This is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, amen. Amen.

So as lead pastor, one of the things that I get to do that is one of the great joys, but also one of the hardest things is I'm primarily in charge of coming up with the sermon series and what sermons we're going to preach on every week. Now I typically let the elders know a year in advance what's coming in the preaching schedule, but it's one of the great things that I get to do. It's also a very weighty thing. I understand the importance of this, that we have the Bible, God's enormously beautiful book, and we have to think about what timeless message do we need to bring to a timely situation? As you think about our moment in history and our cultural moment, what's important to hear from God's word on a weekly basis? And I love to do that. I love to think about sermon series and what's gonna best serve and feed the church here at Peace Church.

But for this sermon series that we're starting today, we decided we're gonna let the congregation have a concrete say. Now you kind of always do them, always talking with people and listening to what they have to say. But we said we're gonna let the congregation have a concrete voice in this.

So we solicited from you suggestions on topics for a sermon, for sermon, for the sermon series. Now we had one parameter, that it had to be something that the church never preaches on. Not just something that you wanted to hear, but what is something that you think the church never preaches on, whether here at Peace Church or any church across the globe. And so we got like well over 250 suggestions for different topics and myself and a team of people, we came together and we tried to sift through all these topics and try to categorize them and we whittled them down to 17 topics. We put that back to the congregation and the congregation chose the top six. And that's what we'll be looking at for the next number of weeks as we make our trek to summer which is on its way. But I'll just, I gotta say though, it was really close. So we chose the top six, because there's six weeks, but the difference between number six and number seven was one vote.

So there's a lot of opinions on all of this. And so, today, the topic that you chose is a very interesting one. I didn't see it coming. But let me just say this real quick. We're not gonna share ahead of time what we're preaching on. Just know that it's the top six, and in no particular order, that came from the congregation. So if you are really curious, if you really want to know what we're gonna be preaching on, if you happen to stop into the church office this week with a delicious vanilla milkshake, I may fall into temptation and share that with you. But today, the topic that this congregation thinks that the church never preaches on, and I think there's a lot of truth to it, is this.

The church never preaches on... Christians judging others.

So would you please in your Bibles turn to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 1-5. Now as you turn in there, a couple quick things about this passage. This comes right from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself. This comes near the end of one of his most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, meaning Jesus spoke this from a mountainside to a group of people that had gathered before him. It wasn't just the Pharisees, it wasn't just the crowd. This is a teaching that is meant for everyone. But I'll tell you this as you turn in there, this particular passage of Jesus, I think

is, it's not just loaded, it's not just a loaded statement, but I think it is often grievously misunderstood, and because of that, it's misapplied in our lives. So let's spend a moment looking at what Jesus says, and then we'll take some time today digging in to see the full breadth of our Savior's message. So would you hear God's word, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 1 to 5. Would you hear God's word?

Matthew 7:1-5

Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

This is God's word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray. Father in heaven above, Lord, we come before you asking in the name of Jesus that you would send us your Holy Spirit, that we would rightly understand and apply what our Lord and Savior is saying here. We ask this for your glory, for our joy, and for the good of our neighbor. And it's in Jesus' powerful name that we pray these things. And everyone said, Amen.

So I'll tell you this, when it comes to the Bible, Christian, non-Christian, pagan, the like, this verse, verse 1, chapter 7, verse 1, I think is everybody's favorite verse these days. It's this one, judge not that you be not judged. Oh, we love this verse. But you know what? We don't love the whole verse. We just love the first part. See, that's the whole verse, judge not that you be not judged. We don't like the whole part. We don't like that second part. We like this part. Oh, we love this verse. Judge not. Tell you what, Christian, non-Christian, pagan, atheist, we love that Jesus said, judge not. I'll tell you why. I think it's because pride is the epidemic of the American culture. We never want to be told that our actions are sinful in the eyes of God. I'll tell you, I think I can summarize the American ethic for the 21st century in one statement, and it's this, and it's this. You can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt someone else. I think that is the fundamental ethic for the American culture, and I would say basically for all of Western moral philosophy. This is what we've come to. You can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt someone else.

That's our base basic morality. Our culture says, who are you to tell someone what they can and cannot do if they're not hurting anyone? Even some of you right now are like, yeah, yeah, that's true. Some of you right now are hearing that and you're thinking, well, I did agree with that, but now when you put it like this, with pride being the epidemic of American culture, coupled with this as our base moral ethic, it's easy to see why judge not is our favorite verse. It's easy to see why judging others for the American culture has become the cardinal sin.

