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		$Matthew 28:1-20$

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Matthew 7:1-12

“Judge not, 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. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

How to and not to judge, correct others

“Good morning. As you return to your seats, open your Bibles if you would, if you don’t have a Bible there’s some on the chairs, some of the chairs in front of you. You’re welcome to use one of those, or you can just sit there and listen, whatever you’re comfortable with. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. And it’s not in the bulletin, so I’ll mention it to you, Calvary Chapel Boston in a month is having a men’s retreat with Sandy Adams from Georgia, you are welcome to be part of that if you’d like. The only thing we ask folks in this church is, the men that are married, if you want to be part of that, be sure that it doesn’t prevent your wife from going to the women’s retreat a month later we’re going to have. And sometimes we have to make decisions like that in life. But just so you know, there are forms, and it’s in a month, and you can sign up if you’d like to be part of that. Matthew chapter 7, let’s say a word of prayer, as we continue to go through this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is certainly speaking right to the heart of the issue, and that’s to our hearts. And so it’s imperative that you and I individually, that we hear the voice of God, and let the Lord reveal to us the issues in our own lives and hearts. He wants us to have the blessed life. That’s what he’s stated in this whole sermon, he’s described this wonderful blessed life, this life of the Spirit of walking closely with God. And so it’s important that I hear his voice to me, and hear what he would have to say to my life, and what’s down there in my heart. So let’s say a word of prayer, and in our hearts, just open our hearts right now to the Lord. ‘Well Father, as we now come to your Word, and in our worship service now have that part of well the worship as we study the Word, just simply Lord, I think of the psalmist too spoke of the light, you know, your Word is light, light to our path. And just the commandments and the statutes of God, the discernment that is given there. And we all need light, we need you to shine your light down into our hearts, and all the more reveal our hearts to us. And that, boy, our ears sometimes spiritually we don’t hear very well, and sometimes there’s just a hardness here in our hearts. And so because of the hardness we don’t discern. Just would ask so graciously that you’d speak to our hearts. And I know sometimes you have things to say that maybe we don’t want to hear. And maybe this happens to be one of those times for one or two or a group of us. But you say things because you love us, you love us so much, and you want to just bless our lives, you want us to know what it is to walk with you, experience the abundant life. So even now as we study your Word, oh Lord, work in our hearts. I pray just for all of us to be focused and keep away any distractions, and just ask Holy Spirit you’d be upon all of us, and upon even myself now as we go through your Word, in Jesus name, amen.’

“Judge not, that you be not judged”---what does that not mean?

Chapter 7, verses 1-2, Matthew, “Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge you’ll be judged, and with the measure you use it’ll be measured back to you.” Judge not, Jesus says. Of course these words so often stated, repeated. We hear them a lot in our society, you know people say “Judge not.” You may express an opinion on a certain thing, or stand on an issue, and as you do you hear “judge not, judge not”. Frequently people state these words of Christ, sometimes very affirmatively, with a lot of conviction very loudly. And it’s especially those times where they feel that, ‘Hey, you’re being critical of them, you’re expressing an opinion of them, making them uncomfortable, and they don’t appreciate it, so they come back “Judge not.”’ But as often is the case, people often misunderstand even what Jesus has taught, or maybe they don’t misunderstand, maybe just haven’t got the balanced picture of all that he says. Or maybe they understand it, and they’re just misapplying it, and manipulating and using it to say ‘Hey listen, I don’t want to hear what you say, so “Judge not” kind of thing. But as we continue to study through these verses, we’re going to find, you know the Bible is always very balanced. And right here God says, Jesus says “Judge not”. And one thing he’s not saying, he’s not saying, and some people would like us to believe he’s saying this, and that is, ‘Don’t ever give your opinion about me and my life, don’t ever say anything that would make me uncomfortable. You have your life, I have mine, and let’s just leave it at that.’ And that’s not what Jesus is saying at all when he says “Judge not…” He’s not saying ‘Zip the lip, be quiet, keep it to yourself.’ That’s not at all what he’s saying. As we go on, in fact we’ll see that there is certainly a place and a time to express the truth and to stand on an issue, and in love to go to an individual and say ‘Hey, there’s a concern here, and I just love you, and I want to tell you that, and I love you enough to tell you that.’ As we go on in this chapter we’ll see it’s very balanced. When Jesus says “Judge not…” he is not saying ‘Be quiet, don’t ever give your opinion, and if you disagree with somebody, or if you have a concern about what they’re doing or not doing, that’s none of your business.’ That’s not what he’s saying at all. And we’ll see that as we go on. And certainly, when you lay these statements that are here against the entire Bible, I mean, many times we find the other side, don’t we. Paul, for instance, to the church in Galatia, he says to the church in Galatia, he says to Christians, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.” So Paul says to the church in Galatia, ‘Hey Christians, at times you’ll see a brother whose struggling with a sin or an issue or struggle, and you who are spiritual go to them seeking to restore them.’ And that’s certainly a time when you’re going to share concerns and be there in love and help them in their struggle, help them get out of that situation. Paul says to his protégé Timothy in his second letter to Timothy, 2^nd Timothy chapter 3, verse 16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” He says, the Word of God is profitable, not only that we would know our theology about God and ourselves, but it’s also profitable for reproof. And what is reproof? Correction, admonishment. You know, admonishment, I like that word ‘admonishment’, I’m going to use it quite a few times in this study. But admonishment, the definition in the dictionary if you’re wondering what admonishment is, just taking it straight out of the dictionary, it says “Mild, kind yet earnest reproof.” Coming to somebody in gentleness and in love, and reproving them and correcting them. “Cautionary advice or warning”, coming and saying ‘Hey, you’re on a certain road, and I love you enough to tell you that if you continue on that road, there’s going to be pain and destruction in your life.’ So Jesus says “Judge not”, and as we go on, he’s not saying there’s not a place for reproof, that we should not admonish one another and correct one another, that’s not it at all. And I want to start with that, because so often people say, ‘Judge not, judge not, don’t give me an opinion, you’re making me uncomfortable, judge not.’ And that’s not at all what he’s saying. No doubt about it, the Bible makes it clear, there is a need, if I truly love people, then I’m going to speak the truth, and I’m going to do it in a certain way. We’re going to go on and talk about that as we go on, but there is certainly a place, there’s a need for admonishment, that gentle, kind loving warning, correction. Just consider those times, and we can relate, certainly at times we all would agree that, man, I’m glad somebody told me, we’re bumming if they didn’t. I think of those times, I’m sure just about all of us have had an experience like this. But let’s say you’re at a meeting, or maybe you’re at school in a class, or maybe you’re been at a conference. You’re there, shaking hands, greeting people, you see all kinds of people, talk to lots of people. And then you get done and you go out to your car, and I’ve had this experience, you get into the car, and the first thing you see, and you catch it in the rear view mirror, you’ve got this big smudge on the side of your face. Now you’ve talked to all these people, you’ve smiled at them, never been aware of this thing on the side of your face, and my first thought usually is, ‘Why didn’t anybody tell me? What kind of friends are they, man?.’ I’m walking around with this, and that’s embarrassing, when somebody could have just come and said ‘Hey.’ And generally we do appreciate in those cases, generally, if somebody comes very tenderly and quietly, ‘Hey, you got a big thing on the side of your…just letting you know.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, thanks. I’m a little embarrassed, but thanks for telling me. Just wouldn’t want to continue in that.’ So, to come and to just to point that out. And the Bible, you know, we have that ministry, spiritually. We have that responsibility, we’re salt in this world, and to come and say, ‘Hey, there’s a spiritual smudge there, there’s some darkness and ugliness, and man, God would like to work there, it’s not good, and just letting you know’, and point it out in a loving way. So, admonishment, balancing out, responding to those who say ‘Judge me not, just to zip the lip and don’t say anything’, that’s not what he means.

