Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged

I can't see things with it right before my eyes. That's what happens when you get up in your mid-70s. How many, just out of curiosity, going back to 1989, anybody here on the Mediterranean cruise in 1989? Greg and Jana, Mary? Were you Diane or...? No, the next year. You were in 1990, the next year, yeah. So, three of you were there on that cruise. That was the first time really going overseas. But back in there in 1989, for the Feast of Tabernacles, we were very fortunate to be part of that Mediterranean cruise, which went to Turkey and the Greek Isles. It included a trip to ancient Corinth. And among the ruins of ancient Corinth, there were the remains of an ancient wall. I think it went to Corinth after the feast. I think it was an after-the-feast tour, as I recall. But there was an ancient wall there, and it was located in what had been the marketplace of ancient Corinth. And on a plaque on this ancient wall in Corinth, there was a word inscribed in Greek. The Greek word bima, B-E-M-A. Bima. We were standing in a very historical location. Let's turn to Acts 18, the first annual location that's mentioned in the Bible, in all likelihood. Acts 18, verse 1. From these things Paul departed from Athens, and he went to Corinth. Corinth is not too far from Athens. What happened to Paul and Corinth? Verse 12. When Galio was pro-council of Achaia, the Jews of one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, this fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. Not contrary to the law of God, but contrary to their own law, as it indicates in verses 14 and 15.

But the Greek word for judgment seat in verse 12 is bima. B-E-M-A. That's the Greek word for judgment seat, bima. In our visit to ancient Corinth in 1989, we were standing at the very place, in all probability, where Paul had been brought to as recorded here in Acts 18, verse 12. We were standing before the judgment seat, or Burma, of ancient Corinth, which of course now is ruins, but it was still there for us to tour and look at. We had this ancient wall with this word bima, or judgment seat, indicating that's where the judgment seat in Corinth had been 2000 years ago. Recently, I was asked if I might revive a sermon I gave a number of years ago, which was centered on 1 Corinthians 7 and 1. And rather than give my trumpet sermon here, and repeat it, I thought I'd try to get an extra sermon here so I could give it in Flint as well, since I'll be giving my trumpet sermon in Flint on trumpets. So, Evelyn went through my sermon notes, and she found that sermon based on 1 Corinthians 7 and 1 for me. So I thought it might be appropriate this time to go through it again. A lot of you probably didn't hear it, or you've forgotten about it by now, as I have myself. But it was 13 years ago, actually, on my notes it said January 31, 2004, is when I gave it, so that was almost 13 years ago. And I think it's appropriate for this time of the year because today the shofar, or the trumpet, is commonly used by Jews to declare that the day of judgment is approaching, and that we should make ourselves ready. And as we know, all men will someday have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And there we were, a judgment seat, which all the ancient cities had. Today, then, I want to talk about judgment seats, so to speak.

I want to talk about judging and being judged. What is proper judgment? Why is judgment called a weightier matter of the law in Matthew 23, 23? What did Christ really mean by that? Are we being judged now? If so, how are we being judged? What is God really looking at? What's He looking for? On the other side of the coin, should we judge others? If so, how should we judge others? And if not, if we shouldn't judge others, why not? Is there a danger when it comes to judging others? And what might that danger be? Well, look at those things today.

In my sermon today, I want to center it around a particular verse, from which I drive my title, and that verse being Matthew 7, verse 1. My title is, judge not, he be not judged. Judge not, he be not judged, which is what it says in Matthew 7, verse 1. So let's look at that. Let's look at what Christ said in regards to judging, Matthew 7, 1. He said, judge not, that you be not judged. And the Greek word translated judge here is krenos, k-r-i-n-o-s. It's number 2919 in the strongest concordance. It has a wide variety of meanings, but it binds expository dictionary of biblical words.

It gives it a broad meaning, but primarily defines it to assume the office of a judge, as it's used here in Matthew 7, 1, to assume the office of a judge, which can denote to pass judgment or even to condemn, possibly. So what did Christ say in regards to judging?

He said, judge not, you be not judged. And you could, some consensus, condemn not, you be not condemned. But the next question is, will everyone be judged by Christ? And there's many scriptures you could turn to that. I want to look at three of them to clearly answer that question for us. Will everyone be judged by Christ? First, let's go to John 5. John 5, verse 20. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel.