But here's the thing, is that statement, is that really the essence of morality? Have we finally arrived as the progressive American culture, so arrived that we finally found the prevailing moral ethic that is to be applied across all people in all space and time? Is this line, is this really the distinguishing factor between what's right and wrong, what's good and evil? That everything is permissible as long as it doesn't hurt someone else? That you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt someone else? Has it really come to just this? Our world doesn't know very many Bible verses, but we sure know this one, judge not.

But is Jesus really affirming this phrase? Is Jesus really affirming morality, this version of morality with the phrase judge not? Is there no higher standard? Don't you want a culture with higher standards than this? So let's get into this and see, what is Jesus saying when he says judge not? Now as we walk through this passage, I'm gonna point out three things for us here this morning. As we look at verses one and two, we're going to see this, that when Jesus says, judge not, more than a command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation. As we look at the second point, verses three and four, we're going to see that more than forgoing a moral standard, this is a caution against self-assurance. And we'll close it up by looking at verse 5, and I think the point here would be this. More than a protection from rebuke, more than a protection from rebuke, this is a call for self-reflection.

When Jesus says, "Judge not..."

1. More than a command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation. (vv. 1-2)

2. More than forgoing a moral standard, this is a caution against self-assurance. (vv.3-4)

3. More than a protection from rebuke, more than a protection from rebuke, this is a call for self-reflection. (v.5)

1. More than a command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation. (vv. 1-2)

So church and friends, keep your Bibles open, let's look at this first one here. When Jesus says, judge not, more than a command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation. So let's go back to our passage, let's have it in front of us here, verse one, judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

So here's a terrible thing that we do with scriptures. We don't ever put things in context. And what's even worse, many of the time we don't even finish the sentence, let alone the passage or paragraph that it comes from. There is so much here than simply judge not. Verse 1 and verse 2, judge not that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. So let's take a step back here and let's clarify something here.

Jesus is being clear, we will be judged, and it will be by God, but this begs the question, are we going to be judged by God's standard or by our own? What is Jesus saying here with this phrase, judge not that you be not judged for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. Well, simply put, if we look at the entire breadth of the New Testament, we'll see this that God is definitely going to be judge us. We're going to be judged and we will be judged by his standard, but we will also in a sense be judged by our own standard. But the point here is the same. By whatever measure you are judged, you will fall short. You will fall short of God's standard. And the reality is, is you will fall short of even your own standard. You don't even live the way that you think other people should live. So judge not that you be judged. God is going to judge us by his standard and even by our own standard, we're going to fall short. So here's what we end up doing that we can't do. Don't sit there and think to yourself, well then, if I don't judge anyone, then I won't be judged. That's not the point. That's not what Jesus is saying. He clarifies we will be judged.

He's saying don't stand there like a hypocrite, calling people to a standard that you don't even live by. I love how R.C. Sproul talks about this passage. He says that, what he's saying is that Jesus is warning us not against discerning right and wrong in the actions of others, but he's warning us not to have a judgmental spirit or judgmental personality that's just constantly walking around judging others. That we're more concerned with how others act rather than our own actions. Because here's the reality, nothing exposes our own hypocrisy like judging someone else. By standard, judging someone else by a standard that we don't even keep. So more than a command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation. Because you'll expose your own hypocrisy when you judge others. So what's more to be said here? Well, more than the command against passing judgment, this is a caution against self-condemnation.

2. More than forgoing a moral standard, this is a caution against self-assurance. (vv.3-4)

Second thing we see is that when Jesus says, judge not, more than forgoing a moral standard, this is a caution against self-assurance. Look at verses 3 and 4. Jesus says, why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye?

The word speck basically just means like a splinter or a piece of sawdust. Why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye but not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your own eye when there's a log in your own eye? Jesus is saying, don't worry about the piece of sawdust in someone else's eye when you have a two by four

sticking out your own face. He's saying, before you get all concerned about another person's imperfections, you better take a good, hard, long look in the mirror. But listen, Jesus is not saying there's no moral standard. He's not saying that God doesn't have commandments that we are to live by. Jesus is warning us against self-assurance. He's saying you will be judged.

All of humankind will be. So don't stand there thinking that you're perfect and everyone else is a sinner. This reminds us that this is part of the essence of the Christian life. We are not self-reliant people. We are people holy and fully reliant upon God and His grace. We are the people that realize that even the air we breathe is an act of grace upon God who allows us to breathe when He does not have to. I know as Americans we love to make your own way, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, get to work, you can do it yourself, you can't. God is the one who nourishes and sustains us. We are not self-reliant people. We are people fully and wholly reliant upon God. We walk by faith, not by sight, which leads to this last point, when Jesus says, judge not, more than a protection from rebuke, this is a call for self-reflection.