“Judge not, that you be not judged”---what does Jesus mean by that?

So what does he mean, then when he says “Judge not”, what does he mean? Well there certainly is a place for correction and admonishment, but what he means here, is the heart and the way we do it. And it’s important when we do express the truth and opinions about issues and struggles and sin and trespasses, it’s vitally important that we’re coming at it the right way and doing it the right way. And so, that’s what we see here in verse 1 and 2, “Judge not that you be not judged.” And then he goes on to say, “understand, when you judge, with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” And so there’s certainly the statement here, it’s imperative that I go about this the correct way. When he says the word “judge”, the Greek word for “judge” is krino. And it’s generally used, and certainly used in this situation this way. When he says “judge”, the point here is that of a criticism, of a critical nature. In fact, in English our word “critic” comes from the very word krino, the Greek word, it’s derived from that word. But there is, in this, when he says “judge not”, he’s speaking in this sense of condemnation. In Luke chapter 6, verse 37, when Jesus says this, Sermon on the Mount, evidently he also adds this, because Luke records it, he says “Judge not, and you shall not be judged”, and then his next words were, “condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.” So the point is here that of condemnation, of condemning, of looking at somebody’s struggle or issue or sin and it’s done in a way that’s damning them, it’s sentencing them, righting them off. This once and for all, ‘That’s terrible, that terrible individual, that terrible deal’, that sort of criticalness in judging. That’s the spirit of what he’s dealing with, “judge not” he says, that’s not cool. And to have that in your life, and to look at others in that way, we understand that the measure you use, it’ll be measured back to you. Now the religious leaders, as we’ve been studying this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wants the folks to have this blessed life, this life with the Spirit. But there are many people who are in their own pride, and in their religious way, as the religious leaders of this time who think ‘I’ve got God figured out, I’ve got this religious system figured out, and I’ve got this standard.’ And generally when people are like that, they then look at that standard, and they look at others based on that, and then they judge you, ‘I mean, you’re not meeting the standard. I meet the standard, but you don’t meet the standard.’ And they judge you, they look down on you, they right you off. And the religious leaders of the day, that’s exactly what they were doing, they have this self-imposed righteousness, and so they look at others, and they look down on people because ‘you did not meet this incredible system we’ve developed, of self-righteousness.’ And so Jesus is dealing with these guys, and trying to get through that hardness of heart. ‘Judge [condemn] not, and the way that you judge, and the measure you use will be measured back to you.’ These guys like to play the role of God. [There is this certain extremist Baptist church out in the Midwest that condemned Heath Ledger to hell, saying he was now burning in the hottest part of hell upon his death, all because Heath had played the part of a gay person in one of his movies. It was purely condemnation, not loving correction. I am afraid this whacko pastor has brought condemnation back upon her congregation in the exact same measure that she measured it out. This situation fits what Jesus was saying about condemnation type of judgment. Where was the application of “Love the sinner, yet hate the sin”? No they were hating both the sinner and the sin, as Jesus said they weren’t supposed to do. Jesus is saying, “Christian, be careful in how you correct, how you admonish, don’t be condemning of the individual, only the sin. Admonish, correct in love, or not at all.] And it’s very clear in the Bible that there’s one Judge, and God sits upon his throne, and he’s the Judge. Romans chapter 2, verse 1, this type of heart that really shows the attitude that turns God off, see Romans chapter 2, verse 1, Paul says the same thing in referring to this. “Therefore you are inexcusable oh man, whoever you are who judge.” That word again, krino. “For wherein you judge another you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things.” So judging, ‘Ah they do that’, but yet your own life, man, you hypocrite, your own life, issues, struggles. Paul goes on in Romans chapter 14, verse 10, “But why do you judge your brother, or why do you show contempt for your brothers”, that condemning attitude, “for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” You’re judging him, but there’s one Judge, and you’re going to stand before the one Judge. And then James chapter 4, verse 11, he so boldly puts it, writes so boldly, he says, chapter 4, verse 11, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of their brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you’re not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge another?” So that sense of thinking evil of them, and speaking evil of them, and condemning them. Man, Jesus is saying, ‘That’s not cool. Don’t do that. It’s offensive to God.’ “With the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” That statement in verse 2, Jesus uses that at different times, he uses that same statement, and he applies it differently, that principle, the measure you use will be measured back to you. Very clearly here he’s referring to that of judging. When you have a certain criticalness to you, you look down and you condemn, write others off, standing there in your pride---with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. With the measure you use, it’s certainly gonna come back your way. Now he says this, but the truth is, where’s my heart? You know, here we are, many of us, most of us born-again Christians, God has taken us out of the world, pulled us out of the pit, as Pete was just sharing, talking about jumping up and trying to hit the hoop. God has just spared us and saved us, and here we are. But what about our own lives? It’s amazing that within the Church [greater body of Christ], this is so much a struggle for us as Christians. And I include myself indeed. Jesus says “Judge not”, but there’s no doubt, often as Christians we’re guilty of that. One of the areas where we can be often be guilty of that is in the context of society and the world. We were once in the world, I was once a mess, that’s my testimony, and it’s a testimony of everyone that’s here. But God so graciously came and saved me and loved me. But I’m not sure what it is, I get all cleaned up and have this new life, and then later I’m starting to look out at the world going ‘Ah man, those terrible whatever’s’, you know. And I have this attitude and this issue in my heart. And Jesus is saying “Judge not, judge not, you know I love those people. I love those people desperately. Judge not, lest you be judged.” I think of last year, we, in the Civil Center, you know the same-sex marriage thing that was going on, we were burdened, and so we rented the Civic Center, and of course a bunch of churches came together, and we had a prayer event. But man, as we were planning that, we so much wanted to communicate a message of love, concern, but love at the same time. Well with all that was going on, of course there were different little interviews in newspapers, and whatever calling. This one particular time I was being interviewed on a cable access station, and it was one of those times where I wished I wasn’t there. That’s for this very reason, because as I sat there and was having questions asked, and the different panel (made up of other church pastors) that was there, man, there was a spirit that was coming through, and here I was associated with it, sitting there, not really feeling the same way. [ie, the other churches being represented in this interview, on a panel or something, some of them were obviously exhibiting the hateful attitude that extremist Baptist church in the Midwest did toward Heath Ledger and his death.] But as they were talking about the same-sex marriage issue and homosexuality, there was just an edge and a condemnation, and comments. And I was like ‘Ah, ah, I’m sitting here right now, I didn’t know that this was the way it was going to be.’ And yet when we were doing the pray for marriage thing, it was so much that we wanted to communicate that we love everybody. [God chose the right church denomination and right pastor to have a Christian radio broadcasting one town over from Provincetown, MA, no hatred of gays here, just love and concern for their welfare, their eternal welfare, without condemnation. That’s the whole meaning Jesus is conveying right here in these verses.] You know, I left my job in Massachusetts because God put love on my heart for the people of Massachusetts, I love the people here, doesn’t matter what the struggle or issue or lifestyle is, doesn’t matter. It’s about the Gospel and Jesus Christ and loving people. And so we rented the Civic Center to be truthful and stand, but yet communicate love. And I believe we were able to do that by the grace of God, because TV stations came, and newspapers, and there wasn’t a critical word said about it, I think that was a testimony that there wasn’t a critical message coming through it. There was love, and concern, and a burden. But being on that one particular show was like ‘Mmmm, oooh, this is not, Jesus says ‘Judge not. Who am I to judge [in a condemnation kind of way], who am I to look down on anybody. Man, look at what the Lord’s done in my life. I think of the same-sex marriage thing, and last year God had us involved in different ways, just standing, I believe very clearly that marriage is supposed to be a certain way according to the Bible. And I believe that when you have same-sex marriage, God loves everybody, but that particular institution I believe in time is going to undermine marriage. You look in northern Europe where they’ve had it for awhile, and what’s happened in time is that less and less people marry, in general, because it’s making marriage out to be something that God never intended it to be. And so, there’s a concern, certainly in my heart about it. But at the same time, I have to look at my heart, and that is, I want to show everybody that I love them. And there’s a challenge, isn’t there, as Christians. ‘I love you, I’m burdened for you, but yet standing for truth.’ And this is, in my heart as we go through this text, this is something I hope the Lord just ministers to you, as he continues to minister to me, he says ‘judge not, judge not, condemn not.’ What’s in our hearts? Well I recently, with the radio, have been excited about something, I’d ask you to pray about this. You know, last year we were doing these prayer things. But you know what I’d like to do right now, and there’s some discussion going on between some of the leaders here in the church, something to pray about. But out on the end of the Cape, there is an FM application that has become available, and it’s only going to be around for another year, and it’ll disappear. And there’s a possibility of building a little tiny FM radio station at the very end of the Cape. But you know, I’m so excited about it. And we’re praying about negotiating to try to get that, and there’s a real good chance we could honestly build it, if we choose that we want to do that. But I was even with our leaders, the last month as we were seeking the Lord, and I said ‘Wouldn’t it be exciting to have a station out there?’. Getting right into P-Town, and you’ve got Courson on the radio, a lot of us were listening to him, Chuck Smith, and people that at any moment, not threatening, just turn it on and listen to the Bible, the Word of God, and listening to how much God loves them, wants to work with them and heal their lives. I know that’s what he’s done in my life, he’s touched my life and he’s healed my life. I ask you to pray about that, because there are lots of things that continue to go on in radio, and I ask you to pray about that. But that’s something that may start to stir as we try to get this little station on the air. And the main thing it would reach is right there at the very end (Provincetown), that would be kind of cool, I think. Be beautiful, love to do it. But what’s in your heart? You know, we were at this marriage retreat in Boston, a lot of us, and the day before that there were some of us that went before, and there were some sessions with John, doing some leadership training, Jon Courson. And during the leadership classes that we were going through, he was just teaching, really. At the end there was an opportunity to ask questions, and one man stood up and said “Jon, I’d like to know your opinion on this. Let’s say you have a family member or friend that’s homosexual, and they’re going to get married in the State of Massachusetts to somebody of the same sex. What would you do, would you go to the wedding?” Now that’s an interesting question, and this can reveal what’s in the heart. Now you’re probably wondering what my answer would be, and I’m not going to tell you my answer, because that’s really not the point. But the point is, what’s in the heart. Because it does create a little bit of a dilemma. And Jon initially, he says “If they’re not Christians, I’d just go.” But then as we talked about it, all the issues, I mean, he said “Well I’d have to really pray about it.” And the issue is this, I want my friend to know ‘I love you, man. I love you, man. And I don’t care who you are, and where you’re at or what you’re doing, I truly love you. And I know that God can work in your life, he’s worked in my life. And yet I want to be truthful with you, too. I wouldn’t want to do anything that you would later come to me and go ‘Now wait a minute, you acted one way, but now you’re saying this.’ I wouldn’t want to do that either. I’d want to be strait with you, all the time, but I love you and I wouldn’t want to do something to make you think I don’t love you, just as you are, because I do. And God can work powerfully and heal lives.’ And so in that dilemma, what do you do in that situation? I’m not going to answer it, because I’m sure no matter what my answer would be, I’d probably split the church. Right? [laughter] And I wonder what I did last service, because I think I did [answer that question], or sort of. I take my answer back. But anyway [laughter]. But he says “Judge not, judge not.” I mean, there’s a spirit that he’s speaking about, the heart. And so often as the Church we can be guilty of that with the people in society we come across, that ‘Ahhg!’, but God loves them so much. And he proved it by sending his Son to die on the cross. Judge not, as you measure out it will be measured back to you. Not only are we at times guilty of judging society [in a condemning way], we shouldn’t be, we should be giving them truth, we need the truth, but given in love, the Gospel too, given in love, the tears, the compassion, the prayer.

