Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged

I thought I would just mention to you and point out some things regarding Mr. and Mrs. Luecker were visiting here in the Kansas City area on Monday, the last day of the days of Unleavened Bread. And they have been in several areas through the past festival.

They were in Virginia, and they were in New Jersey, and they were in Delaware.

They were down in Wichita, and then thankfully they were able to come up on Sunday to be in the Kansas City area and then be with us throughout the day. And I know that from the things that they expressed, from what they told me, and I think what they shared with others, that they were delighted to see the local congregations here, Fulton and Kansas City. They were thankful for the people who were here. They felt that things were very, very stable in this area and are thankful for that. And that's what they would like to see everywhere. And I know that many areas are trying to get there. Some of them are still laboring with some of the things that we've been through the last six months. But I think we can surely say that as far as all of our local congregations that we have been tested, I think in many ways we could say we have been proven, and that we can say that we are reasonably sound. We are sound and secure in what God has called us to do. As we continue to do the work of God, of course we want all of the congregations of the United Church of God, specifically that all of us attend. We want all the congregations to be warm, to be welcoming, to be loving, and to be healthy. That's the ideal. That's what you would want. That's clearly what we need to have. And we even find some direction that when you read through the passages that Paul gave to different of the congregations that he dealt with. He dealt with places in Corinth or in Rome. He dealt with cities of Philippi and Colossae.

There were different congregations that needed different types of help, and yet all of them needed to be welcoming toward other people. And there were a certain number of conflicts between people, Jew and Gentile specifically, because there was a good amount of misunderstanding and perhaps lack of acceptance by people as far as bringing others into the church, even as God might very miraculously be doing that. But I wanted to focus on a section today that can be misunderstood, and yet I hope can be of benefit to us as we study it. And so I'd like to start in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7 is a part of the Sermon on the Mount. It's a part of what Jesus spoke.

And of course, initially, here in Matthew 7, we read in the first few verses.

Now, Christ has been speaking in chapter 5 and in chapter 6, but in chapter 7, He makes a statement in verse 1, a statement that should not be misunderstood. He says in verse 1 of chapter 7, Judge not, let you also be judged. Or as in other translations, do not judge, so that you may not be judged. Now, he goes on in verse 2, for with the judgment that you make, you will be judged, and the measure that you give will be the measure that you get. That particular statement, at least the first one in verse 1, sometimes is misunderstood to think that, well, we don't need to make any judgments at all.

But clearly, that is not what Christ is talking about, because there are times, and clearly, we have to make judgments about going the right way as opposed to the wrong way, good and evil, being able to discern, we're told in Hebrews, that that's something that we need to be able to do.

We need to be able to know what God's law says, and then how we apply that, how we live that, how we are thriving in that way of God. So it's not talking about that, but I think we can see what it's talking about a little more as we read through the rest of this section. He says in verse 3, and he poses this question right in connection with what he's just said in verse 1 and 2, he says, why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye?

But you don't notice the log that is in your own. Now, of course, he's tying all this together, and he's actually asking the question, well, why do you see this tiny little speck in your neighbor's eye, but you really don't see the log, or you really don't see the plank that is in your own eye?

See, what is he talking about? Well, he's talking about looking at others, perhaps being able to identify something that either may or may not be wrong with them and the way they live, and then actually feeling that it's our responsibility to correct them when, in effect, we're doing something, our problems are even greater than whatever it is we might see in someone else. He goes on to say in verse 4, how can you say to your neighbor or your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye while the plank is in your own?

He says, you hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you'll see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. So here, what he's talking about is not so much whether we should make judgments or not, because we have to make those judgments, and we do all the time, but really, instead of thinking perhaps this section is about judging someone, perhaps we should think of it, and I believe this is really more about, you know, how is it that we should love one another?

