“Learn How To Judge In A Godly Way”
Matthew 7:1-6
Sermon Series: “Now What?”
Introduction: Josh McDowell says (and I believe he is correct) that the most well known verse in the Bible used to be John 3:16 but now it is Matthew 7:1. I also think this is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. Many people believe it means that we cannot consider anything absolute, right and wrong, black and white, make moral pronouncements, or tell someone they are doing something that is wrong. Some even take it a step further and consider making this kind of judgment harmful to others because of hurting their self-esteem. Therefore, in some type of twisted, bizarro world version of morality, immortality is moral, but declaring something to be immoral is what is actually immoral. Is this what Jesus really meant in Matthew 7:1? I don’t think so. In reality, Jesus is saying that true, godly judging is being discerning but not condemning. The word, “judge,” in verse 1 means “condemn.” On the other hand, 1 Corinthians 2:15a says, “But he who is spiritual judges all things,” and the word, “judges,” means “discerns.” Also, in Matthew 7:6 and 7:15-16, Jesus teaches us to be discerning.
How To Judge In A Godly Way
1. Do not condemn (v. 1). Only Almighty God has the right, authority and power to judge in a condemning sense. As human beings, we do not have the authority to condemn anyone. As sinful human beings, we do not have the right to condemn anyone else because we are all in the same boat.
2. Use a standard of grace (v. 2). What standard do you want to be judged by? Please remember that the dumbest thing we can ever ask for is for God to give us what is fair or what we deserve. Our only hope is grace. Jesus says that whatever we measure others by is what we will be measured by. The implication is that if we have
truly received grace we will understand that is our only hope and then be gracious to others (Luke 15).
3. Do not be a hypocrite but deal with our own sin first (v. 3-5).
A hypocrite is someone who is acting and pretending to be something they are not. Many people try to make themselves look spiritual by judging everyone else instead of dealing with their own sin. We must repent first (Ex.-David and Nathan).
4. Then, we are to restore others (v. 5). After we deal with our sin, we are to help others repent and be restored. This is the opposite of running people down and condemning them. We are to hate sin because it dishonors God and hurts people. We are to love people enough to help them deal with their sin. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
5. We are to be discerning (v. 6, 15-16). How?
A. The Word of God is our standard (James 2:12). B. We are to test spiritual claims (1 John 4:1-3). C. We are not to show favoritism to certain people
(James 2:1-4).
D. We are not to make an issue out of gray areas
(Romans 14).
E. We are not to judge non-Christians, but we are to
deal with sin and disputes within the church (1 Corinthians 5:1-6:8).
Conclusion: Right is right and wrong is wrong. We are to be discerning and call a spade a spade. We are not to be condemning though. We are to love people and try to restore them. We must look at ourselves first. We must not judge non-Christians or judge people in gray areas. We are to live out of the grace God has given us. Our only hope is grace. We are condemned apart from it. God dealt with sin in love on the cross. That is how we should deal with people.
