrary to much popular opinion, Jesus is not

forbidding them to exercise discernment or to assess the position of others.

Verses 5 and 6 command exactly that.

We must understand men’s position and needs if we are to help them:

to evangelize them,

counsel them, or

exercise church discipline

with regard to them.

These are not the issues here.

Certainly we must not be over-critical or harsh, but Jesus is saying more than that.

The real fault is when we see ourselves as being in God’s place,

to judge,

to refuse forgiveness,

to pass sentence and punish.

Instead, we should always be aware that we too are sinners,

that we need forgiveness and that,

if we have received mercy, we must show it to others in our turn.

Jesus will have more to say on this subject in chapter 18.

For the present, Jesus is content to warn His disciples that they must

see themselves in the light of standing before him on the judgement day.

Then they will be judged ‘in the same way as [they] judge others’, and ‘the standard [they] use’ will be used on them (7:2).

As the Apostle James puts it, ‘Speak and act as those who are going to be judged … because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful’ ().

He also said, "Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” ()

If we are conscious of our own need for forgiveness, we shall be

longsuffering with people, instead of writing them off as useless and hopeless.

We shall be longsuffering with people, instead of writing them off as useless and hopeless.

We must take Paul’s warning not to ‘judge someone else’s servant’ ().

Our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees, who condemned the common people who believed in Jesus as ‘this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse upon them’ ().

We don’t know the hearts of one another, nor each others intentions, but it’s God prerogative to test the hearts,

so we dare not step into His throne.

We don’t judge the eternal welfare of anyone, nor do we call others hypocrites, reprobates, and castaways!

These all go beyond our scope!

Counsel one another, help one another, serve one another but we don’t judge one another as God!

Jesus is Concerned about Your Accusing others. (3-6)

"Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? "Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. "Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” ()

Jesus then takes the matter further.

How much easier it is, he says, to see others’ faults, ‘the splinter in your brother’s eye’, than your own!

Jesus then takes the matter further. How much easier it is, he says, to see others’ faults, ‘the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye’, than your own! So often we have worse sins ourselves, but are ignorant of them. We feel justified in trying to correct others by removing the speck, ‘when all the time there is a plank in [our] own eye’. Perhaps the best example of this is King David. When Nathan the prophet told his parable about the poor man’s ewe lamb, David was able to see the speck of a rich man stealing another’s animal, but unable to see the plank of his own adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah (). The self-righteousness of the ‘hypocrite’ always leads to hardness and harshness. If we examine ourselves before God, we shall become aware of our own sin and this should soften our hearts. How can we insist on the strictest of rules for others, when we ourselves fall so far short? We are not judges of others, but fellow-sinners.

So often we have worse sins ourselves, but are ignorant of them.

We feel justified in trying to correct others by removing the splinter, ‘when all the time there is a beam in [our] own eye’.

Perhaps the best example of this is King David.

When Nathan the prophet told his parable about the poor man’s ewe lamb,

David was able to see the splinter of a rich man stealing another’s animal, but

unable to see the beam of his own adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah ().

We learn that there are degrees in sin.

Some sins compare to splinters others as beams.

Just like Jesus compares gnats and camels later on in Matthew.

It’s not that there’s any little sin, because there’s no little God to sin against.

If a splinter is in your eye or a gnat is in your throat both are not going to go away and both need to be dealt with properly.

We cannot be at ease and it’s not going to go well with us with those irritations.

We also learn that our own sins are to be seen as beams,

with our own sin appearing greater to us than the sins of others.

True repentance and godly sorrow will teach us to call our sins a beam in comparison to a splinter.

We also learn from these verses that there are many that have beams hanging out of their own eyes but they don’t perceive it.

They sit in churches across our land thinking that they need no repentance, no transformation.

It’s strange that you could have a beam in your eye and not know it.

This causes to be reminded at how artfully satan blinds the minds of people.

We also learn that the people that are the most sinful, seem to be the ones that are the least sensible to it.

The Pharisees, who were most haughty in justifying themselves, were most scornful in condemning others.

They were severe upon Christ’s disciples for eating with unwashen hands, which was a splinter,

while they encouraged others in contempt of their parents, which was a beam.

The self-righteousness of the ‘hypocrite’ always leads to hardness and harshness.

The self-righteousness of the ‘hypocrite’ always leads to hardness and harshness.

If we examine ourselves before God, we shall become aware of our own sin and this should soften our hearts.

How can we insist on the strictest of rules for others, when we ourselves fall so far short?

