Matthew 7.1-6

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.

This text is perhaps one of the most quoted (and misused) texts in the entire bible. Even those who have never actually read the Bible, will often have the token “don’t judge me” ready whenever they need to get others off their back. Sadly, Christians have often been quite condemning, thus creating this secular need for such a response in the first place. Even more sad is that Christians will themselves use this line to prevent others from giving them advice or rebuking them in love. Nobody likes to be called out on their sin. Pulling out the “Don’t Judge” card is a quick and easy way to avoid accountability. But what does this text really mean? What does “not judging” look like? What does it not look like?

Yes, Jesus says “Do not Judge”. But in that very passage he goes on to say “first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will be able to see clearly to help your brother.”  Doesn’t telling your brother or sister that they morally have something in their eye require judgment? So what is Jesus really saying here? Are some kinds of judgment ok? Furthermore, isn’t the gospel message (you need a savour) itself judgmental? Yes, there is judgment, yet it is always followed by a ‘but.’ You are a sinner, but…Jesus has paved a way for you to move past that if you accept him. The but is quintessential. The but is what distinguishes our judgment from the total absolute irrevocable judgment of god that will not occur until the end times.

Therefore, to ‘not judge’ is to not condemn someone forever. We can point out immorality to the world, but we are not to condemn them to hell. That is God’s decision. We are not God. And to try to judge someone finally and absolutely, without any possibility of repentance (without a “but”) is to make ourselves God. One day there will be judgment, but our role on earth as the church, is not to walk around condemning everyone. We convict them of sin, yes, but in the hopes that when they are convicted, they will then turn and embrace Jesus Christ as their saviour from that sin. The point isn’t to judge them, the point is to bring them to Christ. As Romans 12 says “Leave room for God’s wrath. It is mine to avenge, I will repay. Says the Lord.”

So, it seems that some kinds of judgments are ok, and indeed necessary. But also some kinds are not ok. Lets look at some biblical examples where judgment is ok.

• 1 Corinthians 5 Paul says he “passed judgment” on sexual immorality 
• Luke 12:57 “judge for yourselves what is right.”  
• Hebrews 5:14 “mature Christians have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil.” 
• Jn.7:24 “stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment” 
• 2 Thess 5:21 says we are to “test everything”. How can we test something if we cannot judge or evaluate it?
• 1 Cor.6:5 say  “we can judge disputes among believers.”
• Gal.6:1 “restore gently the sinful brother.” On the one hand we must judge in order to identify a brother as sinful. On the other hand, we must be gentle in our restoration of that individual.

So according to the bible, we must be able to judge and evaluate things. This kind of judgment is ok. In fact, the Bible seems to think its good. So what kinds of judgement are not ok?

Jesus said “remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the plank from your brothers eye.” Thus it is not so much judgment, but hypocritical judgement that is the problem.  Jesus doesn’t like it when Christians walk around condemning everyone while they themselves continue doing the same things over and over again. We are all sinners, and we ourselves have planks in our eyes or once had planks in our eyes. We can’t pretend we are way better than others because they are struggling with something. No, we come to them with grace and forgiveness, because that is what Jesus came to us with.

The Bible distinguishes between judging those in the church, and judging those outside the church. 1 Cor. 5:11 says “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.” Doesn’t the church usually seem to do the opposite. We get so mad about proposition 8 or dirty movies or the government, but we often leave sin within the church unaddressed. I personally love the accountability that comes from being in a church. If we are not consistently accountable to those around us, then iron is not sharpening iron. We need to be looking into each others lives and gentle confronting each other in rebuke and encouragement. A church that is comfortable enough with grace that they can openly work through their sins is a beautiful testament to the forgiving power of the cross.

What are some sins that you wish were more openly discussed and confronted in the church? Try listing out a few.

Now turn the question around. What are some things that we in the church often make judgments about that we should not? What kind of things do we judge others about that ultimately do not matter? Try listing a few of these out.

You may need to sit with this next question for a while. What are some things that you yourself struggle to judge people about? 

            

Many of us know we struggle with judgment, but have no clue how to begin to work through it. Here are some of the things that I at least I have found to be helpful in learning not to judge:

• Praying for those we struggle to judge. Praying for someone teaches you to see them not merely as an enemy or an annoyance, but as a fellow child of God who needs his love, forgiveness and guidance just as much as we ourselves do. Further, prayer is essentially asking God to step into a situation. His presence in your interactions with someone is the biggest step towards grace and mercy in how you see and treat them. Let the power of God into your interactions.

• Getting involved more deeply in peoples stories. The judgments we make often tend to be made without consideration for how someone became the way they are, or what led them to act and say the things they do. Try getting to know people better, ask them about their past or their testimony. In general, most people want and need to talk about their past, they just need to be given permission by a willing listener. Knowing someone more deeply helps you see beyond superficial judgments, and peel away to what is really going on underneath. Further, learning about someones past helps you see them as a real human being, with their own struggles, successes, failures, joys, idiosyncrasies, dreams, needs, and personal baggage. The more time we spend genuinely getting to know someone, the more we will come to care about them, and the less we will be prone to make quick judgments about them. Where your treasure is (where you spend your time, energy or attention) there your heart will be also. Try giving your treasure and devotion to other people. It can really help with judging them.
• Dwelling on the gospel message. It is only when we begin to understand how much Christ has forgiven us for, that we can then begin to find the mercy and love to fully forgive others. Contemplating the depths of our own sin, and the unending mercy of God, we come closer to true forgiveness and the ability to refrain from malicious judgments.  Even from the cross Christ prayed for his murderers “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” 
• One bible story in particular has helped me work through judging others. It comes from John 8:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”   “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Christ was the only one who was sinless enough to judge and throw the first stone without being a hypocrite. Furthermore he was God, the only being in existence who truly had the right to judge! Yet the only one who truly could judge her, does not. He acknowledges her sin (“Go now and leave your life of sin”) yet he does not condemn her to death, dismiss her, or mock her. In the church of Christ, there is no stones to throw at one another. There is loving rebuke and guidance, but there is not supposed to be hatred, condemnation, revenge, or raw punishment. We accept one another, because Christ has first accepted us.

Jon Lyon