Jesus’ command not to judge one another is perhaps the most popular verse of Scripture in the Bible. But what did He mean? Did He mean that we are never to make any judgments in any situation? Listen in to find out.
[powerpoint]
The Sin Of Judging Others
Luke 6:37-45
What do you think is the most popular Bible verse? I’m sure you are thinking of John 3:16, but I believe there is another verse which is even more popular than that. Yes, Christians love John 3:16, but there is a verse that non-Christians love to quote. You guessed it! “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” This verse is so often misinterpreted and misapplied because we wrench it out of its context and use it in ways that Jesus never intended for us to.
It will help us to remember the context in which these words are found. Jesus has just been telling His disciples in Luke 6:27-36, that they are to love their enemies. As Jesus’ followers, we will face many people in this life who injure us, and wound us, and actively seek to do evil to us. How are we to respond to them? Jesus tells us we are to actively do them good. One of the temptations we will face when our enemy does evil to us is to retaliate. We will want to do to evil to them in return. We will want to judge them and condemn them in our hearts. We will be tempted to criticize and find fault and judge their motives in what they have said and done. That’s why Jesus takes the time to teach His disciples the importance of not judging others.
Now, what does the Lord mean when he tells us we are not to judge others? Well, if you examine the structure of verse 37 and 38, if will help.
1. There are 2 negative commands: “Do not judge; do not condemn.” The second command explains and throws light on the first one. To not judge others, is to not condemn them. What is the opposite of condemning others? It’s to accept them.
2. There are 2 positive commands: “Forgive, and give.” To not judge others is to extend forgiveness to them. What is our instinctive reaction to those who have wounded us? It’s to condemn them in our hearts, and refuse to forgive them, right? Jesus says we must act contrary to our instincts. Instead, we must accept and forgive those who wrong us. Then Jesus says we must give. Now, I’ve heard preachers my entire Christian life for the last 35 years quote this verse and tell me it is referring exclusively to the fact that the more I give money to the church, the more money I will get back. However, examine the context carefully. The immediate context would suggest that we are to give non-judgment, non-condemnation, forgiveness, acceptance and mercy, although giving money or possessions might also be included.
So, let’s sum up what we have learned. To not judge others, is to not condemn them in our hearts and refuse to forgive them. Instead, it is to extend acceptance and forgiveness, even though they have wronged us and wounded us.
Now, as we work our way through this passage, we are going to ask 5 questions about judging others:
1. In What Areas Must We Not Judge Others?
2. In What Areas Must We Judge Others?
3. What are the Positive Effects of Not Judging Others?
4. What are the Negative Effects of Judging Others?
5. What Must We Do Before We Judge Others?
1. In What Areas Must We Not Judge Others?
Assigning Evil Motives To Others
Listen to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
Did you notice the arena in which we must not judge? It is in respect to the motives of others. When the Lord comes, He will bring to light the hidden things that we can’t see now. He will disclose the motives of men’s hearts, that we can’t know now. How arrogant it is for us to assume we know why someone did what they did! We act like we can read a person’s heart. We think, “I know why they said that. I know why they didn’t say “Hi” or hug me. They are just stuck up!” Folks, when we do that, we are playing God. We have no right to make those kinds of judgments.
Let’s picture a situation. Barbara and Nicole have been close, long-time friends for more than 20 years. Lately they have grown a little apart through the busyness of life. However, Barbara did something recently that deeply wounded Nicole. Nicole was torn up by what had happened. She talked to her husband for hours about the situation, and then couldn’t sleep that night as she turned the situation over and over in her mind. She was ascribing all kinds of evil motives to her friend, until the Lord corrected her. She realized that she had no idea why Barbara had done what she did. So, she decided that she would talk to Nicole and ask her why she had done it, and until then, she would give her the benefit of the doubt as to why she had done it. That’s what it means to not judge others. Instead of assigning evil motives to people, wait until the Lord comes. He will judge the secret things and disclose the hidden motives of the heart.
Showing Contempt to Others
In Romans 14, Paul is teaching the importance of not judging one another in the area of Christian liberty. He mentions eating meat, drinking wine, and observing one day over another. These are the gray areas of the Christian life. Today we could add to this list things like listening to music, going to movies, women wearing pants or makeup, or dancing. Now, let’s see what Paul’s counsel is on this subject. Romans 14:3-4 says, “The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another?” Then notice verse 10, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Do you see that to judge your brother is equivalent as showing him contempt? When we judge someone, we are looking down our noses at them, as being somehow beneath us. Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector to “some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9).
Are you guilty of this? Do you find yourself viewing others with contempt because of their social standing, or financial situation, or sin problem? Perhaps if had lived the life they had lived, we would be much more understanding of that person’s problems and weaknesses. Perhaps if we had lived their life, we would be in the same situation that they are in.
2. In What Areas Must We Judge Others?
You’re probably thinking, “Brian, what are you talking about? Jesus just said, ‘Do not judge.’ How can you say that there are situations in which we must judge others?
