Clearly Judging
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 48:24
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· 368 viewsToday's message dives into the topic of judging others. Of course you've never struggled with this before, right? ;) There is a right way and it's to Clearly Judge. Grab your Bible, a notepad and listen up!
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Clearly Judging
Clearly Judging
I was somewhere last week and someone mentioned that I was the youngest pastor they’ve ever seen in the Christian Church.
I felt judged.
So I grew a goatee.
I grew a goatee to prove that I am older.
Actually, I just hit puberty.
Just kidding, I grew a goatee because my 6 year old daughter asked me to.
My age has always been one of the hardest things for people to pin down on me, I think.
I have always had the comment, you look really young.
I joked with the guy (who said I’m the youngest pastor he’d seen) and said, yea First Christian Church hired me when I was in the crib and here I am now.
Do I feel judged when people say I look young, yeah... but does it bother me?
No... because when you all, my age, are old and gray I wouldn’t have aged a bit! HA!
Just kidding… but in all seriousness...
If there was a frequently misquoted Scripture list for Christians, this one would be on it!
If there was a frequently misquoted Scripture list for non-believers, this one would probably be at the top of the list!
Why is this?
Well I don’t want to judge… okay I will.
It’s because those people who misquote it do not go deeper into the context to see what Jesus really means.
Today we’re going to do that and hopefully by doing this we’ll get the right perspective on this particular passage.
Open with me to
Matthew 7:1-6
“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.
“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?
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?
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.
“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 turn and tear you to pieces.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (V.1)
In this verses simplest meaning we can look to
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
We get a picture that James is saying the same thing here that Jesus said in our passage today.
Clearly judging is not to declare someone guilty, but to allow God to be the only true judge.
Hypercritical is not a spiritual gift! (Explain…)
To be a judge, we need to know the law.
To be a judge over peoples spiritual lives we must know the entire law.
God invented the law and has more authority than us, so we would lose every single time.
Sermon over!
What are some ways we judge others?
Tattoos and piercings- the only laws were for the OT Levitical Law and it was for the Israelites.
Inter-racial relationships- you wouldn’t think this is a thing but racism is a huge issue, right here in our town!
We judge those who ask for help- us pastors are the probably the worst (Filled up the gas tank, money handlers at Anderson Walmart)
Drinking alcohol in moderation- The Bible only mentions not to get drunk.
Politics- How many of your friends have you unfollowed on Facebook over this stupid issue? I got news for us all- Jesus was not white, he was not an American, he wasn’t affiliated with any political party- in fact he didn’t hang out with the self righteous, he hung out more with the people we would probably never vote for. Don’t allow politics to rule your life and ruin your closest friendships!)
Clothing/Dress style
Parenting- (No one was a perfect parent, including yourself, so pray for us parents today… please!)
Fill in the blank...
Romans 14 discusses how we can often become a stumbling block to our brother or sister in Christ.
We all have our convictions in life but I love what Paul says here in the middle of his chapter…
READ Romans 14:8-23
Paul explains what we were just talking about so well.
Basically we all have our own convictions in life and with right reasons.
Shouldn’t we discern what our tattoo will be about and if it would lead people to Christ or away?
Shouldn’t relationships be more important than color or ethnicity?
We judge those asking for help but do we take the time to hear their story?
Shouldn’t we use common sense to not drink in front of someone who struggles with being an alcoholic?
Politics… yea.
Parenting- don’t we stop for a minute and think of how hard it really was and try to put yourself in their shoes today and offer help or the very least… prayer?
All things in life require our discernment but first we need to realize that if we judge others, we too are opening ourselves up for judgement before the Lord.
Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
“ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
The reality is that we need to make judgement calls in life.
How we will parent.
What products we will buy.
Hiring and firing employees.
Who we will be friends with.
Etc..
As believers we have a responsibility to discern throughout our lives what will be pleasing to the Lord and to build others up.
Today, because most people do not believe in absolute truth everything can be considered judging.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (V. 1)
Clearly judging others involves first examining our own hearts and lives before others.
READ Romans 3:9-20 (Explain…)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
READ Romans 2:1-16
We must understand the gospel message and allow God to change us first through His son Jesus.
We will all stand accountable before God at the end of our lives, we should be concerned with our own choices before others.
Transformation starts in our heart and the outflow is grace toward others.