Being guilty of being critical of other Christians in other churches

Well, secondly, we can be guilty there, but also we can be guilty of being critical as the Church, as Christians of other Christians in other churches. And that’s one of the traps we get into a lot as churches, ‘This is our holy little huddle right here.’ And we’re a Calvary Chapel, we’ve got Jesus figured out, and you know that church down the road, you know, they’re ok, they’re ok, we pray for them [laughter].’ And we get into this deal, like suddenly, we’re it, and we start to judge the Bride of Christ, the Bride of Christ, God’s kids, God’s people. And Jesus says “Judge not”. [The Sabbatarian Churches of God, down through the ages, but even in our 20^th and 21^st centuries, have withstood severe judgment, being libeled as “legalists”, a derogatory term, by their Gentile Sunday/Christmas/Easter observing Christian brothers and sisters in Christ. This also must stop. We have forgotten where the Church came from. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/index3.htm for a little enlightenment on that subject.] Judge not. I say that to you, even Jon Courson, couple days ago was bringing up that very issue as he was encouraging leaders, and as he did, I was agreeing with what he was saying, because I see the same thing. Here we are a part of Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel began, you know initially the way God worked was with these Hippies, and the church at large was saying to the Hippies “Go get a haircut, you go get a haircut and get some shoes, and we’ll reach out to you.” And this little church [with Chuck Smith as pastor] Calvary Chapel, and there were other churches like that, that said ‘Wait a minute, just love these kids, and reach out to them.’ And then lots of them starting to get saved, and God started to do a powerful work in their life. That was Calvary Chapel’s beginning, but so often now, with God’s blessing comes this pride, ‘’We got the right theology, we got the worship, man, we got the dove, we got the style’, and now we’re looking down at others from here, rather than ‘This is the beautiful body of Christ, doesn’t matter what your label is, doesn’t matter what your denomination is, you may be more liturgical, you may be more Pentecostal, you may be more fundamental, doesn’t matter. Jesus people, his Bride, his Church. And Jesus says “judge not.” [To see how Calvary Chapel’s got started log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/smith.htm.] And I pray in our hearts as a congregation, what comes forth from this building and our ministry, is love for all the Church, man, the Church, the Bride of Christ, those who know Jesus. Certainly I can look at other churches and go ‘I don’t know if that’s good doctrine over there, I don’t know if that’s the best practice’, and I can believe that, yet at the same time still love, still love. [And that is the exact same intent and practice of this website, for even within what we may consider the dead and dying past revivals which are now older denominations, there still are precious believers in Jesus who are still alive and well spiritually. Ours isn’t to condemn. Tell the truth in love, but never to condemn. Encourage, provide spiritual nourishment, and love, that’s what this site is about as well.] And Jesus says ‘Judge not’. Paul exhorted the church of God in Rome, Romans chapter 14, verse 4 he says “Who are you to judge another man’s servant, to his own master he stands or falls, indeed he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” He works for somebody else, what place is it for you to judge? Let his boss be the judge [and his boss is Christ] and give the review. It’s not your place. It’s not your place. Though not only can we be critical of society, and critical of other churches, but the truth is, we can be critical right in our own church. Right? It’s in our heart, at times we’re critical of one another. We can be guilty of what he’s saying right here. I can see somebody whose struggling, and rather than having compassion and being broken because of their struggling---it’s easy for me to go ‘Ahhg!, that person, you know, oh man, you know, they just don’t got it together’, and there’s this spirit that’s there, critical nature. Or I can perceive they have a certain motive, ‘Well I know what they’re doing, I know their heart’, and in fact, nobody knows anybody’s heart. God knows the heart, and that’s it. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/romans/romans12-14_2.htm for Paul’s complete teaching about having respect for other churches and brethren.] I remember working for G.E. in the North Shore, living on Revere Beach. One day I was coming back from work, and this honestly happened, I was coming back from work, and I won’t go through all the details and bore you with the details, but I got pulled over by a police officer, and basically he gave me a ticket for what he thought I was intending to do. And we debated that. I said, ‘I wasn’t doing that, I was doing this.’ And he goes ‘No, you were doing this.’ ‘I was not doing that.’ And he gave me a ticket. Well I then went to a judge, and I said ‘This is what he gave me a ticket for, and he didn’t listen to the facts here.’ And thankfully the judge was kind, and I didn’t have to pay the ticket. But somebody can look and even maybe look at the evidence, and say ‘I know this was in your heart.’ But you don’t know that. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but I’ve been there multiple times, not just with that police officer, but even in ministry, hearing a criticism, when that wasn’t even in my heart. ‘Maybe it was in your heart, wasn’t in mine. If you’re thinking it, it must be in your heart, you must think that way.’ Judge not, he says, judge not, in that sense of being critical and condemning, Judge not. Maybe it’s the manner of somebody’s decision, that we’re judging. I think of the President, and we’re so often so quick, boom! boom!, just rattling off our opinions about his decisions, and maybe some are good and maybe some are bad, but yet at the same time I realize, I’ve never been in any of his staff meetings, I’ve never seen all the information and all the data that he has access to that we don’t, I’ve never been through all the reviews from all his staff. How could I possibly judge his decisions, you know? I might have a little opinion, but how do I know? How do I know? And the same happens in all sorts of areas of life in the church, you were judging, but yet you never really, really knew what the person was going through, and all their reasons and their motives and thought processes for doing what they did. And so Jesus comes and he says “Judge not” in the sense of that condemning, and having that sting and that criticalness. Do not do that, for in the measure that you do it, it’ll be measured back to you. That’s why it’s so key that humility is in our hearts, and that’s why we go back to [Matthew] chapter 5, and we learn through the Beatitudes that humility, that brokenness. When there’s humility, then you’re not going to be too often tripping over chapter 7, verse 1 here. Brokenness and humility will keep you from that. It’s a key that there’s humility and a teachable spirit in our hearts and lives, all the time, all the time. Jesus says “Judge not lest you be judged”. Man, if that’s something you’re struggling with, that needs to be dealt with, because consider what he’s saying, and the manner in which he’s saying it. We have no place to be doing that, but also he takes note, and he’s certainly going to deal with it, “In the measure you use will be measured back to you.” Now, we’re not to judge, but as I began, we are to admonish, we are to correct. When somebody says “judge not, be quiet, I don’t want to hear anything, that’s not what he means, it’s the spirit to it [i.e. the spirit in which you are admonishing, is it with hatred, like that extremist Baptist church in the Midwest, or are you admonitions given in love for those being admonished?] There is certainly a place for going to somebody, Galatians, and saying ‘Listen, listen, God loves you and I love you, and here’s an issue, you’re struggling, and what can I do? Can I pray for you? And you know if you continue on that road you’re going hurt yourself. You’re going to hurt other people.’ There’s certainly a place for that. They may go ‘Judge not’, but I’m not guilty of what Jesus is saying here. And we’ll see as you go on, verse 3, there’s a place for admonishment. But as he’s sharing here, there’s the proper way to do it. How do we do it? Well he gives us the sense of doing it correctly.

