(Friday Night Large Group, November 1, 2002)

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. Matthew 7:1-6, NIV

• Were going to examine this command, "Do not judge." We have been judged by others and we judge others. You can tell youre being judged by the way people look at you. They look at you up and down, down and up, make a facial expression, and you just know an opinion has already formed in their mind. Every time I come up to preach, youre doing it to me, I can feel it. Sometimes people judge you behind your back. As they talk, you hear your name slip out about what youre wearing, etc., and you know theyre judging you. Sometimes people judge you face to face, sometimes wrongly, sometimes rightly. Sometimes people judge you with a critical spirit. But sometimes people judge you with a loving spirit and its really healthy for you. Richard DeHaan writes about how pastors are often judged: "If the pastor is young, they say he lacks experience. If his hair is gray, hes too old for the young people. If he has five or six children hes irresponsible. [That caught my eye.] If he has no children, hes setting a bad example. If he uses a lot of illustrations, he neglects the Bible; if he doesnt use enough, hes not relevant. If he condemns wrong deeds, hes cranky; if he does not, hes compromising. If he drives an old car, he shames the congregation; if he drives a new one, hes setting his affection on earthly things." There was a preacher doing carpentry work, and a young man was watching him. When the preacher asked him, "Are you trying to learn something new about carpentry?" he replied, "Oh, no. I was just waiting to see what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer." One time I played basketball and had a bad game. After the game, everyone was shaking hands but I just didnt feel like saying, "Good game." I forced myself to do it. As I was shaking one players hand, he said, "Good game, Pastor Min." I thought that no one knew me. I didnt know him but he knew who I was! At that point, I started to think about the whole game. Did I curse? Did I throw the ball at someones face? Sometimes we judge; sometimes we are judged. There was a young man and every time he brought a prospective wife home to his mother, she criticized her. He asked his friend, "What should I do?" His friend suggested, "Choose someone just like your mom." He did. He brought someone home who was just like his mom. She looked like her, talked like her, smiled like her, even cooked like her. Then he went back to his friend who asked him, "How did it go?" He said, "It went great. My mother loved her, but my father couldnt stand her." You cant make everyone happy.
• We criticize; we are criticized. Everybody is both smiling and feeling guilty because we are guilty of this sin. Do not judge. What does this mean? Well talk about four things tonight.

1. God Is the Judge (1-2)
1. This is a part of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, where He usually starts out each new point with a command. "Do not store up treasure on earth." "Do not look somber." "Do not worry." After that, he explains the command further. Its the same here. "Do not judge." Then He gives a bunch of reasons in verses 1-6. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." So one question we have to ask is: Who will judge us?
1. Someone else
1. Its true that when you judge others, theyll use the measure you use to judge you. People may judge you in the way you judge them. When you are critical of others, others see that and they may say, "Hey, you do the same thing!" I dont believe that this passage is talking about that. That would mean that Jesus is saying that the motivation not to judge is the fear of man, and thats not the right motivation. Even though its true that others judge us when we judge others, thats not what this passage is talking about.
2. God concerning salvation
1. Does this passage mean that if you judge others, God will judge you in terms of salvation? It is true, but only partially. Scripture teaches that those who are really saved will not judge. As Christians we do judge at times, but we repent about it and try our best to fix it.
2. Its very similar to the concept Jesus states in 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Does that meant that if you are merciful, youll be saved? No. So, what does it mean? It means that if youre really saved, youll be merciful. Its not a condition for salvation but a proof of it. Again, the same concept is in 5:14 when Jesus talks about forgiveness. "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Does that mean that if you forgive others, God will forgive you? No. It means that if you are really forgiven, the proof is that youll forgive others.
3. The point is the same here. If youve been saved from judgment, you wont judge others.
3. Gods chastisement
1. This could mean that God judges us so you would correct yourself. If a child sins, his father disciplines him for his own good. Sometimes God judges us so that well be better sons. Hebrews 12:7 says that the Lord disciplines those He loves. This is seen many times in the Bible. For example, Jacob lied to Isaac to get the birthright. Later on, his uncle Laban lies to him by giving him Leah rather than Rachel. So in the same way that he sinned, he was sinned against by someone else, in a sense judged by God. Jacob received Gods chastisement so he could repent. However, I dont think this is the primary meaning of this verse.
4. The Final Judgment
1. This is the primary meaning because everything in chapters 5-7 concerns the Final Judgment. Matthew 6:19, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." In some sense, we receive treasure now, but we are supposed to primarily look forward to the treasure we will receive in heaven. In some sense, we receive judgment now, but we are not to judge because we know that otherwise we will receive judgment from God.