And there's a healing he just done here about the time a man had infirmed me for many years and told me to take over his bed and walk. Verse 21, for as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. And then verse 22 is an interesting verse. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.

And of course, that will include Christ judging to whom he will give the gift of eternal life by raising them from the dead. This verse of him by itself has very important implications because it tells us, who do we need to really be concerned about? Who do we need to please? Do we need to be concerned about what men or other people might judge when it comes to judging or being judged? Do we need to be concerned about other people? Not really, because the Father judges no one, but his Father has committed all judgment to the Son.

So we need to learn about Jesus Christ, his judgment. That's the only one we need to really be concerned about. The second scripture is in Romans 14 verse 7. Romans 14 verse 7, where it says, For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.

No one lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. Why not? Well, because we were created by God. We didn't evolve from apes. We didn't evolve from lower life-forms. We were created by God and made in His image and likeness. We are thus not just accountable to ourselves. I guess you could say we could be if that's what we just evolved as humans, but we're not just accountable to ourselves, which are our own immediate families.

We're accountable to God, and to God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Savior. Go on Romans 14 verse 7 again, For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.

Therefore, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For whether we live or die, we belong to Christ, who purchased us with His own blood. Acts 20 verse 28. For verse 9, Romans 14, For to this end Christ died and rose, and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Now we come to the second scripture that answers the question, will everyone be judged by Christ?

Verse 10. For why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? Or one may say, why do we condemn our brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

We shall all stand before the behemoth, the judgment seat of Christ. So it is thus very clear that everyone will be judged by Christ, and we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Are we being judged now? It's extremely important, considering the times we are now living in, and considering what may happen in the years just ahead of us. Let's go to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 4. Oh, did I get the 3rd scripture?

I don't think I did. Last one was Romans 14, wasn't it? There is a 3rd scripture here. Let me get to that one, too. I forgot to mis-script it. 2 Corinthians 5, 10. 2 Corinthians 5, 10. 2 Corinthians 5, 10. So we'll be being judged now. 2 Corinthians 5, 10. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether good.

Good or bad. So those 3 scriptures that make it very clear, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Now, are we being judged now? Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 4.

1 Peter chapter 4 verse 12. Beloved, do not think it strange, considering the fiery trial wishes to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. And if you are reproach for the name of Christ, I want to just stop there for just a moment, especially with the times we're now living in, the way things are going in the world around us and even in our own country.

I think probably in the years ahead, we are going to be reproach for the name of Christ. Some may try to make us feel ashamed for just being Christians and being followers of Christ. In fact, you know, that's already happening to some extent in our country right now.

In the case of many Christians of the world, it's a trend that will probably come more and more pronounced as time goes on. People are actually becoming very secular, and they're looking on Christians as being weak, and it's a crutch to believe on Christ and so on. It's just the way the world is going. And we see that trend. If you are opposed to the name of Christ, blessed are you, it says here, Paul wrote, For the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you, and on their part he is blaspheming, but on your part he is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, and many of us may in the years ahead of us, don't be ashamed. Don't let anybody make you feel ashamed. But let him glorify God in this manner. For the time has come, because the question my had was, are we being judged now? For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us, what will the end be of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

So are we being judged now? Well, it says here, the time has now come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Now, I look at that and I see God looks down at his people today, that judgment is going to be a positive judgment. But what is the main point that Paul is making here? The point Paul is making is this. We don't need to be only concerned about how people judge us.

And we can always get concerned about how people may judge us, or condemn us, or make us feel ashamed because of what we believe. We don't have to worry about how people judge us or how people might misjudge us more appropriately. Because God is the faithful Creator, and if we are striving to live according to God's will, we can commit our life and God's judgment of our life to God, and not worry about what people think.

I think that's going to be important as the time goes on, because the world is turning against Christianity to some extent, in some areas. But we don't need to worry about how people judge us. But as Peter stated here in verse 17, the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. So we are being judged now by Christ, and Christ's judgment is going to overrule all the other judgments.

We don't have to worry about what other people think or how they judge us, because Christ is going to overrule all that. It's very important to understand how Christ is judging us. What's he looking at? What's he looking for?