Rules for proper judgment, admonishment

1. How can you correct someone else, when you’re worse?

Verses 3-5, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’, and look a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus here is addressing that attitude of when you see an issue in somebody’s life, you come and have an attitude and you have an opinion about it, maybe even some words about it, but yet you haven’t truly allowed God to examine your own heart in your own life. And so it’s very hypocritical. So you come and say ‘Look at that’, and they can turn around and say ‘Look at you.’ It’s like that story of Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody. D.L. Moody, in the 1800s, he’s a great evangelist, pastor, actually he’s from Massachusetts, he started out there. But Spurgeon in England, D.L. Moody finally gets to meet Charles Spurgeon, this prince of preachers, goes to his door, knocks on his door. Spurgeon opens the door, and Spurgeon’s got a cigar. Now D.L. Moody has had infinite respect for Charles Spurgeon…[some text lost, tape switchover. But D.L. Moody said to Spurgeon, ‘How can you be smoking a cigar?]…And Charles Spurgeon said “The same way you can be doing that.” [D.L. Moody was overweight], and not for a moment indicating you should smoke cigars, or eat a lot of food either, and be a glutton. But the point is, is D.L. Moody was coming a certain way, and Spurgeon was pointing it out. And Jesus is addressing exactly that. You can come and be critical of the that, but yet have you allowed God to examine your own life and your own heart? And when I come to correct and admonish, and to reprove and encourage, it is important I do the self-inspection and allow the Holy Spirit to show what’s in me, and that I therefore come in humility and brokenness. It’s interesting, he says ‘You have a speck’, that word for speck, the NIV translates it “a little piece of sawdust.” And that’s essentially like a little twig, a little piece of wood. And he says ‘You see the speck in your brother’s eye, and it’s interesting, you see that, but you have a plank in your eye.’ And if you notice the speck, the sawdust, and the plank, they’re made of the same thing. It’s just a different degree. He’s using that picture, the other person has a little bit of that, but you’ve got a whole bunch. I mean, just imagine, get the picture, a little tiny speck, and you have a big log sticking out of your eye. It’s be like back to the food thing. We’re at a conference, and I notice you’re got a little bit of spaghetti sauce in your cheek, and I come over, and I have an attitude like ‘You buffoon, what are you doing with some spaghetti sauce, but you look at me, and I’ve got like a meatball on me, I’ve got the noodles hanging from my nose, I’ve got food all over me, and I’m saying ‘You buffoon’. I mean, that’s the thought here. That’s the image he’s drawing here, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute’, you come with a certain heart. Understand that you also are a sinner, and you have all kinds of issues and struggles. And you’re broken, and you love your brother, and you’re coming broken and in humility, and you’re honestly not coming judging and critical, but you’re coming out of concern, genuine concern and love. So, when it comes to admonishment, the first thing, it’s important that I do it the right way, and that is that it starts with a sincere inspection of my own life. You know, David, you remember, it’s like the speck and the beam thing, because David had committed murder, and he had committed adultery, king David. And he hid it for a year. And the prophet Nathan comes to him, and he says to him, ‘I’ll tell you a story, David. There are two guys, rich guy, poor guy. Rich guy’s got everything, poor guy’s got one little lamb, rich guy needs to make a meal for some friends, and he goes and steals the poor guy’s little lamb that he loves so much.’ David hears that and he says ‘What?! That rich guy? That guy should be killed for doing that, that’s evil.’ But you see, David is hiding murder and adultery. And Nathan comes back, you remember the story, he says “You’re the man, David”. But David came out with such anger for this rich guy, ‘That’s so awful that he would steal that lamb!’, but all the while, I mean, to steal a lamb wasn’t the death penalty in the law. To commit murder and adultery was. And Nathan goes, ‘You’re the man, you’re the one, dude.’ And we can be like that. And Jesus is saying, ‘Hey man, you see the speck’, and maybe there is a speck in your brother’s eye, but make sure that your heart, your heart is also one that you’ve allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal what’s in there, and that there’s brokenness and repentance and forgiveness over your own sin. That’s so vital and so important. Later, though, David gets it right. He’s admonished by Nathan, now there’s repentance in his life, God graciously spares his life. And then he pens Psalm 51. He says this, “Behold you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts. You’ll make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a stedfast spirit within me.” He sees his sin for what it is, and says ‘Oh, forgive me, cleanse me’, and then he says a couple verses later, same writing, “Then I will teach transgresser’s your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you.” Now he’s at a different place. Self-inspection, Holy Spirit inspection, self-judging, the heart is right. ‘Oh Lord,’ self-judging, and the cleansing, ‘Oh Lord use me like this, to go and help sinners.’ Being, his heart is right, and the heart is now right, ‘O, Lord, now use me to go and help somebody, a sinner, I can go and minister to them.’ So the question, so the question, here’s the question, right, it’s so simple, you, me, do we struggle with being critical? It’s possible. Do we struggle with, you and I, are we critical of people in society? You know, the challenge though, is we’re often the last ones to realize it when we are that way. Can’t see beyond it for some reason, we know that we’re that way. Are we critical of people in society? Are we critical of other churches? Are we critical of people in this church? Do we have that pride, that self-righteousness? Jesus said you’ve got a big beam in your eye. Yeah you see the issues in your friend’s life, but you got a deal, understand your own self. So first thing, that self-inspection.

[I’m reading through the book of Jeremiah right now in my early morning Bible studies. Now God sent Jeremiah to give a serious warning to the nation of Judah about their sin and why God was going to allow the Chaldeans to defeat them militarily, and capture and deport them to Babylon. God was saying some real serious, condemning things to the people of Judah through Jeremiah. But no other prophet ever gave prophecies like these with such love and concern for the people he was giving them to. He actually wanted them to repent and change so God wouldn’t have to do what he said he was going to do. God within the first 13 chapters actually had to tell Jeremiah three separate times to not bother praying for the people of Judah, because he must have been praying God would change his heart, when the people were so rotten and didn’t deserve it---but Jeremiah must have kept praying for them---and God had to tell him three separate times to stop it. That said something about the way Jeremiah was presenting God’s dire prophecies to the nation and people of Judah, full of love and compassion, but faithfully relying God’s words to them.] Well the other thing about admonishing and correcting, I’m not to judge and be critical of other churches or Christians. But I am to---as you noticed, he says first in verse 4, remove the log, and now you can go see clearly, and now go remove the speck. So clearly he’s not saying you’re not ever to go and remove the speck. Once you’ve got yourself dealt with, now you can go and help your brother remove the speck from his eye. And that’s what he says. First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you can see clearly and then help him remove the speck. And when it comes to admonishing and dealing with the speck in other’s eyes, what’s important is that I got my heart right, I’ve done the self-inspection, but secondly, I also need to be discerning.

