Judge Not – Matthew 7:1-5

Dale Robbins at victorious.org followed study by Dr. David Harold Fink, a psychiatrist for the veterans administration, who noted from over 10,000 case studies of people who suffered from nervous tension, that there was a common trait with all his patients. They were habitual fault-finders, constant critics of people and things around them. Those who were free from tension, were the least critical. His conclusions were that the habit of fault-finding is a prelude or mark of the nervous, or the mentally unbalanced. Those who wish to retain good emotional and mental health, should learn to free themselves from a negative and critical attitude.

Jesus addresses this danger in his sermon on the mount.

“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. 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, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 ESV)

If anxiety is the lack of kingdom perspective turned inwards, criticism is the lack of kingdom perspective turned on others.  Because we have seen a standard of righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees we can become critical of others like the Pharisees.  We think we are better than everyone else and that our job is to correct everyone so they can be as righteous as we are.

More to the point according to Jesus is that it is our job to correct ourselves and others in love.  If I love my brother or sister and he or she is caught in damaging sin I must help them.  But I must be open to the likelihood that I have issues in my life also.  I have to let the light of God’s glory shine on my heart as well even if it is shone by others.  I must be prepared to face the reality that my sin is greater than my brother’s or sister’s sin, a log versus a speck.  Hypocrisy must have no place in kingdom righteousness.

To judge sometimes means to be judgmental, critical and blaming, like many of the Pharisees seemed to be. But to judge sometimes means to evaluate without the judgmental connotation. Jesus is saying that the second kind of judgment can be beneficial to helping our brothers and sisters get specks out of their eyes. It is the judgmental judging that shows the lack of humility and self-awareness that is not suited to the kingdom.

It is a shame that evangelical Christians are so known for being judgmental. We seem to have failed to beware the leaven of the Pharisees that Jesus warned his disciples about (Matthew 16:6). We represent the gospel as if it is a matter of being better than other people, when in fact it is an admission that we are horrible and in desperate need of forgiveness and divine reconciliation. The damage we do by being so condemning of unbelievers and their obvious sin, even condemning of believers we believe have strayed, is immeasurable. Jesus has given us fair warning. Such judging will lead to our being judged.