We are not judges of others, but fellow-sinners.

There is, of course, a further and different danger.

This Jesus also deals with.

The aim of taking ‘the beam out of your own eye’ is to ‘see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye’ (7:5).

We must not seek safety in isolation; we have a responsibility to each other.

Note that Jesus refers to one’s brother, a member of our heavenly Father’s family.

This is not easy.

Many do not welcome such ‘help’, which they see only as criticism.

However, if we love one another, we shall do our best to enable one another to walk in righteousness.

When Paul deals with the same issue he reverses the order, but makes the same point:"Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit” [remove the splinter], watching out for yourselves [look for the beam in your own eye], so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens, in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ’ ().

Judges merely condemn and punish; brothers & sisters will want to help, to restore and change for the better.

Dogs and pigs (7:6)

Verse 6 reminds us that some may well not be willing to be helped, but will turn on us.

"The one who corrects a mocker will bring abuse on himself; the one who rebukes the wicked will get hurt. "Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke the wise, and he will love you.” ()

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;

whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;

rebuke a wise man and he will love you

().

The contrast between brothers and pigs or dogs is probably significant.

We may expect a fellow-Christian to welcome our help and profit from it, if wisely and lovingly done.

Unbelievers, however, when offered ‘holy’, or precious, things (‘pearls’), may ‘trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces’.

Jesus appears to be referring here to the holy gospel of the kingdom of God,

the pearls of eternal life and a promised inheritance.

His disciples must be careful in their preaching.

Those who reject them and their message must be left alone;

they must shake the dust of such homes and villages off their feet (10:1–16).

In those verses he adds wolves to the description of dogs and pigs here in chapter 7.

This is a description of people who show scorn and hatred towards the messengers of the gospel.

Thus we find an Old Testament prophet facing and rebuking Amaziah, King of Judah.

The king rejects the prophet’s warning in violent and threatening terms: "While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life?”” ()

The prophet wisely stops, after giving a final warning.

It is clear, then, that not judging does not exclude a sane and charitable assessment of our hearers’ state,

so as to treat them wisely and correctly.

Paul warns his readers:

"Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt [suited appropriately to their taste], so that you may know how you should answer each person.” ()

Paul’s exhortation to make the most of every opportunity warns us against writing people off too soon.

We must not give up preaching, witnessing and, especially, living godly lives before ‘ordinary’ unbelievers ().

Nevertheless, due caution is in order; it is not wise, or even loving, to provoke ‘mockers’ with our words.

So applying this straight to us. This is now one of the most quoted verse about judging:

“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.” (v1)

But we cannot stop there. Jesus adds, "For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.” ()

I want to help you recognize, this statement as a form of the ‘sowing/reaping’ principle.

Jesus repeats it again a few verses later in a slightly different form: "Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” ()

or “Treat others the way you want them to treat you.”

This sowing/reaping principle is crucial to understanding the point of this passage.

Since Christians realize that correction is needed and want others to correct or ‘judge’ them (lovingly, of course),

then it must be appropriate for them to judge each other!

Jesus’ concern is not that we are judging, but that when we judge, we judge as He did, not as the Pharisees did!

The Pharisees judged from a position of self-righteousness.

That was their ‘standard of measure’ (7:2) and, therefore, the standard by which they would be judged.

Jesus, alone being self-righteous, judged them most severely.

In contrast to the Pharisees, we must judge from a position of humility, “considering ourselves, lest we be tempted also” (, ).

Let’s describe from scripture about people that are overly critical in their judgments.

These are they that look upon sin in general and

FIRST.

Hate in in another but not in themselves. "Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?” ()

How quick they are in seeing the splinter in another’s eye.

Perhaps a brother or sister is blessed with many sweet influences of grace in their lives but overlooks that but plainly sees the splinter!

Perhaps that splinter in that brother or sister’s eye has caused them a great many-a-tears but this self-righteous hypocrite takes no notice of that!

Meanwhile there’s a huge beam (meaning a great iniquitous monstrous evil, in himself but that evil is too near to him for him to notice!

SECOND.

This person may hate the effects of sin and the consequences of sin.

He doesn’t hate the nature of sin.

Just like a murderer in Texas hates the electric chair!

He doesn’t hate the wickedness done.

He doesn’t hate his sin in itself but his sin in connection with hell!

The professing Christian wishes that there were no such threatenings in Scripture against sin!

O sin, (the hypocrite says) if I could separate you from hell then nothing could separate you and me!

THIRD.