How is it that we should care for and be interested in and love one another? And of course, it's very clear that he says in verse 5, well, really, the first thing. The first thing that we need to do is to judge ourselves. You know, instead of perhaps considering how others are doing, we ought to consider how am I doing? I need to judge myself, and if I see myself successfully, if I see the flaws that I have, if I see the sins, that often can be glaring, but sometimes they're also very subtle.

Sometimes they can be extremely subtle, and sometimes we can even know better, and we can say, well, that doesn't apply to me, and it may very well apply to an attitude of heart, to an interest that we have, you know, maybe in looking at others in a judgmental way. See, that's really what this is talking about. It's talking about not so much making judgments, but it's talking about being judgmental, but judgmental toward others.

And of course, Christ clearly points out that the real need is to look at ourselves. And then if we have the mercy, if we have the compassion, if we have the humility that comes from examining ourselves, well, then we're able to love and help and encourage someone else, not in a, you know, a derogatory and negative way, but in an encouraging way, in an uplifting way. I think we can look as well over here in Luke 6, because you've got a parallel chapter here, or at least this section is parallel over here in the book of Luke.

Luke chapter 6, in verse 37, it says here, do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned, but forgive, and you will be forgiven. See, here he actually adds a little more to it. You know, we read certain things there in Matthew, but you see a little more to the thought that Jesus was extending. It was not simply about how to love one another, how to not be judgmental, and then if we are able to help someone to be able to do that with love and mercy, it also ties this together, you know, with forgiving. And if we are forgiving, then of course if we understand our need for forgiveness, then we also will be forgiving.

He drops down to verse 39, he says, can a blind person guide a blind person? We'll not both fall into the ditch. See, that's, you know, that's again pointing out that, well, you know, we're going to have to look at ourselves. We're going to have to really, if we're going to be loving, if we're going to be forgiving, if we're going to be accepting, well, they're going to, we're going to have to see what's wrong with being judgmental. And see, this can be in church. This can be in our congregation. This can be in our homes. This can be in our husband and wife relationships.

You know, it can very easily crop up. And of course, what Christ is talking of here is, you know, not being condemning, but also not being judgmental of others. So this whole section, I'm not going to take time to read this, but he answers in the same way down in the very last part of it in verse, latter part of verse 42. He says, you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you'll see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye or your brother's eye. He comes to the same conclusion by saying that, well, this is about, you know, whether or not someone is judgmental of others, whether or not they have an attitude. And actually, I think in essence, it's a trap we can fall into of trying to live our lives, trying to obey God, trying to serve God, trying to honor God. And as we've, you know, been instructed, you know, looking to Christ for help, looking to God to guide and direct us and Christ to lead us. And yet, it's easy to fall into a trap of being judgmental toward other people. You know, judging them and actually, as the words here, you know, condemning. You know, condemning is a much harsher word than just making a judgment about someone and looking down upon them. There are a lot of different ways that this can be done. Much of it, though, has to do with how it is that we think of others and how it is we react to others and whether or not we really create an environment that is welcoming and accepting of others. There are numerous verses that I'm not even going to try to go to today because I'll probably go through those the next time I am able to speak up here because there's a lot of different ways that this can happen. I'd like for us to look at a few verses here that actually show how it was that the Pharisees were viewing Jesus and His actions. This ties together with what this, you know, we've read in Matthew and Luke about how it is that we need to be loving, how it is that we need to be forgiving, how it is that we need to be accepting of others. But clearly the Pharisees, you know, they looked at Jesus with a very, you know, suspect attitude. They knew He certainly seemed to be an authority. They knew He seemed to be a representative from God. They didn't want to admit that. They didn't want to acknowledge who He was. They certainly didn't want to come out and say He's the Son of God. You know, that was clearly not what they were going to do. But it's interesting to see what it was, how it was that they looked at Him. And clearly, I think you can see in almost each of these examples, certainly, that the Pharisees were very judgmental of Jesus Christ. So how did that portray itself? Here in Mark chapter 2, Mark chapter 2, Mark 2, starting in verse 5.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.

