Judge Not! The Book of Matthew Part VI

Matthew 7: Proper Biblical Judgment Versus Hypocritical Judgment

Judge not, lest ye be judged is one of the most commonly cited verses in the Bible, but how rarely is it accurately, contextually applied in a correct hermeneutic? Very rare indeed. We're going to look at that and other things as Jesus finishes up his long sermon on the Mount, greatest sermon ever preached.

I'm Pastor Josiah with Witten Baptist Church here in Memphis, Tennessee. Matthew chapter 7 is where we're at. Let's dig into God's word. All right. So section one is talking about proper biblical judgment verse improper judgment.

Let's read the word of God. Judge not that you may not be judged for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged and with the measure you use it, you will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye at Delphi?

Do you see that right here at Delphi, like Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, Delphi's brother. Why do you see a speck in your brother's eye, but you do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

How can you say to your Delphi? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye, you hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite, like an actor, you hypocrite.

First take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, hagion, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and attack you.

We know holy means hagion, set apart, sanctified. Do not give your dogs that which is set apart, holy. Don't throw your pearls before pigs, we'll get to that in a minute. So judge not that you will not be judged.

What is the Bible saying here? Well, oh, I messed up, didn't I? Well, if that verse was by itself and we didn't read anything else, we would say, oh, that's a prohibition on all type of judgment. But 1 Corinthians 5 .12 tells us explicitly that we're supposed to judge other believers.

So when we read Matthew 7 .1 -6, not just the first sentence, we don't cherry pick one sentence out of it. That's bad hermeneutics. We understand that this is not a prohibition on all judgment, but on hypocritical judgment.

You ever walked in the middle of a conversation and realized that you could take something the wrong way if you don't have the context of what they're talking about before? Or if you just read one part of a text message without the whole thread before it, you might take it out of context.

Well, the same thing if you just pluck out a verse, pluck out a sentence out of a whole sermon that Jesus is teaching, you could misunderstand it. Well, chapter 7, verse 1 is not a prohibition on judgment, it's a prohibition on hypocritical judgment.

When you have a log in your eye and there's a speck in your brother. By the way, it should be noted, it's not just, I think, saying that you have so much worse of a sin that you have a log in your eye when they just have a speck.

I think the point is that you should see your sin as a log, a beam, and theirs as a little dust mite, a speck. You should always view your own sin as worse than someone else's. That's an example of humility.

When you cast judgment on someone for you doing the same thing and pretending you don't, you are an actor, a hypocrite. We are all hypocrites in some form. Our job is to humble ourselves, remove the logs from our own eye, even though we still struggle, so we can clearly see to help a brother with a speck that's in their eye.

Do you notice that this judgment is what's in view? I bet most of the people listening have heard the phrase, don't cast your pearls before swine. But probably do not realize in context, we're talking about judgment.

Our judgment is to be given to other believers. We're not the judge of the world, the Bible does that. We're to judge other believers based on what the Bible says. So we don't give the dogs what is set apart.

We don't throw our pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and attack you. We judge each other, hold each other accountable, those who want to be held accountable, other believers within the body.

So if you are giving judgment, if you're giving correction, rebuke, correction to those who don't want it, you're casting your pearls before swine. Then we see in chapter seven, he moves on and he starts talking about seeking God through requests and verse seven is probably best translated this way.

Let's read, let's read this section here, ask, and you may note, see if I can point this out here. Yes. There we go. Present. If you look on the right over here, on the right side of your screen, you should see where it says over in this area.

It says present, plural, active imperative. That is an ongoing present progressive ask, as in keep asking and it will be given to you. Some of your translations may even say it that way. Keep seeking and you will find.

Keep knocking and the door will be open for everyone who asks, receives and everyone who seeks finds and to one who knocks the door will be open. Or which one of you, if a son asked for bread, will give him a stone or if he asked for a fish, we'll give him a serpent.

If you then who are evil, remember that word, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more were your father who's in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

So do you enjoy giving gifts to people you love? How much more do you think the father enjoys giving gifts to his children that he loves? Luke chapter 12 says so much. It pleases him to do that. But I want to know what Jesus did to this multitude of people, multitude of people.

He unambiguously calls them evil. If you then who are evil, how few pastors today are willing to say that truth out loud and without apology, though it is necessary for understanding of salvation. How few pastors today are willing to look at their listeners and say, you and I are evil.

