“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” Matthew 7:1–2
In Mathew 7 Jesus is speaking out against hypocrisy, he coins the term, it is exposed as a very serious sin. Because of their hypocrisy these religious leaders were leading his people astray. Today it is the same, it is a top reason why people do not attend a church. Of course we blame the sinner and hear cute little sayings like, come join us you will fit right in... which makes light of the situation. On a more serious note, Jesus gives seven woes to the Pharisees, he even warns them of hell fire and damnation, for their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Hypocrisy is basically pretending to be something you are not, it is not to be confused with our imperfection.
Our righteousness is found in Christ alone, not in self. Hypocrisy and self righteousness is usually seen by others when we in our own righteousness judge others. Jesus says not to judge others if you have a plank in your own eye. Think of a plank in your eye. I see the plank in my eye, someone else sees it as a speck, it is magnified as a plank because it is in my eye. Not necessarily a "bigger" sin than the speck in someone else only that it is a sin I see and it should be magnified and taken care of before I have a right to judge someone else with a speck.
Jesus also says to not give a dog something sacred or a pig pearls. A dog has no understanding of a sacred thing nor a pig of pearls. However give a dog a bone and a pig scraps, these will be valued and understood. When correcting others it should be Spirit lead, as the enemy takes this opportunity to condemn. Correction is personal, so it should be done in love, with gentleness, remembering their maturity in Christ, if not it will be viewed as judgment, which brings condemnation. We must be careful in correction, if they do not trust what you give, you will be attacked.
Some believe this passage implies that we can judge if we don't have a speck in our eye. Is it ever possible to not have a speck in your eye? If the speck is sin then John would say you deceive yourself if you think you are without sin, if sin is anything done not in faith then James would say no, if it is anything done without love then Paul would say no, and if sin is missing the mark of God's righteousness then no. Paul explains to the Romans that our spirit is a new creation and it delights in the laws of God, but a principle or law exists that wars against our new spirit; it is that sin still exists in our members, our flesh. We can still walk by the flesh and not by the Spirit.
God chose to adopt me into his family, I did not have to clean up to come to God, I came just as I am and he accepted me, brokenness, sin and all. he died for such. This is the whole concept of Grace, God's favor on me is totally undeserving on my part. If I believe my righteousness counts in salvation then I walk on the very blood that brought such grace to me. God relates his grace to us like a father and son relationship, of trust and unconditional love. The son's love for the father is perfected by the fathers love for the son, in such a relationship of love the son seeks to please the father, to be like him.
God's grace is lavished on us, his mercy triumphs judgement. This is the new covenant of his blood. The spiritual person is to be judged by no one. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Judging a righteous person is judging Christ, as our righteousness is in him.
The person who bears good fruit of the spirit, doing what Christ wills, not pretending, he is not a hypocrite though he fails. If this is the spiritual person then Paul says he is not to be judged. Yes, God disciplines those He loves and prunes the branches that bear no fruit. If someone is bearing fruit, should we judge them for the branches being pruned? His Grace is sufficient. Ultimately this passage says, “do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Does Anybody Hear Her
In Mathew 7 Jesus is speaking out against hypocrisy, he coins the term, it is exposed as a very serious sin. Because of their hypocrisy these religious leaders were leading his people astray. Today it is the same, it is a top reason why people do not attend a church. Of course we blame the sinner and hear cute little sayings like, come join us you will fit right in... which makes light of the situation. On a more serious note, Jesus gives seven woes to the Pharisees, he even warns them of hell fire and damnation, for their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Hypocrisy is basically pretending to be something you are not, it is not to be confused with our imperfection. Our righteousness is found in Christ alone, not in self. Hypocrisy and self righteousness is usually seen by others when we in our own righteousness judge others. Jesus says not to judge others if you have a plank in your own eye. Think of a plank in your eye. I see the plank in my eye, someone else sees it as a speck, it is magnified as a plank because it is in my eye. Not necessarily a "bigger" sin than the speck in someone else only that it is a sin I see and it should be magnified and taken care of before I have a right to judge someone else with a speck.
Jesus also says to not give a dog something sacred or a pig pearls. A dog has no understanding of a sacred thing nor a pig of pearls. However give a dog a bone and a pig scraps, these will be valued and understood. When correcting others it should be Spirit lead, as the enemy takes this opportunity to condemn. Correction is personal, so it should be done in love, with gentleness, remembering their maturity in Christ, if not it will be viewed as judgment, which brings condemnation. We must be careful in correction, if they do not trust what you give, you will be attacked.
Some believe this passage implies that we can judge if we don't have a speck in our eye. Is it ever possible to not have a speck in your eye? If the speck is sin then John would say you deceive yourself if you think you are without sin, if sin is anything done not in faith then James would say no, if it is anything done without love then Paul would say no, and if sin is missing the mark of God's righteousness then no. Paul explains to the Romans that our spirit is a new creation and it delights in the laws of God, but a principle or law exists that wars against our new spirit; it is that sin still exists in our members, our flesh. We can still walk by the flesh and not by the Spirit.
God chose to adopt me into his family, I did not have to clean up to come to God, I came just as I am and he accepted me, brokenness, sin and all. he died for such. This is the whole concept of Grace, God's favor on me is totally undeserving on my part. If I believe my righteousness counts in salvation then I walk on the very blood that brought such grace to me. God relates his grace to us like a father and son relationship, of trust and unconditional love. The son's love for the father is perfected by the fathers love for the son, in such a relationship of love the son seeks to please the father, to be like him.
God's grace is lavished on us, his mercy triumphs judgement. This is the new covenant of his blood. The spiritual person is to be judged by no one. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Judging a righteous person is judging Christ, as our righteousness is in him.
The person who bears good fruit of the spirit, doing what Christ wills, not pretending, he is not a hypocrite though he fails. If this is the spiritual person then Paul says he is not to be judged. Yes, God disciplines those He loves and prunes the branches that bear no fruit. If someone is bearing fruit, should we judge them for the branches being pruned? His Grace is sufficient. Ultimately this passage says, “do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Does Anybody Hear Her