Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you very
clearly tell us how to live lives pleasing to
you. We also thank you that when we don't, you
pull us up through hearing your word or convicting
us through your spirit. And that when we truly
confess what we've done, you forgive us and help
us through the power of your spirit to live lives
pleasing to you. Please teach us today through
the power of your Holy Spirit as we encounter
your holy word. as to what it means when you
say, do not judge, and to therefore stop passing
judgment on one another. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. Friends, at Bible College, we, I, we were
taught to be super discerning. We critiqued one
another. We critiqued each other's sermons. We
evaluated other people's views in our essays,
other scholars' views of doctrine, and the list
went on. And so whenever I went to a church,
I found myself evaluating the preacher, the leader
of the service, the service structure, and when
and how they do the notices. pastor, whatever,
wave his hand over the bread and wine. Am I the
only one who finds themselves doing things like
this? Yeah, Brendan knows what I mean. And then
when I came to Edge Hill in 2000, that's 25 years
ago now, almost 26, some people kept telling
me, this very verse. Trevor, do not judge or
you will be judged. I found myself regularly
getting into trouble with some people because
I made judgements on various matters and it was
then that I realised how super discerning Bible
College had made me, rightly or wrongly. But
also, aren't we to make judgements and especially
So in leadership, part of leadership involves
making decisions. And good leadership usually
makes wise decisions and makes decisions all
the time. So what does this verse therefore mean
when Jesus says, do not judge or you will be
judged? I can still clearly remember the first
time I led a Sunday service. It shows how some
things leave a lasting impression, good or bad,
on you. Yes, I can still remember the first time
I led a Sunday service. It was a new family -style
service, and so there were many things that needed
to be planned and organised beforehand, so it
was a little stressful. And the only feedback
afterwards, yes, the only feedback that I got
from the rector was... You shouldn't say thank
you to the Bible readers because you are taking
away the glory from God. And my response wasn't
verbal, but I was thinking, what on earth has
happened to simply being encouraging rather than
supercritical? And maybe, maybe not even correct.
Well, hopefully as we look at Matthew 7, 1 to
6 this morning, it will shed some light on the
whole area of judging or evaluating one another
as to what's okay and what's not okay. Firstly,
up front, the Holy Scriptures, including these
very words of Jesus in Matthew 7, do not teach
that we are to never evaluate, criticise or even
condemn the actions or teachings of another person.
The entire thrust of the Sermon on the Mount
is to show the complete distinction between spiritual
truth and spiritual hypocrisy. If this, perhaps
the greatest sermon by our Lord, teaches us anything,
it teaches that his followers are to be discerning
and perceptive in what they hear, in what they
therefore believe and do. A follower of Jesus,
therefore, must discern what is truth and what
is hypocrisy. So these words of Jesus in Matthew
7 do not mean that one is to be an undiscerning
blob and not think at all. Although at times
that would be nice, wouldn't it? Just to sit
there and veg. But to be undiscerning means you
let anything go. And in the end, because we are
in a fallen world, you give licence to being
amoral. Actually, immoral. Yes, we are told to
pay attention to the plank in your own eye before
trying to treat the speck in your brother or
sister's eye. That requires discernment, doesn't
it? Of course it does. We are also told in verse
6 not to give to dogs and pigs what is sacred
and treasured. That requires discernment, doesn't
it? Of course it does. We are told in a few verses
later in verse 15 to watch out for false prophets
who appear to be a shepherd but aren't. That
requires discernment, doesn't it? Of course it
does. Elsewhere, John 7, 24, Jesus says stop
judging by mere appearances but instead judge
correctly. That requires discernment, doesn't
it? Of course it does. And still elsewhere we
are told to expel the wicked brother or sister
from among you and not even eat with them. 1
Corinthians 5. Test the spirits to see if they
are really from God. 1 John 4. And then the whole
book of Galatians is pretty much about watching
out for those who peddle a false gospel. And
all of these commands require discernment. Don't
they? Of course they do. So obviously wrong teaching,
wrong doctrine is to be opposed. So obviously
we aren't to become undiscriminating and undiscerning,
wishy -washy and not discerning between good
and evil, truth and error. It's obviously the
scriptures are imploring us to use one's judgment
and to refuse it to warn a person about serious
ongoing sin in their life is actually unloving.
