Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 23, 1985
Judging
Matthew 7:1-5, KJV
A number of years ago an Episcopalian bishop was sailing to Europe on one of the great ocean liners. When he got on board he was told he would have to share his room with another passenger. He took a look at the room then went back to the information desk and asked if he could put his gold watch and wallet in the ships' safe. The bishop explained that he didn't do this ordinarily but he had been to his cabin and didn't like the looks of his roommate. The clerk took his valuables and said, "No problem, I'll be glad to take care of them for you. Your roommate has already been here and left his stuff for the same reason." [Tan, 7000 Illustrations, #2839]
We all like to make judgments about other people. Some judgments are made on the spur of the moment, while others are based on years of close contact. More often than not, our assessments are wrong. In the light of this, Jesus says,
"Judge not, that ye be not judged."
This can be taken several ways.
Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, thought Jesus was forbidding courts of law and he said the words couldn't mean anything else. However, the context of the verses is dealing with individual relationships, not law courts.
Others argue that Jesus doesn't want us to criticize anyone or make an assessment of them. If people have faults, we're supposed to ignore them. All critical judgment, whether good or bad, is to be eliminated. This is possible but I don't think it's likely. One reason is that it would be hypocritical to act like this and Jesus hated hypocrisy. Another reason is that much of Jesus' teaching requires us to make assessments of people.
Today's passage is followed by two further commands. Verse 6 says we shouldn't give what is holy to dogs or pigs. Verse 15 tells us to beware of false prophets. You can't obey these unless you make assessments about the actions and character of people. He wants us to be able to pick out dogs and pigs (which are people) and false prophets. How do we pick out false prophets? Verse 16 tells you - inspect their fruit.
Therefore, if Jesus is not abolishing law courts or forbidding making assessments, what does he mean by "Judge not"? I think he is referring to destructive criticism. Christians can be critics in that we use our powers of discernment but we're not judges in the sense of being condemning.
A judge is a fault-finder who is negative and destructive toward other people. They enjoy uncovering failings and assume the worst when it comes to motives. Making yourself a judge puts you in a dangerous position. You are claiming the competence and authority that rightfully belong only to God. The other side of the coin is that if you act like God, you'll answer to God. That's what Jesus means when he says: Judge not, so that you won't be judged. A condemning attitude sets you up for the wrath of God.
A number of passages in the Bible deal with judging. Turn to 1 Corinthians 4:3. Paul was constantly criticized for the way he ran his ministry but he didn't care. He says:
"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by man's judgment, yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself (he doesn't have a guilty conscience), yet I am not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things or darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God."
This is one of the best reasons for not judging people - we never know all the facts. No one else really knows what makes you tick. Paul says you can't even be sure about yourself and yet so much criticism is based on the flimsiest of evidence.
When I make my pastoral calls. two topics always come up. First we talk about the weather. When that is exhausted we talk about other people in the church. On more than one occasion I have heard scathing criticism about someone which I know isn't valid. I can't set the critic straight because it's confidential information but I know they're missing the target.
None of us knows what is really going on in the lives of others. They may have a rotten personality because of some tragedy or trouble they've never talked about. The poet Longfellow wrote:
"If we could only read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
Another reason we shouldn't judge is that we're not prepared to share the limelight. Back in Matthew 7 Jesus says:
"For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again."
Most of us have a double standard when we judge. We will harshly condemn every sin except the ones we are likely to commit. We don't excuse our sins, we're just silent about them. And what happens if our sin is found out? We plead for understanding. Double standards don't cut it. Paul writes in Romans 2:1 -
"Therefore, you have no excuses, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another, for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you the judge are doing the very same things."
A final reason we shouldn't judge is that we all have blind spots. In Matthew 7:3 Jesus gives the famous illustration of the mote and the beam. Nowadays we would call it the splinter and the plank. A splinter is a fault. Not an imaginary one but a real one. In verses 3-4 we see the splinter and try to take it out, which sounds neighborly. The problem is we don't have our priorities straight. It's stupid to nit-pick about the failings of others when we're a disaster ourselves. It's a matter of balance: true but out of perspective.
One thing that makes gossip so interesting is that much of it is true. It's all out of perspective since you are only focusing on faults but it can be accurate as far as it goes. The hypocrisy comes when we exaggerate others' faults while minimizing our own.
The answer; according to Jesus, is to get your priorities straight, and your first priority is to straighten out your own life. Any sin you have is going to distort your view of other people. Our duty; then, is to repent of our sin and remember how weak we are. We should also cut slack for others. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:31 -
"If we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged."
Repentance sets you right with God and enables you to see clearly to help someone else.
Some people get the idea Jesus is against all criticism but that's not so. After we get rid of our beams and after we remember that all have fallen short of the glory of God, we can criticize. Not in a negative way but in a helpful way. Criticism of this sort is not only allowed but necessary. In Matthew 18:15 Jesus gives more detail on how to give helpful criticism. He says there,
"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."
First of all, criticism should be open. Tell them to their face. If you can't do this, you've sinned. Gossip about them will get back to them anyway so you're better off doing it directly.
Second, criticism should be restricted. It's not for the world to know. As Jesus says, do it between you and him alone. Backing yourself up with others shows you're scared, not right.
And finally, the goal of criticism is to strengthen Christian relationships. If there can be no positive outcome, don't do it.
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Typed on March 7, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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