Well, if you're a visitor this morning, we are continuing our study in the Sermon on the Mount, and this morning we come to Matthew chapter 7, Matthew chapter 7, the first six verses dealing with judging others. Page 965 in the Scriptures, 965, and we'll begin at verse 1. This is the living word of the Lord, living and powerful, sharper than any. two-edged sword beginning at verse 1 judge not that you be not judged for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged and with the measure you use it 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 a log in your own eye you hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly take the speck out of your brother's eye do not give dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you there will end this morning the reading of god's word well there is no sermon like the sermon on the mount it is as i've said one of the most exhilarating studies i've ever done and i am at least i am i hope you are thoroughly enjoying this study but here we are confronted really with standing on zion's hill and listening to a sermon from god himself you ever thought about that have you ever thought about what we're doing here we're listening to the very words of jesus who is true and eternal god give us a sermon in every sense though i have to say even though he gives great comfort there's so much about it that is uncomfortable for us as i deliver these messages i have to constantly be reminded of justification by grace through faith alone that is so important to continue to set in front of us we are as one pastor said confronted with something that is really utterly impossible for us so terrifying so full of doctrine without justification by faith only it's a sermon for wit before which we all stand completely naked and without hope and you felt that in the reading this morning i trust jesus has clearly made a distinction in this sermon as he does today between the children who are of the father the children who are god's children the children whom he loves and those who are not and you will see here that it's jesus's great purpose this morning as i've been showing you this vein throughout the sermon on the mount it's one of his great purposes to protect his sheep to deliver his sheep it's shepherding care at its best in the section two this morning that we are considering so tender but also so direct in speaking the truth as we talked about the watchman speaking the truth he's the watchman over the house of israel in speaking the truth to keep you to uphold you the great purpose of the sermon on the mount is to prepare his children for glory to prepare you for glory it's so heavenly minded the whole thing it's intended to humble us to form us to shape us after the very image of christ so that we would begin in being shaped by him to be prepared in this life for the life to come he cares that much about this he cares to do that for us well now we move in the sermon on the mount to a crucial subject it is the last major section in the sermon on the mount in chapter 7 and if there is any summarizing principle that you could find in this chapter if you were to say what is this particular chapter is about think of chapter 5 that was about the christian's relationship to the law of god as that had been completely mangled up and then last time chapter 6 we looked at which was practicing true religion from the hypocritical approach of all the the pharisees and the scribes who were just merely doing it outwardly and for show there was nothing genuine there was nothing real now in chapter 7 he is really focusing on the all-seeing eye of the lord and living under his judgment in this life now i'm not talking about eternal judgment i'm not talking about wrathful judgment i'm talking here about the fact that his people have already passed john 5 from judgment to eternal life in principle that's already ours so we're not under condemnation Romans 8.1 but he's talking about life under the judgment of the Lord under the all-seeing eye of the Lord and why that matters for us why that's important for us nobody is living and doing things in secret that he does not see in fact it's not just in the walls of our homes and the things that we speak it's in the very walls of our hearts he sees everything going on now in psalm 139 the psalmist didn't find that to be a scary thought because he knew that the father loved him he knew that god loved him and that god was out for his best well today we consider what matters to him in our spirits if you will of how we are to live and how we interact and treat others very big very big important section for us this morning how we interact with others how christians distinctively are different in how they interact and treat others how they are to be that and that leads us today this great call in the implication of not judging others so we're looking today at the lord's command here if you're a note taker his command as he does he gives a principle a command and then he gives the reason for it and then the you'll notice here the remedy as he continues as our great teacher as you open up chapter 7 in the sermon on the mount he begins with this commandment this great principle and you'll notice it glares there judge not that you be not judged for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged and with the measure you use it it will be measured to you as with the entire sermon on the mount you see the structure of this he gives the command explains it and then applies it and then he gives a remedy it's beautiful what he does here but i don't have to state how difficult this is in our day how difficult it is for us if there's anything observed about our time as i tried to insinuate in the reading of the law this morning, it is universally assumed that we are never to pass judgment on anyone. And that any judgment is automatically wrong. That's our day. That is the sort of lax, careless Christianity day we've come into. Peace at all costs. I remember I had a man say that to me when I first began ministry. Ministry should just be peace at all costs. And I thought, have you read the New Testament? i didn't come to bring peace but i came to bring division and sword said jesus between mother and father daughter and mother between family because of this the soft age the tolerant age we're in we've come to believe that we are never to make a judgment about anything we're never to tell anything anyone anything's wrong