Judge Fairly, Lest You be Judged Fairly (Matthew 7:1-6)

Judge Fairly, Lest You be Judged Fairly

Matthew 7:1-6 (NKJV)

Do Not Judge: Things That Count with God
1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5Hypocrite! 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.        Why do we offer judgment?
2.        How do we make sure we are offering righteous judgment?
3.        When are we to offer judgment?
4.        How do we offer judgment?
5.        How important is it that we act as judges?

Introduction
This morning we take our text, primarily, from the middle of the master sermon, taught by the master preacher. Here Jesus is teaching his disciples, and all of the onlookers, from what we know today as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In this sermon Jesus teaches the basics of righteous living. It is in this section of his sermon that Jesus addresses the truth about sin and warnings about judging others.

Are we to judge others?

One of the most favored sayings of many, found in our text this morning, is, “Judge not, that you be not judged,” (Matthew 7:1a).

This morning we are going to explore how the common misuse of this statement could not be any more incorrect.

Yes, we are to judge. Jesus taught his disciples to be fruit inspectors (Matthew 7:16-20). God instructed the Prophet Ezekiel to be a watchman (Ezekiel 3:17). The Apostle Paul exhorted instructed the Corinthian church to remove a member who was living in a state of unrepentant sin (I Corinthians 5:5). Further, we are exhorted by the Apostle Paul that we will one day serve as judges over the angels (I Corinthians 6:3).

So what did Jesus mean when he said, “Judge not, that you be not judged?” It is clear from the body of scripture and from other teachings from Jesus’ own mouth that we are indeed to judge? I think the answer is found in the following verses. We are to be wise when offering judgment. We are to be fair when offering judgment. We are to be righteous when offering judgment. And, we are to be very careful about offering judgment. Jesus warns that in the same way and by the same measure that we offer judgment, God will in turn deliver judgment on us.

I don’t know about you, but it would be a very hard thing to face if God were to judge me for merely the way that I often desire, in my heart, to offer judgment to others. I would surely be nothing more than a small scorched spot on the pavement by now.

1. Why do we offer judgment?
I would like us to take a look at a few callings to be a judge over others. The first I would like us to take a look at this morning is taken from the call of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:17-21). God clearly calls Ezekiel to be a watchman and then to offer judgment when necessary. But it is quite clear that the motive is always to be redemption.

Second, I would like us to look at how Jesus taught to treat a brother who has sinned against you (Matthew 18:15-20). This method could just as easily be used as a model of how to treat anyone who is a believer and the sin they are involved in comes to your attention. Here again, the motive is clear. No level of severity of judgment is to be offered to anyone without the clear purpose being the redemption of the fallen.

The reasons or motives for offering judgment are of utmost importance. We are never to offer judgment for condemnation, punishment or retribution. We could not have a better example for us of right and wrong motives for judgment than that which is portrayed in the example of the woman caught in the act of adultery who was brought before Jesus by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

Let us quickly review the story that is a familiar one to most of us. It is found in the gospel according to the Apostle John, chapter eight, verses one through eleven.

A woman, caught in the act of adultery, is brought before Jesus by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. There are two things that I have always deduced from this story, that are not mentioned in the text.

First, it is clear from the text that these men plotted in advance to use this woman as a snare for Jesus. Which would indicate that they were well aware of her affair and did not really care anything about it except as a device to use against this upstart teacher who was threatening their power over the people. How did they know where and when to catch this woman in the act?

Second, the last time that I checked it takes two people to successfully do what she was caught in the act of doing. So, where was the man? Why was the woman the only one brought before Jesus to be judged?

They came, hoping to snare Jesus in the trap they had cleverly prepared for him. The woman’s outcome was of little consequence. They mocked and ridiculed Jesus, who knew the true intentions of their hearts. Jesus responded to their taunts by stopping down to the ground and writing in the dirt. At first, these men were not aware of what he was writing, because they mocked him further. Jesus merely answered the condition of their hearts, rather than their actions or the statements of their mouths. He challenged that any of her accusers who were without sin, or it could be argued that this phrase could also be translated “this sin,” were to cast stones at the woman. He then returned to writing in the dirt.

