Judging Righteously
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Few portions of Scripture are as misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misapplied, as this section we will look at this morning.
Arthur Pink said, “There are few verses quoted more frequently than the opening ones of Matthew 7, and few [verses] less understood by those who are so ready to cite it and hurl it at the heads of those who they ignorantly or maliciously suppose are violating it.” These first seven words, “Judge not that you be not judged,” have been taken by some to mean that good Christians must never exercise any critical discerning judgment at all.
The world loves opinionated people who know what they believe. Especially those who are liberal and dogmatic about their positions on politics, art, music, literature, and culture! However, when it comes to matters of personal morality, the world cannot stand opinionated people, especially if they represent conservative Biblical morality that speaks out against pre-marital sex, adultery, abortion, homosexuality and gender identity. In these types of matters it adores the nonjudgmental person.
On the other hand, Christians that do take a stand against wickedness, evil and immorality, are accused of judging and labeled with all sorts of bigotry and shame.
This morning I want us to rightly divide the word of truth as we look at “Judging Righteously”
Text; Mt. 7:1-6
Matthew 7:1–6 (NKJV)
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
1. Judging Others Illegitimately; 1-2
1. Judging Others Illegitimately; 1-2
Jesus does not tell one he cannot judge, but to be careful how you judge others.
Judge- [Krino] “to separate, evaluate, distinguish and determine,” and has a dozen or more meanings that must be decided from the context.
Illegitimately- not authorized by the law; not in accordance with accepted standards
In this verse, Jesus is talking about the self-righteous judgment and condemnation of others practiced by the scribes and Pharisees. Their primary concern was not to help others from sin to holiness, but to condemn them to eternal judgment because of actions and attitudes that did not line up with their own worldly, self righteous standards.
Matthew 5:20 (NKJV)
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
[2] Judgmental people lose sight of the fact that they too will be judged. And the same measuring stick they use to judge others will be used against them. It’s a boomerang effect.
When we judge others in their inconsistencies, so we will be judged in ours
When we judge others in self-righteousness, we will be judged as self-righteous hypocrites
When we judge others with criticism, we will certainly be criticized
When we judge others from a standpoint of pride, we will eventually fall
The person with a destructive, overcritical spirit revels in criticism of others for his own sake. He expects to find fault. He is like the man who sat watching his preacher-neighbor nail up a trellis in his backyard. The preacher, seeing him intently watching him from his yard, asked, “Trying to pick up some pointers on carpentry?” His neighbor replied, “Nope. Just waiting to see what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer.”
Mattoon, R. (2007). Treasures from the Sermon on the Mount (Vol. 2, p. 193). Rod Mattoon.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
2. Judging Others Blindly; 3-5
2. Judging Others Blindly; 3-5
Jesus reminds his disciples of how the scribes a Pharisees judged others with a blind eye, and for us not to do the same.
A person who judges blindly has already formed their opinion about a person he is judging before he knows all the facts of a matter. The plank in his eye has blinded him to the speck of sawdust in the eye of the one he is judging.
An Old Testament example of the speck and plank is found when King David was at the lowest point morally in his life. David took Uriah’s wife and committed adultery with her. When Bathsheba revealed to David that she was pregnant, David schemed to have Uriah murdered.
Then the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David and told him a story about a rich man with huge flocks of sheep who lived next door to a poor man. The poor man had only one little ewe lamb that he loved like a daughter, but the rich man, not wanting to take a lamb out of his own herds to feed some guests, took that little lamb and slaughtered it.
David was furious. His response was basically, “That man deserves to die. He must repay everything fourfold.” Nathan, pointing a finger at the David, pronounced, “You are that man.”
David had a serious problem with a plank in his own eye that needed to be pulled out instead of condemning the speck in the story!
Jesus wants us to make sure we have judged ourselves first, remove the blinders from our eyes, before we look at the weakness or faults of others!
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
It’s easy to turn a microscope on another person’s sin while we look at ours through the wrong end of a telescope!
3. Judging Others Righteously; 2
3. Judging Others Righteously; 2
Remember that Jesus didn’t say we can’t judge others but we need to make sure we judge righteously when we do.
John 7:24 (NKJV)
24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Judgement of others must be in line with the Word of God and come through spiritual discernment. Judging is often required if we are to fulfill the commands of God.
Jesus tells us how to judge righteously;
Matthew 7:6 (NKJV)
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
We have to judge/determine who are pigs and dogs to know how to handle the gospel.
Matthew 7:16–20 (NKJV)
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Beware of false prophets, we need to judge/separate who speaks for God and who doesn’t
Matthew 18:15–17 (NKJV)
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
Refusing to confront a person about his sin is just as wrong as a doctor refusing to confront a patient about his sickness. We have to confront a sinning brother and judge/evaluate of how to proceed with the situation according to how he responds
Both Paul and the Apostle John give instructions on judging righteously;
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;
11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Close;
There is a great need for “Judging Righteously” in all aspects of our society today, because people have fallen so far away from truth. But we also need to remember that Jesus never gives one the right to judge with criticism nor condemnation, but with mercy and compassion with the hope of restoring a fallen brother or seeing a lost soul saved!
Judging Righteously is looking beyond one’s faults and seeing their needs!