But what does Jesus mean when he says, do not
judge or you too will be judged? And for those
who are scholars, it's the same Greek word. In
all cases. Now to judge can mean to judge judicially,
to condemn, to discern or to be judgmental. The
context here suggests do not be judgmental. That
is, don't have a judgmental attitude like many
of the church leaders back then did. Yes, what
Jesus is talking about here is the self -righteous,
egotistical, unmerciful, judgmental attitude.
such as that practiced by the Pharisees and teachers
of the law, Matthew 5 .20. And he calls it hypocrisy,
by trying to make oneself look good. But if you
only look at yourself, well, if you only look
at others and make yourself look good, You don't
discern the plank in your own eye. And so when
we are making a judgment in thought or in words,
are we doing so out of a desire to build the
other person up, out of a desire to love them,
out of a concern for them, as we want to see
our brother or sister in Christ restored to where
they should be? Galatians 6 .1. And if these
aren't the reasons for my thoughts or words,
then I'm being judgmental, aren't I? And I will
be judged for it by God directly or through others.
Jesus says that this type of judgment is like
a boomerang. It will return to you. We do reap
what we sow. I don't know about you, but I think
we can easily fall into being judgmental. and
usually by being too quick to judge. For example,
we can be too quick to judge that people who
attend other denominations or another church
mustn't be a Christian at all. The funny thing
is that sometimes they suggest the same thing
to me about us. Yes, we can be so quick to judge.
Quick to judge that someone lying in the gutter
or across the footpath must be a druggie or a
blind drunk. And so don't even consider stopping
and helping them. That was actually my wife one
day. She went to St Vincent de Paul in Sutherland.
Remember Troy? I can't believe such behaviour
would even... Ever happened in the Shire, but
it did. This was many years ago now. She went
there to purchase a pair of shoes for Troy, who's
here today, our eldest son, who was a little
fellow at the time so that he could be the page
boy at a wedding. She was carrying Glenn, our
second son, in her arms as he was a toddler at
the time. And Sue slipped on their quarry -tiled
foyer as she left the store. She came crashing
down and to protect Glen from the fall, took
her whole weight on her arm and hurt it big time.
She laid there for ages, well it seemed ages
for her. Right across the entrance to St Vincent
de Paul at Sutherland. And no one helped her.
People had to walk over her and Glen and they
all did to get into the store. In the end she
crawled to the car, put Glenn in his baby seat
and drove home with one arm. Thankfully it was
an automatic. We were about 20 minutes away and
when she pulled up in the driveway I looked at
her, I was home at the time, and she was grey
from the pain and shock and could barely get
out of the car. She had broken her elbow. And
no one helped her. And yes, she was much younger
back then. All they did was walk over the top
of her. I'm guessing that perhaps they were too
quick to judge her and thought she might have
been off her face or drunk again. Jesus says
in verse 2 here, you might like to look at it
for yourself. We're on page 1475 in our church
-provided Bibles or in the bulletin. For in the
same way you judge others, verse 2, you will
be judged. And with the measure you use, it will
be measured to you. That boomerang will return,
no doubt, either by God directly or by someone
else indirectly. So the first of two points today
is this, friends. Please be aware of a natural
tendency to be judgmental. And I think it is
a natural tendency that we all have and it's
expressed in many ways. It is not just expressed
in walking over the top of someone who might
be in need. It simply can be the conversations
we have about others. It's called gossip. It's
called commenting on something that you probably
don't know all the details about and giving your
confidence slant on it all. Well, that brings
us to these verses just written for optometrists.
Any optometrists here? And those who work in
ED. Lucy does. In verses 3 to 5, we are told
by Jesus a little story to help us understand
what he's just said. Verse 3. 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? How can you say to your brother, let me
take the speck out of your eye, when all the
time there is a 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. Plank and speck are
used as an exaggeration to get across the point.
We do need to be hit by a brick at times. But
it's also true, isn't it? Sometimes we can be
so blind to our own sin, and obviously sin is
what Jesus is talking about here, that we need,
therefore, to hear it in exaggerated terms. Take,
for example, when David, King David, as we read,
as Johanna read to us in 2 Samuel 12, how David
himself hadn't realised when Nathan the prophet
was telling him a story about how a rich man
who had everything stole a man's only possession,
his one and only little ewe lamb that was his
pet, and just like a daughter to him, and had
it killed for food to be served up. For a guest.
Yes, even though David couldn't believe someone
would ever do something like that and was furious
about it, he hadn't realised that he himself
was the actual man that Nathan was talking about.
Until Nathan said those very cutting words. You
are the man. Imagine being told that. He was
the man who stole the wife of Uriah Bathsheba
and had Uriah killed to try and cover up Bathsheba's
pregnancy to him, to David. Yes, David hadn't
seen the plank in his own eye until then. He
was incredibly blind. Incredibly blind, but so
too can we. And so first things first, we need
to first examine ourselves and confess our own
sin. Then we'll see everything much clearer.
