"Do not judge"

This week in our series entitled "The Bible Doesn't Say That" we turn to a phrase that, while it does actually appear in the Bible, is far too often taken out of context. So what phrase are we talking about? It's the phrase, "Do not judge." I'm sure you've seen the sentiment lately. Lots of people will have it on t-shirts, or tattooed somewhere on their body, "Only God can judge me." That's a common refrain nowadays when someone is doing something that goes against the teaching of scripture. They know they're wrong, but they don't want it pointed out to them. So where does this idea come from in the Bible? Well like I said, the phrase, "Do not judge," is one that actually does appear in scripture, but it is taken out of context. Let's look at where this idea comes from. We'll be reading from the 7th chapter of Matthew.

So that's where people get this idea that we're not supposed to judge. And it seems pretty cut and dried doesn't it? Jesus said flat out, "Do not judge, so that you won't be judged." But there's more to this passage than just that first phrase. Yes, Jesus said "Do not judge," but what he's actually talking about here is not judging in and of itself, but judging someone for something that you are guilty of also. He's saying, "Be careful about judging someone for a sin because you will be judged by the same standard." This is addressing those times when we look down our noses at someone else in the church because they don't give enough money (we think), or they don't spend enough time praying or reading their Bible (we think), or whatever else it is that we think they should be doing. And God is sitting up there in heaven looking at us thinking, "And just how much money did you drop at Starbucks last week?" or "How much time did you spend scrolling through Facebook when you could have been reading the Bible yourself?" That's what Jesus is addressing here; judging others for something that we are guilty of ourselves. And in fact if you keep reading he goes on to address how we should judge others and who we should judge. Let's keep reading in verse 5 and 6 Now there are two things I want us to see here. First, in verse 5 Jesus goes back to this idea of judging others and tells us how to do it. He says, "Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye." So he's not saying an absolute, "Don't judge." He's saying, "You can't judge others when there is sin harbored in your own heart." He actually tells us to take the splinter out of our brother's eye, to judge them, but in order to do so we have to take care of our own problems first. Now something else I want us to notice from this verse is the fact that he tells us to take the splinter out of our "brother's" eye. What does that mean? He's talking about judging other believers. He's telling us that we, as Christians, need to hold each other accountable. When we notice another believer doing something they shouldn't do we need to "take the splinter out of our brother's eye," we need to, lovingly, correct them. And that leads us to the second point which comes from verse 6. Verse 6 reads, "Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces." What is Jesus saying here? What's all this talk about dogs and pigs and pearls? What he's saying here is don't try to judge non-believers by the same standards that you judge other believers. Don't expect non-Christians to act holy, because they don't have the same standards that we do. So for those non-believers who have the, "Only God can judge me," tattoos. Yep! That's absolutely true. Our job, according to what Jesus says in this passage, is first, to get our own life in order, and second, to hold other Christians accountable to what they say they believe. As for the non-Christians. Only God can judge them. Now this idea that we are not supposed to judge other people is nothing new. It's something that had already invaded the early church in Paul's day. And Paul speaks to it in his first letter to the Corinthians. Let's take a look at this story and see what it has to say to us as the church today. 1 Corintians 5

Matthew 7:1–4 CSB

1 “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?

So that's where people get this idea that we're not supposed to judge. And it seems pretty cut and dried doesn't it? Jesus said flat out, "Do not judge, so that you won't be judged." But there's more to this passage than just that first phrase. Yes, Jesus said "Do not judge," but what he's actually talking about here is not judging in and of itself, but judging someone for something that you are guilty of also. He's saying, "Be careful about judging someone for a sin because you will be judged by the same standard." This is addressing those times when we look down our noses at someone else in the church because they don't give enough money (we think), or they don't spend enough time praying or reading their Bible (we think), or whatever else it is that we think they should be doing. And God is sitting up there in heaven looking at us thinking, "And just how much money did you drop at Starbucks last week?" or "How much time did you spend scrolling through Facebook when you could have been reading the Bible yourself?" That's what Jesus is addressing here; judging others for something that we are guilty of ourselves. And in fact if you keep reading he goes on to address how we should judge others and who we should judge. Let's keep reading in verse 5 and 6

