SF495 - LIFE ON THE ROCK - JUDGING OTHERS (Matthew 7 1-6)
Matthew 7:1-6
INTRODUCTION
Background
The thrust of the Sermon on the Mount is to show the distinction between true and false religion, between spiritual truth and hypocrisy.
We all tend to judge others
We have our yardsticks...
Ø Jesus says that our yardsticks of judgment will become a boomerang
Man bought a new boomerang and killed himself trying to throw old one away.
We had best be very careful about how and why we label others...
1A. Some Popular Misinterpretations
1B. Believers should never evaluate or criticize anything or anyone.
Ø Our culture hates moral and theological absolutes.
Ø If you hold to right doctrine you are considered to be a troublemaker.
Ø Remember those who have held to God’s truth have always been labeled as trouble makers (i.e. the OT prophets, the reformers).
1 Corinthians 2:15 “But he who is spiritual judges all things…”
2B. Believers are to refrain for participating in the legal system.
Ø Jesus is not telling us not to have courts of law (Leviticus 19; Judges 13)
Ø God has ordained civil law (Romans 13)
3B. Believers are not to evaluate or criticize the actions or teachings of another person.
Ø Jesus commands us to “beware of the false prophets” (Matthew 7:15)
Ø Paul commands us to separate for those who cause division in the church. (Romans 16:17-18)
Ø We are to judge every message for soundness in doctrine. (Galatians 1:8; 2 John 10-11)
Ø Refusing to warn and correct someone concerning their sin is unloving. (Leviticus 19:17)
2A. The Proper Interpretation
“Judge”= Krino the root meaning is to separate, choose, evaluate, or condemn. Here Jesus is talking about the self-righteous, egotistical judgment and unmerciful condemnation of others. (MacArthur, 432)
Jesus gives three reasons why such judgment is sinful.
1B. It reveals a wrong view of God (7:1)
To judge another person’s motives is to assume the role of God.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? ‘I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.’”
To condemn someone else is to usurp the right of Christ.
John 5:22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son”
Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
“Whenever we assign people to condemnation without mercy because they do no do something the way we think it ought to be done or because we believe their motives are wrong, we pass judgement that only God is qualified to make.” (MacArthur, 433)
2B. It reveals a wrong view of others. (7:2)
We judge others because we think we are superior to them. (Romans 3:23)
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
God will judge us by the same standard we use to judge others.
Romans 2:1-2 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.”
3B. It reveals a wrong view of ourselves
We want to focus on the sin of others and ignore our sin.
“Speck,” a twig of splinter, it is a bad sin but the log is worse.
The log represents the sin of self-righteousness
Ø The self-righteous person is blind to his own sin.
Ø The self-righteous person claims to be both lawgiver and judge.
Ø The self-righteous person can never be anything but a hypocrite, because he continually puts on an act of righteous superiority.
3A. The Personal Application
1B. Confess your sin (7:5b; Psalm 51:10-13)
Ask for God’s forgiveness and cleansing (51:10-11)
Seek God’s fellowship and presence (51:12)
Share God’s grace and glory. (51:13)
2B. Beware of inherent dangers
The danger of judgmental self-righteousness
1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
The danger of cowardly self-inspection
3B. Practice proper judgment (7:6)
Learn how to identify dogs and hogs.
Ø Dogs were mongrels; they represent people who have no appreciation for the things of God. They see God as a means to an end.
Ø Hogs were unclean; they represent people who by their lifestyle have polluted themselves and have not understanding of the purity of God.
Follow the Lord’s instructions for dealing with these types of people.
Ø When people reject and ridicule the gospel, move on to someone else.
Matthew 10:14 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.”
Ø When people resist the gospel and blaspheme God we may speak words of judgment on them.
Acts 18:6 “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
4B. Do not reject the gospel, receive it, repent of your sin and trust in Christ.
John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name”
