Let's start right here in Matthew 7,
because this is a perfect example
where we're being told not to judge.
Let's get the context.
It says in verse one, judge not that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.
And with what measure ye meet,
it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye,
but considers not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother,
let me pull out the moat out of thine eye,
and behold, a beam is in thine own eye, thou hypocrite.
And that is the key word right here.
The first thing I want to point out
is that it's wrong for us to judge
when we are being a hypocrite,
meaning that we are judging someone
for something that we ourselves are guilty of.
And maybe we're not guilty of exactly what they're doing,
but we might be guilty of something very similar.
And in fact, what we're guilty of is often worse
than the person we're judging.
Here he compares it to someone who has a beam in their eye.
What is a beam?
A giant piece of wood.
Buildings are made with huge beams to bear the load.
Beams are giant pieces of wood,
whereas the moat is basically just a little speck of wood,
like a splinter, a piece of sawdust.
And he's saying it would be like
if someone that was a friend of yours or your brother
had a piece of sawdust in his eye,
and you have this beam in your eye,
and you're, oh, we need to fix that piece of sawdust
right away, we need to get that out of your eye.
Obviously it's ridiculous.
And the Bible even says that because of the beam
that is in our own eye,
we are not able to see clearly to cast out the moat
that is in our brother's eye,
because we are blinded by our own sin, by our own faults.
And then that's why he says, first, verse five there,
first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,
and then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the moat out of thy brother's eye.
Now, this is a very often misunderstood passage
because people will take this passage and just say,
he's just telling you not to judge, period.
Just never judge, just don't judge.
And often people will just quote the first two words.
I mean, we have five verses here,
but they'll just quote the first two words.
Just, Jesus said, "Judge not," period.
But that's not what he said.
He gave us this whole teaching,
and by the time we get to verse five,
he's telling us to judge.
Because he says, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,
and then leave the moat in your brother's eyes.
Is that what he says?
No, he says, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the moat out
of thy brother's eye.
So is it wrong to judge when we're not being a hypocrite?
No.
And so here, by the time we get to verse five,
he's telling us to judge.
In verse one, he's telling us, don't
judge if you're guilty yourself.
He says, judge not that ye be not judged,
because with the measure that you're judged,
or the same measure that you use to judge other people
is the same measure that you're going to be judged by.
You've probably heard the expression,
those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
And we'll often condemn someone, then we'll turn around
and do the same thing.
Well, don't be surprised if God brings that back around
and we're brought into judgment for the same thing.
The Bible says, for he shall have judgment
without mercy that hath showed no mercy,
and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
So we're going to reap what we sow
if we judge people for things that we're guilty of.
But people often misapply this scripture,
judge not that you be not judged.
For example, you know, let's say I see a man
walking down the street in a dress,
and I say, you know, that's perverted.
That's wicked, you know, that's disgusting.
And then people will say,
"Oh, judge not that you be not judged."
But here's the thing,
I'm willing to be judged by that standard.
I'm not afraid of that.
I'm not afraid of, well, you know what?
But someday if I walk down the street in a dress,
people are going to say the same thing.
No, because I'm not afraid of that standard
because I don't have that beam in my eye.
Therefore, there's nothing hypocritical
about saying, hey, that's weird.
That's sinful.
That's an abomination.
That's what the Bible teaches, okay?
So go to Romans two, if you would.
Romans chapter number two.
So the first type of judging that we see that is wrong
is when we judge people and we're a hypocrite about it.
And let me tell you something.
This happens a lot.
There are a lot of people out there
who are the most judgmental people
that are guilty themselves.
And so they want to point out everybody else's faults
to try to make themself feel better about themselves.
And so we do need to be aware
that we are not a hypocrite in our judgment,
that we never hold people to a higher standard
than what we're willing to hold ourself to, okay?
But it says in Romans chapter two, verse one,
"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man,
"whosoever thou art that judgest.
"For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself,
"for thou that judgest doest the same thing."
So do you see here, in another verse
that's negative about judging,
it's talking about being a hypocrite.
It's talking about judging people,
and you're doing the same thing.
And then it says in verse two,
"But we are sure that the judgment of God
"is according to truth against them
"which commit such things."
So look, the problem isn't that you're condemning
someone who's done something,
it's the fact that you're doing it yourself.
And he says in verse three,
"And thinkest thou this, O man,
"that judgest them which do such things,
"and doest the same, that thou shalt escape
"the judgment of God."
So God's warning us
the same way he warned us in Matthew seven.
Look, if you be a hypocrite
and judge people for things that you're guilty of,
condemn people for things
that you're guilty of doing yourself,
God is gonna make sure that you are exposed.
God is gonna make sure that you are judged
by the same measure that you've been judging others.
God will bring out into the open your hidden saints.
If that, if you're gonna be a hypocrite
and live a double life and publicly say one thing
and then privately you're doing something completely different.