Now, he had their attention, for he had spoken to the condition of their souls rather than the situation they had presented him with. Jesus challenged them and their motives, something only he, being God incarnate, could do. And, now they took a look at what he was writing in the dirt. They all lost their resolve. They no longer cared about trapping Jesus, nor did they care what anybody thought about how they failed to complete the task of passing judgment on the woman. One by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they dropped their rocks and ran away.

The reputation of the Pharisees was not the best to be had. They were people to be feared not to be admired. Their motives were usually self-serving. They sought ways to use the Law (of Moses) to increase their own wealth and power. Jesus was a threat to the system they had established because he was teaching people what God really meant by the Law and the Prophets, not their twisted intentional misinterpretations.

It has always been my belief, this is not found in scripture, just what I like to believe, that the reason the man was not brought before Jesus was because he was one of the men presenting the woman before Jesus to be judged. What was Jesus writing in the dirt? It was definitely something very unsettling to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. It scared them into giving up their scheme and leaving. I think that it either was a laundry list of their private sins or a list of names from their little black books. Possibly, it was just the name of the man the woman had been found with.

It is clear from the story, thus far, that the motive of these men was not the correct motive for offering judgment. Their motive was to destroy others. But this is not where the story ends.

After her accusers had fled in fear, Jesus addressed the woman. He asked her who was it that was accusing her. She responded that there was no one to be found. Then Jesus said something very surprising, “Neither do I, go and sin no more.”

Jesus demonstrated the only pure motive for offering judgment, REDEMPTION!

2. How do we make sure we are offering righteous judgment?
First we must always examine ourselves before we offer judgment to anyone. We not only need to be certain that we are in no way guilty of the sin we need to bring to the attention of another, but we need to be certain that we are not guilty of any intentional sins ourselves.

In his second letter to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul instructed them to examine themselves to determine whether or not they truly in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5a). We should examine whether we be in the faith, because it is a matter in which we may be easily deceived, a deceit which is highly dangerous.

The Pharisees who brought the woman caught in the act of adultery had obviously deceived the people, what a greater shame it would have been if they had deceived themselves also. They could have actually believed themselves to be righteous in their actions. They would have saved themselves a lot of disgrace that day if they had examined themselves before approaching Jesus. It very well could have put their plans to rest before they ever attempted to execute them.

Likewise, we should prove our selves, to put the question to our own souls, whether Christ is in us, or not. Either we are true Christians or we are great cheats; and what a reproachful thing is it for a man not to know himself, not to know his own soul! How can we even consider offering judgment to another when we are in need of being judged ourselves (Matthew 7:3-6; Luke 6:41-42).

You may say, “But I have never done ________________.” It may be true that you have never committed adultery, murder, theft, etcetera, but if you have merely considered committing these acts in your mind, then you have committed these acts in your heart, no different than those who have committed it in their flesh (Matthew 5:21-26; 27-30).

We could do great damage to ourselves by going out and profession judgment over another soul in self-righteous hypocrisy. Acting in such a manner is almost always going to be the result of improper motives. Judging others from a self-righteous pedestal is to judge like the Pharisees, as one holding the power to destroy those we choose.

We would be setting ourselves up for harsh judgment from God as a result of our actions. But if we first examine ourselves, repent and renew our own commitment to Christ, and then pursue the cause of redemption, we could win more than God’s mercy when judging us, we could also win the soul of another. It would do us no good to be right and then lose the greater prize: another soul for the kingdom of heaven.

3. When are we to offer judgment?
It is clear that we are to tread wisely towards the non-believer. It is important to remember that they are not held to the same level of accountability to the scripture as believers are. They are sinners, and they are wicked, so they do the wicked things sinners do as a manner of course. What does this mean? This means we should not be going to every sinner we see, in our daily lives, and pronouncing judgment over them. Jesus was clear about this when he said, “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” (Matthew 7:6, NKJV).

