Tag: Do not judge

Looking Again and Again at the Sermon on the Mount

Genesis 31-32

Proverbs 16

*Matthew 7

-Marcia Railton (IN)

For the last couple of years January often has me writing something on the Sermon on the Mount. I admit, at first it can seem like a chore to do. But, I have been thankful for the opportunity to take a deeper look into these passages, often seeing ways I need to “Think Again” to change my opinions, thoughts and ultimately my actions to become more like Jesus. It is a great way to start the year. But, how would I be different, inside and out, if I read, thought about, lived out the Sermon on the Mount every day?

So today, I will start with a few of the thoughts I have previously shared on Matthew 7 (with a few revisions, that’s part of the beauty of reading the Sermon on the Mount again and again and thinking again). You can read them – or just read Matthew 7 again. And then, in our longer than normal reflection section let’s talk about how we can be more intentional about keeping this spectacular sermon in our minds, mouths, heart and hands everyday.

Adapted from parts of The Rest of “Do Not Judge” – (from January 10, 2024 for SGL)

Unfortunately, the world has heard just the first three words, “Do Not Judge” and has twisted Jesus’ words into permission to sin and accept sin. But that is not the case! Jesus tells us over and over again (and even multiple times in this same chapter) to look carefully and judge whether people and actions and ideas are good or bad, righteous or wicked, wise or foolish, innocent or dangerous, taking us closer to God or further from Him. He warns you and I about the wolf in sheep’s clothing who wants to deceive you and figurative dogs and pigs that will tear you to pieces. And if you have already decided that it is not your place to judge if they are good or evil or to discern if they want what is good and godly for you or what will destroy you, then I fear you are already sitting in a very dangerous spot. 

So, what did Jesus mean when he started out with the words, “Do not Judge…or you too will be judged” and then gave the excellent illustration of the speck and the plank? Make sure you read it for yourself from Matthew 7. I think he was saying judge yourself first in order to be helpful in then spotting sin in others. Specks are hard to see clearly when we have a plank lodged in our eye socket. And our restored sight is crucial in then being able to delicately help our neighbor remove the irritating speck in their eye. When we judge rightly we can start out by putting every single one of us in the same sorry sinking boat of sinners in need of a Savior – just make sure you jump into that boat first. Stop bad talking and blaming the neighbors and church members and family and see yourself for what you are and what you do. Don’t sugar-coat the truth trying to make yourself look better than the rest. 

Sin causes vision problems – those dangerous specks and planks in the eye are not conducive to seeing the world or yourself clearly. It can be all too easy to completely overlook seeing our own sins and instead attack others for not measuring up to Jesus’ standard. I have been quick to blame my husband and my kids and my friends, when the fault was also with me. I have mistreated people, sometimes to their face, sometimes behind their back. And I have tried to ‘fix’ things my way rather than patiently trusting God for what He said He would do in His time. I can be very selfish and prideful and rude. And the list goes on. And if I don’t accept and work to correct these problems and sins in myself FIRST then I will be hypocritical and ineffective when I, with that plank still stuck in my eye, turn to help my neighbor who has a speck in her eye.

Jesus was not saying specks and planks in the eye are okay and we should leave them be. Sin is not okay. He was telling us the order in which to correct things – self first SO THAT you can actually be useful in helping others recognize and remove the sins that are affecting their sight and health and well-being. Sin surgery for yourself first. Recognize it for what it is and get it out! Then look with compassion not contempt on the neighbors of the world, some of whom do not even know God’s law and have no idea they are stuck in sin because they only heard “Do Not Judge” and never heard the rest.

Adapted from parts of Will it Stand or Fall – (from January 12, 2024 for SGL)

Jesus too, warns of storms with such driving rains and rising waters which have the power to totally destroy and wipe out homes if we don’t take the proper actions beforehand. Storms are coming – and in some cases they have already begun. Jesus tells us, some houses will stand, some will not. It depends on their foundation. Is the house built on rock - or on sand – which is determined by how wise – or how foolish – the builder is. Both builders listen to the words of Jesus – good first step. The wise builder proceeds to “put it into practice” – and his house endures the storm. The foolish builder with his house built on sand has heard the words of Jesus but does not put them into practice. And when the storm comes, his house is destroyed.

Hear the words of Jesus. And then, put it into practice. It is not enough to sit at his feet listening every week or even every morning – if you don’t then spend your days DOING what he says. We have just spent the last several days reading and looking at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Now, what will we do with it? What will it look like to put it into practice today and tomorrow and every day of 2024 (and now 2026) and the rest of our lives – however long or short that may be? Both houses will experience the winds and the rain. Will your house stand?

