Judge Not!
Pastor Bill Nichols - May 2, 2010Today's Scripture reference is Matthew 7: 1-6
Introduction
I want you to participate in a little exercise with me this morning, okay? I am going to mention two names, and I want you to choose one or the other based on the criteria I happen to mention. Ready?
Better basketball player: Michael Jordon or Wilt Chamberlain
Smarter person: Albert Einstein or Aristotle
Better ballplayer: Mark McGuire or Babe Ruth
Worst Dictator: Adolph Hitler or Mussolini
Better Actress: Marilyn Monroe or Sandra Bullock
Better Preacher: Billy Graham or Billy Nichols
Now, in each and every choice that you made, you were making a judgment, am I right? We make judgments each and every day. Right, wrong or indifferent, we make judgments based on information that we have available to us.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a statement that many people like to quote concerning judging others. Matthew 7:1 says: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
There are many people (many non religious) who like to quote these words of Jesus, especially to those who are Christians. Why? Because they see Christians as judgmental people and it gives them a chance to throw the words of Jesus back at them.
I for one would have to agree with them to some degree. I do believe that there are a lot of Christians who are very judgmental toward others, both Christian and non-Christian.
But I also believe that those who use this text as a means of trying to avoid judgment by others are taking it out of context. So let us examine it together this morning, along with a few other verses from the New Testament that address the subject of judging others. Let us begin by reading the passage in its context. Remember also the context in which Jesus is speaking has to do with the hypocritical attitudes of the religious leaders, the Scribes and Pharisees.
Matthew 7:1-6 (New International Version)
1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Hypocritical Judging -- Verses 1 - 2
In this passage, Jesus is not making a blanket statement that says you should never judge someone else. As we have already inferred, everyone makes judgments every day. But what Jesus is stating here is that you should not judge others hypocritically. Webster defines a "hypocrite" as:
"A person who pretends to be better than he really is. Or to be pious, virtuous, etc., without really being so."
That was the Pharisees. They were pious and self-righteous. They pretended to be what they were not. They looked down on almost everyone else and constantly made judgments about others. Jesus told this story about a Pharisee in
Luke 18: 10-14 (NIV)
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
When you and I make unrighteous judgments about others, we are no different than the self-righteous Pharisee. Maybe we do not have a problem with the same sin in our life as that other person. And worse yet, many of our judgments have nothing to do with sin and righteousness. Sometimes we judge others just because they are different than us. It might be skin color. It might be weight. It might be age. It might be economic status. It might be education. It might be a host of other things that really do not matter to God, except that when we make these judgments, God sees what is in our heart. We are exalting ourselves when we are putting others down.
I guess that if I were to name one thing that gets under my skin more than anything else in the ministry it is the way Christians judge and treat one another. Rather than being united in Christ and one in the Holy Spirit, there are these petty little judgmental, self-righteous attitudes towards others that create disharmony and division in the church. I have to tell you that sometimes it is difficult being the person who is trying to bring peace and harmony in the flock.
How can we overcome this tendency to judge others hypocritically? I'd like to mention two things for us to keep in mind. First, Jesus said both here and in the Lord's prayer: "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged."
God sees how we judge others and He will judge us by the same standard. That is a pretty scary thought for some of us.
Second, my mom used to tell me, when you point your finger at someone else, remember that you have three fingers pointing back at yourself.
Remove the Plank -- Verses 3-5
Jesus put it like this in Matthew 7:3-5
3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Who said that God does not have a sense of humor? Can you picture it? Someone with a piece of 2x4 stuck in his eye trying to remove a speck of sawdust from your eye?
The message is pretty clear. Before you judge others, take a good look at yourself. You will always find that someone else is not living up to God's standards, but it is a pretty good bet that you are not either. Notice in Jesus illustration, the guy with the plank in his eye is trying to help the guy with the sawdust in his eye. I get two thoughts from this illustration. First, the guy with the sawdust in his eye can see pretty clearly that the other guy is a hypocrite. After all, he has a plank sticking out of his eye. Why should he let this judgmental hypocrite try and help him when he has enough problems of his own. If the person is not a Christian, he is probably going to be turned off by the Christian hypocrite who is judging him for his speck of sawdust.
Second, the guy with the plank in his eye cannot really see good enough to help the guy with the sawdust. He has become desensitized to his own problem, how in the world can he have enough sensitivity to be able to help out the other guy.
That is what sin does to us. It desensitizes us until we begin to believe that it is ok. It does not hurt anymore. As long as it is not hurting someone else, we can indulge ourselves in a little sin. Then pretty soon, while we do not see it or feel it, others see this big old 2x4 sticking out of our eye and label us for what we really are, hypocrites.
Righteous Judgment is Okay!
I want to close by showing you, in Jesus own words and in the context of this passage on "not judging" that righteous judgment is okay. Read with me verse six
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
It sounds to me like Jesus is making a judgment concerning certain people when he calls them dogs and pigs. Listen to these passages of Scripture about dogs and swine.
II Peter 2: 22
Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
Revelation 22: 15
"Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."
Conclusion
As Christians, I believe that we have a responsibility to judge sin, God does. What we have to beware of is judging others sin in a hypocritical manner. We must first look to our own lives and allow God to reveal the sin in our lives, confess that sin, and make a change. We must first remove the plank from our own eye. Then and only then will we have a right to judge other's sin.
When we do make judgments, it should be with a spirit of humility, knowing that God has forgiven our sin and that He wants to forgive others their sin too. Our judgment should be in the best interest of others with a goal of either restoring a believer to a right relationship with God, or leading an unbeliever into a relationship with God. It should not be condemning for the sake of condemning, and it sure should not be done with hypocrisy.
Before judging others, always pray and ask God to give you wisdom and empathy, for you do not know what is in the heart of the person you are making judgment against and you do not know what has brought them to the place they are in their life.
Matthew 7: 1 and 2
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."