EPISODE 216 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 7" When should we, When shouldn't we?"

Welcome to Share the Word. In Matthew chapter 7, we're focused on the subject of judging. And today, Pastor Paul Nitz brings out an in-depth, well-rounded, and much-needed understanding behind the reason, purpose, and function of judgment. But before you begin, pause and think about what's your perspective and understanding on judging, and then compare it to what you learn. Matthew chapter 7. When should we?

When shouldn't we? In today's episode of Share the Word, I want to try and shed some light on a confusing subject, and that is the matter of judging. Not God's judgments, because they are always right, but our judgments. I saw some research not long ago about people's familiarity with the Bible. One question had to do with the best-known verses in the Bible, asking people, you know, if you know any verses from the Bible, what do you know? At the top of the list, I assumed, would be John 3:16.

God loved the world so much He gave His one and only Son. But that wasn't number one. The most often mentioned answer was a verse from Matthew chapter 7, something Jesus said here during His Sermon on the Mount: Judge not, that ye be not judged. When I thought about it, that made sense. I do hear that line used a lot by people these days. None of us likes to feel judged by other people, and it seems like no matter what you do or say, someone's not going to approve.

I saw a cartoon in a ministry magazine that I thought was funny and timely with the Olympics coming up this winter. In the cartoon, a smiling pastor was standing before his congregation saying, Of course you should feel free at any time to let me know what kind of job you think I am doing as your pastor. Behind them, the choir was holding up scorecards like Olympic skating judges: 5.5, 6.2, 3.9. Ouch! Let's listen to the whole paragraph about judging at the outset of Matthew chapter 7. Jesus said, 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 don't notice the log that's in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take that speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite! Take that big log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to clearly see the speck in your brother's eye. One reason there's confusion surrounding this idea of judgment and judging is because the verb judge in the Bible has a range of meanings to illustrate, just like it does in English, by the way.

I'll use a few different sentences. You think about the way it's being used in each, and if you can, try to replace the word judge with a synonym or phrase that would keep the meaning the same. Number one, Justice Roberts will judge this week whether the death row inmates' stay should be granted. You had to replace the word judge there. How would you replace it? I would say, decide based on the law.

Justice Roberts will decide based on the law this week whether this death row inmate's stay should be granted. How about this? Number two, It's not wise to judge a book by its cover. How would you replace judge there? I would say, It's not wise to form a negative opinion too quickly. Number three, judging by her letters, they're having a wonderful time in Las Vegas.

Judging, what would you say there? I would say taking all the available information we have into account, they are having a wonderful time in Las Vegas. Or four, this is the last one, the woman dragged before Jesus had already been judged by her accusers. There, it's pretty clear the word judged is being used as condemned. She was condemned by her accusers before she was ever brought to Jesus. It's pretty clear to me after going through the New Testament that some kinds of judging are called for, while others are always wrong.

And it's not as simple as saying, well, when a Bible author uses this Greek word, it's wrong kind of judging, and when he uses this Greek word, no. Just as in English, unfortunately, the most common word in the New Testament rendered judge, krino, has a range of meanings, and only context will determine how it should be understood. Sometimes it's something we should never be doing, but in other cases, something we should be doing. So it's a mistake to grab Matthew chapter 7, verse 1 out of its context or let it stand alone to mean judging is always wrong. If you are ever judging anything or anyone, you're always wrong. That would be absurd.

We make necessary judgments every day about the relative value of things, how we spend our time, how we want to spend our money, what we want our children to watch on TV or the internet, what we choose to listen to. And I can assure you, you're demonstrating good judgment right now because you're listening to Share the Word. But all of us make judgments, is my point, and Jesus was certainly not giving some kind of blanket prohibition against it. The idea that we should just drift through life like jellyfish, never critically evaluating anything, is cuckoo. That's a prescription for a pointless life, not one God Himself will judge as well spent.

The reason Matthew chapter 7, verse 1 has become the most well-known verse of Scripture, I'm afraid, in our time, is because, on the surface and taken alone, it does seem like Jesus was somehow approving of whatever anyone chooses to believe and do. So if anyone dares question the morality of another person's behavior or the legitimacy of their beliefs, they are quick to hear, Who are you to judge? Judge not, lest ye be judged. In American culture, anyway, that's become almost gospel for many people. No lifestyle or belief system is any better or righter than anyone else's. And anyone who disagrees with that, anybody who would dare say, Wait a minute, I think that belief is wrong, or Hold on, that lifestyle is not good for you, will be shouted down with the words of Jesus Himself, Judge not, lest ye be judged.

I can tell you with no fear of being contradicted that that is not what Jesus meant. How can I be so sure of that? Well, in this very context, here in chapter 7, Jesus went on to refer to some people as dogs, some others as pigs, some others as wolves. He certainly didn't think all beliefs and practices people choose are equally valid. He called some religious teachers blind leaders of the blind, and said that the ideas they taught would lead people to hell. That doesn't sound like Jesus felt all viewpoints were equally valid, does it?