3. More than a protection from rebuke, more than a protection from rebuke, this is a call for self-reflection. (v.5)

Look at verse 5. Jesus finishes this statement by saying, you hypocrites, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will clearly see to take the speck out of your brother's eye. What did Jesus just say here? You, hypocrite. Tell you what, we love, we love it when Jesus says that to the religious leaders, don't we? We love it when Jesus says that to the Pharisees. Jesus said this during a sermon when everyone was there. I mean, you best believe there was moms with babies on their hips, bouncing a baby, listening to Jesus. But we love that Jesus said, judge not.

But he literally just called everyone a hypocrite because everyone has pride and hypocrisy at some point in their heart. You hypocrites, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will clearly see to take the speck out of your brother's eye. No one is immune from pride and no one is immune from hypocrisy.

Everyone needs to be called out on that. But Jesus here, he's calling us to self-reflection before we address another person's sins. But if you see here, if you notice what Jesus says here, he actually does speak about taking out the speck of another person's eye. And just so you don't miss the point here, let me just be very clear. This is a metaphor for addressing another person's sins. Jesus is saying though, make sure you look in the mirror and you see your need for God before you look at another person's life to see where they are falling short. But we need to stop here for a moment because here's what we do with the passage like this.

We think about a passage like this and let me just say to you, Jesus was not saying this so we could proudly get a tattoo that says only God can judge me. If you truly understand that, that should be utterly terrifying to you. That's not something you celebrate, that's not something you're proud of, that's not something you promote. The notion of God judging you is terrifying because you will fall short of his standard and you will fall short of even your own standard of which God will hold you to against. We are not the prideful people who go around flexing. We are the humble people who are thankful for every breath we get to take that's an act of grace from our God who does not have to give it to us.

But what ends up happening is what we see this passage and we see these words, judge not, and we think that that is like some protection from ever getting, from ever getting rebuked about our own sin. Here's what people do. They take this phrase, they take this phrase, judge not, and they use it like a shield to protect them from ever being told that they're wrong or what they're doing is sinful or not what God calls them to. But let me remind you, when Jesus says judge not, more than a protection from rebuke, this is firstly a call for self-reflection. Church, let me just tell you right now, you need, if you're in the venue or the chapel online, hear me on this. Christians, you need people in your life who love you enough to call out your sin. Not one amen on that one, no surprise there.

You need people in your life who love you enough, who are humble enough to first look at their own sin, and then come alongside you and say, brother or sister, your attitude's been off lately. Brother or sister, you're not loving your wife or your spouse like you should be. We need people like that in our life. This is not a shield from rebuke.

Church, we need fellow Christians in our life calling us out. And here's what I'll tell you. When you become a Christian or you become a member or if you make public profession of faith or if you stand in front of the church and get baptized, a couple things are happening. Number one, not only are you saying that Jesus Christ is your Savior, but you are also saying that the church is now your family. And when you say that, you are giving them permission to hold you accountable. So I want to be as clear as I can because this can, words can be very easily twisted with this. When someone says, when Jesus says, judge not, he is saying, do not put yourself in being in the place of a judge that condemns others.

Let's take a step back and understand what's happening here. He's saying, you cannot be a judge that condemns others. You're not the judge. But we have to remember what Jesus in the New Testament teaches elsewhere. Jesus also says things like this, Matthew 18, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his faults between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you've gained your brother. Look what Jesus also says in Luke chapter 17. It says, if your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. Is there any way to fulfill these commands of Jesus without at some level exercising a level of judgment? No, there's not.

But we definitely have to look at our own sin first and then take an assessment of a person's life against the Word of God and in love, that's how we approach them, with gentleness and love. In fact, let's go on. I know that some of you, I know that some of you have people in your life, I know I do, I know that some of you have people in your life who say that they're Christians, but they're clearly not living like it. So what do you do?

Upon talking with many people in that situation who have someone in their life that's not living like a Christian, a lot of times people are hesitant to address their sin, to address the sin in someone else, because they'll say things like, well, I'm not perfect either, or Jesus is not to judge, and we're kind of caught in this weird moment where we know something's off, but we're not sure how to address it.

Now listen, when Jesus says judge not, Jesus is warning against hypocritical judgments. We just read two verses where Jesus specifically tells us to approach others about their sin and the rest of the New Testament keeps up this theme about Christians calling out sin in each other.

I'm going to read to you some other passages just so you know this isn't isolated and I'm not just making this up. Galatians chapter 6, Paul says this, Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression, that means a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. James the brother of Jesus writes in chapter 5 he says my brothers if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death. Or the unknown writer of Hebrews says this, take care brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort, exhort just simply means to strongly encourage. Exhort one another every day. Every day.

