Part 17 - Judge Not

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 7:1 – 5 Judge Not

1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

I. Do not judge, that you may not be judged.

This statement by Christ has to do with verses 25 through 34 where Jesus was speaking against worry and anxiety.

The idea is that God may permit poverty to test His Child, but fellow believers are not to err, as Job’s friends did, and believe that the trial is a judgment for secret sin.

As well, the word “judging,” as used here, covers every aspect of dealing with our fellowman.

We tend to condemn others, as Job’s friends did to him.

Jesus said, “I did not come into the world to condemn it, for it is already condemned, I came to save it.”

a. What types of judging is there.

i. There is punishment according to your deeds.

1. The parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7

2. Jesus’ parable of the farmers in Matthew 21:33-41

3. Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30

ii. There is punishment according to your sin.

1. The wages of sin is death in Romans 6:23

2. No one is justified by the Law, but found guilty. Galatians 2:16; 3:11

iii. Judgments here and now.

1. Judgments on Satan, Adam and Eve.

2. Judgment on Cain.

3. On Israel (40 years wandering)

4. On Eli’s house.

iv. Judgments later.

1. The White Throne Judgment.

All of those judgments have to do with compensating for a wrong against God.

It is not our place to repay for sins against God.

In Islam, Allah is the God who can’t punish.

Allah requires judgment to be taken out on those who sin against him, I guess because he can’t do it himself.

But God says, “Vengeance is mine,”

So we are not to “Pay back for evil”, either against us as children of God, or against God.

But there are two types of judging which has nothing to do with Punishment that we are supposed to do.

In the cases we discussed, one would take the place of God in handing out punishment for wrongs committed, and that is NOT our place.

We are not to condemn.

We are told to bless those that curse you.

But in the next two examples, we ARE to judge, not by handing out punishment for wrongs, but by using the Spiritual Gifts the Holy Spirit has given us, correcting ones path.

This is WHY God has given us these gifts, to BUILD UP and STRENGTHEN the Body of Christ.

REMEMBER – A judgment can be a punishment, correction, OR a blessing.

Punishment is to be handed out by God alone.

Heaven or Gehenna (the final hell) will be handed out on judgment day.

Both judgments, one reward, one punishment.

But correction and blessing is where he Body of Christ comes in, doing everything in love.

b. What type of judgment are we supposed to do?

i. We are instructed to judge ourselves.

1. This does not mean to punish ourselves; this judgment is for correcting our path. To ensure as Jesus says that our “eye” is on the correct path this leads to God, or obedience. (Matthew 6:22-24 the light)

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

Faith is the path our eye needs to be focused on.

Faith is that narrow path that leads to life Jesus told us about;

Matthew 7:12-14

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Examine ourselves to see if we are following the narrow path of faith.

Do we have the light of the Holy Spirit within us?

Are we going to pass the test of self-examination?

If not, we need to correct our path.

The second judging we are told to do, correcting, is with fellow believers.

This is not punishment, but correction, or as the Bible calls it a rebuke.

ii. We are to judge believers.

1. Not passing down punishment, but if we see they are in sin, we are to try and correct their path in love.

You hear all the time, “You can’t judge me!”

If you are “outside” the Kingdom, you are correct!

Jesus said, “I came not to condemn (judge with future punishment) the world, for they are already condemned.”

But if someone claims the Kingdom, then they have the standard that Christ has given us for members of His Body to live by!

Jesus told the Apostles, “teach them to obey all that I have commanded”.

And we, as members of the Body of Christ, Children of the Kingdom, are to look out for one another.

Not to hand out punishment when someone sins in the Body of Christ, but to “bring a member back” into living they way Jesus instructs us to AS members of the Body of Christ.

James 5:19-20

19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death (eternal punishment) and cover over a multitude of sins.

LISTEN…

19 Says, If one of you should wander from the truth…

You can walk away from Christ.

20 says, if someone brings that wanderer back, he saves him from what?

The literal Greek says “Save a soul from death.”

If you wander away from the Truth, your Soul is in danger of the second death.

We are to look out for each other in love, and bring those back in to the truth who have wandered from it, because they are in danger of losing their soul to the second death.

Bring them back, in love, save them from the judgment to come.

This is the correcting judgment which MUST be done IN the Body of Christ, not to the world, but those who are, were believers.

But we are not to be trying to find fault.

If you were, then this would not be in love.

II. Do not look for fault in another.

a. What is your intension?

b. What is God’s intension?

III. Examine ourselves.

a. Judge ourselves.

b. Change direction and our focus if need be.

c. Give correction with love.

d. Receive correction with love.

CLOSING