“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Six words. Everybody knows them. Most of us quote them when someone else is being judgmental and conveniently forget them when we’re the ones doing it.
Donny’s in Matthew 7:1-6 this morning, and he’s not going to let us off that easy.
He starts with the Greek. The word Jesus uses is krino — and it doesn’t just mean “form an opinion.” It means condemn. Damn. Punish. Call into question. Decree. Jesus isn’t telling us to turn off our brains. He’s telling us to stop putting ourselves in a seat that doesn’t belong to us.
To make the point, Donny takes us to Luke 18 and the Pharisee who stands up in the temple and prays about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.” That’s not prayer. That’s a performance review of everyone around you disguised as talking to God.
Then Romans 14:4 — “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.” And Paul in 1 Corinthians 4, saying he doesn’t care if he’s judged by any human court. He doesn’t even judge himself. It’s the Lord who judges him.
Then Jesus says it plain in Matthew 7:2: “For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” The Message puts it even more bluntly: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.”
And then the image everyone remembers. The speck and the plank. Why are you staring at the sawdust in your brother’s eye when there’s a two-by-four sticking out of yours? Take care of your own stuff first. Then — and only then — you might be able to help someone else with theirs.
From there Donny walks through four responses.
Work on yourself first. You can always be a better you. You have not yet arrived. Neither have I. Neither has anyone sitting in these pews.
Let God judge. James 4:12 — “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you — who are you to judge your neighbor?” Romans 12:19 — “Leave room for God’s wrath. It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” That job is taken. It’s not ours.
Choose mercy. Luke 6:37 — “Don’t judge and you will not be judged. Don’t accuse and you will not be accused. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Mercy isn’t weakness. It’s what people who’ve been forgiven do.
Love one another. John 13:34 — “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples.” Not by how well you spot other people’s sins. By how well you love.
Donny closes with Ephesians 4:29 — don’t let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, only what builds others up — and Proverbs 25:11 — “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
And then one last line that ties the whole thing together: we need to stop being “in-SPECK-tors.”
Take a look in the mirror first. That’s always the right place to start.
Scripture References:
Matthew 7:1-6 · Matthew 23:1-3 · Luke 6:37 · Luke 18:11 · Romans 12:19 · Romans 14:4, 13 · 1 Corinthians 4:3 · James 4:11-12 · Ephesians 4:29 · 1 Thessalonians 5:11 · John 13:34-35 · Proverbs 25:11