We'll see God much clearer and others much clearer
also. It's no wonder after this that King David
wrote in Psalm 51, create in me a pure heart,
O God, before he's able to say, then I will teach
transgressors your way. Yes, in saying all of
this, ultimately it might still be necessary
to help remove the speck from your brother or
sister's eye. There is a verse 5. But first things
first, examine yourself before you even consider
someone else. Would you believe that one commentary
I looked at, I do have some commentaries left,
I labelled these verses, mind your own business.
Is this what we are to always do? No. Sometimes
a foreign body needs the help of someone else
for it to be removed. But only after we have
looked at ourselves first. To leave a foreign
body in someone's eye, if it is a serious ongoing
sin in your fellow believer's life, is not consistent.
with love matthew 18 15. it really isn't so what
is jesus saying here he's saying don't be judgmental
and self -righteous don't be a hypocrite blind
to your own self examine yourself first and then
if necessary be that loving brother or sister
in christ willing to rescue and restore last
verse verse 6. Please have a look at it with
me. Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw
your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample
them under their feet and turn and tear you to
pieces. I'm beginning to think that, Jane, you
should give this sermon. Near the beginning of
this sermon by Jesus, He says that we are to
love our enemies, to mirror God's graciousness
who sends rain to the righteous and to the unrighteous.
Matthew 5 .45. And we've just been told not to
be judgmental, yet now this. Although we've been
told not to be judgmental, we are told to be
discriminating. Now that's a naughty word today,
isn't it? Yes, we are told by Jesus to... Discriminate.
Shock horror. And in what way? We need to identify
the pigs and dogs and not give them what is sacred
or treasured. That is, don't give them pearls.
And why? Because if you do so, they won't recognise
how valuable they are and will trample all over
it. And as it doesn't satisfy them in any way,
needlessly attack you. In biblical times, bad
choice of words there, in the time of the Old
Testament and New Testament, dogs were seldom
kept as household pets like today. Except for
those used to herd sheep. The dogs were mainly
mongrels, dirty, greedy, snarling, vicious and
diseased. Just like the dogs that usually greet
me whenever I or Jane. Go door knocking. Yes,
they were dangerous and despised. It would have
been unthinkable for a Jew to have thrown to
those dogs a piece of holy meat that has been
consecrated as a sacrifice in the temple. Unthinkable.
And pigs, well, pigs were regarded, still regarded
by Jews, to be the epitome of uncleanliness.
The epitome. And so just as Jesus uses a plank
and speck to highlight, his point. So he also
does here with dogs and pigs. I don't think dogs
and pigs are references to Jews and Gentiles
or unbelievers. I think Jesus is referring here
to certain people who utterly and who outrightly
and utterly reject the gospel. And through the
term dogs and pigs, Jesus let us know how they'll
respond. They will either trample the pearl,
that is the gospel, under their feet. Total and
brutal stupidity is their response. Or they will
turn and tear you to pieces. Attack the messenger.
Jesus' point here is that there will be times
when the wonderful treasures of the gospel, 2
Corinthians 4, 7, are so absolutely rejected
and ridiculed that we must make the judgment
to turn away and speak no more. To shake the
dust off our feet. Matthew 10, 14. And try elsewhere,
as did Paul in Acts 18, 6, when the Jews opposed
him. and became very abusive. For me, that has
only happened three times in my life, when I've
either had to just walk away from someone or
had to stop taking a person's bait, knowing that
they were only interested in mocking Jesus. Friends,
it's a serious step to take that action. but
nonetheless commanded by our Lord Jesus for his
holy word, for such a pearl as his good news.
Yes, the gospel, the good news all about Jesus,
the forgiveness of sins that he offers, the promise
of eternal life that he brings and the help of
his Holy Spirit that he gives is far, far too
valuable to bring it out or keep bringing it
out. to an audience that is not in the slightest
bit interested and would prefer to rubbish it
and rubbish you. Sadly, I feel that some Q &A
programs on the ABC were a bit like that to the
gospel in past years. It is our second point
this morning and one I will finish on. We must
be prepared to discriminate. It's hard. Just
as Jesus tells his followers in the previous
verses to be aware of our tendency to be judgmental,
and don't do it, don't be judgmental, so too
does he say here not to do something. Be prepared
to discriminate. And can I finish by saying that
both of these actions require humility. Great,
a great humility. To be prepared to walk away
from a fight. I in the flesh, in the flesh, would
like to fight. Yes, humility is required. A humility
that will guard, look after, care for, keep holy,
both yourself and the glorious gospel of Jesus.
In the name of our glorious Holy Father, who
sent his glorious Holy Son and gives all who
receive him. His glorious Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thank you all.