Now there are two things I want us to see here. First, in verse 5 Jesus goes back to this idea of judging others and tells us how to do it. He says, "Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye." So he's not saying an absolute, "Don't judge." He's saying, "You can't judge others when there is sin harbored in your own heart." He actually tells us to take the splinter out of our brother's eye, to judge them, but in order to do so we have to take care of our own problems first. Now something else I want us to notice from this verse is the fact that he tells us to take the splinter out of our "brother's" eye. What does that mean? He's talking about judging other believers. He's telling us that we, as Christians, need to hold each other accountable. When we notice another believer doing something they shouldn't do we need to "take the splinter out of our brother's eye," we need to, lovingly, correct them. And that leads us to the second point which comes from verse 6. Verse 6 reads, "Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces." What is Jesus saying here? What's all this talk about dogs and pigs and pearls? What he's saying here is don't try to judge non-believers by the same standards that you judge other believers. Don't expect non-Christians to act holy, because they don't have the same standards that we do. So for those non-believers who have the, "Only God can judge me," tattoos. Yep! That's absolutely true. Our job, according to what Jesus says in this passage, is first, to get our own life in order, and second, to hold other Christians accountable to what they say they believe. As for the non-Christians. Only God can judge them. Now this idea that we are not supposed to judge other people is nothing new. It's something that had already invaded the early church in Paul's day. And Paul speaks to it in his first letter to the Corinthians. Let's take a look at this story and see what it has to say to us as the church today. 1 Corintians 5

Matthew 7:5–6 CSB

5 Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. 6 Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

Now there are two things I want us to see here. First, in verse 5 Jesus goes back to this idea of judging others and tells us how to do it. He says, "Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye." So he's not saying an absolute, "Don't judge." He's saying, "You can't judge others when there is sin harbored in your own heart." He actually tells us to take the splinter out of our brother's eye, to judge them, but in order to do so we have to take care of our own problems first. Now something else I want us to notice from this verse is the fact that he tells us to take the splinter out of our "brother's" eye. What does that mean? He's talking about judging other believers. He's telling us that we, as Christians, need to hold each other accountable. When we notice another believer doing something they shouldn't do we need to "take the splinter out of our brother's eye," we need to, lovingly, correct them. And that leads us to the second point which comes from verse 6. Verse 6 reads, "Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces." What is Jesus saying here? What's all this talk about dogs and pigs and pearls? What he's saying here is don't try to judge non-believers by the same standards that you judge other believers. Don't expect non-Christians to act holy, because they don't have the same standards that we do. So for those non-believers who have the, "Only God can judge me," tattoos. Yep! That's absolutely true. Our job, according to what Jesus says in this passage, is first, to get our own life in order, and second, to hold other Christians accountable to what they say they believe. As for the non-Christians. Only God can judge them. Now this idea that we are not supposed to judge other people is nothing new. It's something that had already invaded the early church in Paul's day. And Paul speaks to it in his first letter to the Corinthians. Let's take a look at this story and see what it has to say to us as the church today.

1 Corinthians 5 CSB

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles—a man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled with grief and remove from your congregation the one who did this? 3 Even though I am absent in the body, I am present in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has been doing such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10 I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. 11 But actually, I wrote you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister and is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? 13 God judges outsiders. Remove the evil person from among you.

