The Kingdom's Judgment

We are in the middle of a series on the Kingdom Life. Just what does it mean to live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God? That’s what we’re after, and so far we’ve seen a Kingdom ethic of love that extends to all, especially those who do not deserve it. This week, we’ll look at another primary ethic of God’s Kingdom. Stand with me as we read from the words of Christ, recorded in . This is God’s Word, and if you let it, it will change your life. :

Luke 6:37–42 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 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? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Pray

One of the primary ethics of the Kingdom of God is justice. We live in a world where justice is the puppet of political forces who seek to gain power. We see justice perverted as guilt is misnamed as innocence, lust is disguised as love, and social justice is paraded around as though it is genuine justice. Justice to our society means not calling things as they truly are, but as we wish or feel them to be.

So it is little wonder that with rare exception two of the most often quoted words of Jesus in our culture are the first words in our passage this morning:

Luke 6:37 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

We live among a society that wants no part of judgment for their own sins, but merciless “justice” for those who sin against them. Cancel culture continues to rack up victims by the thousands as those who transgress the social norms are cast into the “outer darkness” of exclusion, where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Yet justice, proper and true, is a primary ethic of the Kingdom of God. So how can the Christian live a life of justice - a life that balances grace and truth? Jesus says much on the topic. But the first thing he says is what not to do:

Don’t Administer Judgment

Warning #1: Don’t Assume Authority to Judge

The first warning comes from the first part of verse 37:

Luke 6:37 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

These two commands - judge not and condemn not - are two sides of the Judgment coin. The first side is rendering the judgment. In a court of law, a judge (or a jury in criminal cases) renders a judgment. They make a proclamation that the defendant is guilty. The word can be more general, but the way Jesus uses it here makes it specifically a guilty verdict.

Luke 6:37 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Now why would Christ tell us not to judge? Why do we not have the authority in God’s Kingdom to assess the guilt of someone else? Aren’t we supposed to “call a spade a spade?” Doesn’t the Scripture tell us that we should not call evil as good and good as evil? Doesn’t God expect us to differentiate between right and wrong?

Warning #2: Don’t Assume Guilt to Judge

Blah.

Yes - and we will see that in a moment. But notice the result of withholding a verdict upon others: “and you will not be judged.” Jesus tells us not to declare others guilty, with the effect that we will not be declared guilty ourselves. What does he mean? Hold that question for just a moment and look at the other side of the judgment coin.

Jesus also tells us to “condemn not.” This idea relates more to the baliff in the courtroom. This is not just declaring the guilt of the defendant - this word involves the exercise of justice upon the one declared guilty. This is where the baliff takes the defendant to jail. This is where the judge issues the command to pay the citation, where the guilty verdict turns into a punishment.

Warning #3: Don’t Assume the Right to For

Jesus tells us not to exercise justice by imposing the penalty for sins committed. So we are not to declare the guilt of others, nor are we to impose the punishment for their sins. Well this sounds just like those folks want it to be, right? They want us to sit quietly and not call out sin while they proceed with the “lifestyle” they want. They want us to affirm their “choices” without the least hint of disapproval - and often they want us to laud them for making those choices. Surely this isn’t what Jesus meant? Where is justice to be found if we are sitting quietly allowing society to rot away while doing nothing about it?

This is where the parables in verses 39-42 come into view. Notice the parable of the blind:

Luke 6:39 ESV

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

You can’t expect the blind to lead the blind - neither one of them can see! How can we lead others when we are blinded by our desire to judge them? How can we show them the grace of God when we are focused on finding their faults, judging their sins, bringing wrath upon them? We are unable to lead others when we are blinded by our own insatiable desire for “justice” that seeks only to prosecute those who do us wrong. Remember, our command is to love our enemies, not to sentence them for their crimes.

The second parable in verse 40, gives us another reason not to judge or condemn:

Luke 6:40 ESV

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

We are disciples of Christ. He is the one in charge, not us. Just like an employee can’t write up a fellow employee at a workplace, so a disciple has no right to judge a fellow disciple. Again, that does not mean we cannot call out sin - Jesus gives us a way to do that. But we do not have the authority as disciples to declare guilt and impose judgment - that right belongs to Christ himself. Our job is to continue growing like him.

The third parable really brings this idea home:

Luke 6:41–42 ESV

41 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? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Now we really see why we cannot judge or condemn - we’re guilty ourselves. We have a beam sticking out of our eye, and we’re nit-picking the speck in our brother’s eye! How ridiculous we must look to God, trying to judge others for sin that runs rampant in our own hearts! No, we must not condemn others because it brings condemnation right on ourselves! So what does Kingdom Judgment look like?

First, Judge Yourself

Luke 6:42 ESV

42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

The first step of Kingdom Judgment is to judge yourself! Deal with the sin problem in you first. As the accidental theologian Michael Jackson once sang,

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make that change

Kingdom Judgment begins with yourself. The Apostle John wrote:

1 John 1:8–9 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Judging our own sins gets us right with God. It restores the relationship between Master and disciple, Father and adopted son, Messiah and me. Once you are right with God, and only then, can you turn to do the second step:

Then, Help Your Brother

Luke 6:42 ESV

42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Once we deal with our own sin, then we can deal with our brother’s sin. But notice that we are no longer judging - we have turned from judging to helping. This is why Jesus says in verses 37-38:

Luke 6:37–38 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Here’s the crux of Kindgom Judgment - we judge ourselves and seek to help our brothers avoid the final judgment of God. God has already shown us grace, so we ought to demonstrate grace to all. We seek reconciliation with our neighbors, friends, family, and others, both to God and to ourselves. That’s Kingdom Judgment.