Transcript

Judgement On When To Judge-Part Two

Matthew 7:1-6
September 7, 2008
Pastor Randy Smith

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In today's society everything is relative. There are no absolute standards. And because of this mindset, we have declared all forms of judgment inappropriate.

"At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being 'judgmental.' He found this pattern very upsetting. 'You can't get a good argument going in class anymore,' he said. 'As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that's it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!' Many of the other professors nodded [in agreement]" (Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency, p. 20-21).

Last week we began to talk about this often-misunderstood topic of "judging others." There is no doubt that our text in Matthew 7 clearly forbids some aspect of judging others. But as I asked you last week, is Matthew 7 a moratorium on all forms of judgment? Of course not! We learned that it is impossible to have any order in any institution without being judgmental. We learned that it is impossible to follow many passages in the Bible-specifically passages that are found right here in chapter 7 (verses 5, 6 and 15-16)-without being judgmental! Yet unfortunately, we live in a misguided day and age when a fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions.

There is no doubt that we as Christians should be civil toward those whose opinions might differ from ours. But there is a world of difference between civility and affirmation. It is one thing to be kind and respectful to my homosexual neighbors. It is quite another thing to say I must approve of their sinful lifestyle. To say we need to approve of everyone's beliefs without ever given the opportunity for disagreement is simply inconsistent with the principles that built our great nation of democracy and freedom! It is also committing another act of judgmentalism. For telling someone else that he or she is being judgmental is a rather judgmental thing to do! People who do not want absolute standards have declared that all must follow their absolute standard that forbids judging others!

You see, the world wants us to accept all beliefs as equally valid-a basic tenant that is logically impossible to affirm since contradictions exist between all these apparent "truths." For us to say that all beliefs and values deserve to be treated as if they were on par is to endorse relativism - a perspective that is incompatible with the Christian faith. For we believe God is truth and God has spoken His truth in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, as His ambassadors we are to orient our lives according to God's truth and declare to the world that God has spoken truth. Therefore, Christian living requires me to respect other people as much as it requires me to make judgments about what is false and true based on the Bible. Anything less is unloving and dishonoring to the God who spoke His Word revealing absolute truth.

So 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.

Judgment is necessary. Yet there is also a time when judgment is inappropriate.

We have learned in this Sermon on the Mount that human beings have a tremendous propensity to subvert what God has intended for good. We have taken our capacity for righteous anger and turned it into unrighteous anger. We have taken our sexual drives for our spouses and turned them into lust for another. We have taken our pleasure for riches and used our money to store up treasures on earth. And as we learned last week, we have taken our capacity for biblical judgment and turned it into sinful judgment. In verses 1-2 of chapter 7, this is the judgment that Jesus forbids. Let's briefly review what we learned last week.

Jesus said, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged." The kind of judging that Jesus forbids, I believe, falls into two specific camps. First, it is sinful to judge the motives of another (1 Cor. 4:5). We must not draw conclusions based upon the intent of a person's heart and then act upon them as if they were true. Second, it is sinful to judge the convictions of another. Each of us should hold certain convictions as to how we should live where the Word of God is silent. And while we must strive for righteous living as the Lord leads, we must also respect one another's freedom as the Lord has provided. To judge one's motives or convictions is to fall into the trap of the Pharisees-the very people that Jesus rebuked in this sermon for elevating tradition over the Word of God and elevating external aspects of religion over heart righteousness.

A couple of illustrations I recently came across regarding sinful judging:

Bishop Potter was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's all right, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his valuables for the same reason!'

And let me insert it right here: If people avoid sinful judging there would be no such thing as racism.

At a pastor's conference in Spokane, Pastor Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day's drive and couldn't help himself. But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing. On the last night the man's wife came up and apologized for her husband's inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.

I also mentioned last week that sinful judging is wrong for a variety of reasons. First, sinful judging is prideful. Looking down our noses at others is a clear indication of a self-righteous spirit. Second, sinful judging is often wrong due to our limited knowledge and tendency to see the worst in others with whom we differ. Third, sinful judging is wrong because all people are hurting. We have enough burdens; we don't need others to attack us with such unloving actions. Fourth, sinful judging is dangerous. Verses 1-2, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." The measure of critical judgment we extend to others will be proportioned back to us by God in like measure. And finally, it is wrong because in doing so we usurp the authority of God. Only God is all-knowing and all-sovereign. It is only God to whom we must give an account when He renders a righteous judgment of both believers and unbelievers.

So after introducing the topic of unrighteous judgment in verses 1-2, Jesus provides a practical example to aid our application on how we should practice righteous judgment. Please follow along in your Bibles as I read verses 3-5. "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? 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." Let's unpack these verses as we continue to prepare our hearts for the Lord's Table.

1. AVOID THE UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

First point: we are called to avoid an unrighteous judgment. In these verses, an unrighteous judgment is one that is marked by hypocrisy. A contrast is established. The NASB uses the word "speck" and "log." KJV uses "mote" and "beam." NIV employs "sawdust" and "plank." Obviously some imaginative imagery is utilized to make a point. The point is this: I have no business trying to remove a speck of sawdust from another's eye if I am running around with a plank of wood in my own eye! In simple terms-who am I to judge another for a sin when I am committing greater sins in that area myself?