Do you have brothers and sisters in Christ who are exhorting you every day?

Look at what the Old Testament says in Proverbs chapter 31, open your mouth, judge righteously. Not hypocritically, not superficially, but judge righteously, not self-righteously. And again Jesus Christ himself says in John chapter 7, he says, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. Hold on a second. Jesus just said to judge, but to judge with right judgments. Is this a contradiction with what Jesus says in Matthew 7? No, there's not. Because here's the overarching thing that you have to understand about all of this teaching. It all comes down to your heart posture.

Why are you doing what you are doing? It's about your heart posture simply put we are not to be judgmental people But we are to judge with right judgment see a judgmental person judges to condemn But we are to bring a right humble gentle judgment because we care for people We judge not in order to condemn but in order to restore Meaning that we even if we have to take a firm stance and I've been in some settings with some brothers where we have to call out another brother and we have to take a firm, firm stance, but you still do it with a spirit of gentleness. That just like our gentle Savior, in His strength, He's going to pull us back to the kingdom.

So what we see here in both the teachings of Jesus and throughout the New Testament is this. Yes, focus on yourself first, but we need to care for one another. We need to hold each other accountable to the path that God has so that we don't wander or get trapped in sin. And this takes discernment. You know what discernment is? Discernment is right judgment. Righteous judgment, not self-reflected judgments. This is, of all the messages that we're gonna be preaching on, I'll tell you right now, this one scared me the most, because of how easy it is to twist a teaching like this. I mean, we're gonna be talking about the place of Israel, we're talking about heaven and hell. Oh no, I'm giving away the topics, I shouldn't do that. This was the one I wanted to lead off with, because I wanted to get through this one. But this is such an easy one to twist. Jesus is saying to us, it takes proper, right, Holy Spirit, God's Word guided discernments, right judgments, but I want to be clear. The gospel tells us through the words of Jesus and through the teaching of the New Testament that we are to hold each other accountable, that we call out the sin in each other's life, not from a place of authority as a judge, but the place of love as a sibling in Christ. Amen.

I'll say it for myself. Church, this is a topic that we get so consistently wrong, so let me break it down even further. I want to be as clear as possible here today. So let me give you a few things. First thing is this, is judge not is not saying that we shouldn't hold each other accountable. We just looked at a plethora of verses and there's many more that say this. Second thing, Judge Knott is not saying that we can't call out evil. The gospel calls us to. We can't stay silent in the face of evil. We just make sure that we're not committing the same evil that we're calling out in the world. Jesus is saying don't condemn the world for living sinfully if you are not going to pursue righteousness. And also, Judge Knott is not saying that we're not allowed to have an opinion on society. I know a major conversation in our world right now is what happened to men? Where have all the men gone?

What happened to masculinity? Is there any difference between men and women? Does that have any true value to it anymore? So here's what I say to you. Don't worry about the absence of masculinity in our world if you as a man are not going to lead, love, protect, provide, and preside over your house with the strength and gentleness of God's immense love. We do that first.

It's for reasons like this, that the Bible gives these calls like we find in 1 Thessalonians 4, when Paul says, Aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands as we instructed, that you may walk properly before outsiders.

Bible's saying, focus on yourself, do what God's called you to do, earn some respect of people around you, and then after you take some major self-reflection and you humble yourself, then in love, approach others. So remember, a few other things. Judge not does mean that we are not the authority over another person's life. Yes, in the spirit of gentleness, with a heart of restoration, we are to call out the sin in one another. But remember, you're not their ultimate authority. God is, you're not their savior, Jesus is. Also, judge not does mean that we're not the arbiter of another person's conscience. You have to release yourself of this.

You are not the convictor of their conscience, the Holy Spirit is. Yes, show them the way. Yes, share the truth. Yes, point to what the Bible says. But remember, at some point, you have to let the Spirit do what only the Spirit can do. And also remember, judge not does mean that we are not the attorney for another person's decisions. You will not give an account for what another person does, but you will give an account for what you do. Second Corinthians chapter five says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one of you may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Now this goes back to what Jesus says, with the measure you use, it will be measured against you. Now let me just clarify this real quick because I know this isn't language we use a whole lot. See, nowadays we've got computer analyzed scale

that weigh things out. But back in Jesus' day, it wasn't so precise. You kind of had to eyeball things. And so if you're gonna sell someone like a bushel of grain or a bushel of apples or something, it was very easy to prop up that bushel to make it look like it was fuller than what it was. And that was a certain way you measured things.

