Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Worship Service February 7, 2016:
Scripture: Matthew 7:1-6
Matthew 7:1 – “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
One of the most often quoted verses (if not the most quoted verse) in the Bible
Introduction:
Because there is absolute truth, there is right and wrong, good and evil, believers will be confronted with situations that require them to judge
“Each generation must confront the world, either to change it or to be changed by it”
Beginning with truth –
- Truth corresponds with reality
- Truth is now defined as my personal opinion of reality
- We have gotten to a place where we think it is better to tolerate error than to look ugly defending the truth
- There is always a tension between doctrinal integrity and unity
- Our unity should be based on the very truth of God’s Word
- If God’s call to holiness (1Peter 1:15, 16) is to be obeyed, we must have discernment
Discernment Defined: The ability to distinguish Biblical Christianity from the counterfeit spirituality and values of today’s world
Thus the need to understand and have a working knowledge of Matthew 7:1 in its proper content!
2 Different responses to the subject of judging others:
Those who are unwilling to make any significant judgements – “Live and let live”
- Short of criminal activity, they believe that everyone should be able to choose his own values and lifestyle
- Neither the church or individual Christians have a right to judge them
Others are only too willing to judge
- Often this group has a critical spirit and are ready to judge not because of an actual breach of Biblical conduct or doctrine but because of petty taboos, preferences and minor infractions
- They are judgmental when others don’t live up to their personal convictions or preferences
Begin by considering the immediate context of this passage as well as some other related passages
Mathew 7:1 – “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
What did Jesus mean in this passage about judging?
Judge: To separate, choose, select, distinguish or discriminate between good and evil plus other shades of meaning depending on the context. To exercise discernment; at other times it can mean to condemn
Judging or discernment, lies at the heart of Christian living
We should not make Pharisaical judgments
- When an individual or group of people develop their own standards of religion and morality, they inevitably judge everyone else by those self-made beliefs
- The Scribes and Pharisees had done just that. Over the previous several centuries they had gradually modified God’s revealed Word to suit their own thinking and inclinations (see Matthew 15:2, 6).
- Hypocritical, self-righteous judgment
Matthew 7:1b, 2 – “That ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
2 Interpretations:
- 1st – If you judge others they will judge you by your own yardstick – you will be treated as you treat others
- Don’t judge others by a standard you would not want to be judged by yourself!
- 2nd – If you judge others with a strict standard, you will be judged more strictly by God
- In order to fulfill the following instructions, it is necessary to exercise discernment and make judgments
Verses 3-5 – Remove the beam (a stick of timber, splinter) and the mote or speck (twig or speak of straw)
How can we remove the speck without recognizing it for what it is?
The beam (plank) – We have no right to judge others until we have been willing to admit the truth about ourselves and deal with it
Verse 6 – Recognize pigs and dogs
Dogs and pigs (these animals were repulsive to Jesus audience) were unbelievers who hate the truth
- The principle here is how to handle the gospel in the face of those people
- How could we possibly obey these instructions unless we learned to recognize pigs and dogs?
- The disciples were expected to make moral distinctions
Verse 15 – Beware of false prophets
How can we beware of false prophets unless we can identify them?
1 Corinthians 5:4, 5, 11, 13 – Church given authority to judge in matters of church discipline
How could the church exercise authority unless its leadership make judgments?
“Put away from among yourselves that wicked person” See Matthew 18:17-19
1 Corinthians 6:1-8 – Judgement among believers in legal matters is to be referred to the church
- Believers will judge the world and angels – 6:2, 3
- Believers will one day sit on God’s supreme court over the world and angels
Guidelines for Making Judgments:
1.Humility, Not Superiority
- Taking the plank out of your own eye needs to be first priority – Matthew 7:5a
See Galatians 6:1- Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2.Facts Not Presumptions
- Not going on fragments of information or prejudiced information
Proverbs 18:13 – He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
3.Biblical Truth Not Preferences
4.Words and Actions, Not Motives
- Only God knows the inner motives of the heart – we are not qualified to judge the secrets of the soul
1 Corinthians 4:4, 5 – For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God
We are allowed to judge teaching and conduct, and sinful behavior but a person’s inner heart motives belong to God