Reflection Questions

  1. Judge yourself first – what sins are on the plank in your eye? How has sin (the plank in your eye) affected your vision? Do you want it gone? What are the benefits to having it removed? What is needed to remove it?
  2. Looking through Matthew 7, what thought or call to action strikes you as one God wants to see you really working on this month?
  3. It is not enough to be considering these words of Jesus just every January when our Bible reading plan has us reading through the book of Matthew. We need to be tending to our foundation regularly to ensure our homes will withstand the storms. How can we get these words into our hearts so we make them a part of our daily thought/judging/discerning process and then put it into practice so we don’t find ourselves (and our loved ones) surprised at the end of the wide path that leads to destruction? Every day this year I want to read something from the Sermon on the Mount. How about even multiple times a day? I printed a simple Matthew 5-7 document to hang throughout my house – one page in the laundry room, one page on the inside of the medicine cabinet, another in the front of my Bible, etc…. Through the year I can rotate them around if one is more neglected. Feel free to make yours pretty and colorful and/or underlined and marked up. I am excited about learning this familiar sermon better. But not just learning it – living it, more and more. Will you join me? Here’s one to print for you:
Sermon on the Mount NKJVDownload

Prayer

Dear God Almighty, we praise You because you are perfect in all Your ways. Thank you for the gift of Your Son who not only tells us but also shows us how to live different from the world, and also different from the “religious leaders” of his day, on the narrow path, a light for the world, with a heart devoted to pleasing You, with our foundation on the rock, putting into action every day the words and wisdom in this spectacular Sermon on the Mount. Lord, I confess the plank in my eye. Help me see it. I don’t want it to stay. I want to see clearly and I know this requires sin surgery in my own life, thoughts, attitudes and actions. Help me remove it, realizing it might be a painful process – but with such marvelous benefits in this life and the one to come. Thank you for Your forgiveness, Your wisdom shared through Your Son, Your guidance and proddings through Your Holy Spirit. Help me to listen well this whole year to this Sermon on the Mount, that I might become more and more like Your Son Jesus who preached and lived and died these words for me, and is coming again to live eternally with those who choose to hear and DO your words. In his precious name I pray, Amen.

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The Rest of “Do Not Judge”

Old Testament: Genesis 15 & 16

Poetry: Psalm 5

New Testament: Matthew 7:1-12

If Sarai of Genesis 16 was my neighbor or Bible study partner or worse, my daughter-in-law, I’m not sure I would like her much. There is the big problem of Sarai sending her maidservant Hagar to sleep with her husband Abram. Perhaps, with a bit of study I could accept this as a cultural Canaanite tradition which was indeed an effective way of fulfilling God’s first command to Adam and Eve: Be fruitful and increase in number (Genesis 1:27). It gets trickier to do this God’s way when there are more than two people on earth, but still no law. In fairness to Sarai, she did not have the benefit of God’s law yet as she was born hundreds of years before Moses. But, even if I were to give her grace and excuse her from that act, there is the whole problem with her attitude and overall mean spirit. Even when her plan works out as she had orchestrated, she quickly casts blame on her husband and mistreats/abuses Hagar. Not a pretty picture, Sarai. 

I am glad I am so much better. I would never impatiently try to help God give me blessings in my own way not His. You would never find me blaming my husband. And I have certainly never ever mistreated – anyone. Well, probably not enough to make them run away into the desert. 

Maybe, I am exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7 when he begins, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (vs 1-2). Unfortunately, the world has heard just the first three words, “Do Not Judge” and has twisted Jesus’ words into permission to sin and accept sin. But that is not the case! Jesus tells us over and over again (and even multiple times in this same chapter) to look carefully and judge whether people and actions and ideas are good or bad, righteous or wicked, wise or foolish, innocent or dangerous, taking us closer to God or further from Him. He warns you and I about the wolf in sheep’s clothing who wants to deceive you and figurative dogs and pigs that will tear you to pieces. And if you have already decided that it is not your place to judge if they are good or evil or to discern if they want what is good and godly for you or what will destroy you, then I fear you are already sitting in a very dangerous spot. 

So, what did Jesus mean when he started out with the words, “Do not Judge…or you too will be judged” and then gave the excellent illustration of the speck and the plank? Make sure you read it for yourself from Matthew 7. I think he was saying judge yourself first in order to be helpful in then spotting sin in others. Specks are hard to see clearly when we have a plank lodged in our eye socket. And our restored sight is crucial in then being able to delicately help our neighbor remove the irritating speck in their eye. When we judge rightly we can start out by putting every single one of us in the sorry sinking boat of sinners in need of a Savior – and make sure you jump into that boat first. Stop bad talking and blaming the neighbors and church members and see yourself for what you are and what you do. Don’t sugar-coat the truth trying to make yourself look better than the rest. 

I am no better than Sarai. I have been quick to blame my husband and my kids and my friends, when the fault was more with me. I have mistreated people, sometimes to their face, sometimes behind their back. And I have tried to ‘fix’ things my way rather than patiently trusting God for what He said He would do in His time. I can be very selfish and prideful and rude. And the list goes on. And if I don’t accept and work to correct these problems and sins in myself FIRST then I will be hypocritical and ineffective when I, with that plank still stuck in my eye, turn to help my neighbor who has a speck in her eye.

Jesus was not saying specks and planks are okay and we should leave them be. Sin is not okay. He was telling us the order in which to judge and correct – self first SO THAT you can actually be useful in helping others recognize and remove the sins that are affecting their sight and health and well-being. Sin surgery for yourself first. Recognize it for what it is and get it out! Then look with compassion not contempt on the Sarais and Hagars and neighbors of the world, some of whom do not even know God’s law and have no idea they are stuck in evil because they only heard “Do Not Judge” and never heard the rest.

