THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye” (Matthew 7:1-5).

I love that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus seeks a spirit, an attitude, and a heart from His followers. The sermon calls upon us to bring out that part in us that is truly in the image of God. To think and feel and react as God and His Son Jesus would do is at the center of the message.

Matthew’s record focuses on the hypocrisy of the man who judges others with an unacceptable heart (7:1-5). Luke’s account focuses on the command itself and how to administer it positively in one’s life. Actually, the appeal contains four commandments. Two are negative: judge not and condemn not. Two are positive: forgive and give (Luke 6:37-38). These other three commandments provide help in understanding what Jesus means when He says, “Judge not!” We might say, “Condemn not but rather forgive and give.” He is ultimately calling for us to love, to have compassion, and to show kindness and mercy toward others.

While this command, “Judge not,” is absolutely imperative, it is not absolutely comprehensive and unqualified. “Judge not” is not intended to set aside other scriptures which necessitate distinguishing between right and wrong. We are required to appraise our neighbor’s actions in order to help him in times of temptation, to protect ourselves from sin, and to correctly provide for proper affiliation with right activity and righteous persons. That involves making determinations and articulating our positions. Sometimes that is both disapproving and critical.

Jesus said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Paul warned concerning the man at Corinth that committed fornication with his father’s wife and expected them to properly judge “them that are within” (1 Corinthians 5:3,12). John said, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). The Christian is neither nebulous nor indifferent to sin. He sees it as it is in his fellow men and he condemns it for what it is.

Nor does this statement indicate that one may avoid God’s judgment simply by refusing to make ethical or doctrinal determinations about the words and/or activities of other persons. “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10). But if we are the true children of God and treat others as God treats them, we will not there be judged harshly and unmercifully.

What does this mean? The judgment condemned here is unsympathetic, unfair, and thus unjust (see Luke 6:36 for the contextual introduction). It is self-righteous and hypocritical. Paul said, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:1-6).

Paul later condemned the unjust censorious spirit in these words: “Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. . . . Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (Rom. 14:10, 13).

This teaching is violated in our readiness to condemn others in what we say and even what we think; when we make determinations based on outward appearance and superficial material and worldly criteria; or when we base our judgments on personal opinions and applications. Men often revert to condemning others, assuming that they have the right to make such sweeping decisions about the destinies of others’ souls. Jesus clearly forbade His disciples to partake of the Pharisaic mentality that condemned others. They had become judge, jury, and executioner.

James called attention to the fact that man must never usurp God’s unique role in ultimately and comprehensively judging human beings. “He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11-12). We must understand that our viewpoints on another’s relationship with God are necessarily restricted by our inability both to know all the facts and to know the motives of another’s heart (John 2:24-25). We, therefore, should be properly reserved in presuming to come to such unilateral conclusions.

Much of this issue is in the heart. What is the motivation of the man who judges? We need to step outside ourselves and see that we are not presuming the prerogatives of God and that we are not trying to elevate self. Jesus is saying, If you’re not on the jury, don’t presume to reach a verdict. Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are … idolatry, sorcery” (Galatians 5:19-20). Establishing sexual immorality as a deed of the flesh, Paul addresses the pride of man when he serves the “creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). It was the deceit of Satan that said, “Has God indeed said” (Genesis 3:1) that brought man low in the exaltation of vain self and rebellion against the will of God. Man sought to build “a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens” and to make a name for themselves that caused Jehovah to scatter man abroad over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:1-9). False religion has fashioned the heart of man from the beginning to rebel against God.

Idolatry and sorcery are the summation of man’s desire to create his own God. Paul declared in Romans that man “exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). This led man to follow after vile passions and debased minds. The people of Israel were challenged in the first two commandments to serve Jehovah and Him alone. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6).

The Lord was the deliverer of Israel and He would not accept any other gods before the people. Jehovah prohibited making any image that would be worshipped by the people. Because of His jealous nature, He demanded and expected the people to worship Him and Him alone. Idolatry and sorcery are not as clear a challenge in our society today yet they are very much alive. When we set our minds on earthly things, we do not serve God (Philippians 3:19). The reason the seed in the parable of the Sower was ineffective was because of the “worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).