One other question is, what was Christ then really getting at in Matthew 7-1? Let's go back and read it again. Matthew 7-1. I don't need to go back there. You know it by heart by now. Judge not that you be not judged. Of course, as we've seen, everyone's going to be judged. That being the case, it says, judge not that you be not judged. It doesn't mean that you be not judging, yet we know we're all going to be judged. So what did Christ really mean when he said, judge not, and he be not judged? He could not have meant, judge not so you can escape judgment, because no one's going to escape Christ's judgment. We're all going to be judged by Christ, and those of us who are currently at the house of God are being judged now, as we just saw. Time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. This may seem a little confusing when you read it. What is Christ really getting at? It's extremely important to really understand correctly. Let's turn now to 1 Corinthians 11. And of course, 1 Corinthians 11, we always read that every year, as we think about the Passover, and we prepare for the Passover, and often is also read even during the Passover. 1 Corinthians 11. And I'll begin in verse 23. Where Christ, or also, I should say, said, I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat this as my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, and this do it as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. In verse 26, Where as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord is in an unworthy manner, will be guilty of the body, and the blood of the Lord. Then, verse 28 is the one I want to concentrate on. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of this cup. Let a man examine himself, which we all do prior, of course, to taking the passover. So one area I think would be good for us to be beneficial to examine ourselves in is in the area of judging, to examine ourselves as to what Christ meant when he said, Judge not, you be not judged.

How come we examine ourselves in that area if we don't really understand exactly what Christ was getting at in some of the depths of the meaning of that verse? What was he getting at? What did he really mean when he said, Judge not, you be not judged? Because this is an interesting question. When you think about the judgment that was perpetrated to Christ, on Christ, did Christ ever sin? Did he ever commit any wrongdoing?

Well, Peter answers that question for us, and we all know the answer, but let's read it for ourselves in 1 Peter 2. Let's go back to 1 Peter. This time we go back to chapter 2 of 1 Peter. 1 Peter 2, beginning in verse 18, It says, Service be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, that because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

And of course, a lot of times wrongful suffering comes from wrongful judgment, as somebody has. Suffering wrongful because of somebody's wrongful judgment. Going on in verse 20, For what credit is it when you were beaten for your faults, and you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us the example that you should follow in his step. He suffered wrongfully. He suffered wrongful judgment, didn't he? All kinds of wrongful judgment. He was judged by many as being a sinner. And he was judged as being a false prophet.

But did Christ ever sin or commit any wrongdoing? Verse 22, He committed no sin. Nor was there ever any deceit found in his mouth. He only spoke what was true and right and proper. He committed no sin. So the question is, if Christ committed no sin, how was it possible for him to be judged to be a sinner? How can you judge somebody to be a sinner who committed no sin?

When you ask that question, you think about it, we're beginning to get to the hard and core of what Christ was getting at in Matthew 7.1, where he said, judge not, be not judged. Let's go back there again. Let's go to the next verse this time. Back to John 7.1. Because the next verse after that is the key to really understanding what Christ meant by what he said in verse 1. And it's the key to understanding why we should not judge other individuals. And here we're not talking about actions of other individuals. We can all judge actions, and you know by the fruit whether those actions are good or bad or wrong.

What we're talking about here is judging other individuals, not many things they might do. We're not talking about actions, but we're talking about judging or condemning individuals. We all judge actions, and we all judge decisions that we make or others make. But as we read in verse 2, we will plainly see that Christ was not talking about how we might escape from being judged. Instead, he was talking about how we will be judged. As it says in verse 2, John 7 verse 2, For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. So how do we want to be judged by Christ? Do we want to be judged by the same measuring stick that we use? What measuring stick do we use? Which then leads to the very important question, what measuring stick do all of us tend to use in judging someone? By what standard do we tend to judge others by? Just humanly speaking, we all tend to judge others by our own standard. Now, we want to use God's standard, but we tend to do it by our standard, by what we see, what we perceive outwardly.

We don't really judge by God's standard in the same way God does, even though we might think we do. Why do we think we might be judging by God's standards? Well, simply because we know God's laws, and we know His Ten Commandments, and we can judge outwardly as to whether we think someone is living up to God's Ten Commandments or not. But we don't see as God sees, and we don't judge as God judges, because our standard of judgment is not necessarily the same as God's standards.

What did God say to the prophet Isaiah? I'm not going to turn there. I'm just going to quote a couple of verses in Isaiah. God tells us in Isaiah 55, verse 8, He says, My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways. And of course, that can include judging. God's ways of judging are not necessarily our ways of judging. In the very next verse in Isaiah 55, Isaiah 55.9, God says, As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than Your thoughts.

