Transcript

Judgement On When To Judge-Part One

Matthew 7:1-6
August 31, 2008
Pastor Randy Smith

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Though we were sleeping in a tent, I was able to break away from the bonfire between the hours of 10:00 and midnight every day but one, and catch the swimming performance of Michael Phelps at the campground community center.

The man accomplished a remarkable feat: eight gold medals in one Olympic game. To dominate the world's greatest athletes in such a way definitely required unique abilities - the right body, the right talent, the right training and the right determination. Certain identifiable traits must be evident to achieve his accomplishment and claim the title "Olympic Champion."

It must be an honor to win eight gold medals, even one, but God has granted a greater honor on another group of people. There are certain people, says the Bible, who are uniquely privileged to be called the children of God. John 1, "[Jesus] came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn. 1:11-13).

And although we become a child of God by grace, as God enables us to place our faith in Jesus Christ, like an Olympic athlete, there are certain identifiable traits that will characterize God's children as well.

Throughout the summer we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount contained in Matthew 5-7. Jesus' goal in that sermon was to identify the citizens who belong to His Kingdom. These are not traits necessary to enter the Kingdom, as if our works achieved our salvation; rather they are identifiable traits that mark citizens who truly belong to the Kingdom. Kingdom citizens will manifest a Beatitude Attitude (5:1-12). They will live as lights to the world (5:14). They will prioritize righteous living (5:20). They will value purity and love and honesty from the heart (5:21-37). They will strive after reconciled relationships (5:23-24) and strong marriages (5:31-32). They will practice sacrificial love for others (5:38-47). They will seek to imitate God (5:48). They will avoid religious hypocrisy when praying, giving and fasting (6:1-18). They will know how to pray (6:9-13) and how to forgive (6:14-15) and how to spend their money (6:19-24) and how to overcome worry (6:25-34). And as we will learn today, they will know when and when not to judge others (7:1-6). And most of all they will know that these traits are not optional. For Jesus said in 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."

As an Olympic athlete takes his or her training very seriously, this verse I just read warns us that we who claim to be children of God had better take God's will, as it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures, very seriously as well. This morning we'll look at God's will as it relates to another very practical subject - the subject of judging others.

1. JUDGMENT - WHEN IT SHOULD BE AVOIDED?

Let's begin with the first point: "Judgment - when should it be avoided?" My quick answer to that question is not all the time.

Before I unpack these verses, permit me to make provide some clarification on this concept. Possibly no other verse has been more misinterpreted within the universal church than Mathew 7:1. Confront any issue of sin and quite often people respond with: "Jesus said, 'Judge not lest you be judged!" So is Matthew 7:1 a prohibition on all forms of judgment? My answer is unequivocally, "no."

A country, a church, a classroom, a family without proper judgment would result in utter anarchy and chaos. Therefore, the Bible supports and promotes the critical judgment of others, especially from those in a leadership position. Yet judgment forces us to engage in the uncomfortable act of confronting others. Judgment forces us to conform our living to biblical truth. Judgment forces us to build unity on theology and not personal feelings. For these reasons, the sinful flesh would like to do away with judgment altogether. And for this reason, many have misinterpreted this text to suit their own selfish desires.

If this verse pronounced a moratorium on all forms of judgment, what do we make of the following verses? Romans 16:17-18, "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted." First Corinthians 5:11, "But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with such a one." Titus 3:10-11, "Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned."

The key to interpreting Matthew 7:1, as always, is staying within the context. So let's stay within the context and see if Matthew 7:1 is a call to avoid judging people altogether. If it is, we will have a hard time interpreting the verses that immediately follow.

Look first at verse 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." This verse speaks about hypocritical judgment. We are to avoid hypocritical judgment. But the verse still says we have a responsibility to remove the "speck" from our neighbor's eye. That calls for a judgment to be made. We just need to make sure we take the "log" out of our own eye first! I will come back to this subject.

Look at verse 6. "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." Obviously Jesus is again calling us to make a judgment if we are to determine who are the "dogs" and who are the "swine" included in His reference. According to this verse, certain people after our repeated and patient presentation of the Scriptures continue to receive it with antagonism and rebellion. Rather than receiving what is holy and precious (like a pearl), they mock it (trampled under their feet), and we permit them to use the Word against us (tear us to pieces) (Proverbs 9:8 - "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you"). We are called to dispense God's Word with careful discrimination. Obviously this calls for a wise judgment to be made.