we believe the lie that that is unloving. Well, you see the results. You see the consequences of that. That's another sermon, but we have abandoned discipline. We hate the word. We don't do it anymore. We have abandoned discipline in home and life and society. With all the thought behind it, such a thing is unloving. The first thing we have to say up front, and maybe that's another sermon, the first thing we have to say up front is Jesus is not condemning outright the practice of making a judgment about what is right and what is wrong. It's amazing we have to say that, but we do in our day. It's compromised Christianity that would ever suggest that at its worst form. Judgments are absolutely required in this life. You can't live this life without making judgments you wouldn't know how even to get up in the morning if you're not making judgments about what you're going to do how you're going to behave what is morally right and what is morally wrong jesus said this much when he said and a crucial principle on this judge not with outward appearance but judge with righteous judgment and we remember that paul himself said under the inspiration of the spirit that there are situations where we can't even keep company with people i tell you not even to keep company with a man who is an idolater it's actually immoral and he goes through a list there but to withdraw so what is jesus saying to us what does this mean why is this so important you can't read the gospels of jesus's interaction with people and not see this firsthand with the pharisees what jesus is condemning here is the practice of rash judgment the kinds of judgments that enter our hearts against people by condemning them and standing over them what jesus is after here and this is why the sermon on the mount is so good because it always gets to the heart of the matter the people typically who say we can never make judgments and avoid all discipline are some of the most judgmental people i know what jesus is after is the spirit of someone that shows us constantly looking at other people and condemning them for all their faults the eyebrows always raised you've met people like this and you know what they're like you know who that person is right it's you it's me this is what we do some are really good at it he's addressing the harsh condemning judgmental spirit that seeks to condemn people without ever a goal of helping them or loving them or delivering them ezekiel that's vastly different from making a judgment that something is right or wrong with good intentions it's to stand as the law giver if you will himself and in the place of god on the throne of god condemning constantly people for their sins it's the hypocritical kind of judgment that always see the faults in others that results and gossiping and slandering them. It's judgment without mercy. It's judgment without mercy. We should know what this is. It's the kind of judgment that today especially is uncharitable. It's full of complaining spirit. It's unmerciful. It's judging the hearts of others, always standing over them as if we ourselves sit in the very place of God. This is what Jesus is after. This is what Jesus is dealing with. You think of James. Or James said, Believers do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks self-righteously against a brother or judges his brother, speaking of hypocritically, speaks against the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. It's as if we place ourselves in the judgment seat of God. and it often exposes in us a kind of jealousy i mean look at that one person that really troubles you look at the person you refuse to talk to look at the person who gets under your skin look at the person you speak about they're just a reflection of you that's why it bothers you it's just that you can't see it in yourself now this is what jesus is addressing it's taught everywhere in scripture you think of what we went through in romans 2 where he said you then who teach others do you not teach yourself you who preach against stealing do you steal i don't steal i'm never a thief really you've never taken time from your employer you've never refused to pay part of your taxes you say that people should not commit adultery do you commit adultery well that gets pretty personal if it goes into the heart and adultery is committed by simply lusting with the eye are you lusting you who have looked at that person and said that you who abhor idols you are constantly in judgment on idolatry are you sitting here today with idols in your heart worshiping god you see this is what he's doing you who condemn false worship give you have you given glory to god in worship or are you just doing it for outward form i could go on you who break the law romans 2 do you dishonor god by breaking the law sweeping condemnation you see there's no humility in it There's no humility in it, which is what Christ is after, that looks on people with compassion, concerned about why they do what they do. Why do people do what they do? Well, if you have no offer to help them and you just simply sit in the place of the judgment seat, you're acting like you're God. That's what he's saying to us. There's always a sense from people who hypocritically judge and have complaining spirits that they're above you. That they're better than you in life. It's a big insecurity. It's what it exposes. That's the kind of hypocritical judgment Jesus is speaking of of which we are all master craftsmen. The true and genuine person would be concerned in looking at somebody else's sin to pray for them, to help them, to go to them. And Jesus' whole purpose in coming to this earth was just that. Now I think you see how important this is. Jesus now moves to the remedies for this. And our Lord says something shocking. He says, with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And the measure you use it, it will be measured back to you. It's an important principle in the line of you reap what you sow. He's speaking to Christians here. And again, I believe strongly he's not speaking of eternal judgment. He has his eye to keep his sheep. He has his eye to protect his sheep, to protect witness, to protect purpose. And the great truth is, in Christ, we've passed from death and judgment into life. That principle of life reigns in us. But Jesus here speaks of the principle, you might say, of reciprocity. Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. God has so ordered things in this life. Now, this is the great principle that stands out here. God has so ordered things in life. There's nothing under his sovereign eye. There's nothing that's happening that is not under his sovereign control. We come to grips with that. It's life-changing, beloved. That the extent in his providence that we do this, it's measured back. Now, there's two ways to sort of understand that. I think William Perkins was really good on this when he said, if you judge men rashly, then men again by the appointment of God in his wisdom and providence shall accordingly give you rash judgment that's going to be your life that's going to be the fruit of it but if you judge men righteously then men again by appointment and providence shall judge well of you you know this and this is so evident it's hardly even it doesn't even feel like you have to make a case for it you know the person who's kind and merciful and always out for your best. Do you rashly judge such a person? But you know the person who always sits in condemnation. Easy to do the same to them. Jesus is teaching us here on this point. Perkin goes on as he continues, if you judge men righteously, these men again by God's appointment and providence shall judge well of you he says we may observe one true and main cause of that personal defamation which is common in the world and it is to be found in the person himself that is defamed he has rashly and unjustly condemned others for god for which god in his providence does most justly cause others to demean against him you see this everywhere think of David for a minute remember the account with Shammai Shammai cursed David David's the king he came one day and he cursed David he used every bad word under the sun to curse the king he pelted David with stones and all the king's officials with stones he's throwing stones at David though all the troops in the special guard were on David's right and left he had the whole guard with him and this man comes up and is pelting him with stones and cursing his name as he cursed Shimei said get out, get out you murderer notice that, you murderer you scoundrel the lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the house of saul in whose place you've reigned the lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son absalom you have come to ruin because you're a murderer David had every ability to send Joab over to lop off the guy's head. And they came to him. He said, he wants to do that. Leave him alone. Here's the quote given by inspiration of scripture. Leave him alone. Let him curse me. For the Lord told him to do it. it may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me His covenant blessing instead of His curse today. That was all a consequence, Old Covenant style, of David's own behavior. And David knew it. Now I say this not politically. The debate the other night was one of the worst displays of this. Did you see it? both of them stood in hypocritical judgment of each other in the worst form they have made it both a way of life how's that going in our country notice the consequence the very principle of jesus is applied right in front of you the measure you condemned it will be measured back to you both of them had no sense that there is a judge and a lawgiver above them and these are our leaders they're reaping the same thing in each other it was sad they were both arguing about each other's golf game who was better and they didn't know that I was better than both of them for Christians the Father has the goal of rooting this out of us so that our character beloved would match the gospel we confess right what does that gospel say his love has covered a multitude of what your sins and so jesus gives the remedy why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that's in your own eye how can you say to your brother let me take the speck out when there's a log in your own you hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye and then you'll see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye it's the it's the small sins of others that jesus is talking about sin has various degrees what are we typically complaining about what are we rationally judging about those things the lesser sins it's the small piece of sawdust that's in your brother's eye you're looking at but by way of contrast there is a huge plank in your own eye and you don't even see it that's what's sad what's going on in your life reality is in some form the same problems that are glaring in others that we see we can't see in ourselves. All I have to do is read the law. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. Ever spend time reflecting on the law? You know what you're running and serving every week? I could go through them. Do you really take the Sabbath holy? Really keep it? Who's that person you refuse to talk to? You know you're murdering them. What we see in others often is a mirror. they are a mere replica of what we refuse to see in us. Think about it. Usually when you come across this kind of person, it's because there are very large sins in their own life they don't see. And that's precisely why they're behaving this way. You see why this would matter to the Lord for his people? because the entire gospel says we're sinners and not just sinners everyone should look at themselves like paul did if you ask me about myself i'll tell you i'm the chief of them if you've ever looked at people who've gone through something really big and they've been exposed and they've been totally humbled you ever see the spirit that follows out of that person it's precious they're humble a gospel that says to us what do you have that you did not receive while we were yet sinners a gospel that says Christ died for us and God looked at you in your life and he showed great compassion on you you're here aren't you he loved you with an everlasting love and in abounding loving kindness god put his son on the cross for you and you see the character of the christian the character of the follower of christ and his mission he is concerned and this is why but might i say this is why beloved um when we come to worship and we read the law that time is so important that's i know it's ditched today it's it doesn't seem that is the time where you come and confess your sins and he forgives you because we're all guilty of this but the character of the christian is that that god is is working to conform us into the character of the one who loved us