Sermon Tone Analysis

We have rounded the corner into the final chapter of the sermon on the mount.

And in chapter 7, we have a good amount of teaching on our perspective of others.

In this chapter we have our text for today, the well-known call to judge not.

We have, in verse 12, the golden rule.

How we look at others, how we treat others.

And then, Jesus gives us a warning about others who are trying to do harm to the kingdom, false teachers.

Jesus’ teaching is all about the Kingdom, as we learned last week.

We are to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first.

So we could say these are kingdom perspectives.

And if we don’t have these perspectives, which we don’t naturally, then these are areas in which we must seek Christ, seek repentance, and seek His Kingdom.

So what is this first Kingdom perspective?

Well, it is the perspective of Discernment versus Condemnation.

Or maybe just Discernment.

And it has to do with those things as it relates to our human relationships, or specifically, with our brothers and sisters as the passage directly addresses.

The call to “judge not” may just be the most often quoted scripture verse in the world.

Now, is it quoted normally in the right sense?

In the right context?

With a right understanding?

Well, hopefully that is something we will be able to understand for ourselves by studying it, so we may know what Christ intended by it and not just take the phrase blindly.

Often when the phrase is quoted, it is quoted as a sort of “out” or an “excuse” to be able to go on living any kind of manner or way that we would like to without fear of repercussion.

Whenever Christ’s church makes any sort of statement or has any sort of teaching that conflicts with the common morality of the day, the first reaction is “didn’t Jesus teach you to not judge?”

And in those cases, we should be able to give an answer.

And we don’t want to give an answer that is hostile, we don’t want to give an answer that is sarcastic, and we also don’t want to give an answer that would provide false confidence.

One major obstacle to the common understanding of this passage is that the majority of people simply haven’t even read the rest of Jesus’ words in this paragraph, let alone the rest of the sermon on the mount, let alone the rest of the Gospels, let alone what the whole of scripture teaches.

And I don’t want to simply point a finger outside of the church and say “they’re taking scripture out of context,” because those within the church are often guilty of not putting in the effort it takes to read the rest of the words, look at them as a whole, look at them as a body of teaching, and most importantly, rely on the Holy Spirit to illuminate the truth.

Now, I have to admit, that this is a challenging passage.

I don’t think it is challenging to understand, but I do think it is challenging to live well.

Because of how well known the call to “judge not” is, we want to apply it well, we want to live it well.

We want to apply it and live it in the way that Jesus intended.

And, in doing so, we want to avoid going off the other side of the road, into the other ditch.

And Jesus’ conveniently gives us a warning against that in verse 6.

There is a way in which we can read and apply this passage that causes us to cower back, to keep to ourselves, and to not love our brothers and sisters well.

But we want to have the right perspective about our relationships among one another.

We want to have a healthy view, a discerning view, but a helpful view as this passage calls for.

So we need discernment to understand discernment.

Does that make sense?

This is really a Romans 12:2 endeavor.

Let’s read the verses together.

Here is the big idea for today.

As followers of Jesus, we must be honest about our own sin before we can be helpful to our brothers and sisters.

May we see clearly so we can be discerning and not merciless.

1.

A Statement against Uncharitable Condemnation - Vs. 1

The first and big question that we ask when we come to this passage, is what does it mean to judge?

What does it mean to judge?

Well, the basic meaning of the word Jesus uses for “judge” is “to form an opinion based on scrutiny.”

The issue is that the word is used in so many different ways.

It is used in the sense of discernment, it is used in the sense of the law-court, it is used in the sense of criticism, and it is used in the sense of condemnation.

Now, knowing that the word is used in all those ways, we have a challenge right off the bat.

Because, in the very same passage, Jesus calls us to use discernment.

In verse 5 we need discernment to help pull the speck out of our brother’s eye.

In verse 6, we need discernment knowing what is holy and unholy.

In verse 15, we need discernment to know who are false prophets.

We will go in depth into all of those things either today or another day, but we have to make the observation that Jesus obviously isn’t calling us to a blind lack of discernment in our lives.

Now, the other uses of “judge” are more fitting.

If we think of it as the law-court, well that would fit with Jesus’ teaching back in chapter 5 about not living in an eye-for-an-eye mentality.

We don’t get to retaliate when we are hurt.

We don’t get to lash out in anger when we are harmed.

We are not the judge, jury, and executioner when we are wronged by others.

That is God’s job.

So that is one sense that we can certainly say “judge not.”

What about the sense of criticism?

Well, again, I think that is a proper application of Jesus’ words as well.

I think that is how Paul applies them in Romans 14.

In this sense of judgment, we have to remember that we are all accountable to our true master, the Lord.

A critical eye is usually an eye that is not looking in the right direction.

A critical eye is an eye that is focused and intent on finding fault at all cost to the neglect of our own walk with Christ.

And what about condemnation?

Well, that is an easy one.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are walking together as those whom God does not condemn.

We are walking as those whom God has given mercy and grace.

If God does not condemn us, then who are we to condemn our brothers and sisters for their faults?

Condemn is sort of the “ultimate” judgment.

It is the “no turning back” judgment.

It is the equivalent of picking up a stone to cast it, to end someone’s life.

So we could say that judgment here is a critical, condemning, unmerciful judgment.

It is a judgment that is unfair, a judgment that is out of our pay-grade.

The second half of the verse begins to give us some more clarity as well.

We are called to “judge not, that you be not judged.”

Often in Jesus’ teachings, he gives us both sides of a coin so we can understand the whole thing better.

And this is one of those cases.

Whenever we set in to judge someone in a critical, condemning, or unfit way, we must remember that we are also subject to judgment as well.

When we open our mouths to criticize, we must realize that we are accountable to the same scrutiny as well.

Verse 2 really expands on that, so lets move to point 2 as well.

2. A Reminder of our Own Condition - Vs. 2

Matthew 7:2 (ESV)

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Here we get that sense of the “law court” or “condemning” judgment.

It is a judgment that we “pronounce.”

What we really get to here is the idea of a standard, or a scale.

If we are willing to judge and condemn based on a certain standard, then we are also subject to the same standard.

Let me give you a small illustration from life, and then a big illustration from scripture.

My tentmaking job, as most of you know, is carpentry.

Well, if I were to be working with a younger carpenter, and i look at his work, something he has just done, and I say, “that looks terrible!

There are huge gaps in the joins, you’ve left giant dents from your hammer, you haven’t sanded anything.

It looks like a preschooler did it!”

Now, that’s pretty harsh.

Maybe its a true assessment, but the wording is harsh.

But lets take it a step further.

Lets say I turn around, after blasting the guy for his workmanship, and I go to my task and I do all the things I’ve just blasted him for.

What is he going to think when he sees my work?