One more, look at verses 15 and 16. Jesus said, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." False teachers will reveal themselves based on what they say and how they act. Based on their "fruits" we are expected to spot false teachers. Again, all of us are called to make a judgment.

Suffice it to say that God wants His church to be - here is the word - "discerning." Ephesians 4:14-15, "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ." Hebrews 5:14, "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." There is a right time to use our critical powers. There is a right time to make value judgments. And all of right judgment is not based upon our feelings or a worldly standard, but grounded firmly upon the Word of God. We are to use this Book to accept what is good and reject what is evil.

So after this rather lengthy excursion, let's now determine the kind of judging that Jesus forbids. Based upon my study, I believe it can be divided into two categories.

First of all (still in point one), God does not want us to judge the motives of another.

First Corinthians 4:5, "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts." We cannot read hearts, but we all have this insidious tendency based upon limited information to evaluate people as to what drives them internally and then jump to the worst conclusion possible. In a nutshell, we draw a conclusion about the intent of a person's heart and then act upon that conclusion as if it is absolutely true oftentimes without ever even speaking to the individual.

Yet love believes all things. Love gives the other the benefit of doubt. Love is not so quick to draw such hasty conclusions. Love does not vilify people based upon data that only God can comprehend.

Another area when judgment is sinful is when we judge people based upon their convictions.

Now I am not talking about the clear expectations as they are recorded in the Scriptures, but rather the personal convictions and preferences that each of us has. Some examples that I have encountered as a pastor of this church are as follows: Going to the beach, the moderate use of alcohol, a woman's attire, musical preferences and personal items purchased.

To a large degree the Bible, under the accountability of God, gives us freedom in these areas. As individuals and families we should develop convictions and hold to them, but we must not judge others when their convictions differ from ours. In doing so we have elevated our tradition over the Word of God and made people more concerned with pleasing us than they are with pleasing God. If this attitude is not checked, eventually we have a church more concerned with appearance and the externals than we are with the heart righteousness that Jesus spoke so clearly about in this sermon (Jn. 7:24; 8:15).

If you are not careful, these people will throw upon you a yoke of bondage. In one of the Grace Quotes from this week, Jerry Bridges said, "(We have) a class of people who have come to be known as 'controllers.' These are people who are not willing to let you live your life before God as you believe He is leading you. They have all the issues buttoned down and have cast-iron opinions about all of them. These people only know black and white. There are no gray areas to them. They insist you live your Christian life according to their rules and their opinions. If you insist on being free to live as God wants you to live, they will try to intimidate you and manipulate you one way or another. Their primary weapons are 'guilt trips,' rejection, or gossip. These people must be resisted. We must not allow them to subvert the freedom we have in Christ" (Transforming Grace, p. 130-131).

You see, as we begin to understand the Christian experience, we will notice other believers who act differently than us. Once again, we have an insidious tendency to look down our noses at others who may appear to be less holy-not based upon the Scriptures, but rather based upon a man-centered law that we have concocted. It is very easy to do this to others. Yet it is very painful to have this done to you.

So overall, the kind of judging that Jesus forbids is the judging that is egotistical, unmerciful, critical, hypocritical and harsh. Such actions are far from loving. For it should not be our intention to look for the weakness in others, but rather observe their strengths and encourage them. It should not be our intention to condemn others, but rather seek to build them up in their faith. Once again let's remember the context of the Sermon on the Mount! Jesus is condemning the actions of the Pharisees. Judging others based upon one's own tradition, elevating the external aspects of religion and playing the Holy Spirit in people's lives are pharisaical actions and a clear indication of a self-righteous spirit.

2. JUDGMENT - WHY IT SHOULD BE AVOIDED?

We need to move on. So we go from when judgment should be avoided to why judgment should be avoided. Allow me to provide for you five reasons:

1. Sinful judgment is prideful

We judge other people in the ways I just mentioned for a reason. There is something in us that fuels this unbiblical response-pride! Pride wants to look down upon others. Pride wants to dethrone others to make ourselves appear more spiritual. Pride wants to have others answering to us. Pride wants other people admiring our actions. Pride wants to prioritize self over the value and dignity of another individual. So in an effort to justify ourselves, we find it very easy to condemn others. However, kingdom citizens are broken in spirit (Mt. 5:3). It is impossible to be broken in spirit and judge others at the same time.

