Is All Judging Ruled Out?

Transcript

GR 669
5/13/1984
Is All Judging Ruled Out?
Matthew 7:1-6
Gil Rugh

The subject of judging is one of much interest and much misunderstanding. Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge lest you be judged,” is quoted often and with a variety of degrees of accuracy. The Jews used this instruction in various ways, often telling people they should not judge others. This verse is also used today by those who feel we should not practice church discipline. “Do you see,” they say, “God says we ought not to judge other people, so what right do we have to get involved in church discipline?” As I checked through my files recently, I noticed that this is one subject about which I have received quite a bit of mail. Many people misunderstand this passage.
This verse is also misunderstood when referring to other people’s religious beliefs. Some people seem to say that we must sacrifice our ability to discriminate in decision making. Such a position would require that we exercise no discernment. There is a sense in which we are not to judge people, but we will see in this study that there is a sense in which we as believers are required to judge others.
As is always the case, the context has to guide us in the consideration of the meaning of a verse. What kind of judging is Jesus talking about? The word used in this verse does not give us a lot of help, because the Greek word is broad just like the word “judge” in the English language. We use it in a variety of ways, both positively and negatively. If we are faced with a situation in which we do not know what to do, we sometimes say, “Well, you be the judge.” We do not mean that negatively. We are simply asking someone else to make the decision.
We also use the word negatively in judging. “Do not judge me for what I am doing,” someone may say. This person is asking us not to render a verdict or a decision in the situation. Just as the English word can be used in both ways, so can the Greek word. The context must determine its meaning.
In order to understand what Jesus means in this context of judging, you must be aware that Jesus has been following a pattern. His pattern is to state a principle, then give the explanation. You cannot understand the principle being stated if you do not go on and read the explanation. Most people who quote Matthew 7:1 have no idea at all what follows this verse. Yet what follows is the explanation of the principle that He has just set down.