Well, look for a moment over in Matthew 7. There in Matthew 7:1, Jesus says the same thing as He says in Luke 6:37, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.” However, in verse 6 He says, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” How can we obey this command if we don’t make a judgment about who is a dog and who is a swine?
Later in verse 15 Jesus says, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Clearly, Jesus expects us to make judgments about who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing by examining their fruits.
So, when must we judge others?
In Cases of False Doctrine
When Paul preached in the province of Galatia, he thundered forth the gospel of grace, and many people were converted. However, after he left, Jewish teachers came in and told these new converts that it was good that they had believed in Jesus, but He wasn’t enough. In addition to believing in Jesus, they needed to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. These new Galatian believers we actually starting to believe this deceptive lie! That’s when the apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians. Listen to how he begins the letter in 1:6, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” Wouldn’t you say in this situation that Paul was judging the teaching of the Judaizers? Of course he was! Paul was saying that their teaching was false, and that they are to be accursed.
In 1 John 4:1 we read, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Here we see the responsibility of every Christian. We are not to just accept anything that anybody says. We are to test the spirits, to see if they are of God.
Notice 2 John 9-11, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” Does that sound like we are supposed to judge what people say when they are teaching the Bible? It sure does!
When someone says, “You can have your best life now! God never wants you to be sick. He always wants you well and rich”, you have the responsibility to make a judgment. Is what they said true or false! Often in our ultra-tolerant Christian culture, if you take a stand on truth, and say that teaching is heretical, someone will be sure to say, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” However, in that situation, they are completely misapplying Jesus’ words. When someone tells us that the Trinity is not Biblical, or that you must be baptized in order to be saved, or that Jesus is not God, you had better judge what they are teaching!
In Cases Of Unrepentant Sin
Paul writes to the Corinthians of a situation in which a man in the Corinthian church was having sex with his step-mother, and the church was doing nothing about it. In fact they were arrogant about how accepting and tolerating they were! Notice what Paul says in 1 Cor. 5:3, “For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present.” Then again in verse 12 he says, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?” What do we learn here? We learn that it is not wrong to judge a professing Christian who does not repent of sin. It is not wrong to reprove him privately, then again with one or two witnesses, and then eventually to cast him out of the church. That is what Jesus and His apostles command us to do! When a church does that, they are not disobeying Jesus’ command “judge not.”
Today, if you stand up and call sin sin, someone is bound to say, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” If a preacher takes his stand and says that the Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality as sin, and that anyone who practices it will not inherit the kingdom of God, all hell will break loose! People will be denouncing him as intolerant and judgmental. However, he is not disobeying Jesus. He is not violating Luke 6:37. Instead, he is being a faithful teacher of God’s Word and calling people to repent of those things that will damn them!
Jesus said in John 7:24 that we are to judge with righteous judgment. So, we must make judgments when it comes to cases of false doctrine or unrepentant sin.
3. What are the Positive Results of Not Judging Others?
Let’s go back to verse 37 and 38. Notice that in the case of every command Jesus gives, there is a corresponding blessing:
Do not judge… and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn… and you will not be condemned
Pardon… and you will be pardoned
Give… and it will be given to you.
In every situation, we receive back what we give. If we give non-judgment, we receive non-judgment. If we give non-condemnation, we receive non-condemnation. If we give pardon, we receive pardon. If we give, we receive. It is a generally true principle, that people will usually treat you the way you treat them. That’s why Jesus says in verse 31, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” Of course we don’t want others to judge, condemn, and hold grudges against us. Instead we want them to love and accept us. So, Jesus tells us that if we do that for others, that is what we will receive back from them.
In fact, Jesus goes further and explains the manner in which we will receive in verse 38. In this explanation, he is alluding to how a grain seller would measure out the grain to a customer. He would press the grain down to make room for more, he would shake it together to make more room, then he would continue to pour until there is a mound above the container until it would start to run over. Then he would pour this grain into a customer’s robe that could be fold up to become a big pocket. Jesus’ point is that God is generous to us when we give. He is not stingy or miserly, but overflows our lives with good gifts. Thus, we should strive to be like our God in our giving to others, even when they have hurt us.
Jesus summarizes his teaching on giving by saying, “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” If you give acceptance, pardon, and love with a 5 gallon bucket, you’ll get lots of love and acceptance in return. But if you use a teaspoon for a measure, you’ll get back a teaspoon of acceptance and pardon. Now, Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 9:6 that if we sow sparingly we’ll reap sparingly, and if we sow bountifully we will reap bountifully. He was talking about giving money to the work of the Lord. So this principle applies in our financial giving, but it also applies in giving pardon and acceptance as well.
4. What are the Negative Results of Judging Others?
We Will Have A Harmful Influence On Others
Notice the parables Jesus gives in verse 39 and 40. In verse 39 Jesus says, “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?” The meaning is obvious. If we are blind to our own sin and shortcomings, but judgmental of others, we can’t lead anyone anywhere. The people we are trying to lead and influence for Christ will only be hurt by our example. Both of us are going to fall into the pit.
