“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 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? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The Authority of Jesus
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Matthew 7 ESV
Matthew 7: 1-6 Being Judgmental
1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?… Romans 2: 1-3
Judge not, that you be not judged - This has quickly risen to become the most quoted verse of Scripture in our age. I remember using it quite often, especially as a young man, when someone would point out that something I was doing, saying or condoning, was wrong. Sadly, I even knew better at times, that what I was doing was no different than Satan saying, "hath God said?" It's like quoting, "vengeance is mine," but leaving out the, "sayeth the Lord", as if it belongs to me. Also, in using it as a knee jerk defense against anything and everything, I was also refusing any evaluation of myself, even those objections to my behavior which were based upon clear evidence of my open rebellion, in what God had clearly deemed evil. I was also passing judgment in my use of this verse, accusing the other person of being in violation of Jesus's words.
1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. 2The good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.… Proverbs 12: 1-2
So what is it saying here? Let's look at the context for understanding. We are still in the Sermon on the Mount which started with chapter 5, and we have been learning that religion that is pleasing to God is not judged by outward appearances. Jesus even said, "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees," which was an outward righteousness, "you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". God is looking at the heart.
…18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 5: 18-20
Christ has been dealing with hypocrisy, which is made very clear in chapter 6, where he intros the principles of giving, praying and fasting with being aware not to do these things, good things, as the hypocrites do, self righteously, to be seen of men, thus nullifying their reward from God.
With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - They liked being called teachers, being in places of authority, having titles, being greeted by those titles, and being seen as the keepers of the law. So, if you are all that, and you feel like your in such a place that you can be critical of others, than know this, you will be judged likewise. If you go around claiming to be a pastor, a teacher, a judge of the law, then you will be judged as an expert, as one who should know better than those you look down on. Often the Pharisees judged by rules they made up, clothes they wore, money that people had, cleaning the outside of the cup. They judged by family influence, ethnicity, flowery prayers, and some even changed their judgment for pay. It was a crooked line they walked, and taught others to walk, but they thought it looked straight.
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body. 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal.… James 3: 1-3
Guzik has an excellent exposition of this command writing that...
This is the Bible verse that seems to be most popular in our present day. But most the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They seem to think Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching. If we see what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, He commands us to know people by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessment is necessary for that.. The Christian is called to unconditionally love. But the Christian is not called to unconditional approval. We really can love people who do things that should not be approved of. Instead, Jesus is speaking against being judgmental, that is, judging motives and the inner man, which only God can know. We can judge the fruit of a man, but we can rarely judge their motives with accuracy.
Jesus does not prohibit judgment of others. He only requires that our judgment be completely fair, and that we only judge others by a standard we would also like to be judged by. Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, not because we judge according to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard - we ignore the standard in our own life.
We judge others by one standard, and ourselves by another standard - being far more generous to ourselves than others. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you:
According to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus' time, God had two measures that He used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. Which measure do you want God to use with you? Then you should use that same measure with others. (Mt 7:2). (Matthew 7) -Precept Austin
…5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.” 7Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.… 2 Samuel 12: 5-7
Speck...and log - This is comical, a sort of cartoon illustration, that is like the blind leading the blind. It is also interesting in that the speck does need to be removed, and that it is a function of brotherly love. But here I am, concerned with what amounts to being a piece of saw dust in my brother's eye, yet I have this two by four in my own. It would be right for my brother to have some reservation in allowing me tweezers or some other tool, as I am glancing sideways, tilting my head around this board in my own eye, to do surgery on his eye. This is the board of self righteousness; it is cumbersome, and in the way of doing what verse 5 clearly states needs to be done. I know what the law says, I know that he is in violation of God's law, I see the speck, the fruit of it, but I am a hypocrite, not suited to help him, because I can't see the skateboard parked in my own eye. It's not that his sin is so small, for even the smallest sin in our eyes is enough to damn the whole of creation, but I have made so light of my pride, my hypocrisy, that I think I have nothing to repent of.
…14You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD. 15You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 16You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.… Leviticus 19: 14-16
…23If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.” 25Then some of the people of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?… John 7: 23-25
…15“so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates, 17do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.… Zechariah 8: 15-17
So, are we not to judge? No, but we aren't to judge hypocritically. No sin should ever bother a man so much as his own.
Take the log out of your own eye - The condition is still there, and your brother needs your help; it is not described in a combative way, but like going to see a doctor, someone who will be honest with you, but who will also help you correct the issue. It is a privilege to help and restore, but the requirement is knowledge, that which recognizes the law and the infraction, love, that which cares for the person, and humility, that which recognizes that I am a fellow human being and sinner as well. I needed grace, I begged God for mercy, and what He has granted me I should be quick to show to others. Notice what the Psalmist goes through, the repentance which comes before teaching others.
…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.…
…12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You. Psalm 51: 9-13
We shouldn't judge unjustly, discriminatingly. We shouldn't be respecters of persons or money, and here is a scary way one king dealt with such a pollution of that chair, the seat of judgment.
In Persia once, there was a judge – Montagne tells this story – and this particular judge was bribed; and so he rendered a wrong verdict, for money. Cambyses was the Persian king, and he heard what happened, and so he ordered the judge to be executed. And after the judge was executed, he ordered his soldiers to skin him: “Strip off all his skin.” He took all of the skin of that judge, and with it, he covered a chair. And on that chair sat every judge from then on who judged in that court in Persia. I would say that would be a fairly good reminder of justice. - J Mac form Stop Criticizing
We shouldn't judge hastily either, and that happens often, where we think we know a person's intentions, that we see their heart, and on limited information we pass judgment. In cases where we share this with others we gossip, and bring them into our sin as well. This is often a perch of superiority as well, where we think we have found a greater sinner than ourselves, and in this we rejoice.
…10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men— swindlers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’…
…13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18: 10-14
Are we exempted by this passage from being discerning? No, this same chapter and all of Holy Scripture demands that we exercise discernment. While there are those who are judgmental, there are also those who like to go along with the flow, and will say, "your truth, it's all good, as long as your happy", and they enjoy being liked, having their own hypocrisy that glories in the self righteousness of not offending anyone. They stand for not standing, for appealing to the largest sector, but are not really different from those who virtue signal today. The passage itself calls for discernment, look at verses 13 and 14, they ask us to discern the wide gate from the narrow gate. In verses 15 - 20 we find the need to distinguish false prophets from true, and to a know trees by their fruit. Many today use "judge not lest ye be judged" as a call to unity at the cost of truth, but this leads men astray, as it is in opposition to what God teaches us. The majority of evangelicals today despise doctrine, yet this is not a Scriptural position.
We need to divide truth from error:
14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. 15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16
1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.… 2 Timothy 4: 1-3
…15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.… Philippians 1: 15-17
…10Test and prove what pleases the Lord. 11 Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.… Ephesians 5: 10-12
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.