Pod Prep: 11-9-1 Deeply Understanding 'Judge Not that You be Not Judged ' .
A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF 'JUDGE NOT' AS MEANT BY JESUS
One of the most often quoted scriptures in our increasingly secular world is Matt 7:1, regarding not judging others. The present society is drifting further and further from Biblical standards. Therefore this verse is a favorite one. We will undertake to thoroughly unpack and understand this section of the Bible. It contains great pearls of wisdom, some of which are being bypassed by many in our society. Christ famously said :
Matthew 7:1-2 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.
Let us look at the context for a minute. Who was he addressing, the Jewish people under the self righteous leadership of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is telling them to think more like God and to seek His kindness. They needed to seek God's goodness which includes His grace and forgiveness unlike the religious attitudes the Pharisees were teaching them. They also are not to think like the greedy, worldly gentiles either.
Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
This thinking like God, also includes not being judgmental or condemning others like the Pharisees but having godly graciousness to others with weaknesses. Our number one goal should be to seek our own righteousness and not watch others so much. Do not become so eager to condemn others as the Pharisees. Jesus is critical of the self righteous, judgmental spirit of the Pharisees. However Jesus did not intend to prohibit all acts of evaluation or judgment. He was not eliminating standards upon which to make judgments as many have assumed. Just a little further into this account of Christ's actions He commanded believers to discern the actions of others.
Matthew 7:15-16 NKJV 15We can evaluate "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
Within the very same conversation Jesus warns the people to evaluate religious teachers. Some He said were wolves out to fleece and deceive them. This requires judgment. What Jesus condemned was the hypocritical judgment that focuses on the faults of others while excusing or ignoring one's own faults. It is easy for human nature to wish to focus on others. We can see this in some of the destructive, aggressively judging of others on social media. Note what Christ said as part of the context of his judgment warning.
Matthew 7:3-5 NKJV 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.
This eye speck statement is part of the do not judge that you be not judged warning. The speck is like a piece of saw dusk in your eye which is minor while you ignore a near log in your own eye. Anyone one who is focused on the speck in his neighbors eye while without attending to his great problems is a hypocrite.
DO NOT CONDEMN BUT WE CAN EVALUATE OTHERS
Christian can know right from wrong. Everything is not relative. God determines what is right and wrong. God's Law is the lamp unto our feet to guide us. The Laws of God define righteousness and good and bad conduct.
Psalms 119:172-173 NKJV 172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. 173 Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts.
God's commandments define righteousness. Goodness is defined by the Ten Commandments.
1 John 3:4-5 NKJV 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
Sin and evil are also defined by the Ten Commandments. Jesus came to lead us away from sin and to pardon us from our guilt. His death covers our sins. He is the one whose blood allowed the death penalty to pass over us. Jesus is our Passover. Further Jesus in guiding the people away from the harsh leadership of the Pharisees. He warned of the danger of the hypocritical condemnation of others. People have problems but ultimate condemnation and judgment of them is not our job. It is God's right to ultimately judge. He warned us to avoid the critical approach of the Pharisees. We can evaluate the bad conduct of others so we can avoid it. Further we can help others when appropriate to avoid various sin traps. We can help solve problems among brethren when done in love and kindness. This requires knowing and evaluating right from wrong.
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.
Clearly Jesus is not saying all behavior cannot be evaluated. He told the disciples how they should handle problems of conflicting conduct among the believers. Someone has to be in the wrong or they both could bare portions of the blame. But without doubt some level of godly judgment is involved.
Further, in that same revelation Jesus tells us that sometimes we have to judge or evaluate the worthiness of some people. We are not ultimately condemning them; that is up to God, but for now some are unworthy of the truth. They are so low in their actions and morals that they cannot appreciate the truth. That God's Laws and righteousness would mean nothing to them. Some are too wicked and dangerous to deal with for now.
Matthew 7:6 - 8 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. 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Christ want us to focus on our own sins and faults more than on others. He want us to be gracious to others but that does not mean that no standards of right and wrong apply. They do exist and we can use them to evaluate various situations and people. We must evaluate some evil people and decide they are not yet worthy to comprehend truth while some are knocking on the door looking for God. This requires evaluation and wisdom. Some people are descending into deeply sinful thinking. We should avoid them. This is an act of evaluation and judgment.
SELF RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT IS WRONG, GOD IS GRACIOUS AND LOVING.
The Pharisees and were criticized by Jesus for their levels of condemnation and judgment of others. Many of the judging attitudes were based on a of lack of knowledge about those judged. They further lacked kindness toward others. They looked down on the average person see Luke 18:9.
Matthew 9:10-12 NKJV 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Jesus knew that the Pharisees would see themselves as those not needing any healing. They were above the regular people because they were so righteous. Any judging they conducted was easily criticized by Christ. They were so self righteous that Jesus referred to them as blind leaders. They had no insight into godly judgment.
Matthew 9:14-15 NKJV 14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
The Pharisees were quick to judge others in a way that made them look superior to others.
HOW DOES GOD WANT US BELIEVERS TO HANDLE THE GUILTY
God is known for his compassion and patience with sinful mankind. He wants us to become more like him. Jesus wants us to learn to be gracious not judgmental. Note also Jonah 4:2.
Galatians 6:1-3 NKJV 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. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
This loving humble spirit is what Christ wants from all of us. This does not mean that we do not realize that the fallen brother was incorrect in his sinful behavior. We are just not going to condemn him. We are just going to help restore him to goodness. Handle each other in love and humility not harsh judgment.
We love the sinner and pray for their victory over sinful evil for their sake!