2. All four of the possibilities make sense. But I think this passage is saying, "God is Judge. Dont judge because youll be judged." God is collecting evidence for the Final Judgment. God remembers your attitude toward others and He will count everything. God is listening even as you look at me and others.
3. In Luke 12:2-3, He warns the disciples about being a hypocrite. "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." When? On the Final Judgment Day. C.S. Lewis put like this: "God has put a tape recorder on each one of us that only records that we say. On Judgment Day itll be played and thats the standard youll be judged by." Meaning, well be judged by the measure we use for other people. Think about that. You can be your own judge on Judgment Day, you who have no mercy on others. Or youll be judged by God, who is full of mercy. As you stand before the Lord, Christ will stand on your behalf, cleansing your sins. The measure you use as you judge others, that will be the measure God uses to judge you. Our own voices will condemn us. Dont play God. Let God be the judge.
2. God Commands Us to Judge Ourselves (3)
1. Dont judge others, judge yourself. Verse 3 says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Notice, both you and the one you are looking at have problems. Why does the other person have a bigger problem than you? You should see your problems and sins should be more prominently than others. God commands us to judge and examine ourselves. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
2. Let me read two verses and put them together. 1 Corinthians 11:31 says, "But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment." 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of mens hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." What is the point of these two verses? We shouldnt judge because we dont know other peoples motives. Dont play God. If youve ever talked with me, you know I can counsel you and help you to see your own motives. But I cannot see how much you love God or dont love Him; only God can. And thats my frustration. I can help you to see yourself but because I cant see your motives, you need to judge yourself. You need to examine yourself and see your sinful tendencies, and then you can bring them to the cross and repent of your sins before the Lord. Putting the two verses together, we should be so busy looking at own hearts and judging ourselves that we have no time to judge others. When our motives are exposed, we respond, "Oh man! I need to repent!" Thats what it means: "First take the plank out of your own eye." We have a fatal tendency to exaggerate the faults of others and minimize the gravity of our own. We seem to find it impossible when comparing ourselves to others to be strictly objective and impartial. Its easy to turn the microscope on others sin and see our own sin with the wrong side of the telescope. We see the small sins of others and maximize them; but when we see our own sins, we minimize them. There is something wrong with that. Some of you might say, "Im not like that." If thats you, you are probably like that. How can I test whether or not I cant see the plank in my own eye? Am I someone who judges others more or myself more?
1. Are others sins bigger than yours?
1. When others sin, you say, "Oh my!" but when you sin, you say, "Oh, its not too bad." Theres something wrong with that. Jesus says, "See the plank in your own eye." When others sins are bigger than your own, youre a person who does not judge yourself.
2. When the Bible is preached, is it always for others?
1. These are the people who say, "I wish my roommate was here. My small group member should have been here. I wish my mom was here." They jab their friends next to them and say, "This is for you!" When the Bible is preached, do you take it to heart? "This verse is for me!"
3. Do you get angrier at others faults than your own?
1. Do you have more emotions when other people sin than when you sin? If so, you arent seeing the plank in your own eye. You have a big log in there!
4. Is it difficult for you to take criticism or rebuke?
1. Do you only like to hear good things, praise, and encouragement? Would you rather have sweet poison than bitter medicine? You might be a person who doesnt judge yourself. You might be someone who judges others. You might see the speck in other peoples eyes, but not the plank in your own eye.
5. Is the frequency of seeing sin in others higher than seeing it in yourself?
1. You notice others sins so well, but its hard for you to think of yours. This leads to:
6. Is it difficult for you to repent?
1. When someone says, "Lets repent," you think, "Um Lord, Im bad I think." You cant concretely see your sin. If you meet me, Ill tell you a million of your sins. But if you dont want to meet me, you might fit into this category.
3. What happens when you do that? You experience the pleasure of self-righteousness without the pain of penitence. This can be due to denial, excuses, blindness, intentionally or not. We must experience the pain of penitence in to order to experience the pleasure of forgiveness. I recently read something that Jonathan Edwards wrote. Some of you may have a negative perception of him because of his sermon that you read in high school, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. However, he is arguably the greatest pastor and theologian that America has ever produced. He was a spiritual giant. After being a pastor for 20 years and a Christian for almost 30 years, he said this about himself: "Often since I lived in this town, I have had very affecting views of my own sinfulness and vileness; very frequently to such a degree as to hold me in a kind of loud weeping, sometimes for a considerable time together; so that Ive often been forced to close the door to my room. I have had vastly sense of my own wickedness, and the badness of my heart, than ever I had before my conversion. It has often appeared to me, that if God should mark iniquity against me, I should appear the very worst of all mankind; of all that have been since the beginning of the world to this time: and that I should have by far the lowest place in hell. Signed Jonathan Edwards." Some psychology majors might say that he had low self-esteem. No, according to the Bible, he had a correct vision of himself. But he didnt stop there. He went on to describe the wonder of Gods grace. He was overwhelmed that God had saved him. If you dont have a true view of who you are in Scripture, you cant be thankful when you look at the cross. If you dont examine yourself, other people look so sinful. But if youre so busy going to the cross to receive Gods mercy, you dont have time to judge others. Youll be able to love them and be merciful to them. It is knowing these two things that qualifies you to help other people get the speck out of their eyes. This is not low self-esteem but a correct view of self that leads to Christ-esteem. When you have a correct view of Christ, when you look at the cross, you cant help but to cry and say, "Lord, Im Yours." "In view of Gods mercy offer your bodies as a living sacrifice." Then youll be transformed by the renewing of your mind; youll be able to make true statements about who you are, not what others say you are. You know yourself, so you exalt Christ for His mercy, grace and forgiveness. Thats what this passage is saying. In a negative sense, do not look at the speck of sawdust in other peoples eyes. In a positive sense, look at the plank in your own eye. Judge yourself. This will lead you to grace, mercy and repentance.