So in what ways, then, are God's thoughts higher than our thoughts and our ways? You know, God doesn't judge as we do, as man does. God judges as it says He judges righteous judgment. What does God judge? God judges the heart. He wants to look inside of a person. He wants to know what's going on inside, what motivates that person. God judges the heart, and only God can know someone's heart. None of us can know someone's heart. God also uses other criteria.

God judges with mercy, compassion, with understanding, and with forgiveness, if our heart is right. Which is why judgment is a way to your matter of the law, because it's way to your... because it gets down to the inner core of a person, it gets to their heart, how they feel. But we tend to judge others by... assuming both humans, I'm talking about here, I'm not talking about you, me, I mean, we all try to use God's judgment the way He's talking about here, but many judge others by their own standard of righteousness, rather than by God's standard.

Because God wants to look at the heart, He wants to look at a person really repentant, are they sorry for what they did, are they striving to follow Me, is their heart right? That's what God judges. And if our heart is right, He can overlook other things. Because He knows we're striving to follow Him, we're trying to follow His laws, not just outwardly, but inwardly as well, in the deeper aspect of them, what they really mean.

See, it's fine to have our own standard of righteousness for ourselves, as long as we are not too hard on ourselves, because we can set a standard even for ourselves that we might not live into and feel guilty because we don't live up to our own standard. That can happen as well. But you know, you can't set that standard for somebody else, because no one can live up to someone else's standard of righteousness.

You can't do it. We can't even fully know or understand another individual's standards. Even if we are married to that person, you know, sometimes it's even hard there. No one can live up to someone else's standards, which is one main reason why we should, as it says here in Matthew 7, just not be, be not judge.

And then verse 2, for with that, what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you use, we measure back to you. In fact, you know, if you stop and think about it, sometimes we can't live up to our own standard. We really think about it. Not to say that we shouldn't set high standards for ourselves, we should. But don't measure others by that standard, because nobody can live up to somebody else's standards.

They'll always come up short. Now, even if we were perfect, we would still fall short of living up to someone else's standards. Because think about this. Christ himself is a prime example of that. Christ was perfect, wasn't he? He committed no sin. Yet he was still judged to be a sinner. And say, how could that be?

Even Christ, who was perfect, could not live up to the Pharisees' standard of righteousness. They had a standard that even Christ couldn't live up to. So do we understand why we should not judge others or condemn others? And do we understand what Christ was really getting at in Matthew 7.1? Well, we shouldn't judge others, because, number one, no one could live up to our standard of righteousness, because that's the way we're judging.

We have a standard, we're looking at others' stories up to that standard we have set. No one can live up to somebody else's standards. And if we're trying to use God's standards, we can't see as God sees. We can't measure the way God does. We can't see someone's heart.

We can't see inside that person. We can't know the repentance of that person. And number two, we shouldn't judge others, because with a measure we use, it will be measured back to us. And that's what Christ was really getting at in Matthew 7.1. I want to talk about something else just real quickly here for a moment. This is something that people thought about and questioned about. I know I've had many people come to me really worried about this. That's what we used to call the unpardonable sin.

People would come to me and say, have I committed the unpardonable sin? Some people think they did. Is there such a thing as an unpardonable sin? If so, what is it? Could it be related to Matthew 7 verses 1 and 2? What were the Pharisees in danger of? Christ said they were in danger of something. What was it that they were in danger of, and why? Let's go to the book of Mark. Let's go to Mark chapter 3.

I want to take my time in going through this. I've got lots of time here. I'm going to go through early anyway. Mark chapter 3 verse 1. I find this very fascinating section of Scripture. And he entered the synagogue again, Christ entered the synagogue again, the synagogue of the Jews. And a man was there who had a withered hand.

So they, all the people there, including the scribes and the Pharisees, watched him closely whether he would heal him on the Sabbath. Why do they want to see if he was going to heal on the Sabbath? Well, it says, verse 2, so they might accuse him. Huh? Accuse him by whose standards? Whose standards would they use to accuse him by? By God's standards or by their own standards? Verse 3. He said to the man who had the withered hand, he said, step forward.

Of course, Christ knew their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking. He knew they were trying to set a trap for him. And he said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? Is it lawful on the Sabbath to save life or to kill? But they kept silent.

