What is Judging? (Matthew 7:1-6)
What is Judging?
Matthew 7:1-6
As we study through the Sermon on the Mount,
We are now to a new point in this great sermon of Jesus.
Chapter 5 = GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED
Chapter 6 = FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED
And now we hit the third point of Jesus.
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPELLED
And this point covers the smallest amount of text,
And yet may be the most penetrating in the entire sermon.
And yet again this point makes perfect sense.
• After revealing God’s perfect righteousness in order to prove that we do not measure up.
• Jesus then exposed how bad all the good things we do really are.
• And now He goes right to the heart of the matter, and that is that we have made a gross misevaluation of our lives.
Jesus is preaching to a people who were certain that they were righteous.
They were certain that they did things the right way.
They were certain that they were pleasing above everyone else.
Just listen to what Paul says about them in Romans.
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”
Jesus is preaching to a people who were certain that they were righteous,
And this morning He reiterates that their self-assessment is flawed.
Jesus exposes and then expels their self-righteousness.
And the way Jesus both exposes and expels their self-righteousness
Is by giving this powerful statement on judging.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”
When seeking to address their self-righteousness
Jesus confronts their judgmental nature.
Nothing indicates self-righteousness
More than when we judge others.
At the very heart of judgment is the mindset that you are wrong,
Based upon the conviction that I am right.
And so when Jesus wishes to expose their self-righteousness
He does so by indicating that they were a judgmental people.
And so the point of the passage is clear,
However the application of this passage is often distorted.
This passage is extremely popular in the world.
In fact it is probably the banner verse for anyone
Who ever desired to commit sin and to live in it.
No matter if it is homosexuality
No matter if it is greed
No matter if it is abortion
No matter if it is gossip
No matter if it is adultery
The standard answer when confronting those things is “Judge Not”.
And so before we get into our text this morning,
I want to spend some time taking an exhaustive look at Scripture
To see exactly what judging is.
This sermon this morning is going to be quite a lot of information
And it will sort serve as a foundation for when we get further into the text
Next Sunday morning.
TO GET STARTED, let’s just set the foundation for judgment and judging.
Now you and I know that this world violently refutes
The notion of judgment.
If you seek to tell someone else they are wrong about anything,
They are quick to point out that you are not a judge.
THIS IS NOT A NEW SENTIMENT.
It is the same sentiment that we saw in Sodom in Gomorrah.
You may remember when the angelic messengers came to visit Lot, and the wicked men of the city came and tried to have homosexual sex with them.
Genesis 19:6-9 “But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.”
Even in the most wicked city of all time, people resented being judged.
And the mindset persists.
This world loves sin, & tends to reject any notion of being judged.
Sadly many even quote this verse in Matthew 7
As grounds that they will never be judged for their sin.
But here is the first thing a wicked world needs to know.
JUDGMENT IS CERTAIN
And wicked men are judged.
John 3:16-19 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”
When you read that passage, you quickly understand that it is not
That man is free, seeking to avoid being judged.
It is clear that man has already been judged wicked by God,
And unless man runs to the Savior, He will enter into the judgment.
John 5:21-29 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He isthe Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
And there we see it again.
And so I want you to see that judgment is certain.
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
So for those who are looking for a life without consequences,
You must know that it is not possible.
If you are seeking to quote Matthew 7:1 as some sort of license
To live any type of life you desire without repercussion,
Then you should know that such a life does not exist.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
The life you live will be judged by God.
And so don’t get the mindset from this verse that judging
Is somehow a bad thing, for God Himself judges.
Judging is an action of God, and therefore in and of itself it cannot be evil.
However, corrupted judgment is wrong.
And that is the next thing you need to know about judging.
As I studied the various passages on judging, it seems clear to me
That there are three types of judging that occurs in Scripture.
And I know that this comes to you as somewhat of a topical study,
But I just don’t know any other way to lay this foundation for you.
So let me show you these three types of judging,
And I promise they will pull together as we get into our study of Matthew 7.