3. God Desires You to Help Others (4-5)
1. The whole passage is given in the negative but a positive command is implied through the negative. Verses 4-5 say, "How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye." In a positive sense, God wants you to help others. But before you can do that, you need to see how sinful you are. You have a problem that you must take care of and receive Gods forgiveness for. Then you can have clear vision to see the speck in others eyes. The speck and the plank.
2. So does this mean that my sin is bigger than others in an objective sense, in terms of magnitude? I dont think so. I was playing a video game with my children; it was a hockey game. There were several different camera angles you could choose from. There was a players point of view, like a helmet-cam. And there was a scoreboard view. With that view, everyone looks the sametheyre all small. Is this talking about a scoreboard view or a players point of view? Is this talking about how God sees sina scoreboard view? Or is it talking about how man sees sina players point of view? I think this is a players point of view, a subjective view. Its not a birds eye viewhow God sees it, where everything is the same. Its more a turtles point of view. If the head of the turtle is in the shell, it cant see anything. If your own sin is blinding you, you cant see others sins and help them. Thats the point. When you want to help others, you must take the plank out of your own eyes.
3. Think of the process of taking a speck out of someones eye. If you yourself cant see, you wont be able to help them. You must examine and fix yourself or you will not be capable or healthy enough to help other people. You cant be an ophthalmologist if youre blind. You wouldnt want a blind eye doctor operating on your eyes, would you? "Uh, wheres that eye now?" Thats the point. If you are in sin, you cant help others to get out of their sin. Take the plank out of your own eye. Repent. Judge yourself. Then youll be able to see clearly to help others. The proof that you have a plank in your eye is that you are unloving toward others. Repent. Receive Gods mercy. When you understand your own sinfulness, you become loving and merciful. You become a tenderhearted eye surgeon who understands the pain of those with a speck in their eye. Its a command to love. Dont judge or hate your brothers or sisters. Help others.
4. I thought about CFC. This passage is exactly for CFC. Sometimes people leave our church, saying that CFC people are too critical. This is true. We are so self-righteous, we arent repentant, we cant see our own sinfulness, we are not ready to help others. So they leave. The people who do remain, why is that? Because there were a few people at CFC who saw the plank in their own eyes and removed it. They went to the cross to receive forgiveness and they become tenderhearted and loving and can no longer judge others. You cant remove your plank until you go to the cross. When the cross replaces your plank and is the only thing you see, you become so tenderhearted and loving. You go to them and help them and love them. If you cant see the plank in your own eye, you are a hypocrite. You are either hiding your sins or ignorant of your sins. What is the greatest need of CFC in order to reach out? To remove my sin, to remove the plank out of your own eye. Do you want your small group to go well? Do you want to reach out to your friend, roommate, family members? Remove the plank from your eye. The greatest hindrance to people coming to Gods kingdom are Christians who have never removed the plank from their own eyes.
5. One of the greatest New Testament scholars of our time, D. A. Carson, wrote a commentary on this passage. In the middle of his very scholarly commentary, he comments on how scholars criticize each others views. He writes, "The more I reflect on this passage, the more I find I am self-condemned. God, grant me the grace to practice what I preach." When I read that, I myself had to stop and pray for ten minutes. "Lord, grant me the grace to practice what I preach." You have to understand how difficult it is to preach. Im not simply talking about the preparation time and fasting and prayer. Yes, those things are difficult. But the most difficult aspect about preaching is that I have to preach what I cannot always live. Do you think I live out perfectly the things I talk about up here? No way. Its so painful. When I give a sermon, there are always two or three points I feel so inadequate in preaching because all of you know my sins. We must remove the plank from our eyes. We must judge ourselves. We must be humble. Only then can we help others. The greatest problem of CFC is that we do not remove the plank from our own eyes. I hope that you take this to heart because if you do, so many more people can come to the kingdom of God.