Neither did he teach that people's moral choices were only their own business. To the woman taken in adultery, Jesus didn't pass over the moral question. He told her, Go and sin no more. We need to be very clear about this, and this may surprise some of you. As followers of Christ, part of being salt and light in the world requires that we make judgments in these two important areas. We must judge behavior as to whether it is morally right or morally wrong, and we must judge spiritual beliefs as to whether they are true or whether they are false.

Behavior and beliefs, these things have to be judged. You may be thinking, But who are we, and how in the world are we qualified to do that? We're no one. But if we're Christians, we are followers of someone, and that someone is the one who makes the rules, the one who will ultimately judge everyone at the end of the road. So we listen to him. Thankfully, what is good and right behavior and what are true and right beliefs are spelled out for us in the Bible he's provided for us.

This is why the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, He who is spiritual judges all things. We understand things because we have the mind of Christ, he said. In that statement, evaluate would be a good synonym for judge, wouldn't it? A Christian who knows God's Word, he is saying, is in tune with the Holy Spirit, can help, but always be evaluating things. Is this good or bad? Is this, in God's view, right or wrong?

That's natural for us. Listen to this interesting passage in the book of Hebrews from chapter 5. We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the elementary truths of God's word. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil. I don't want to get into all that passage is discussing. I only cite it to point out this fact. It says the only way we can become really acquainted with righteousness, that is, know what is right and distinguish good from evil, the only way we can accurately understand moral things, spiritual things, is through discernment. And that discernment, he says, comes from our familiarity with God's word, growing up in our understanding of God's word. This explains a lot.

At one time, and not that long ago, the basic moral premises in God's word were agreed on by most everyone in American society. I'm not saying everybody lived by them heartily, but most everyone recognized them. But once the moorings were cut to the authority of God's word, we have been adrift as a society for a couple generations now. For a couple generations, moral confusion and open rebellion against God seems to be the way things go. For many, all they know of the Bible now is, Judge not, lest ye be judged, which they take to mean, No religious prudes have the right to pass judgment on my beliefs or behavior. But followers of Christ, still anchored to God's word, must pass judgment on immoral behavior and wrong beliefs.

We can't help but do that when we agree with what God's Word says. And we should be able to clearly express what the Bible says on moral questions, as well as on all the essential doctrinal truths taught in the Scripture, not in an angry or condemning spirit, but speaking the truth in love. To back away from doing that is not doing anybody a favor. It's not in anyone or any society's interest to not be shown the light when they are on a dark path of self-destruction. Here's another specific situation where judgment is called for. Christians are pointedly instructed in the New Testament to examine ourselves and to judge those inside the church, those who claim to know Christ but who are not at all living like it.

We can't reasonably expect unbelievers to live as though Jesus is their Lord when they don't accept the authority of God's Word. But we can reasonably expect that from each other in the body of Christ. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote about that in 1 Corinthians 5. I have written to you in another letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. Not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or greedy, or swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, we would have to leave the world.

But I am writing that you should not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy or an idolater or a slanderer or a drunkard or a swindler. With such persons do not even eat. That's 1 Corinthians chapter 5, starting at verse 9. He's certainly calling for judgment, isn't he? More in this case than just making evaluations. He's urging Christians to confront obviously wrong beliefs and behavior, those of their church.

Ignoring those inside the church who are living openly immoral lives or dishonest lifestyles, whatever, discredits our faith and leaves us open to the charge of hypocrisy. It is also not helpful to the person themselves, the guy or the woman who is messing up, because they deserve to be confronted in love by their Christian friends and their church leaders in order to try to get them back on track. Another specific situation where the New Testament says judging is called for is the case of false teachers, people who claim to be followers of Christ but teach ideas contrary to sound doctrine. Boy, we've seen that instruction and example over and over on our journey through the New Testament. In this very chapter, Jesus himself warns, Beware of false prophets who will come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

We heard the apostle Paul tell both Timothy and Titus, pastors he trained, to refute false teachers, to silence their ignorant claims. He called them deceivers, and Jude and Peter used even stronger terms. Taking a passive attitude toward false teaching is dangerous because the truth is precious and the truth is essential. It matters what people come to believe about Jesus, who he was, about how we can be reconciled to God through him. It matters. It matters about our attitude toward sin once we become Christians, how we should live then.

It matters whether we know he is coming back again or whether we believe that. Church leaders especially are charged with calling out those who teach things contrary to God's Word and mislead others spiritually. This is a kind of judgment we must make and have the courage to pronounce. I'm saying all of this to underscore that when Jesus said, Judge not, lest ye be judged, he did not mean his followers should not evaluate things in light of the truth, or not make moral judgments about sinful behaviors, or not expose and rebut false teaching. We must do that. These are as much examples of the right kinds of judging as saying no to our children when we correct them, or That's dangerous, to someone you care about in order to protect them.

We have to have the courage and love to speak the truth into certain situations. And by truth, I mean things God has made clear in the book. You're probably thinking about now, then what kind of judging is Jesus talking about in this section? What kind of judging is wrong? Well, for one thing, we should not judge people merely based on our opinions. The Bible says that our opinions we should keep to ourselves when it comes to extra-biblical questions.