There may be times when a critical person hates sin but it’s not rooted in a habitual hatred of sin in general.

"It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”” ()

Sin, in the heart of a unsaved person, sits upon the conscience , as a load lays inside a sick stomach where they discharge that puke by

being religious, giving back, “being good” but in time… in time they come back to that sin again!

If him and his sin have a falling out, they’ll be back together!

Just think of how critical we can be and believe the worst about others...

• If someone delays answering a letter or fulfilling a commitment, we assume he is avoiding us or evading his responsibilities.

Could it be that he’s been in the hospital recovering from a serious accident?

Could he be overwhelmed by other responsibilities?

• If our children do not complete their chores on time, we conclude that they are being disobedient.

Could it be that they are secretly wrapping a special present for their mom’s birthday?

Could they have gotten distracted, and a simple reminder would help?

• If an employer fails to give us a raise, we assume they’re unappreciative or greedy.

Could they be struggling to keep the business going in the face of increasing competition and operating costs?

• If someone at church seems unfriendly, we assume they are proud or unfriendly.

Could it be that they feel awkward and unsure of themselves, and they’re hoping someone will reach out to them?

• If the leadership in the church does not accept a proposal that a committee makes,

perhaps we conclude that they are narrow-minded and do not understand or appreciate our opinions or needs.

Could it be that God is leading them to give priority to a different ministry?

• If church members raise questions about policies or new programs, church leaders may conclude that

the members are stubbornly unwilling to consider different preferences or stretch themselves to grow.

Sande, K. (2002). Judging Others: The Danger of Playing God. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Number 1, Fall 2002, 21, 14.

They may even be labeled as rebellious troublemakers.

Could it be that they have legitimate insights and concerns that deserve a careful hearing?

See, if we don’t see our own sin aright, we’ll be critical in our judgments.

But when we do see our sin aright (by God’s grace alone) our judgment is right.

True believers judge charitably.

Charitable being a synonym for the word ‘loving’.

Making a charitable judgment means that out of love for God,

you strive to believe the best about others until you have facts to prove otherwise.

In other words, if you can reasonably interpret facts in two possible ways,

God calls you to embrace the positive interpretation over the negative, or

at least to postpone making any judgment at all until you can acquire conclusive facts.

This is the gist of .

"Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them...”

How do you want others to judge you?

Do you want them to believe good about you instead of evil?

To interpret your actions in the best possible way?

To really try to understand your side of the story before drawing conclusions or talking to others about you?

If so, Jesus commands that you do the same for others.

Charitable judgments are also implicit in Paul’s teaching on love in 1 Cor.

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, "is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. "Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ()

Pay special attention to that last sentence.

Paul teaches that love, doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In other words, love always looks for reasonable ways to trust others,

to hope that they are doing what is right, and

to interpret their words and actions in a way that protects their reputation and credibility.

This is the essence of charitable judgments.

So how can a heart, that’s been born again, judge charitably?

This is a person that sees his sin newly and truly. So this person is guarded from the sin of wrongful judgments by:

FIRST.

A sincere heart dares not rush to judgment because of the eye and the fear of the Lord us upon this person. "I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?” () Then three verses later you see the motivating factor: "Does he not see my ways...?” ()

He doesn’t allow his eye to sin because he lives under the awe of God’s eye!

God sees your ways!

SECOND.

As the fear of the Lord, so too, the love of God is a principle of restraint from sin in the soul of the upright!

This is what kept back Joseph from sinning: "...So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”” ()

How can I do that?

This is a person that knows himself to be bound up from sin by the sheer goodness and love of God!

Has God delivered me from the pit that my envious brothers threw me into?

Has God in such a glorious fashion, advanced me to all this honor and power in Egypt?

And now, after all His lovingkindness towards me, shall I dare sin against Him?

How can we sin against such goodness and so gracious a God? "You who love the Lord, hate evil! ...” ()

Love cries out in the hour of temptation!

THIRD.

As the love of God, so too, the inward and essential evil and the defilements of what is in sin, keeps back the gracious soul from it.

commands: "Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.” ()

The more that a regenerate person grasps his sin, horror is impressed upon that heart causing us to detest evil!

Nothing is more loathing to a holy soul that the foulness of his own sin!

So the saved person, described as

having the fear of the Lord upon him,

the love of God constraining him, and

the loathsomeness of the evil of sin

doesn’t permit someone to just jump in there and start swinging away at other peoples sins.

Legg, J. (2004). The King and His Kingdom: The Gospel of Matthew Simply Explained (pp. 125–129). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.