In verse 40 Jesus tells us, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Again, Jesus is emphasizing that we will have an influence on others. But the scary thing is, our disciple or pupil is going to become like us! So, if we are blind to our sins, but judging others for theirs, guess what? Our disciples are going to learn to do the same thing. How does it make you feel to think that the friends in your life that you are seeking to minister to will become like you? Would you be happy or distressed to know that others are going to become like you?
We Will Not Be Able To Help Others
Jesus goes on in verse 41 and 42 to describe a guy who is trying to help someone get a tiny speck of dirt out of their eye, but they have a log in their own eye! Imagine an eye surgeon trying to perform a delicate eye operation with both of his eyes swollen shut. That’s the picture. If we are blinded to our own sin and judgmental toward others’ sin, not only will our influence be harmful, but on the other side, we will not be able to help them either. Our friends are going to have to live with the speck in their eyes, because we can’t see clearly to help them get it out.
5. What Must We Do Before We Judge Others?
Judge Our Own Heart Sins
Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell us not to take out the speck in each others’ eyes. He simply says don’t do it until you have removed the log from your own eye. We are our brother’s keeper. We are to reprove and exhort one another. But if we are blinded to our own sin, and then try to correct our brother in the same area, we are hypocrites!
Notice the contrast. Our brother has a speck while we have a log. Isn’t that so often the case? We treat our sins as if they were specks, while we treat our brother’s sins as if they were logs! You know how it goes. We say, “I’m quiet; you’re unassertive. I’m frugal, you’re a tightwad. I’m concerned; you’re nosy. I drive with the flow of traffic; you’re reckless.” When we look at ourselves we are so prone to have a favorable opinion, but if we look at others who do the same things, we form a negative judgment.
I have realized many times when I have judged someone else for doing something that I thought was wrong, that I have done the very same thing. It’s terrible! Now, when I realize I am judging someone, I ask myself if I have ever done that thing. Usually the answer is Yes, and it shuts me up real fast! Brothers and sisters, if you see another brother or sister with a sin issue, take a good hard look at your own life. If you have to admit that you sometimes do the same thing, repent! Remove the log. Take it to the Lord and ask Him to do surgery on you. Then, in a spirit of humility and love, you can go to your brother and talk to him.
Judge Our Own Spiritual State
Jesus concludes in verses 43-45 by saying, “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
By using the analogy of a good tree and a bad tree, Jesus is simply urging His disciples to make sure they are in the faith. Not only must we judge our own heart sins, but periodically we need to go to the root of the matter, and test ourselves to see what kind of a tree we are. Paul says in 2 Cor. 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?”
If the pattern of your life is to produce bad fruit, chances are real good that you are a bad tree. If the pattern of your life is to produce good fruit, chances are real good that you are a good tree. Now what does Jesus mean by fruit, and what does he mean by a good tree?
Notice verse 45, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” The difference between a good and bad tree involves the heart. No one has a good heart by nature. We are all born with bad hearts. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer.17:9). So, how then can a person with a bad heart receive a good heart? Only the miracle of the New Birth will accomplish this. God promises in Ezek.36:26 “Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” By the grace of God our hearts are changed from evil to good. And now that the tree has been made good, the fruit issuing forth from it will also be good. There will be good desires, affections, loves, pursuits, and works that will flow from the New Birth.
So, what does Jesus mean by “fruit”? At the very end of verse 45 we have a clue. “For his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” The fruit Jesus is speaking about has to do with what our mouth speaks. If your mouth habitually speaks words of criticism, judgment, and fault-finding, chances are that you still have an evil heart, and are a bad tree. No wonder you speak that way – your mouth will only speak from that which fills your heart. If God’s grace hasn’t filled your heart, your evil heart will spew out what is inside it – evil.
Life Application
So friends, what has the Lord taught us this morning? We must not judge one another by assigning evil motives to one another or by showing contempt to one another. We must judge one another in the area of false doctrine and unrepentant sin. If we do not judge others, but instead show acceptance and forgiveness, we can be sure that we will receive back acceptance and forgiveness from others. However, if we do judge others we won’t be able to help other believers, but will instead be a harmful influence in their lives. Before we ever try to correct someone we must judge ourselves in that area, and perhaps even judge ourselves as to whether we are truly in the faith.
What about you this morning? Do you struggle with the sin of judging, condemning, refusing to forgive, and showing contempt to others? Resolve this morning that when you begin to judge someone else you will ask the Lord to show you if you have committed that same sin. I would venture to guess that 9 times out of 10 you will realize that you have done the same thing! Oh, how humbling that is! Resolve that you will be easier on your brothers and sisters, and harder on yourself. Ask God to show you the log in your eye that you are blinded to. And by God’s grace, let’s make this church a place where acceptance and forgiveness reign, while at the same time speaking truth into each other’s lives. Let’s pray.
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