Jury Duty/Judging Others
Matthew 7:1-5
Another look at how we can be different from the world
Matthew 7:1–5 (NIV)
1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2For 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?
4How 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?
5You 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.
Ever been called to jury duty? Ever been asked to "make a judgment" about a matter? Some Christians seem to feel they are on "permanent jury duty" as they go thru life. And Jesus addresses this fact in this final leg of the Sermon on the Mount.
12 members of a Jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of murder. However you feel about it, that jury was sitting in a place of judgment. And when you heard their verdict, undoubtedly you made a judgment of your own.
3 men were just found guilty of murder in Georgia in high profile case that made the national news. That jury also was sitting in a place of judgment. And so are you, again, as you think about it and make your own assessment of guilt or innocence.
So, what do we believe about this direct command in Matt. 7:1, to “judge not”? In context, comparing scripture with scripture, what is the true interpretation of Jesus’ words here? This is very misunderstood stuff…and many Christians overuse and abuse the words "don’t judge me" in all circumstances.
We’ll break this down into 3 sections: what "judge not" does not mean, what it does mean, and how Jesus illustrated the principle He is teaching, to enlighten our understanding.
"Judge not" does not mean that it is wrong to judge doctrine, to see if it’s of God.
· The Word of God is our final authority, and we are not to base our doctrinal beliefs on our own feelings, our own experiences, or what is widely accepted and politically correct. We all have feelings and experiences, but they must pass the test of scrutiny when they are laid beside the Word of God.
· The Bible time and again warns us not to believe everything we hear just because we hear it from a preacher, a church, or another Christian. Don’t ever make the assumption that just because I preach something it must be so.
Paul teaches in Romans that we need to have discernment to anyone that teaches against the bible.
Rom 16:17-19
And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people's faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words, they deceive innocent people.
· The Bible doesn’t teach tolerance when it comes to doctrine, it teaches scrutiny!
2 John 10-12
If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don't invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. 11 Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
o Don’t invite them in…don’t wish them well, send them on their way.
· So, "judge not" is not applying to doctrine. We should judge it.
"Judge not" does not mean we cannot judge teachers and preachers to see if they are of God.
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
o I cannot obey this command w/out judging. And certainly, I need God’s help in making this kind of judgment.
“Sheep’s clothing” means they will look, talk, and act like the genuine thing…so on what basis will I make this judgment?
Matthew 7:20 (NIV)
20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
· I can hear some of you right now saying: You can’t judge them! You don’t know their heart!’ That’s true, it’s by the outward fruit that the truth is shown!
There’s a very gullible brand of Christianity that believes everything it hears as long as it’s on Christian radio / TV / or from a pulpit.
· Christians are children of light, and shouldn’t be so gullible.
· We should be students of the bible and doctrine
· We should always be testing teaching against God's word
A third area is church discipline.
· It’s not wrong for the church to, when necessary, exercise the very Biblical practice of church discipline. You don’t see it happening much these days, but in Matthew 18 it lays out very specific instructions for Church discipline.
Disclaimer!!
Caution: we are not to judge motives, but rather conduct. One is inward and the other is outward.
Example:
a policeman pulls you over for speeding / you say, don’t judge me, you don’t know my heart, what I’m going thru today / he says, I’m sorry, but I’m not judging your motives, I’m judging your conduct. [It’s concrete, not abstract, it’s objective, not subjective.]
· church discipline is almost unheard of today, being drowned out by the screams of "judge not!"
· So, it’s not necessarily always wrong to make judgments.
Then what does "judge not’ mean?" The context gives it away…
Matthew 7:3 (NIV)
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?
· This is an unjust, critical attitude of hypocrisy.
· Self-righteousness leads to fault finding and a hyper-critical attitude that manifests itself in a derogatory, condemning manner.
· These people are on permanent jury duty, approaching all of life expecting to find fault.
· They have a keen sense of ‘rumor’, and always seem to be ‘in the know’ about what’s the real truth they’re trying to cover up!
· There’s nothing so unbecoming of a child of God than a critical, judgmental, negative spirit…always looking for what’s wrong.
Note: Usually these are underachievers, who haven’t done much w/ their lives, and haven’t climbed to any great heights, and so they perceive their own self worth by tearing others down to a level lower than their own, and suddenly they don’t feel so bad about themselves!
Here are 3 reasons why a negative spirit is wrong:
1. 99% of the time when we try to judge the heart and motives of another, we don’t know all the facts. Again, God sees the heart, we do not. But instead of looking at the fruit, we take it upon ourselves to pull at the root, and we miss it! “I’ve heard all I need to”, you’ll hear them say because to further look into the other side of the situation would risk them not being able to judge negatively!
2. We are fallible in our judgment. When we attempt to judge in the way God reserves only for Himself, inward judgment, we are likely to be wrong. It doesn’t take any brains to criticize…any old buzzard can find a carcass! Don’t put yourself in the place of God!
3. One time Jesus sent messengers into Samaria to prepare for His arrival, and His messengers were rejected. What did James and John say? “Lord, should we call fire down from heaven and consume them?!” They wanted to judge them right then and there. Jesus replied w/ a rebuke, saying, you don’t know what manner of spirit they are of. They may have been right in their assumption, and perhaps Jesus knew they were right, but He didn’t want them assuming a wrongful place of judgment reserved for Him.
Be careful how you judge others
Matthew 7:2 (NIV)
2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Story:
boy found a cave / called out ‘hello’ / heard echo: ‘hello’ / was surprised there was a boy in there / ‘who are you?’ / echo / answer me / echo / I’m gonna get you! / echo / I hate you! / echo / …he ran home and told his momma about the mean boy in the cave / she knew it was an echo and said, ‘Son, why don’t you go back and say something nice to the boy?’ / he said, ‘I wanna be your friend!’ / echo / …life has a way of echoing back the kind of treatment to us that we give to others. Sooner or later we’ll all be measured by our own yardstick.
· We tend to judge others on individual sins, normally the kind of sin we won’t commit
· And we are not qualified because we are sinners ourselves
· That is the whole purpose of this set of verses
· And it turns us bitter and cynical
· And it’s hard to be the light with a bitter heart!
Prov 26:27
If you set a trap for others,
you will get caught in it yourself.
If you roll a boulder down on others,
it will crush you instead.
We’ve seen what this verse does not mean, now what it does mean,
Jesus is using sarcasm here…and I imagine everyone laughed as He said it. We need to start judgment with ourselves…examining ourselves first. What kind of church could be built if Christians would be as hard on themselves as they are on each other! Note: both objects were the same material…wood. [‘It takes one to know one’…we easily recognize our own problems in others!]
What you can so clearly see in someone else’s life you can easily overlook in your own.
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