That is what Jesus says to his multitude. If you have a vision of Jesus as some white blonde haired, blue eyed guy who would make a great Buddhist, would make a great pacifist because he never wants to hurt anyone's feelings.

That's not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus does love and he loves people by telling them the truth that they are in sin and need repentance. The rest of this chapter I titled Your Foundation Determines the Outcome of Your Life and What It Produces, because the rest of this chapter is about what's the foundation of your life and what is your life producing?

The Narrow Gate, False Prophets, and Recognizing Them by Their Fruit

So real quick, let's just read a little section of it. Whatever you wish others to do to you, you should do for them, for this is the law and the prophets. That's just a summary of saying this is what the Old Testament is saying.

Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy, but leads to destruction, and those who enter it by it are many. Scariest word in the Bible. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and how few find it.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Congregation, can I tell you all something? One of the hardest jobs about being a pastor is this. False prophets, they come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

If they come in sheep's clothing, some of the other sheep may just see them as sheep. The shepherd's job, pastor, is to find those sheep that aren't really sheep but are wolves. The other sheep might say to you, well, you're just being mean or picking on them, but you know they're not really sheep but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Therefore, sometimes you have to expel, you have to point out, you have to correct, you have to highlight the danger of those who to other sheep just looks like another sheep. How do we find false prophets?

Well, you will recognize them by their fruit. Is this not a common theme in the Bible? Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, or a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, curiae curiae, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

But the one who does the Thelema, the will of my patros, father who is in heaven. On that day, many, scariest word in the Bible, will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons, and do many works in your name?

And I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. So we got many people saying, Lord, Lord. But if he's only Lord of your mouth and not Lord of your heart, he's not really your Lord.

He's not your Lord. That's what the Bible says. You'll know them by their fruits. What are they producing? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, or selfish ambition and envy.

Jealousy and selfish ambition. An increase of themselves, arrogance, proud, ungratefulness, unthankfulness. Whatever they're producing, that's what kind of tree they are. Someone can claim they're an apple tree all day long, but if they're producing oranges, they're not really an apple tree.

You know what I'm saying? Now, your foundation determines the outcome of your life and what your life produces. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, really came down the narrow path. The whole Old Testament hangs on those two commands, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Hearing and Doing the Words of Christ

So, verse 24 through 27, let's look at this. Yes, I like this one. Everyone who hears the words of mine and Kai, and does them, not just hears them, but does them. Be doers of the word and not hearers only.

Remember how I told y 'all a while back, I think James was present at the Sermon on the Mount. He quotes it three or four times, but he was an unbeliever when he was there. He became a believer later, as the rest of Jesus' family.

Will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

You see, church, the same rain, the same floods, the same winds, come against all people. The same rain, the same floods, the same winds come against all people. Those whose foundation is built on the rock, barely feel it.

Those whose foundation is on the sand will fall, and great, great will be that fall. Megale, great will be that fall. What is your foundation on, church? That will be the fruit you produce. Last two verses.

When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. For he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. So Jesus is teaching with authority. He's not even one of the scribes.

He's teaching with more authority than that. He called them evil. He claims to know the Old Testament perfectly. He claims to tell them what the things of God are. But notice, it says they were astonished at his teaching.

What they should have been astonished at is their sin in need of a savior. What we have here is, in one sense, the greatest preacher to ever preach. Preaching the greatest sermon to ever be preached. Greatest sermon ever, ever said.

And zero conversions happen that we know of. Why? Because salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of fancy words, preachers. I need y 'all to listen to me on this. An invitation time is not a time for you to measure how good your sermon was.

It's time to measure what the Spirit decided to do that day. Greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher ever preached. Zero conversions that we know of. Because salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit, not by fancy words and fancy preachers.

You've never led anyone to Christ. That's the Holy Spirit's job. You are pointing them to the cross. That's your job. That's chapter 7. All right. Very good, guys. I hope this was of some benefit to you.

Transition to Matthew 8 and the End of the Sermon on the Mount

So next time we got chapter 8. By the way, I hope you had a good new year. We got work to do. And Matthew still chapter 8 coming up where he comes down the mountain. So this was a big major discourse for Jesus here.

Sermon on the mount. We're finally through with it. Now we head to a narration of a bunch of events and healings. All right. Love you guys very much. As always, check out the Wittmap for the latest videos, news, schedules, podcast.

Giving opportunities and all that kind of stuff. Love you guys very much. Bye.