2. Being discerning

Verse 6, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in peaces.” Now what does he mean by that verse? I believe that he’s got a certain thought, he’s saying, and you’ll see that’s a thread, he’s dealing a lot with the attitude of judging and what’s proper and what isn’t. Well now what does he mean in verse 6? And that’s the heart of what’s coming up through here, discerning, being discerning. It’s vitally important that I’m led by the Lord, and that I know that I’m being prepared and led, and I’m going with the right words and the right message, so that it’s going to be received. Because maybe you’ve had this happened, but it’s very possible to go and minister to somebody, and man, you’ve just created a whole mess, because they weren’t at a place where they were going to receive it. It’s important that I’m led and I’m discerning. And that’s essentially what he’s saying, when he says “Do you give what is holy to the dogs?” You’ve got this sacred holy Word in your heart from the Lord, and God’s prepared you, and you’re on your face praying for somebody, and you’re burdened for them, but they’re in a very different place. And you’re thinking ‘Should I go and witness to them?’, and if your not discerning, and you go there, they’re just going to chew you up alive, because they’re not ready. That’s essentially the principle he’s saying there. What is holy, and he’s giving the picture of food, the priests had the food from the sacrifices, and if you study in the Law there’s certain portions given to them, and it was considered holy, and it was for the priests, and it was for his family. And dogs would be considered unholy according to the law, and you wouldn’t give unholy things, in the Law, to the dog. And you certainly wouldn’t give what is for the priests, which is holy, to the dogs. They may like that, they may just chew it up, but there’s a principle here, you don’t do that because, they might chew it up and then want some of you, that’s at verse 6 at the end there. He says “you don’t cast pearls before swine”, I mean, just get the picture. You’ve got this beautiful pearl necklace. I saw the picture the other day in the newspaper, that really huge pearl, it’s been around for a long time, they were telling the story about people who have died, and committed crimes over it, this massive pearl. You wouldn’t take that if you had it, and throw it into a pigpen. I mean the pig may play with it, toss it around, but he’s just going to end up stomping it in the mud. I mean, that’s foolish. And so the point is, you see there’s issues, there’s the speck, and you have a burden for your brother, or your neighbor, or this person or society or that culture. You’ve got your heart right, but is it the place to say anything? Is it going to be received? There’s times the Lord uses a passage in my life where I’ve been praying ‘Lord I’d really love to go to them.’ I’m just so burdened for them and praying that I’d really love to go to them. More than once in my life, God has brought me here and told me “No, it’s not time, they’re not ready. You’re going to be like taking something and casting it to dogs. You’re going to take your pearl, and throw it, and it’s just going to be chomped on.” You know, nobody likes to be trampled by a pig, it’s just not pleasant. Right? [Also pigs have been known to kill people, the larger ones, when you anger them.] “Lest they turn and tear you to pieces.” Right? So, 1) self-examination, 2) discernment. There’s a place for admonishment, but I go in a certain manner, and that’s the manner I go in. So, self-examination, I want to make sure my heart is right. I want to make sure I come in humility, and I understand that I’m just a sinner, and I’m saved by the grace of God. And I might be able to jump a centimeter higher than you, but what’s that compared to the moon? I come with that heart and attitude. Secondly, I also want to be discerning. You remember Jesus at times, that’s the way he was. I mean, he had Herod in front of him one time, and Herod was mocking him, and Herod said ‘Come on Jesus, do a miracle Jesus.’ You know the story, you saw The Passion of the Christ, you’ve read it in the narrative of the Gospels. And you remember Jesus does not say a word, doesn’t say a word to him, because of the attitude there. I mean, how is it going to be received? He’s just going to be mocked. He doesn’t cast the pearls before the swine. Another time Paul, Paul in Acts chapter 13, people are there and he refuses to minister to them for that very reason. ‘The heart isn’t right, I’m not gonna take these pearls and cast them before swine.’ Solomon shared in Proverbs chapter 9, verse 7, “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer lest he hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.” You go to the wrong heart, man, you’ve got a mess on your hands. Proverbs 23, verse 9, “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.” So, 1) right heart, I get my heart right, ‘Oh Lord, I know who I am, and I know my issues”, and then, 2) “Lord, would you have me say something? Would you want me to go and to minister to them?”.

3. Add prayer to all this

(Also the Bible way of praying)