They didn't know how to answer. Because they knew whatever they gave, they'd be condemned. Verse 5. And when he had looked around at them with anger, knowing what their hearts were and what they were trying to do, and being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Now notice verse 6. But then the Pharisees went out, and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him.

Here he heals this man who had a withered hand. We leave him of that horrible distress he's had for so many years. We don't know. Maybe all his life. And he does it on the Sabbath. He does good. He heals. And they want to take him out and destroy him for that. Why did the Pharisees want to destroy Christ? Well, the real reason was, he was taken away from their following, and he was taken away from their power base, which was being greatly diminished. They were losing power and control over the people. They were all following Christ as did the Pharisees and scribes, like they had been.

And they definitely wanted to find something against him that they could accuse him of. They had to find something. We've got to be able to accuse him of something in the eyes of the people, to get the people to turn against him.

But how can you find an accusation against someone who is perfect? That's the challenge. Well, you have to create a standard that would be impossible to live up to, and you'd have to make an impossible accusation. Dropping down to verse 10, because he healed many, Christ healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about him just to touch him.

So many of you know that one woman, she was healed just by touching his robe. Verse 11, In the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, saying, You are the Son of God. They knew. They knew who he was. So people who were demon-possessed at that time fell down before him, and the demons spoke through them, they spoke through those who were possessed by them, saying Christ was the Son of God. Now, how could the Pharisees counter that? How could they counter what the people were saying and hearing for themselves?

They were seeing this with their own eyes, and they were hearing it with their own ears. So how could they counter it? How could the Pharisees accuse Christ? Verse 14, Then he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal the sick, to heal sicknesses, and the power to cast out demons.

As Christ had just done, and many times as Christ doesn't hear, and he's done on many occasions, and as he was still doing, before their very eyes, that they were witnessing for himself. And even the demons, they were admitted to Jesus as the Son of God. They had to admit that. So this would be done before everyone's eyes, including the eyes of the Pharisees and the scribes. How then the scribes and Pharisees judge that? How do they counter that? How can they turn that into an accusation against Christ, to try to turn the people against him?

Verse 22, Mark 3, Mark 3, verse 22. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has bilzibab, and by the ruler of the demons, He cast out demons. That was their accusation. That was their judgment. He's casting out demons by the power of Satan. He was possessed by Satan, and by that power of Satan, He was casting out demons. Now, that doesn't make any sense. How could they be divided against themselves? But that was their accusation. That was their judgment. But the question is, how can you counter that, or live up to that kind of a standard of judgment?

The answer is, you can't. It's an impossible accusation to counter. And Christ will actually heal people and cast out demons before their very eyes, and the scribes and Pharisees attribute that, all that, to the power of Satan. They set an impossible standard for judging, in other words. Not even Christ could counter that accusation or that standard of judgment.

Think about it. Using that standard of judgment, Christ would be judged and condemned, no matter what He did. No matter what He did, He was going to be accused and condemned. Notice how Christ responded to verse 28. I find it. Surely, I say to you, Mark 3, verse 28, all sins will be forgiven of the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, let's just stop there for a moment. Christ said, all sins will be forgiven of the sons of men. There's no sin that cannot be forgiven.

It's repented of. All sins will be forgiven. There's no such thing as an unpardonable sin. Some sin you can never be forgiven. If you repent and your heart is right, it can be forgiven.

That's what He said right here. All sins will be forgiven of the sons of men. And whatever blasphemies they may utter, even, if they repent from their heart. In fact, there's a couple of examples of that in the Old Testament. I'm going to turn you and go through them. King Manasseh of Judah reigned for 55 years. He was one of the very evil kings of Judah. He reigned 55 years, and he did horrible atrocities, committed many, many horrific sins. But in the end, he repented. Whether he's going to be in God's first resurrection, I don't know. That's Christ only to judge. I'll just be given to Christ.

But in the end, it shows that he did have a change of heart. He did repent in the end. Even after doing horrible atrocities for nearly 55 years. Another example, that would be King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who did many things against God, and said horrible things against God, and so on. In the end, he repented. And if their repentance was genuine, their sins and blasphemies will be forgiven.

And this is, all sins will be forgiven, the sons of man. And whatever blasphemies they may utter, can be forgiven. So there's no sin or blasphemy that cannot be forgiven if repented of. And if the person's heart is right, they really see that, and they truly and humbly repent before God. So Christ himself said here, verse 28. What about the scribes and Pharisees?