Possibly the best example in the Bible of this attitude is found in 2 Samuel 12. After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then arranged to have her husband Uriah murdered he was confronted by the prophet Nathan.

Nathan he came to David with a story. He said, "'There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.' Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.' Nathan then said to David, 'You are the man!'" (2 Sam. 12:1-7).

Who was David to pass judgment on a man in this story who took an animal from another, while he was unrepentant of taking a man's wife, then the man's life? You see the point? While seeking to remove the speck from another's eye, he had a plank in his own eye.

In Romans 2 Paul said, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (Rom. 2:1-3).

We ought to see this weakness in our own lives. And I'm sure we've all been around cynical people who are always looking for someone to criticize. Such people are on the "speck patrol," perpetually looking for the faults in others and then transforming them to planks in their own imagination. And to make matters worse, they are almost always clueless to the planks in their own eyes. Overall, it is very hurtful and exasperating!

If there is one primary sin that Jesus condemns in this Sermon, it is the sin of self-righteousness. When we criticize others for the very sins we are committing ourselves, we are guilty of a greater sin than the sins we are observing in another.

Easy to explain it in a sermon; the difficulty lies in our ability to apply this undeniable truth. Unfortunately, we find it easier to see the sins of others than to see our own sins. We rarely see our weaknesses. And we all think we are further along spiritually than we really are.

This issue is magnified when the sin of another is personally causing us heartache. It is most often during these times that we justify our own actions. We look at self and see only righteousness, while we look at another and attribute the worst of all evils to that individual's heart.

This my friends is self-righteousness and contrary to a Christian spirit. Rather than condemning others, we of all people should be quick to extend mercy. For if we truly understand and have received God's mercy, there is no doubt that we will be merciful to others. Remember the Fifth Beatitude? "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

Additionally, spiritually mature people see the sins of others and aim their guns primarily not at the other individual, but at themselves in a manner of self-examination. Remember this, God often uses the sins of others to show us our own. Are the faults I see in others simply a reflection of my own? Is God trying to teach me patience through that person that is driving me crazy? Is God reminding me of my own unreconciled relationships by having someone else refuse to forgive me? Through someone mistreating me, is God trying to teach me about my own unkindness to others? How do we stand when the standard we apply to others is applied to us?

2. CONDUCT THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

So we are to avoid an unrighteous judgment, but as we move to the second point, we are to conduct a righteous judgment. We are back to where we began at the beginning of the sermon. Christians are not people who are called to suspend all judgment. We are just people who are to judge in the right manner. Look 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."

There can be no doubt that this verse is calling for us to remove the speck in a brother's eye (Psm. 51:10-13; Gal. 6:1). The point our Lord is making is simply make sure you first remove the log in your own eye! Don't be a hypocrite-clean up your own backyard before you seek to clean up another's! Our example is always more powerful than our criticism.

A few brief observations:

One, confronting another when they are in a state of sin is an act of love. If our children were abusing drugs we would make a judgment call. Why is it any different if a brother or sister in Christ is acting in a destructive manner? Don't we understand the destructive nature of sin? It nailed our Savior to the cross! Respected pastor and theologian, John Stott, once said, "To [learn of a foreign object in a brother's eye and] leave it there, and make no attempt to remove it, would hardly be consistent with brotherly love" (Sermon on the Mount, p. 179).

If we really want to be more like Christ (Rom. 8:29), we will be grateful to have our sins revealed. If we are humble, we will be grateful to have our sins revealed. It is only the scoffer, according to Proverbs, who hates correction (Pro. 9:8). And if this is what is best for us, we should naturally want it for others. Isn't that the Golden Rule (Mt. 7:12)?

Two, we are not to be looking for the sin of another. We are also not to judge according to motives or convictions. But when someone's sin, a clear violation of Holy Scripture, makes itself evident to us, we have an obligation to go to the brother or sister in love. Remember it is not us who are doing the judging, but rather it is God's Word. We are only showing the Scripture and encouraging the believer to respond righteously to the will of God (Mt. 7:21)

Three, this is a call for serious self-examination. The text is clear that we must go to another, but it is even clearer that we must diligently examine our own life. Let's remember, kingdom citizens mourn over their own sin (Mt. 5:4) and then respond with mercy (Mt. 5:7), peace (Mt. 5:9) and gentleness (Mt. 5:5). Also it is important to note that according to verse 5 it is not until we remove the log from our own eye that we will "see clearly to take the speck out of [our] brother's eye." Self-righteous fault-finders have distorted vision, they do not see clearly, and are therefore spiritually unable to assist others toward proper living.

So may God make us a people who know how to judge according to the Word of God. May we prioritize biblical living first in our own lives and then with love and example assist others in like manner. For in doing so, we honor God's truth, walk in the footsteps of Jesus and glorify our Father in heaven by righteous conduct.