NKJV Matthew 7:1 Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

That seems simple enough---right? Sometimes the meaning of the word, ‘judge’ gets lost and that, my friends, makes this a difficult verse to consider! If you quoted this to a secular person, they might make a remark in regard to the one who sits behind a bench in the courtroom and decides if you are going to prison or not! This verse refers more to an action as opposed to a noun. When you see it used in connection with Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees, it has to do with the hypocritical self-righteousness they expressed in contrast to the true righteousness of God! Translation, they made up rules and added those rules to God’s Law--- (the 10 Commandments) ---and put more emphasis on THEIR ‘laws’ than God’s! In other words, when folks didn’t abide by their laws to the letter, they were quick to judge them according to THEIR standards. Since God is the only righteous and true Judge, able to discern people’s hearts, only HE can rightfully judge!  When you break down the first twelve verses in Matthew, chapter 7 it all has to do with human relations. The first six deal the negative aspect of a self-righteous, judgmental spirit, and the following six focuses on the contrasting positive aspect of a spirit that is humble, trusting, and loving. Many times Matthew 7:1 is used to say that Christians should never evaluate or criticize anyone or anything. Am I saying that we as Christians should never test and evaluate the words and actions of others? Nothing could be farther from the truth! On the contrary, the Father is clear in His Word to do just that! Matthew 18:15-17 lays out the process Christians should use when another Christian sins against them, according to the Bible. This process should be followed explicitly with the motive being reconciliation with all people involved! This process is to resolve the situation so that all parties are back in fellowship with the body.  Later in Matthew 7, Jesus talks about false prophets or teachers. We can know they aren’t from God by the fruit they produce. This is for evaluating what a person is teaching. If it is contrary to what is recorded in God’s Word, it’s false!  Just because someone can speak ‘Christianeese’ – (church talk) --that does not mean they are a Christian or putting forth righteous teaching. What about those who aren’t false teachers? Can we use the same evaluation to determine if someone is saved or lost? Remember, the Lord is the ONLY righteous judge who looks upon the motives of the heart. Only HE can determine is someone has met all the requirements of salvation! As human’s we can be a ‘spiritual fruit inspector’ and show concern for those who claim Christ exhibit bad fruit and no fruit and encourage them to do a spiritual inventory to make sure they came to Jesus for the right reasons to begin with. However, statements like, “I doubt seriously if that person is a believer,” places us in the role of judge, usurping God’s position. Confronting biblically described sin in the lives of professed believers and in the church does not make one a ‘trouble-maker.’ However, openly saying that this person or that one is not a ‘true believer’ based upon our outward observation puts Christians on the same level as the Pharisees. Jesus didn’t have a lot of good things to say about them!

 

Go & Grow With God

Pastor Tim