2. We have limited knowledge

Second, sinful judgment is also wrong because we have limited knowledge. We do not have all the facts. We are biased. It is always easier to see things from our perspective and shade things to our advantage. When we judge others, we have a tremendous capacity for deception and more often than not formulate truths that are inaccurate. How many times has someone totally written you off only to eventually find out that all the conclusions they drew about you were inaccurate?

A woman was waiting at an airport one night.
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As the gutsy "cookie thief!" diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I'd blacken his eye!"

With each cookie she took, he took one, too.
When only one was left, she wondered what he'd do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other.
She snatched it from him and thought, "Oh brother,
This guy has some nerve, and he's also rude,
Why, he didn't even show any gratitude!"

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the "thieving ingrate."

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!

"If mine are here," she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his and he tried to share!"
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!

Author Unknown

3. People are hurting

A third reason we should avoid sinful judging is because everybody to some degree is hurting. Life is difficult, suffering is abundant, and sorrow is common. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we could find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough, to disarm all our hostility against them." Being judged has the ability to crush one's spirit, a spirit that is often frail and battered and bruised already. We should be in the business of edification, not mortification!

At my former church I spent four years as a volunteer youth group leader. We worked with the students for Sunday school, had small groups every Sunday evening, met on Wednesday nights, attended staff planning and prayer meetings for them and conducted monthly activities and two retreats. Quite an obligation indeed! For some reason one of the boys didn't like me very much. I'll never forget one of the first activities I attended - outdoor flashlight tag in the dark. I found a great hiding spot in the woods and though the kids knew where I was, they were afraid to come and get me. After growing impatient with me not coming out, this one particular boy said, "Let's go guys, no one likes him anyway." And on his words everybody walked away.

It hurts when unregenerate selfish teens treat you this way. It is even more painful when it is received from adults that profess to be your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Do you see how these senseless acts of judgment only seek to kick people when they are down, discourage God's servants and demoralize a church? People do not need more burdens; they need encouragement to be lifted up. They need acknowledgement and gratitude for the effort they are putting forth.

4. God's greater judgment upon you

Fourth, when we judge others in an unbiblical fashion, God's judgment rests upon us in a greater way. Back to our text - look again at verse 1: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged." Look at verse 2, "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." Judging others is flat-out dangerous. For how can we suppose that we can act so unmercifully to God's people and then expect to receive the mercy we desire so much from God? Be prepared, the measure of critical judgment we extend to others will be proportioned back to us in like measure. One author said judgment is like a boomerang, it comes back and hangs you on its own gallows.

Think about it beloved, would you want others to judge your ministry the way you have a tendency to judge theirs? Would you want your parenting judged the same way you have judged other parents? Would you want your spending called into question the same way you have evaluated the way others spend their money? Of course you wouldn't!

If the way you internally judge others was measured back to you externally, you would be totally crushed and exasperated! And if the severity of judgment from others is a painful thought, consider the severity of God's judgment applying to you the same standard you apply to others. The parallel verse in Luke says, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned" (Lk. 6:36-37). James 2:13, "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy." The Fifth Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy" (Mt. 5:7).

5. You are not God

Finally, and probably the most important reason that unbiblical judgment is wrong is because acting in this way usurps the authority of God. When I judge in this way I am stepping on God's Throne and pronouncing my sovereignty and omniscience and declaring to the world that people are ultimately answerable to me. I am setting myself up as God, and in doing so, committing possibly the worst form of evil.

Consider the following verses: James 4:11-12, "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?" Romans 14:10, "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." 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."

Well, you can see I had a lot to say on this particular topic. Combine the tendency in my own heart toward this action with the times I have been tremendously hurt in this area and this subject has become very passionate indeed. Next week as we observe the Lord's Table we will conclude this sermon by covering our final point found verses 3-5.

I leave you with a poem from a sermon I read on this subject published in 1894 by J.R. Miller:

Don't look for the flaws as you go through life;
And even when you find them,
It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind,
And look for the virtue behind them.

For the cloudiest night has a hint of the light
Somewhere in its shadows hiding;
It is better, by far, to look for a star
Than the spots on the sun abiding.

I'll let that pastor leave us with the following comments: "It is better to have eyes for beauty-than for blemish. It is better to be able to see the roses-than the thorns. It is better to have learned to look for things to commend in others-than for things to condemn. Of course other people have faults-and we are not blind. But then we have faults of our own- and this should make us charitable."