4. God Commands You to Discern
1. This passage doesnt mean that you never judge anything. God commands us to judge. But theres a difference between discerning and judging. Look at verse 6, "Do not give dogs what is sacred." So that implies that you must judge or discern that they are dogs. "Do not throw your pearls to pigs." You have to make sure that theyre pigs. "If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." In other words, pigs cant tell the difference between pearls and food, so if you throw them pearls, theyll think its food. When they find out they cant eat it, theyll get frustrated and turn and eat you! This is a command to shut up at times when preaching the gospel. There are dogs and pigs who cant handle the pearl of the gospel. At times, wisdom commands us to be quiet. For example, in the forest, there are signs that say, "Do not feed the bears." You can feed the raccoons, the squirrels, and even the coyotes, but you cant feed the bears because if you do and theyre not satisfied with the food you give them, theyll attack you. Jesus is saying to the first century disciples, "Be wise and discern who you minister to, because sometimes people will be hostile to you (especially at that time). Theyll kill you." Verses 11:7-11 say to go to the people who welcome you. Wisdom is needed so you will not be harmed. You dont have to die unnecessarily. Live longer and preach the gospel. If death comes, we accept it, but dont be unwise and deliberately seek to be martyred. Go to those who are hungry for the kingdom of God, to those who are receptive to your ministry.
2. So then what do we do about the people who do not listen? Leave them and never return? No. The passage following this one says to keep on praying. Keep on knocking. Keep on seeking. Verse 7:12 says, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." The point is to keep on loving. When you leave the dogs and pigs who dont receive your ministry and go to those who are receptive, keep on praying, knocking, and seeking on their behalf. There are times when we must stop talking to men and start talking to God. Sometimes people just will not listen. Then start talking to God, and keep going to the people who are listening. Discern who are the dogs and the pigs. Give to people if theyre receptive. Dont throw the treasure of Gods kingdom to those who arent. Matthew 13:44 talks about a man who sells everything for a pearl of great value. That pearl represents the message of the Kingdom. Who are the dogs and the pigs? Those who cant receive the message of the pearl. They trample it. Pray for them but leave them, and go to those who are receptive to the message of God. We need to discern, not judge. A discerning spirit is constructive, a judging spirit is destructive.
3. Jesus assumes that you pass the test first You value the treasure of the kingdom. You are receptive to Gods Word and judge yourself more than others. Youre able to discern and help others. In verse 6, the assumption is that you arent a dog or a pig. You have received the pearl of the Kingdom. You have taken it and let that treasure speak to you. You cant see the treasure of Gods kingdom if you cant receive Gods Word. If you trample it and use it to judge others, you must first repent. Only then can you help others. Treasure the pearl of Gods kingdom and give up everything to keep it. If you see the plank in your own eye, you can see the value of the great pearl and remove the speck in others eyes.
4. There are two kinds of people at our church: people who leave because of judgmental people and people who stay because they love to take the pearl. There are so many of us who are like dogs and pigs. We cant take the pearl of Gods kingdom and judge ourselves. The expansion of Gods kingdom starts with our hearts. "Pastor Min, that sounds so negative. Can you talk about loving rather than judging?" Well, I couldnt make any other conclusions when I looked at this passage. Look at it. See how negative it is. As someone who speaks the Word of God I have to speak exactly what Jesus is and do justice to the passage. Do you know why Jesus was like this? He is always harsh on proud believers. And He is always merciful to sinners so that they can come to repentance. Let the passage speak to you:
5. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

• If I had sweetened this message, I wouldnt have done justice to what Jesus is saying to us. We need to hear what Jesus is saying. Hes harsh to us. "You hypocrites! You must see the plank in your own eye first, if you want to help others. You are so judgmental." I think that is probably the primary sin of our churchjudging others. They do not feel the love from your eyes when you look at them up and down. When they see you look at them, your plank is hiding the light of Christ. Jesus wants to shine the light of His love through you, but our plank blocks it. So we must examine ourselves. Let God be the judge. Judge yourself with the Word of God and the pearl of Gods kingdom. Ask God to help you see your sins so you can be repentant and thankful for the cross. Then we can become merciful helpers of others. We can help others to remove the speck from their eyes. There are so many lonely ones, so many empty ones, so many who are lost. May we never be happy just having a party by ourselves. Through our smiles and hellos, were going to show others the love of Jesus Christ. When you remove the plank from your own eye, youll be so filled with love wherever you go, and youll spill it. Lets pray, "Lord, help me to judge myself so I cannot help but to go to the cross in dependence. Then my heart would be filled with such mercy and love and people would be able to see You through me."