And if you were gonna constantly try and cheat people out of a full bushel, well, Jesus is saying,

well, if that's the approach you're gonna take, then that's the approach God's gonna take with you If you're constantly trying to cheat people and swindle them and and put things in your favor Well, God's gonna do the opposite. God's gonna use that same method with you So that's what Jesus is saying with the measure you use it will be measured against you meaning We should always approach people with charity and grace and love and give them the benefit of the doubt Because if that's what you want God to give to you, then you better be giving that to others.

So rather than walking around with the attitude of Jesus says you can't judge me, you should be thanking God that he's put people in your life who will hold you to account, who they themselves first take an assessment of their own sins, have humbled themselves before God and then approach you to call you back to the ways of truth and righteousness. You should be thankful for this. But here's the question, do you? Do you?

Do you have people in your life who love Jesus and love you enough to call you out?

When's the last time you had a brother or sister in Christ call you out. Because I'm willing to bet you're not that perfect. So here's the thing, if you're thinking to yourself right now, I can't remember when the last time that happened. Maybe you need to start having less Facebook friends and more real friends.

Maybe you need to start having some more genuine relationships where you're a little bit more vulnerable. Instead of walking around with this shield of judge not, judge not, judge not, judge not, never allowing people to speak into you. We need to be a people who show the rest of the world what true loving community is like. So let me just close with this. I know that the spirit of this whole suggestion for this topic was probably more something like why are Christians so judgmental? And so let me just say this.

Some Christians are very judgmental. Some Christians are very critical. Some Christians, every time you talk to them, they only have a negative word to say. Some Christians are doing more harm than good. They come across as unloving, judgmental, opinionated, condescending, and unkind. There are some Christians like that, and I just want you to know we rebuke that. We rebuke that. That does not represent our King or the kingdom that he's ushering in. When we are out there and we're out there sharing the gospel, the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place for our sins and on the third day and the greatest victory our King rose from the dead. When we share that news, it's not to condemn people, it's in order that they may be saved. And if the world's response is, you can't judge me, then they just exposed something about their prideful heart because here's the odd cycle of judgment. You can't say someone's judging you without actually judging them. See how that works? This is why we must always approach ourselves first. That we have a humble spirit. So let me just take a moment and let me go to bat for the church here.

Because I happen to think the church is a pretty awesome thing on the planet. Many times, it's not that Christians are judgmental. It's simply that the world is immensely prideful. And the world never wants to hear that what they're doing is wrong or sinful or actually is hurtful. So if you are confronted with your own sin and your response is, well, you can't judge me, then I caution you about your judgment back to that person.

Because a true Christian will confront you because they love you, not because they want to condemn you, but because they want to see you restored. So what's the application? Let me close it up like this. What's an application for a passage like this? What do we do with this? Well, number one, I think it's pretty clear.

Number one, don't be a hypocrite. Don't call other people to a standard that you yourselves aren't living. Don't call out another person's sin until you've reckoned with your own.

Second thing is when you do make right judgments, and you don't make right judgments until you've made a right judgment about yourself first.

But when you do make right judgment, it should be done in the spirit of restoration or salvation, not a spirit of condemnation. Because with the measure you use, it will be measured against you. The spirit of which you judge others may be reflective of the way that God judges you. Because it's true, we will all stand before the judgment seat. Christians, non-Christians alike will stand before the judgment seat. And you may be thinking, wait, Christians will be judged? Yeah, because your actions still matter. Like, what you do still matters. If you think that accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is now a license to go sin and do whatever you want, say whatever you want, I think you just exposed you're actually not a Christian. We will stand before the judgment seat. The difference is that those who are covered in the redemptive blood of Jesus, we approach it as people whose sins have already been paid for.

Because as Christians, we want to stand before God and say that we wanted to live for you. Father, we tried to live for you. And you will give an account for every careless word you speak. That's not my words, that's the words of Jesus. But the beautiful thing is that we face judgment not as people who are going to have to pay for our own sins, but as someone whose sins have already been paid for and been paid in full. Paid in full by Jesus who stood in our place of judgment, receiving our condemnation when he suffered and died in our place for our sins. And with that, Jesus took the judgment for our sins that we committed so that we would not face condemnation he already has, but rather so that we would have restoration, reconciliation, and salvation in Jesus' name. And that's what we're going to celebrate as we take communion together. So, amen.

Would you do me a favor, would you bow your heads? And before we go to prayer, this is a moment for you to take a self-assessment. Scripture calls us to take a self-reflection before we approach the communion table, so we're going to give you a moment right now, in the quiet of your own heart, to do that between you and the Lord. If you have sins you need to confess before the Father, do that now.