READ PAGE 711 (COMMENTARY ON WORK)
Amen!
“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?
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?
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.
These verses continue to prove that we must first examine our own hearts and lives before we look at other people’s lives.
So here’s an interesting question.
As a believer, should we never judge?
We’ve already talked about using discernment and judging what choices to make in our own lives, but what about that controversial topic of not judging others?
Let’s start with those who have chosen to not believe in God’s Word or follow Jesus.
I would first off say that we are not to judge and unbeliever because they are not a follower of Jesus.
With that said, the only truth we can discuss with them is justification by faith, through Jesus Christ.
It’s the gospel.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
The unbeliever can not understand any other doctrines, because they have not allowed the gospel of Jesus Christ to change their hearts.
Want to know why so many people have not come to Christ?
The church over the years has done a horrible job at witnessing to them.
Ghandi even said, “I don’t like the Christian but I love their Christ.”
The global church has a lot of people who love the idea of following Jesus but love judging others, and making them feel horrible about themselves more.
Those people need to… TAKE OUT THE PLANK!
But as a believer when should we judge?
We should judge our fellow brother or sister in Christ in order to keep them from sin.
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
If they do not listen you take the next steps as laid out in Matthew 18.
Is this to condemn the person? No!
It is to restore them back to their relationship with God.
What is the biggest excuse we don’t help our fellow Christians in their sin?
We say, “We’re all sinners, who am I to judge!”
That is wrong thinking.
If you had a life saver and your friend was drowning would you throw them an anchor?
Neither should we neglect an opportunity to help them get back on track, in love and grace!
We also might avoid confronting other believers who are in sin because we don’t want to ruin our friendships.
Or worse, we want to see them fail so that we look better standing next to them in front of other people!
The average Christian might hear your words and say, you’re clearly judging and I don’t like it!
The mature Christian would say you are clearly judging and I want to thank you for showing grace and love to me like Christ would.
You’ve helped me move past a sin in my life where most people would and have just accepted it but inside it’s really been killing me.
I’ve been praying for that friend to speak truth into my life, to pray for me and encourage me.
Because of your obedience to the Lord I have grown closer to the Lord and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
To be completely honest, I have heard that from one or two people in my life when I have had to confront them.
Others have decided to leave the church or not be friends with me anymore, no matter how much you attempt to do it in love.
There is a point where we say what we can, through God’s grace and leave it to Him.
After all, God is the judge and we are not.
I truly believe that as we live out the Beatitudes as Jesus laid out for us in Matthew 5, we develop the correct character in order to Clearly Judge.
“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 turn and tear you to pieces.
This last part of Jesus’ teachings about judging others is often misinterpreted.
Dogs back in Jesus’ day were savage.
They were not the domesticated ones that you dress up in people clothes today.
They ate everything, including people at times.
Pigs in Jesus’ day were considered unclean by the Jewish people and were never associated with them.
Pearls, obtained from the Persian Gulf or from the Indian Ocean were almost priceless.
They were way beyond the purchasing ability by the common person.
In order to obtain one, they would most likely have to sell all of their possessions.
This analogy of the pearls and the dogs & pigs that Jesus gives is to show us that the gospel is valuable.
When people scorn, mock, ridicule or mock it we need to give them to the Lord but move on to those who are willing to listen.
Otherwise it’s like throwing pearls to the pigs or dogs who think it’s food but just end up trampling over it without a care.
Clearly judging is to see that if someone is unwilling to listen, you move on to the next person.
Clearly Judging is knowing that the gospel is precious and realizing that people are, in need of it.
The last thing I would say is that no person can truly know the other person’s heart.
Labradorite Rock analogy.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Only you know where you are at in your heart and whether you need to surrender things to Him today.
Clearly judging comes down to surrendering your heart and life before the Lord, otherwise you become the authority and judge.
Do you really want that responsibility?
I didn’t think so.
So as we begin to take the plank out from our eye, and examine our lives first before other’s; let’s keep in mind that people out there need to hear the gospel message before they hear a hypocrites outcry!
We’ve covered the topic of judging quite a bit and Jesus’ words here may have come at the perfect time in your life.
If that’s true please reach out to Daryl, myself or one of our leadership to help you overcome a certain sin or if you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus.
We are here for you and want to pray with you and see you grow in the Lord!