So this was a case where someone had been brought to Jesus. He was aware of how it was that, you know, this person was in need. And in this case, you know, He was not only able, He was willing to heal Him. And so in verse 6, even though He didn't directly say something about healing Him, and of course, this was a man who had been lowered through the roof, of where He said, when He said, your sins are forgiven, what was the response?

Now in verse 6, some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their heart, questioning in their heart, saying, well, why does this fellow speak in this way?

Why does he speak in this way? And who can forgive sin but God alone?

And of course, in verse 8, at once, Jesus perceived in His Spirit that they were discussing the question among themselves. And so He started asking them, well, what's the difference whether I say, be healed, or your sins be forgiven? I have the capacity, I have the power, I have the authority to do either one. But what I want us to focus on is just the condemning attitude that the Pharisees had. You know, they looked at Him, you know, they thought, well, what He's saying is blasphemous. Forgive your sins.

But, you know, they were looking at Him in a very condemning, a very derogatory, a very judgmental manner. And again, this is something that we want to avoid as we look at other people. Over in Luke 7, you've got numerous examples of this because almost every time you see Jesus and the Pharisees running into each other, you have the same outcome almost. But here in Luke 7, starting in verse 36, it says, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with Him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and took His plate at the table. I think we may have covered part of this in one of the sermons here in the past few weeks. But it says in verse 37, a woman of the city who was a sinner.

Having learned that He was eating in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

And she stood behind Him and His feet weeping and began to bathe His feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. And she continued kissing His feet and anointing them with ointment.

Oh, what a horrible situation! Christ was running into here. As we said, He was a popular dinner guest. He was in the Pharisee's home. He was attracting even others, attracting the crowd, because they could hear and knew what He was able to do. But as this activity took place, in verse 39, it says, when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, what did He think? Did He think, oh, what a wonderful thing! You know, it's really, really great that this lady is able to be respectful of Jesus and promote Him and to give Him this honor. You know, that clearly wasn't what He was thinking at all. You know, He was thinking in quite a condemning way, because He says, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who was touching Him, because she's a sinner.

See, they didn't want to give Him any credit, and in this case, they didn't want to give the woman any credit either. They wanted to categorize her. They wanted to put her in a box. They wanted to say, you know, well, everybody knows who she is. You know, she's clearly a sinner, a known sinner, perhaps. And yet, again, what was the attitude that the Pharisees were showing?

Well, it was one of condemning, one of criticizing, one of judging Jesus Christ for the activity that He was involved in. In this case, He wasn't hardly involved except, you know, He was the recipient of this blessing from this lady. And so, again, the Pharisees were judgmental in almost every interaction with Jesus Christ. In Mark 3, we go back to Mark again. Mark 3, you see a little bit different slant on this, a similar situation. Mark 3, verse 1, He says, again, He entered the synagogue, and a man who had a withered hand, they watched to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath.

And so, again, you know, they're the ones who thought they were right in their position. They thought they were the ones who not only knew when the Sabbath was, but how the Sabbath should be observed. And apparently, it was, you know, not good to be healing people on the Sabbath. You know, that was, of course, their thinking. They watched Him in verse 2 to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse Him. And that was their whole purpose of watching Him. Their purpose of watching what Jesus was going to do in this situation that was on the Sabbath was to be accusatory, was to be accusatory, and to find fault. Verse 3, He said to the man who had the withered hand come forward, and He said to them, Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill? Obviously, they had to be silent because they didn't have an answer to that, but He looked around at them with anger, and He was grieved at the hardness of heart that they had. See, the Pharisees' heart, again, that was their problem. They had the heart that was not soft, that was not acceptable, that was not accepting, that was precluding themselves from the kingdom of God and keeping others from getting there as well. But as Jesus looked at that situation, He could see that their hardness of heart was what caused them to want to blame Him.

Or, in this case, to want to accuse Him for doing something wrong. And so He said, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and the hand was restored. And, of course, again, verse 6, the Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Erodians against Him how to destroy Him. See, they didn't like the fact that He didn't fit into their little world.

