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| Don’t Judge… Help series |

* Don’t Judge.

* Don’t Judge… Help!

* Judgement That’s Loving

* What Does Judging/Helping Look Like?

One of Jesus’ most famously quoted statements comes from Matthew 7:1

Judge not, that you be not judged.Matthew 7:1

Jesus is telling us to not judge, and we cannot ignore His instruction. So, what does that mean? If we see something sinful, should we refuse to decide, to pass judgment on whether it is sin? Does this mean that each person decides what’s right and wrong for them, that morality is subjective? Is every matter of good and evil a matter for conscience – “that’s between them and God”? Should we just “live and let live”? In this series, let’s walk through the passage where we find this verse. Rather than stop at what He says NOT to do, let’s explore what Jesus is telling us TO do.

The Log in Our Own Eye

No one wants to be judged, yet we all so innately judge others. That is human nature. Jesus’ statement is so precisely opposite this nature. He tells us not to judge, the very thing we do so easily. Why not? Because we will be judged, the very thing none of us wants. In fact, throughout this Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus does this over and over: countermands what comes natural to us (e.g., loving our friends and hating our enemies 5:43-48, expecting a “thank you” when we give 6:1-4). In this portion on judgment Jesus goes on to say:

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? 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? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye…Matthew 7:2-5a

Jesus exposes the hypocrisy in our nature. Like in Romans 2:1, we often practice the very same things we are judging others for doing.