Were they in danger? And if so, why were they in danger? Verse 29, But he who blasphemies against the Holy Spirit, never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation. We have often in the past termed this as being the unpardonable sin, quote-unquote.

But in reality, there is no such thing as a sin that cannot be pardoned or forgiven if we repent truly and genuinely from our hearts. So what then has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, and why might that be subject to eternal damnation? Verse 30, Because they said, He has an unclean spirit. Now, were they in danger of eternal damnation, as it says here, and have never been forgiven because they confused God's spirit with an unclean spirit?

That could be part of it, of course. But could there also be a deeper reason? I believe there could be a deeper reason when it ties into Matthew 7, verses 1 and 2. Again, what did Christ say in Matthew 7, verses 1 and 2? I'll just quote it. He said, Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

And here in Mark 3, the scribes and Pharisees were judging and measuring Christ by a totally impossible standard of judgment, one by which Christ could be condemned no matter what he did. There's no way for Christ to escape their condemnation if they're accusing of casting out demons by the power of Satan. In this scenario, that the Pharisees created, there's no way out for Christ, and no room for mercy and forgiveness. And the Pharisees, however, here's the thing, here's the danger, the Pharisees were in.

You stop and think about it and analyze it more deeply. The Pharisees, by setting an impossible standard of judgment for Christ, were at the same time setting an impossible standard of judgment on themselves. Because Christ said, with what judgment you use, with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you use, it's going to be measured back to you.

And they're using an impossible measure. That means that if Christ is going to use the same measure on them, they'll never be able to live up to it either. They're condemning themselves. What is the purpose of God's Holy Spirit? It was to write God's laws on our hearts and in our minds, so we can be made into the spiritual image and likeness of God. But the scribes and Pharisees were setting a standard of judgment that even the work of the Holy Spirit could not compete with or live up to.

It was an impossible standard of judgment, which is why they were in danger. And that's why we should be very careful about condemning anyone or judging anyone by our own standards. That's why we should judge not or condemn not, and we be not condemned. Furthermore, when we judge, or by our standards, which sometimes we can do, what do we often judge? When we look at somebody else and maybe judge them?

By the big important things or by the small more insignificant things. Let's go back to Matthew 7 once again. Let's tell us at verse 3 to the scenario. Verse 1 again, For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Verse 3, And why do you look, when you judge, which we tend to human beings, I'm going to say you, because maybe you've grown to where you understand this. But talking about mankind, man in general, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eyes?

That's why humans tend to judge. They tend to judge little things. We tend to judge specks. We tend to judge little things that are really not all that important in the overall scheme of things.

And we can then often be blinded by the fact that it's our own standard of judgment that we're using when we do that, which can then become a beam in our own eyes. Again, it's okay to use our own standard of judgment on ourselves as long as we're not too hard on ourselves. I've known some people who've been too hard, and they figure that they feel guilty, they feel shame, because they don't live up to their own standards. When they don't realize that God's standard is looking at our hearts, looking at our attitudes, looking at our motives, and it also throws in mercy, compassion, empathy, forgiveness. God throws all those things in there when He's going to judge us.

We can at times set standards for ourselves that we can't even live up to, and then we can condemn ourselves, and we shouldn't.

But if we judge others by those standards, we can always be disappointed, because no one can live up to somebody else's standards. In conclusion, then, when we properly understand Matthew 7.2 and apply it to ourselves, how should that make us want to judge others?

With what judgment you judge, you will be judged. That's an important point I want to get across, because that should make us want to judge others with all the mercy, with all the compassion, and with all the forgiveness we can muster. Because that is what we all need, and that is how we all want to be judged by Christ. When we judge with a lot of mercy, a lot of compassion, a lot of forgiveness. Because we're never going to be perfect in trying to live up to God's standards. We can strive to do that. But thankfully, God is going to look at our hearts and our addend, our efforts, our motives, how much we're trying, striving, our humility, how much we're looking to God and depend on God, and looking for God's mercy and forgiveness. That's what God is going to judge. He's going to judge our hearts.

That's what we all need. We all need God's mercy and forgiveness and compassion. That is how we all want to be judged, and that is how we want to be judged when we stand before Christ's Bema. When we stand before Christ's Judgment, we will only be judged with compassion and mercy and forgiveness. Therefore, as it says in Matthew 7, 1, judge not, be, be not judged.