They thought that they were the religious ones. They thought that they were the ones who needed to be teaching others. And yet, in this case, this section reveals how that they just simply wanted to accuse Jesus, and because of the hardness of their heart, later even wanted to destroy Him. It just got worse, because whenever He wins every encounter, every situation, He is that much more their enemy.

We go back to Luke 6 again. Luke 6. The first part of this in verse 6, On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And there was a man there whose right hand was withered, and the scribes and Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the Sabbath. This is a very similar situation, and the way it's described is again that they were just skulking around, watching, trying to find fault, trying to find how it was that Jesus would do something wrong. And of course, in verse 8, even though He knew what they were thinking, He said to the man, come and stand here. And He said, I ask you, is it lawful to do good? Or it's His same account. But the way it describes their reaction, verse 11, they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Again, with a judgmental, accusatory attitude toward Him.

And then the last one, back in Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7.

The parisees and some of the scribes in verse 1 who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and noticed that some of His disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.

So again, another problem that they could identify, they could see, oh, well, the disciples have this difficulty. They're not washing their hands before eating.

But in verse 3, the parisees and all the Jews don't eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders. So this wasn't a command of God. This was a tradition of the elders. This was revolving around and involving the ritual purity that they wanted to maintain. And so it says in verse 4, they did not eat anything from the market unless they wash it. And those were also many other traditions that they observed, the washing of cups and pots, bronze kettles. So the parisees and the scribes asked Him, well, why do your disciples not live according to their tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?

And of course, He had to point out to them, you know, that you're hypocritical because you're honoring Me with your lips, but your heart is far from Me. See, what they were doing was just looking for flaws, looking for faults, looking to be critical. And so whether it's being critical, whether it's being accusatory, or whether it's even being condemning, which is what, you know, they also did, as we read a little bit earlier, see, all of those fall into the category of being judgmental. And in most cases, it's going to be revealed by what they say.

And of course, that's a clue to us. You know, most of the time, any kind of a judgmental attitude or approach is going to be revealed through our speech. It's going to be revealed through what we mention or what we say, how that's projected, how that comes out. And in each of these cases, you know, they were clearly trying to put Jesus aside, try to discount Him, try to discredit Him.

And of course, unfortunately, that can be something that, you know, that we fall prey to as well.

But when you think about how it is, you know, that that Jesus was always able to counter, you know, these Pharisees. And you can see that their attitude was one of being judgmental.

We ought to kind of flip this around and go to a different account here in John chapter 8, because this is an account that involves certainly a problem again for the Pharisees.

And yet we find something completely different.

As the outcome in this particular situation. Here in John chapter 8, you know, if we allow ourselves, as we see with the Pharisees, if we allow ourselves to be judgmental, we allow ourselves to actually some of the things we say come out being critical and accusatory.

You know, then we find that we can make other people uneasy.

We can make other people uncomfortable. I think we also find that, you know, we make ourselves uncomfortable to be around, you know, because nobody kind of likes to be in that type of setting. I'm sure Jesus didn't like that, but he knew what to expect. And yet, you know, sometimes, you know, finding fault or finding difficulties with others can make people feel better themselves.

And that's, you know, that really doesn't help you any. It doesn't help me any if I do that.

It simply, you know, exaggerates the situation even more. But here in John chapter 8, you've got a completely different setting. Because here, even though the Pharisees are confronting Jesus, they're actually bringing another question or another problem to Him, you find, you know, He's got a perfect attitude toward other people. He's got a perfect attitude toward, you know, those that He knows that He came to the earth to love, that He came to the earth to save. This was what He came to the world to do. Verse 1, each of them went home. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning, He came again to the temple, and the people came to Him and sat down and began to teach them. The scribes in the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. And making her stand before all of them, they said to the teacher, they said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now what a scene!