We should not judge people based on just our impressions either. The Bible says, Know the facts before you pass judgments. Only fools pass judgments without knowing the whole story. Kind of paraphrasing Proverbs here. The Bible also says that we should not judge people based on our expectations. It's the height of folly to do that unless you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Jesus himself was wrongly judged by people that way. In John chapter 7, it describes how he was getting attacked by critics based on their opinions and impressions and appearances. And Jesus turned to them one time and said, Stop judging me by mere appearances and make righteous judgments. That statement of his, that's John chapter 7, verse 24: Make righteous judgments. Confirms my whole thesis today. There are right and wrong kinds of judgments, right ones that need to be made, wrong ones that should never be made.

There used to be an advice column that ran in pretty much every newspaper when I was growing up. One of them was written by Ann Landers, but another almost identical one was written by her sister Abby. Some of you will remember this. Ann Landers included in her column one day a letter from a grocery store clerk complaining that she was sick of people buying luxury food items like, she mentioned, birthday cakes and big bags of shrimp with their food stamps, what we would call today EBT cards. The writer went on to say that she thought people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were lazy and wasteful. She signed it, Ticked Off in Toledo.

A few weeks later, Ann's column was devoted entirely to people who had responded to that column. One woman wrote, I'm responding to the letter from the grocery store clerk. I'm from Toledo, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was referring to me. I didn't buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. My husband had been working at a plant here for 15 years that recently shut down. The shrimp casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner, and it lasted us for three days.

Perhaps the grocery store clerk who criticized me would have a different view after walking a mile in my shoes. Another woman wrote in the same page on the same column, I'm the woman who bought the $27 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought that checkout woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she doesn't know is that the cake was for my little girl's birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer, and the doctor says she will likely be gone within six to eight months.

Ouch. Don't judge people when you don't know all the facts. There's often one fact more in every person's life of which we know nothing. Jesus' illustration about the splinter in the log in this chapter points up another kind of wrong judgment. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, he asked, and don't notice the log in your own eye? That's hypocritical.

Take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother's. This applies to those situations where we are trying to correct another person. They're not going to receive our input if they consider us a hypocrite. That's why Galatians chapter 6 advises, You who are spiritual, restore someone who has fallen into a sin trap. And in Romans chapter 15, the apostle Paul says, Those who are full of goodness and filled with knowledge should be doing the admonishing. Judging people, even when it's called for, will not be effective if it comes from the wrong person.

Check yourself first, Jesus was saying. A third situation when judgment is wrong is when we judge people's motives. We can't judge motives because we can't see into anyone's heart. The apostle Paul made this point about himself and those who were challenging his leadership in the Corinthian church when he wrote, Therefore, don't go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things that are hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. We can judge actions, yes. We can judge outcomes, yes, what Jesus called fruit.

But we can't judge anyone's motives, and it's not our place to. And connected to that, I'll mention one more. Never imagine that you're in a position to judge another person's soul, their salvation. Later in Matthew, there's a parable, usually called the parable of the wheat and tares. Tares were weeds that resembled wheat all the way through their growth process. Interpreting the parable for his disciples, Jesus said, At the end of this age, when he returns, he will send his angels to separate the wheat from the tares, real believers from false ones.

His point was that we can't know for sure what's going on in another person's heart between them and God. I remember hearing a brash young evangelist once whose favorite line seemed to be how this person was going to crack hell wide open, and that person was going to crack hell wide open. It made me cringe and seemed very wrong to me, even as a kid, making pronouncements like he was the judge of the universe. Again, only God knows people's hearts. It's hard to do, but if I can summarize, right judgments are motivated by love, love for God, love for people, and are based on God's truth, things he's clearly told us in his Word. Wrong judgments are not motivated by love, but are based on our opinions or impressions or our pride.

One day the Bible says we will all be judged by a God who really does have all the facts. And did you notice Jesus says here, In the way you judge others, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Now that's a sobering thought. Think carefully before you judge about what is motivating you, love or pride. Think carefully about the basis for your opinions, God's Word or just things you feel. Some kinds of judgments are appropriate and necessary, but others are very, very wrong.

Let's learn the difference. Thanks for listening. This is Paul for Share the Word. Thanks, Paul. So, how has your perspective changed about judgment? You see how, as Christians, the fallacy that we should never judge is incorrect.

Because as Pastor Paul pointed out, there is proper and improper judgment. Judgment through opinions or impressions or judgment when you don't have all the facts or based on your own personal expectations is wrong. And too often we judge to validate a narrative more or less to support an agenda or a profile or a false belief that we might have. You know, there was a situation in my life when I passed judgment and God showed me my arrogance. A man was trying desperately to pass me on a road. I did everything I could to block him, and what I found out later was he was just trying to reach the hospital.

And no thanks to me, he arrived only moments before his wife passed away from a car accident. That changed me forever. Every day we're judging. The question to ask yourself is, now that you know the how and the truth on judgment, is your process going to change for the good? From all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.