Sermon Tone Analysis

Judging Others

Frequently quoted out of context, this verse has been used as an excuse to avoid taking a position against evil.

It’s been used as an excuse not to punish sin in the church.

It’s been used as the reason not to comment on what the world is doing.

I’ve even heard it used to get out of jury duty.

But is what Jesus is saying?

Is He saying we shouldn’t have an opinion about right and wrong?

Or that we shouldn’t sit on juries?

[krino /kree·no/] v. Perhaps a primitive word; TDNT 3:921; TDNTA 469; GK 3212; 114 occurrences; AV translates as “judge” 88 times, “determine” seven times, “condemn” five times, “go to law” twice, “call in question” twice, “esteem” twice, and translated miscellaneously eight times. 1 to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose. 2 to approve, esteem, to prefer.

3 to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion.

4 to determine, resolve, decree.

5 to judge.

5A to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong.

[krino /kree·no/]

5 to judge.

5A to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong.

5A1 to be judged, i.e. summoned to trial that one’s case may be examined and judgment passed upon it.

5B to pronounce judgment, to subject to censure.

Some translations footnote this word as “condemned”,

But a better sense is to pass judgement on someone.

To pronounce an opinion as to whether something is right or wrong.

But is Jesus telling us not to have an opinion about right and wrong?

Or to sit on a jury, since that would require passing judgement on someone?

Where else in Scripture are we told this?

Some might point to , but that is the same story from Luke’s point of view.

And Paul tells us in Romans not to judge those who eat food sacrificed to idols.

But Paul also says:

1 cor 6 1

Paul says we are to judge right and wrong among our brothers.

And the fact that we don’t is to our shame!

Even the least esteemed in the church should be chosen to judge between us rather than going to court!

And Jesus says later in Matthew:

OK Paul, but Jesus said that is in the regeneration, what about now?

In Isreal is told to have those who judge between them:

But Paul, that was the law in Israel, I thought we were no longer under the law but under grace?

So what is a disciple to do?

Read the verse in context!

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Rather than a blanket condemnation of deciding between right and wrong, this passage is an admonition to do so fairly and wisely.

To treat others the way we would want to be treated, just as Jesus tells us in verse 12

When you look at others, at what they do and who they are, judge them the way you would want to be judged.

Be fair, gathering all the information before jumping to a decision.

Give the benefit of the doubt, knowing there is almost certainly more that you do not know about the situation.

Give the benefit of the doubt, knowing there is almost certainly more that you do not know about the situation.

Be gracious, allowing the opportunity for repentance and reconciliation.

In other words, don’t be like Job’s friends and put yourself in the other person’s shoes before you cast judgement on them.

Who knows, you may already be standing in them already and not realize it.

mt 7

We often see our own shortcomings in other people,

Whether they are actually there or not.

I believe the technical term for this is “transference”.

We often assume others would react the way we would,

Without proof that they did.

We often impute our motives on others.

Or simply assume we know their motives.

In other words, we have a giant plank in our eye and because of that we see that as a speck in their eye.

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

We then see that speck in the eyes of others, you attempt to remove it.

Not realizing we are blind to our own sins.

Before we judge the actions of another, we must first look at ourselves very closely to see if we’re judging them or what we see in ourselves.

Before we impute motives to the actions of others, we should make sure we aren’t placing our own sins upon them.

Before we condemn others, we should make sure we are not condemning ourselves before God first.

Now after all that, what is this talk about dogs and pigs?

As followers of Christ, we have all been given a great many gifts.

These things are holy, pure, set apart.

And they are of great value,

After all, they were purchased at the cost of our Saviour’s blood.

But what do we do with these gifts?

Do we treat them as table scraps to be given to dogs?

The parts of our meal we feel is unworthy of being eaten?

Do we cast them in the pig sty, to be trampled?

And why is this stuck after verses on judging”

One of the gifts from God is the discernment between good and evil.

Not simply the knowledge that there is good and evil,

Or the desire to determine what is good and evil, that we inherited from Adam,

But the discernment of what God calls good and evil that we inherited from Jesus.

And what does it say to God when we take this gift that cost Him so much, and treat it so poorly?

God has told us since Moses to judge rightly between brothers.

To do so without partiality, or fear of man’s reaction.

To do so justly and with wisdom.

Are we to toss it aside?

To let non-believers judge for us?

Do we ignore our responsibilities because we are afraid of men rather than God?

Are we to allow men to be condemned without the wisdom God has granted us?

And what will happen to us when those we have cast this pearl before, turn on us?

We will be the ones torn to pieces.

This is not simply a question of court cases,

As the “church” of Christ, we have failed to judge many things.

Many “believers” would not judge slavery because of the culture.

In Germany, many in the church would not judge the Nazi’s anti-semitism for fear of retribution.

Many “churches” today will not judge sins like adultery and homosexuality because they fear a backlash.

Many more will not judge abortion or political positions for fear of loosing their tax exempt status.

And rather than judge marriage within the church, we turned it over to the government, the gentiles, to judge for us.

And in all of these cases, those we have turned judgement over to have turned on us.

Slavery in America was defeated only at the cost of over 600,000 soldiers lives.

Anti-semitism is well on the rise in Europe, and its showing it’s ugly face here in America.

Abortion, while on the decline, still kills around 1 million babies a year.

And churches are being told to marry just about anyone under penalty of law.

And lets face it, many church didn’t take much persuading.

We have cast this pearl before swine, and now they are tearing us to pieces with it.