Now again, you know, always the question is, well, where'd the guy go? You know, why was He not hauled in? Why was He not brought in as well? If this was indeed the case, because apparently, you know, they knew a whole lot more about, you know, maybe it was one of the people that they were wanting to protect. I don't know who that possibly could have been. But it wasn't just a matter that they were going to bring this woman that they viewed as a sinner, that they viewed had problems. They were going to not only bring her in and tout her before others that she is a sinner, she is wrong, she was in adultery, but even going to parade her before them, making her stand before all of them. They said to Him, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. And in the law of Moses, commands us to stone such women, but what do you say?

And they said this, of course, not to learn anything, not to know what it was that Jesus would teach, what it was that He would say in this regard. It says in verse 8 that they simply said this to test Him. They were simply trying to create some situation where they could accuse Him, or they could criticize Him, or they could condemn Him for saying anything other than what they might think the law says. They said Him to test Him so that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Verse 6 clearly identifies what their motive was, they didn't want to learn anything. They simply wanted to feel better themselves. They wanted to put others down, and in so doing, make themselves feel somewhat better. But in verse 7, well back up to verse 6, Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. Now, I don't know exactly what He wrote, and perhaps different commentaries describe what they could have written. Maybe He wrote something that was someone incriminating against some of those who were there. He would have capacity to be able to know that, perhaps. I don't know what He was writing. It seems like He must have been writing something that they could take a look at and maybe marvel over. But in verse 7, when they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, well, let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And so, He clearly pointed out a lesson that is important for all of us to learn, that none of us are without sin. All of us don't need to be of the attitude and frame of mind the Pharisees were of condemning, of being accusatory, of being critical. But certainly, you have no reason to be judging her or to condemn her, because that's really what they were saying. They were condemning her. And when they heard that, they started to go away, one by one, beginning from the oldest. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him.

And amazingly, what you read in verse 10 and in verse 11 is completely different, completely different than anything that we've read so far, because what was Jesus' attitude? See, what was He talking about in Matthew 7 and in Luke 6? Well, He was talking about, you know, not being judgmental or condemning, but being loving and forgiving for another, helping others, loving others, receiving others, actually giving encouragement to others. That's what really Matthew 7, the first few verses, is about. But here in verse 10, it says, Jesus straightened up and said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? That's what the Pharisees were. You know, they were critical, and they were trying to tear her down. He says, Has no one condemned you?

And of course, she says, Well, no one has, sir. And then His response is, Well, neither do I condemn you. But go your way, and from now on, do not sin again. Or go and sin no more, as I'm sure it says in the King James. What was Jesus' attitude? He says, Well, others are condemning you, others are accusing you, others are critical of you, and yet I'm not here to do that. That isn't why I came. That isn't why I'm not trying to put you down. I'm not trying to find some reason to blame you, as these Pharisees are. He says, All of them have left, and is there no one to condemn you? And of course, He says, Neither do I.

It's amazing to see that Jesus' outlook, His viewpoint of what it was that He was here to do, how it was that He was to be toward other people, was to be accepting, to be loving. No, He did point out, just go and sin no more. Correct where you're wrong. Repent and change and go forward.

That's what He pointed out. But He clearly made the statement that, Well, I don't judge, or I don't condemn you. It doesn't look like He even made any effort to try to determine whether it was even correct what they were accusing her of. And maybe He could perceive that her attitude was one of clearly having been embarrassed, clearly having been shamed, clearly having been, almost you would say, abused by the system, by these supposed religious leaders.

And yet Jesus' approach was totally different. Totally different. And clearly one that we want to seek, as we learn to have the love and the acceptance and the welcoming approach that we clearly need to have and want to have toward one another. I'd like to focus just a little longer here in Romans chapter 14, because you find here in the latter part of Romans that Paul addresses the difficulties that the membership were having there in Rome.