this way that's why it matters we are being like him like the father of the prodigal son what was the disposition of the father of the prodigal son when the boy ripped off all the inheritance selfishly was in the kingdom for all the wrong he didn't want to be there he didn't love his father he just wanted the loot and the money and the father looked at his son in the pigsty and squandering his life and he prayed every day for him that he'd come home and when the son came to himself and he starts coming back in the mud and the muck of the pigsty the father bolts out of the house with his robe in shame running to his son celebrating repentance that's what he's after because that's what he did for you a God who said you know what my mercy will triumph over judgment in your life how do you look at people how do you look at them wandering on the streets you ever ask why are they doing what they're doing it's because they're lost because they need saving the religion of the pharisees was completely incompatible with the whole message jesus was bringing you see i've always said the greatest help when you see the sins of others when they bother you is to remember that's a training session it's a training session to show you how you treat the Lord daily and if you appreciate what he did for you then it's going to inevitably lead you to replace judgment with mercy. That's the remedy. Now there's one last verse here to close this out. Jesus attaches what doesn't seem to fit. He concludes this section by saying do not give what is holy to the dogs nor throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot and turn and attack you I think you see here what I've tried to make the case in the Sermon on the Mount is how concerned Jesus is to protect his sheep to keep his sheep with the very character of him and from unjust condemnation and he's concerned about keeping them from the hypocritical judgment of the wicked now think about that for a minute the traditional view of this verse is that it's sort of offset could have been a whole nother sermon traditional view is that we should not take god's holy word and cast it before those who hate it that's sort of universally received i think that's a true principle but i've never been comfortable because this verse seems to be taken right out of context where does that fit this context did jesus ever raise this is the question i think did jesus ever raise not giving what is holy to dogs indeed he did he did it in matthew he did it with a syrophoenician woman a woman came to him remember and she comes to jesus she's a gentile she comes to jesus for mercy and jesus says it's not right to give or cast what is holy to dogs the whole section was preceded by the hypocritical judgment of the pharisees they were judging because jesus and his disciples did not wash their hands properly when they ate bread that's where this scene comes in here comes this woman in the midst of that who asked for help was she a dog well according to jew gentile standards yes she dogs in the ancient world were scavengers. Dogs were known to be scavengers, always, well, doing their thing. What do dogs do? Lord, but even the dogs need to eat crumbs from their master's table. And Jesus is all over that. She gets grace. She gets mercy. She's not a dog. Who are the dogs? What Jesus is saying is something like this, beloved. Be careful of giving our holy message and pearls to people like this. Like the Pharisees who are always standing in hypocritical judgment, rash condemnation. We take what is meant to be holy, and we take our message, and we cast it before dogs like this. He's very protective of you. Be careful with these people. He had just said, leave them alone. In that passage, they're blind leaders of the blind. And this is just what Jesus did with the Pharisees often. Remember when they challenged him regarding his authority, Jesus answered and said to them, I'm not answering you. Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. He applied the very principle to them, which required a righteous judgment. What we do, what we say, how we speak of the sins in others has a goal. It is that people, as he's about to say, would enter the narrow gate and be saved. But for the hypocrites, the blind leaders of the blind, there is a kind of judgment now that doesn't give them the gospel. That's a scary thing. Because they have no other goal than to trample the whole thing underfoot. And that takes wisdom. Our purpose, our message, our behavior says Jesus matters. Jesus is calling us to a behavior that reflects the gospel we confess. It's for sinners. Christians, remember who you are. Remember your purpose. Remember your aim. Especially in how you deal with your brothers and sisters here who are struggling. May they never feel that your eyebrow is raised at them. And what they look like, how they dress. Maybe something that they've done, but that you're concerned and love them and care about them. That's what He's after. All eternal judgment has been committed to the Son, not you. It's committed to the Son. Father's committed that to the Son. That all may honor the Son. just as they honor the Father, John 5. Let us remember, we represent a gospel that has saved sinners just like us, the chief. That our lives may be consistent with our profession and that people may see our purpose, which is to offer them the remedy of forgiveness of sins. That's what we want for people. That's what we want no matter how bad a sinner they are. And that's found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sins he announced. Aren't you glad God has treated you this way? That's how good he's been to us. He loves you. He's protecting you. He's keeping you. He doesn't want that measured back to you. So believe him. And begin to think of the principle of what you've enjoyed in your life. If mercy has triumphed over judgment, then you will see clearly how to deal with the sins of others. Amen. Heavenly Father, thank you for instructing us in your word. We need such help. We confess we are all guilty of this, starting right here. It's easy, especially in sermons when I preach, to point out some major sin and for all of us to say, I hope such and such a person heard without ever looking to us. especially the one who preaches. Forgive us, O Lord. Keep us as remembering what we confess. And may that humility drive us that we would be Christ-like in the way that we treat others. In Jesus' name, amen.