False religion comes about when men are not satisfied with God’s way and seek to impose their own religion on man. Idolatry can be seen in the religious division with myriads of churches proclaiming truth by their own doctrines. There is only one body of truth and that is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Following after the works or deeds of the flesh manifest themselves in man’s selfish desires to serve himself and not the Lord. “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:20-21).

The consequence of the deeds of the flesh is evident: “Of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).

I never cease to be amazed at some people's knowledge of the Bible. It seems like some folks, no matter how ignorant they are about God's Word, always know certain verses of Scripture--and often they know these verses for all the wrong reasons. They know, for example, that the Bible teaches, "God is love" (1 John 4:8), but usually because they want to "love" someone in an immoral way (like a live-in girlfriend, or a gay or lesbian "lover"). They also know about the verse that teaches: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but again, it is usually for selfish reasons--they want to take revenge (with God's approval) on someone who has mistreated them.

And of course the one Bible verse that everyone knows is: "Judge not that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). Worldly folks want to quote this verse every time you try to point out some error in their lives that needs correcting. Now, I have to admit that after all these years of preaching, I'm no longer surprised or even disappointed when a worldly person tries to throw this text up at me as I try to help him see the error of his way. But I do get disturbed when my own brothers or sisters in Christ try to use this text to get me "off their case" for the same reason.

Jesus does warn us about judging others (Matthew 7:1); but if you read further in this context, you will see that Jesus more specifically is condemning one who is hypercritical and hypocritical in his faultfinding (7:2-5). When we go looking for a "speck" (or minor fault) in a brother's "eye" (life), we are being hypercritical and that is wrong. Worse: when we do this while having a "log" (or major fault) in our own eye that is hypocritical. And this is the kind of judging that Jesus so strongly condemns.

But that's not what we have here when people with real faults throw up the "judge not that you be not judged" verse. In such cases, we usually have one with a "speck" lovingly trying to help one with a real "log," and the one with the "log" starts yelling, "foul."

The fact is that all of us have at least some "specks" (or faults) in our lives. If we look at anyone long and hard enough, we will find "specks" or faults no matter how genuinely good the person might be. But the fact that we can point back at someone who is confronting us about our sin and say, "Hey, but you're guilty of this"--even if it is a greater sin than the one he is pointing to in our life and even if he is being hypercritical and hypocritical--that does not make our sin any less wrong or any less offensive or any less in need of repentance!

When we point a finger back and use his "speck" or even his "hypocrisy" as an excuse for our sin, we prove that we are carnal, and (to borrow Peter's words) we are "in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity" (cf. Acts 8:23). If we really were spiritually minded and truly concerned about pleasing the Lord, we would appreciate his efforts to help us improve.

So, if some brother approaches us in an effort to correct some failing in our life, we need to be careful about pointing our finger back at him! His having a "speck" or even a "log" does not take away the fact that we still may be at fault. And if that's true, then we need to correct it--no matter how many sins may be in his life.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were excited. On December 17, 1903, they had finally succeeded in keeping their homemade airplane in the air for 59 seconds. Immediately they rushed a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio, telling of this great accomplishment. The telegram read, "First sustained flight today fifty-nine seconds. Hope to be home by Christmas."

Upon receiving the news the sister was so excited about the success that she rushed to the newspaper office and gave the telegram to the editor. The next morning the newspaper headline read, "Popular Local Bicycle Merchants To Be Home For Holidays." One of the greatest stories of the twentieth century was missed because an editor missed the point.

But who has not made the same mistake in reading the Scriptures? If one is too casual about it, he might learn some truth but miss that which is most important. For years Charles Hodge has been saying, "Familiar Scripture should be read more closely." That advice is well worth heeding, but all Scripture should be read more closely to let the deep meaning sink into your heart. Read the Bible. Read it carefully. And don't miss the point.

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).