Verses 7-12, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For whoever asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will be given a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Therefore whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” And now we see the next point here, in these following verses, verse 7 to 12. Now he speaks about prayer. [log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/bibleway.htm to access Charles Stanley’s excellent sermon about these six verses.] And you may read this and it’s possible on the surface to say ‘Oh well, he’s changing subjects here [and he is, sort of], you know, he’s just been here, and now he’s going that way. And he’s not, because he comes right back to the same thread, the same melody in verse 12. When he speaks of prayer here, I do believe, in this context of what he’s just said, it’s about this issue of judging. Now at other times, he repeats these same statements, and he applies them in different ways [so this both applies to what he has just said, and applies also to the greater realm of all of our prayers]. But as he’s speaking of prayer, the basic picture you see there is “Ask, Seek, Knock,” be persistent, the Greek tense is “continue to do that, continue to ask, continue to seek, continue to knock” and as you see there, those that do, hey, God loves you, and God’s going to respond. You know, you have a parent, a father and, and just as a son or a daughter goes to her dad, says, ‘Dad, I need some bread’, the father loves the child, and he’s not going to give his son or daughter a stone. ‘Hey dad, I need some fish, I need some food, can you give me some fish?’, he’s not going to give him a snake, he’s not going to play tricks on him, that’s just evil. But we’re just weak sinners as parents, and yet we know how to love our kids in that way, how much more when I come as a child of God, and I come to the Father and say “Lord, I need your help right now. I really need to know what to do, I need discernment, I need wisdom.” And I believe especially the context is that. I’m involved in this situation right now where I’ve been asked as a pastor, there’s a group of pastors that are trying to deal with a situation in another ministry. And you know, things happen in ministries, it’s one of these seasons where all kinds of stuff is going goofy, and accusations are flying. And so I’ve been asked to be involved here and try to help sort this out and deal with this situation. But as I’m doing this, one thing I find, and I’m involved with this, is I have been praying a lot. And what I’ve been praying, I’ve been asking the Lord “I really want to know what to do here, Lord.” Because I know my own heart, and it’s in there, and I don’t want to be guilty of that. But I could look at these people and go, ‘Oh, these terrible people to do this.” And you could come right back at me and remind me then a moment later of all the evil things that I’ve done. ‘And I don’t want to be guilty of that, Lord.’ I don’t want to judge that way and find out later that “the measure you use will be measured to you.” But also, “What’s up or down here? And so, lead me Lord, I need wisdom, show me Lord. I want to represent you in the heart and attitude, and in truth. I realize people can do wrong, and they can hurt people, and so we need to work through this situation, and for the good of everybody.” I mean, that’s clearly that type of situation. “But yet, Lord, wisdom, I need it.” My wife can verify, I’ve asked her so often, ‘Pray for me’. She hears me on the phone, hears what’s going on, “just pray for me, I want to make sure I do the right thing.” I believe the context here is about this. Of course he’s speaking about being persistent in prayer, in general as well. But using the opportunity to remind you of the power of persistent prayer, and how powerful an effective prayer is. But in the same context, somebody’s got a speck in their eye [or you are praying the Lord call someone you love and want to witness to, but don’t know if they’re in a receptive attitude to receive the Gospel], somebody’s got a challenge. People around you in your community, issues going on, ‘Oh, judge not, judge not.’ The Lord might have you say something, but man be led in the Spirit, be very discerning, and be prayed-up, man. Be prayed-up, be praying, be praying, be praying, praying for the situation, praying for wisdom. It’s so important, as we see in the context here, that in these situations we do the right thing. You remember James, James writes “If anybody lacks wisdom, let him ask God, but he gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” ‘Lord, show me, give me discernment.’ So judge not, don’t be critical. But there is a time, there is a place to admonish and to correct [and to witness to others]. ‘How do I know, what do I do, Lord? First thing, Lord, show me my heart. Secondly, I want to be discerning if you’d have me to do this. And thirdly, I’m praying to you for wisdom, because I want to know exactly what to say and not to say.’ Last thing, we need to be praying verse 12, we must be loving, of course. And that’s written throughout this, written throughout the Bible, we must be loving. Right? Verse 12, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” He gives us the golden rule. You see somebody struggling, you see issues in other people’s lives in other communities, societies, whatever, what do you do? Well, he says here, treat others as you would have them treat you. “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…” That’s interesting, it follows right after the statement of prayer. Clearly he’s continuing the same subject, he’s dealing with an issue here. And so, I need to be loving. And when you go to a brother or sister whose got a speck, they’ve got a challenge, you’ve made your heart right, you’ve been praying, you’ve been working through it, man, loving, loving, Galatians 6:1, go gently, go with love, go with tears, sit down. You know, Christian, non-Christian, whatever the situation, they see the tears, they hear the love, and you’re sitting there saying ‘I love you, and here, I have to say this. And I love you enough, my heart breaks, I’ve been praying for you’. That’s what he’s saying, treat others as you would have them treat you. You know, you know your struggles, you know your weaknesses, you know the times you’ve done foolish things, you’ve gotten confused, you’ve gotten off on the wrong road, you’ve been hard-hearted at times. And you always want to be treated a certain way when you’re in that situation, whatever it is. You want understanding, you want grace, you want people to approach you a certain way, express things to you a certain way. And so he says “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” It’s that golden rule, and he uses that too, he applies it in different ways, we’ll see as we go on in the Gospel, he’ll use that same principle and apply it to a whole another subject area. But here, here as he’s doing with the situation of judging, critical hearts, he’s saying, “Treat people in the same manner that you’d have them treat you.” Well let’s close in prayer. Very simple. We’re going to pick up next week, simple and yet so needful, and yet so powerful. It is so unfortunate when the Church, there’s a criticalness that’s coming through toward the society. It is so sad in the community when churches are being critical of one another [or of the society in a hateful way], it is a terrible misstatement of the love and power of God. And it is so unfortunate when even within a church there’s a critical spirit, and just a harshness that goes on. Man, there is certainly a place we need to be, if we love people we’re going to be truthful and we’re going to at times need to say things. But the way we do it, there’s a need for admonishment, but I need to go about it the right way, “judge not, lest you be judged.” I need to go about it correctly, and that starts with a right heart, man. Sincere self-inspection, so I can see clearly, I’ve got the beam out so I can help you on your speck. I need to be discerning, I don’t want the devil to get me into a trap, where I’ve gotten into a situation that’s only going to make a mess. I want to be led, ‘Is this the situation you want me to minister in, Lord?’ I need to be prayerful, man, it needs to be preceded in prayer, God will give wisdom, the wisdom that’s needed. We need him, we’re finite, he’s infinite. And boy we need to be loving, golden rule applies, treating others always the way we’d want to be treated…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Matthew 7:1-12, given somewhere in New England.]