#1 WICKED JUDGEMENT THAT ONLY DESTROYS
There is obviously a type of judgment
That is only meant to destroy another person.
It comes for the sole purpose of making oneself look good,
And securing another person as a condemned sinner.
And we see examples of it in Scripture.
TURN TO: ROMANS 14
When you look at the first verse, the entire context is laid out for us.
“Now accept the one who is weak in faith,
But not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.”
There you see that the judgment spoken of here
Was a judgment on the “opinions” of another person.
We are not dealing with evil actions.
We are not dealing with carnal living.
If you want to see specifically:
(READ VERSES 2-5)
So it all stemmed around what a person ate,
And which day to worship on.
Obviously neither decision was a sin.
Eat what you want.
Worship when you want.
WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH SINFUL CHOICES,
RATHER DIFFERENCES OF OPINION.
What is clear is that both make the choice they make
Because they feel that this is what their Lord requires.
(READ VERSES 6-9)
And so we have here believers who love God, and wish to please God,
They simply differ in their opinion of what it is that is pleasing to God.
(Does God like hymns or choruses?)
And obviously each group was judging the other.
So Paul says this:
(VERSES 10-13)
The judgment occurring here was a wicked judgment
That sought to belittle and condemn a fellow brother.
That is why Paul commands them to stop destroying one another.
(VERSES 14-15)
(VERSES 20-21)
And so clearly, we have a type of judgment that was meant to destroy.
James also speaks of this type of judgment
TURN TO: JAMES 4:11-12
Without giving any specifics,
James mentions the same types of things going on here.
They were speaking against their brother and judging him.
And you will notice that James takes their wickedness even further.
“He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law;”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
It means that if you condemn a brother for something
That Scripture doesn’t condemn him for,
Not only are you condemning your brother,
But you are also saying that the Scripture is incomplete.
(I think this happens all the time today in regard to alcohol.)
AND THIS IS A WICKED JUDGMENT.
• It doesn’t judge man’s sin, it judges his opinions.
• It doesn’t judge man’s actions, it judges his motives.
• And it does so with the intent to destroy.
And so it is obvious why God would forbid such a judgment.
And that is one type of judgment.
Let me give you another.
Wicked Judgment that only Destroys
#2 BLIND JUDGMENT THAT ONLY DECEIVES
Not only is their a wicked judgment that destroys.
But there is also a type of judgment that is rooted in blindness.
And the danger of it is deception.
Self deception & Deception of others.
Let’s first look at the self-deceived.
TURN TO: ROMANS 2
If you have read Romans 1,
You know that Paul has just outlined the wrath of God and sin.
He has shown the wrath of God on idolatry.
He has shown the wrath of God on Homosexuality.
He has shown the wrath of God on Apathy.
They are sins, they are heinous to God, and they are being judged by God.
So the issue here is NOT someone is being wrongly condemned
For something that is not sin.
Earlier that was the case.
Here that is not the case.
We are dealing with sinful people who are choosing a lifestyle
That deserves the judgment of God and in fact is already receiving it.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH JUDGING THEM?
THEY THOUGHT JUDGMENT WAS PARTIAL
(READ 2:1-2)
You clearly see here that we have people who actually condemn others
For doing something that they do themselves.
It is a blind judgment that cannot see the problems in their own life.
They assume that God won’t punish them for the same things.
(READ 2:3-11)
And so you can see these self-deceived people
Who are aware everyone’s sin but their own,
And as a result are blind to their own punishment.
It is no wonder God opposes such judgment.
It makes Him look wishy-washy, and it deceives people.
But people with this judgment don’t just deceive themselves,
They also deceive others.
TURN TO: LUKE 6:37-45
Now you will notice that much of what Jesus says here
Is the same thing He will say in Matthew’s gospel.
But we turn here because the order is different
And we how Jesus is tying things together a little differently.
First we notice the command. (37-38)
And so instead of condemnation Jesus commands forgiveness.