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. When you honestly look at yourself what sins do you find? How can you work at removing them? What roles do Jesus and God’s word play in surgery to remove sin?
  2. When you encounter sinful stories how can you respond less like a hypocrite and more like “The God who sees me” that Hagar experienced in the desert in Genesis 16?
  3. What is the problem with not judging what you see around you? 
  4. How does Matthew 7:12 relate to the “Do not Judge” part of Matthew 7? In what other situations is it wise to live by Matthew 7:12?
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See Clearly

Matthew 7

January 7

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1 – NIV) Its a loaded statement. We don’t like to feel judged and told that we are wrong, so we won’t judge and tell other people they are wrong. And so this single verse is used to justify, and even demand, blind acceptance of others and all their deeds. You are free to be gay – I have no right to judge. You are free to have the right to an abortion – I have no right to judge. You are free to believe you are a woman when God made you a man – I have no right to judge. You are free to hook up with anyone anytime you want – I have no right to judge. And that is what some would have us believe a good Christian should do. Let them be them and accept them for it. Their way is just as good as my way.

Only trouble is – the rest of this passage continues.

“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2 – NIV) If you use a yard stick to measure yourself but a meter stick to measure others, they will always be coming up short. It is not a fair and right judgment or measure. It is skewed in your favor to make others look less than. They just don’t measure up to your greatness.

Here’s a little true story example – I have been known to be put out and upset when someone I am waiting for is running late. How could they inconvenience me by not operating more according to my clock and my time schedule? Only trouble is, yesterday I was caught by a train (it happens here in northern Indiana – the crossroads of America) and I didn’t show up exactly when someone else was expecting me, but of course my tardiness was excusable, because it wasn’t my fault, I didn’t know a train was going to be coming, etc…. It is not my right to condemn, chastise, be upset with others if I am not willing to be measured in the same way. Late is late. And, in actuality, it’s not my clock or their clock that really matters anyway – but what does God’s clock or measuring stick or word say? That is what matters.

The passage continues, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the PLANK in your own eye?…You hypocrite, FIRST take the plank out of your own eye, AND THEN you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3, 5 – NIV). If a brother has a speck in his eye and there was something loving you could do to help him get that irritating, painful thing out, wouldn’t you want to? Wouldn’t God want you to? But, how much help could I be in this delicate operation if my own eye has a beam sticking out of it? I can’t see clearly to help others out of sin when I am swimming in it myself. That sin in my own life is first priority. I must deal with it. Get rid of it. It may hurt like crazy to pull that beam out – but until I do, my usefulness to help guide and correct others is gone. Pull it out. Heal. See Clearly. Then, I can help others, with the same word of God, same guidelines, same measuring stick and same mercy and compassion that saved me.

It is very true I am not the judge and the jury. God is and He will share that job with His Son. But I DO have a responsibility to watch myself closely, to hold myself accountable to the Word of God, and to be very aware of what is happening around me – including the sin that so easily entangles.

All paths are not created equal. Some – the narrow ones that not many people are willing to stay on – lead to life. Others – the wide, easy, popular ones where the majority are – leads to destruction. It would be foolish of me to not be judging which path I am on at all times. See clearly the two paths.

We are told, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). This will require VERY keen eyesight and insight. We will have to be wise in judging what may at first seem right and true but in fact is cleverly disguised, dangerous, deadly lies which are leading many down the wrong path. Watch out! See clearly those who are deceiving and being deceived. Blind acceptance will take you somewhere you do not want to go.

Make sure you are not sitting in the house of the foolish builder as the wind picks up. Many in that house have heard the word of God. They may profess Christianity and call him Lord and even seek to serve him. But they are not acting any different from the world. They are not doing the will of God. They have grown comfortable with the plank in their eye. They have befriended the wolf in sheep’s clothing. They have failed to put Jesus’ words into practice. They are on the wide path approaching the wide gate that leads to destruction.

Get out and move to the house of the wise builder before the downpour comes! Hear Jesus and listen. Do what he says. Take the plank out of your eye. See clearly. Help your brother take the speck out of his. Don’t make friends with the wolf just because he dressed up like a sheep.

See clearly. All paths are not the same. All houses will not stand. All choices are not okay. All churches will not be saved. Some will lead to life. Some will lead to death. Use the same measuring stick – God’s Word and the teachings of Jesus. And put it into practice! See clearly. Judge roads and gates and houses and wolves wisely. Your life truly depends on this.

-Marcia Railton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. What was the difference between the wise and foolish builder? What fate awaited each? How can you put into practice the words of Jesus from Matthew 7 today?
  2. When we were introduced to John the Baptist and to Jesus we were told what they were preaching – see Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 to remember. Are any lessons from Matthew 7 connected to this preaching theme? If so, how?
  3. Is it easier for you to see your own sins or the sins of others? What advice does Jesus give? Pray to see clearly your own sins first so you can deal with them.
  4. How do you feel when you read Matthew 7:21-23? How does it relate to the rest of the chapter? How can we live now to avoid hearing these words from Jesus?
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