1 Corinthians 5

So what’s going on here? Paul is writing here in this chapter to chastise the church at Corinth. Why? Because they are boasting of the fact that they don’t judge people no matter what they are doing. Sound familiar? I think it sounds a lot like our modern culture. To each his own. Live and let live. That’s what this church was actually doing. They thought it was so great that they weren’t judging anyone on their actions that they were bragging about it. They were to the point that there was a man within the church, who claimed to be a believer in Christ who was openly living a lifestyle of sexual sin. And that word openly is a big key here. This wasn’t something that was known to just a few people. It wasn’t something that was hidden. He wasn’t sneaking around doing what he did. No, this was an out in the open, in your face, everybody knew about it kind of thing. And Paul chastises the church telling them, “You should be filled with grief over this and you should remove this person from your congregation.” Paul is telling them, “You need to exercise some church discipline here. You can’t let this guy openly live this lifestyle.” He’s telling them that they need to judge this guy. In fact in verse 3 Paul says, “Even though I am absent in the body, I am present in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has been doing such a thing.” That kind of shoots down the whole “do not judge” argument doesn’t it? Paul has already passed judgment on this person and he’s telling the church that they need to do the same.

But why exactly is Paul calling for judgment here. Well that’s found in the next section, in verses 6-8.

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 CSB

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians

We can’t allow someone to claim to be a Christian but to continue openly living a life of sin because it’s a danger to the church itself. Even a tiny little seed of sin, that is known to be there but is allowed to remain openly, can destroy the church. That’s what Paul is talking about here when he’s talking about leaven in the batch of dough. Just as a little bit of yeast in a batch of dough will work and cause the dough to rise, a little bit of sin in the church will spread and infect others.

I remember hearing a story a few years back about a large church that had a somewhat similar situation to this one in 1 Corinthians. Now the sexual affair wasn’t widely known to everyone in the church like it was in Corinth, at least not at first. The biggest problem was that there were actually 3 people involved here and unfortunately they were all on staff. The pastor of the church, who was married, was having an affair with one of the church secretaries who was also married. The minister of music found out about their affair, but he couldn’t say anything to anyone, because he was also having an affair with that same secretary. He was also married. This went on for a while with the secretary stringing both men along and the two of them despising each other but trying to lead the church in worship every week while living in sin. The real kicker to this story comes when word of the affair reached the deacons and then the rest of the church. Now you would expect all three to be immediately fired, but that’s not what happened. The minister of music and secretary did leave, although I don’t recall if they were actually fired, but the pastor stayed on for a while and when some members tried to have him removed there was a large portion of the congregation that thought they should ignore what had happened and keep him on as the pastor. Eventually a new pastor was hired who came in and rebuilt that congregation, but it took several hard years to get it back to spiritual health.

Can you imagine a church wanting to keep a pastor who had been caught in the middle of that situation? That’s what Paul was speaking against here. We need to disassociate ourselves with those within the church who openly live these lifestyles of sin. Unfortunately, we tend to get it backwards too often. We shun those we see as worldly because they drink or smoke or sleep around, but remember what I said earlier, non-believers don’t have the same standards that we do. We turn our backs on non-believers who do the things that the Bible says are sin, but too often we turn a blind eye to people within the church doing the exact same things. Paul tells us how it’s supposed to work in verses 9-13

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 CSB

9 I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10 I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. 11 But actually, I wrote you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister and is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? 13 God judges outsiders. Remove the evil person from among you.

He says, don’t associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister who is openly living a life of sin. And then these last two verses really speak to what we’re talking about today, judging others. For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? Paul is telling us that we need to judge other believers, not just for the act of judging them, but as Christ said in the passage we read in Matthew, we judge other believers in order “take the splinter out of their eye.” We are to judge other believers, in a loving manner, in order to correct them, to point out the sins in their life, but only after we evaluate our own hearts and confess our own sins. As for those who are not believers, verse 13 tells us, “God judges outsiders.” Remember, they don’t live by our standards, so we can’t judge them. All we can do is share the gospel.

So does the Bible say “Do not judge.” Yes and no. Our task is to understand when to judge, lovingly, and when to share.

Would you pray with me?