And he mentions certain statements here in Romans chapter 14 and even back in chapter 13 that I think can be very applicable in understanding the way to apply, the way to view what we read about judging not, lest we also be judged. See, that's again not talking about whether we can determine something is right or wrong. It's an attitude of being judgmental toward others.

And if we're going to be judgmental toward others, then we can anticipate being judged by God in a harsher way. It talks about what measure we're willing to give out. That's the way it'll be returned to us. So it seems pretty critical that we learn not to do that, not to be judgmental in this regard. Here in chapter 14 of Romans, it says in verse 4, who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own Lord that they stand or fall, and they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Here he's talking of some disputation that was going on among the membership. They were arguing over things. They were putting each other down. Some were considering themselves to be strong. Some who perhaps were newer were weak. They had disputes about that. But he makes a statement in verse 4, well, why are you judging the servants of another? And down in verse 10, why do you pass judgment on your brother or your sister? Why do you despise your brother or sister? He also points out that, well, whenever we are judgmental and critical of others, we're really revealing an attitude of heart that is despising others, not really having the love that Jesus showed. And this is what he would expect. He says in verse, or goes on in verse 10, for we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

And as it is written as I live, says, the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, every tongue shall give praise to God. So then each of us will be accountable to Christ. Ultimately, all of us will be accountable for our attitudes and for our outlook. And yet he points out clearly that, you know, it's really unnecessary. It's really significant that we learn to be able to reach out toward others, to love others, to be concerned about others. And actually, this is exactly what we find when we back up into chapter 13, because he says in chapter 13, he says we actually have something that we owe one another. And that's not to be judgmental, not to be critical or accusatory, but he says right here in verse 8 of chapter 13, he says, oh, no one anyone, or no, oh, no one anything, except to love one another. For the one who loves another, it fulfills the law. You hear, he says we do have a debt toward one another. We have a debt that we ought to be extending. And as we extend that to each other, then we are actually, you know, creating an environment of health, an environment of happiness, an environment of encouragement, an environment that is comfortable, and one that, you know, all of us are contributing to. And clearly, it just says that we have the debt, the debt that we have, that we ought to extend to others is to love one another. Of course, he mentioned several of the commandments.

And then finally, he said you should love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to that neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. This is right along with, you know, the correction or direction, I guess, that he is giving them in chapter 14 that, well, don't be passing judgment in a critical, accusatory manner toward your brother. What we really need to do is spend more time, you know, loving one another. And I think as we, you know, as we go forward, as we remember, you know, this example of what Jesus did far different than what the Pharisees were doing, Jesus' example was perfect. It was exactly the example, you know, that we want to have, and that we want to have toward others. As God, you know, continues to work with people, as He may bring others into, you know, our fellowship and be a part of people that we interreact with, you know, we want to be receiving. We want to be accepting to those folks. Actually, we turn on over here to chapter 15.

He says in chapter 15, verse 5, He says, may the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another in accordance with Jesus Christ, so that together you may with one voice glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And verse 7, receive one another. Therefore, just as Christ has received us, or accept one another, or welcome one another as Christ has accepted us for the glory of God. See, I think that's the type of approach, the type of congregation, the type of home, the type of marriage that all of us would thrive in. And yet, ultimately, it comes down to what Jesus said in Matthew 7. First, and we need to take a look at ourselves. First, we need to consider how it is that we can judge ourselves, and then be able to extend the debt that we have of loving one another to each other. That, I think, is the example. It's the pattern. It's the type that we want to project as members of the Church of God and as congregations of the Church of God. If we think about having a public lecture here in the next few months, I'm not sure exactly when that's going to happen. It looks like, you know, maybe later summer or into September. I'm not sure. And I don't know exactly even where those will be.

We'd love to have more people, not only here, but in Kansas City and in other places. And yet, you know, we also want to be of a culture where we really encourage other people. And we realize that, well, you know, this is one of the ways that we can do that. By simply not being judgmental, but more so being loving and kind, as clearly Jesus was. He was very accepting, very loving, and very concerned about the benefit of us.