Don’t be eager to destroy your brother, instead be eager to forgive him.
And then He speaks more about judgment.
(READ 39-42)
Now we are familiar with the whole
“take the log out of your own eye” concept.
But do you notice that Jesus first speaks of blind men leading blind men?
The idea here is that when you judge in blindness,
Even the direction you give is not good direction.
Here we have a man living in sin and loving sin,
And obviously blinded to the truth,
Yet taking it upon himself to give someone else spiritual advice.
Jesus wants to know “How can you do that?”
It’s like what He said to the Pharisees.
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
It is a blind judgment, and it only leads to deception.
It cannot deliver, it cannot redeem, it cannot guide.
And that is why Jesus immediately goes form there
To the false prophets who do this every day.
(READ 43-45)
He couldn’t see the path for himself, let alone for anyone else.
And so you see another bad type of judgment.
• It is blind to the impartial nature of God.
• It is blind to it’s own sin.
• Therefore it is blind to help anyone else either.
The idea here is that if you won’t deal with the sin in your own life,
Then don’t try to deal with the sin in someone elses’.
It is hypocrisy, and Jesus is opposed to it as well.
But there is a third type of judgment.
A Wicked judgment that only destroys
A Blind judgment that only deceives
#3 TRUE JUDGMENT THAT ONLY DELIVERS
This true judgment is what Jesus spoke of:
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
And so it is clear that not only does Jesus condemn faulty judgment, but He actually commands righteous judgment.
WANT SOME EXAMPLES?
2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
ARE NOT BOTH OF THOSE A TYPE OF JUDGMENT?
Yet both are commanded in Scripture.
And let me show you why
TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 5
When you read the first two verses we see the problem.
There was a specific type of immorality occurring that had to be stopped.
And notice Paul’s response.
(VERSE 3-5)
So Paul actually judged this person.
Paul actually handed him over to Satan (kicked him out of the church)
And then Paul chastises the Corinthians for not doing this sooner
(VERSES 6-8)
Allowing this sin to go unchallenged
Will only bring negative consequences to the church.
(VERSES 9-13)
Paul actually says we are required to judge those within the church.
That seems strange doesn’t?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 18
Now you also must know that this passage
Is all about saving people from sin.
In fact verse 7 talks about making little ones stumble.
Verses 8-9 talks about keeping yourself from stumbling.
Verses 10-14 talks about how God wants to save one who does stumble.
Verse 15 says, “If your brother sins”
So we are talking about one who has stumbled.
We don’t know how he fell, but we know God wants him back
HOW DOES GOD PURPOSE TO GET HIM BACK?
(VERSES 15-20)
God wants other brothers to confront him and turn him back to the truth,
And He has given them authority to do so.
And there again we see that judging is not only biblical,
But is actually commanded by God.
SO HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST TWO TYPES OF JUDGMENT WE SAW?
The first two sought to destroy, this one seeks to redeem.
The first two are for the benefit of the judge,
This one is for the benefit of the sinner.
And so we see that we have to qualify
What Jesus is saying in Matthew 7 with the rest of Scripture.
We have to understand that what Jesus is condemning is
That self-righteous attitude that seeks to destroy another person.
Let me give you an example of how Jesus did it.
TURN TO: JOHN 8
Here we have all three types of judgment on display.
• The Wicked who wanted her dead.
• The Blind who couldn’t see their own sin.
• The True who told the woman, “go and sin no more”
And you see the difference.
Jesus never condoned her sin, in fact He never condoned anyone’s sin.
His judgment was true.
His judgment was righteous.
His judgment was redemptive.
And when you see this
You understand what we are talking about in Matthew 7
When Jesus says, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged”
It is clear that He is referring to those blind and wicked judgments
That seek to condemn a person in their sin.
This must be avoided, for it reveals self-righteousness in its finest form.
I would close in telling you here, that if you feel as though
You are under the judgment of God, that there is redemption.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