It is futile to offer judgment to those who would not only be unreceptive to it, but would turn against you as a result of it. No, we are not to make a general practice of approaching the non-believer as a judge. We are to be wise in the way that we act towards them, taking advantage of every opportunity to live the gospel before their eyes and being ready and available to present it to them whenever they might be receptive. But, it is clear from the instruction to Ezekiel that we are to approach the wicked man, as a judge, only when God says, “Enough is enough!” When God instructs us that the wicked man will surely die, if he does not cease doing what he is doing, that is the time to take action.

Though we are to avoid acting as judge towards those who are not in the faith, we are not to sidestep the responsibility of being one towards a fellow believer (Ezekiel 3:20-22; Matthew 18:15).

4. How do we offer judgment?
To the wicked we are to deliver the warning. It is up to them whether or not they will respond to it and avoid calamity. Nonetheless, you will have done everything you can do. If you were to treat them like a believer and escalate the severity of the judgment and accountability, they would feel like they were being ganged up on and would most likely rebel against the warning and continue in sin just to spite you. You would be right in the judgment that was offered but you would have lost them, possibly for eternity.

The believer, on the other hand, is to be held to a higher level of accountability. Jesus instructed his disciples just how to handle this type of situation.

If a brother sins against you, or if he is involved in willful sins, go to him privately and make him aware of his sin. If he hears you and repents, you have redeemed your brother. Do not pursue it any further. If he does not listen to you, return to him with two or three witnesses. This is to increase the level of accountability, for you and for him. If he hears the three of you and repents, you have redeemed your brother. Do not pursue it any further. If he does not listen to the three of you, Bring the issue before the entire church body. This again increases the level of accountability. If he hears all of the church and repents, you have redeemed your brother. Do not pursue it any further. If he does not listen to the entire church, deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved.

5. How important is it that we act as judges?
It is very important to be reminded, once again, that when we act as judges, it is never as one who is judging over others. Rather, it is as one coming along side another soul and offering guidance.

We need to get in the practice of both offering judgment, but also in being receptive to it. We are told early on in scripture that God only disciplines those he loves. If he sends a fellow believer to offer you judgment, then you should count it joy that God is still concerned with your redemption.

Further we should be willing to submit ourselves to the judgment of the body of Christ when seeking outside help to resolve a dispute with another believer. The Apostle Paul wrote that it was a disgrace to bring these disputes before unbelievers in a court of law. We should become experienced in being judges because we will one day serve as judges over the angels of heaven (I Corinthians 6:1-6).

Conclusion
Maybe you are here today and you have never considered the responsibility you have as a believer to you fellow members in the body of Christ. Maybe you have fallen prey to one of the other commonly misused scriptures, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9c). Nothing could be further from the truth. Being a judge and your brothers keeper are not rights you have to hold over one another, they are responsibilities you have to fulfill on behalf of one another.

Maybe you are listening to this message and you been the victim of self-righteous or improperly administered judgment. I want you to know that whether or not judgment was offered correctly, no matter how the deliverer acted, God’s motive is clear, your redemption. Redemption has been God’s single motive since the day the first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden. It is the only reason his son came into the world, died on the cross and rose again. So, if you have been hurt by someone’s self-righteous misbehavior, on behalf of the Creator of the Universe, I want to apologize. I want you to know that God desires nothing more than for you to be redeemed to a right relationship with him.

Maybe you are here today and you know that you once acted as self-righteous judge and you now realize what that action has purchased for you. You do not want to face the same type of judgment from God that you offered to others. I want you to know that mercy is still available to you. Forgiveness will be granted to all who truly repent. Seek out one of the prayer counselors this morning and receive new mercy from the Lord this afternoon.

Maybe you have been listening to me today and you have no idea what I have been talking about. All you know is that you do not want to wait until God sends someone to tell you that it is now or never. I encourage you to seek out one of the prayer counselors this afternoon, they would love nothing more then to help you take another step closer to a right relationship with God.

Maybe you do not have a clue at all what any of this has been about this morning. For you, I would like to let you know that it has been wonderful having you in our presence this morning, but I need to let you know that attending church with us makes you no more of a Christian than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger. We would take no greater delight than sharing more with you, one on one, both what it means to be a Christian and how to become one.