Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: We love two things to judge people and to tell people that are judging us, “Judge not!”

But we need to learn today that yes, we are called to judge others and ourselves, Jesus even tells us in verse 6 that sometimes we need to make very hard and harsh judgements, but they must be done in the correct manner with the correct heart.

Therefore, our Central Idea of the Text today is....

CIT: As Christians we must learn to judge how God would judge.

Learn to see

Learn to act

Ask God for wisdom

Interact with others as God would

Learn to see (Matthew 7:1-5)

The log in your eye (Matthew 7:3-4)

If we truly want to be perfect as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48, Leviticus 19:2) then we must look in the mirror, which is Scripture, and see our messy faces.

The speck in your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-4)

Out of our love for our brothers and sisters we must be examining their lives

Learn to act (Matthew 7:5)

Remove sin from your own life

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” - John Owen

Remove sin from your brother’s life

“Correct your brother, not as a foe, nor an adversary, [or as a bully] exacting a penalty, but as a physician.”

- John Chrysostom

“Just as we should not be taken aback if a doctor were to tell us that something is wrong with our eye and that the cure ‘might hurt a bit,’ so we should not be surprised by the sins our brothers and sisters see in us - specks that need to be seen and removed for our own spiritual health.

Ask God for wisdom (Matthew 7:7-11)

To see ourselves and others clearly

Through the lens that Jesus has given us in the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 - Entrance into God’s Kingdom and a proper interpretation of God’s Law

Matthew 6 - How to live as a Christian in God’s Kingdom

To judge rightly

1 Kings 3:9 “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?””

Trusting that God will give that good gift

James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

But let him ask in faith...”

Interact with others as God would (Matthew 7:12)

Learning to see rightly and judge rightly, through asking God for the wisdom to do so, should culminate in us seeing and judging how God would.

We would not want someone who is unrighteous to judge our unrighteousness

Therefore you should pursue righteousness in your personal life, so that your judgement of others won’t be hypocritical

We would not want to be judged unfairly

Therefore you should study God’s Word so that your judgement of others, and yourself, will be consistent with the fairness that God has in his judgements.