We need to see how this pattern was established in chapter 6. Jesus said in verse 1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” The principle stated is that we should not practice our righteousness before men. Then Jesus went on to explain the principle. He talked about giving alms, praying and fasting. To understand what He meant about practicing righteousness before men, you must read the explanation He gave in the following verses. This command obviously does not mean that one should not lead a righteous life before men. Rather, we should not be practicing our righteousness in order to be seen by men. But if you do not read the explanation, you do not understand His statement in the first verse.
Jesus said in verse 19: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” Then Jesus went on in subsequent verses to give the explanation for His command. In order to understand that principle, you must read the explanation which begins in verse 20.
In our next study we will consider Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” After stating the principle in that verse, Jesus will develop the principle by explaining the matter of prayer in the subsequent verses.
Jesus follows the same pattern in verse 1 where He gives the principle, “Do not judge lest you be judged.” As we will see from the context in the subsequent verses, Jesus is not saying that we are never to judge in the sense of never making a decision. He is not saying we cannot point out if someone is right or wrong. He is not saying that we are never to identify someone as being a heretic or a true believer. Such a deduction is obvious in verse 6 where He instructs us, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine.” Before you can carry out this command, you must determine who the dogs are and who the swine are. That means it is necessary for you to render a judgment or to make a decision in this matter.
In the statement, “Do not judge lest you be judged” (v. 1), two facts are implied. First, you must realize that you are going to be judged by the same standard you use in judging others. Second, you must deal with your own life before you deal with others. Do not be so concerned about cleaning up someone else’s life if you have not worked on your own first.
The first principle is very simple and is clarified by considering verses 1 and 2 together: “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” When you render judgment on someone else, you are establishing the necessity of judgment. God Himself is the judge, and He will judge everyone. By your very practice of exercising judgment, you are acknowledging the necessity for judgment to be exercised.
When you consider verse 5, it seems that the prime individuals in view are unbelievers. Keep in mind that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is talking about the character and conduct of believers. But there is evidently a growing number of unbelievers listening to Him, because in Matthew 7:28 we read, “The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching.” Evidently while He is teaching, the group is growing in size. While He is giving revelation concerning the character and conduct of believers, He is also giving more insight into the attitude and conduct of unbelievers. Chapter 7 develops this more fully than chapters 5 and 6 did previously.
Jesus is primarily addressing unbelievers who want to render verdicts. The key examples are the scribes and Pharisees, the ones for whom Jesus reserved the word “hypocrite” most often. They were religious people who demanded a greater righteousness of their followers than they demanded of themselves. These are the ones Jesus was referring to in 5:20 when He said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” He addressed these religious leaders and told them they were putting a burden on their followers which they themselves were not able to bear. They were more scrupulous in their demands of others than they were in the demands they made of themselves.
People are like that today. They say, “Oh, I do not go to church because the church is full of hypocrites.” Are they saying they are perfect and have no sin in their lives? All you have to do is look at people who make these accusations and you can usually see glaring sin in their lives. Such individuals are rendering a standard of judgment. They expect people who sit in church to be perfect. Since such individuals are not perfect, they are not willing to associate with them. Ironically, that standard of judgment will be used on them. God demands perfection. He is going to demand perfection of them just as He demands it of all believers. Remember that the same standards you use for judging others will be used on you.
Some people plead the reverse approach. “Oh, good, if I do not judge anybody, God will not judge me.” But we are all involved in judging which establishes the principle of the necessity of judgment.
Jesus went on to explain the principle in verses 3-5: “And why do you look at 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,’ and behold, the log is 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.” First you must deal with your own situation. But that does not mean that you should never get involved in anyone else’s life. There is normally a readiness to look at other people first. I would much rather deal with problems in your life than with those in mine. I have all kinds of answers for your problems and all kinds of reasons why you ought to deal with them. It is my own problems that bother me. We prefer to focus attention on other people’s problems rather than dealing with our own.
In this passage Jesus is saying that before you begin judging others, you must first have your own life in order before God. The first necessity is to have God’s righteousness by believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. Without that you have no basis, no standard and no ability to perceive problems and solutions in someone else’s life.
There is a parallel idea in a similar context in Romans 2. Unbelieving Jews in particular are addressed. “Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Rom. 2:1-3).
The next verses make it clear that Paul is referring to unbelievers: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds.” (Rom. 2:4-6). There is a principle in this passage which we need to see. These Jewish leaders have rejected the grace of God and have refused to believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet they are judging others and declaring them to be unrighteous. Do they think they are going to escape the judgment of God? They themselves are guilty of sin, yet they are condemning others of sin. Do they think they will escape God’s judgment?
Paul proceeds later in the chapter to show the inconsistency of these people: “But if you bear the name ‘Jew,’ and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?” The unbelievers practiced the same things they condemned in others. In doing so, they condemned themselves and declared themselves worthy of judgment.
One of the principles Jesus is dealing with in Matthew 7 is that we are going to be judged by the same standard we set for others. Look at yourself first. Is your life what it ought to be before God? Do you have the righteousness God demands in order to be acceptable in His sight? People often brag about their religion being as good as someone else’s or that they are just as good a person as someone else. They may even brag about being a better person than most people who attend church regularly. All of those things may be true of you, but do you have a righteousness that is acceptable before God? To condemn someone else is simply to point out the fact that they fall short. But it does not deal with the fact that apart from Jesus Christ, you do not have that righteousness either.
The first and overriding question considered in the matter of judging is whether you are truly a child of God. You cannot exercise judgment apart from first coming to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If you have a beam in your eye, you cannot see to remove the speck in someone else’s eye. Without Christ as your Savior, you have no spiritual discernment, that is necessary in order to judge others.
After determining the answer to the first and overriding question of our relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, the second guideline is that we are not to be judging for a destructive, critical, ruinous purpose. If I desire to deal with sin in your life but ignore it in my own, that is an indication that I am not really serious in a positive way. My goal is simply to divert attention from myself to you.
The same principle is also true for believers--we are not to be judging others while ignoring our own lives. We must understand these principles and be able to apply them to our own lives. Perhaps looking at these verses will give us a picture of what needs to be involved in proper judgment.
Another principle to keep in mind is that we are never to judge the motives of other people. Believers probably slide into this area more than any other area in the matter of judging. If I look at my own fan mail, I probably get more letters regarding criticism of my motives than anything else. If I look at my own life, it is easier for me to fall into the practice of judging other people’s motives than any other fault. There may be nothing at all wrong with what the person is doing, yet we criticize his motives. Why? You may look at a Sunday school teacher and decide that he is not doing his work because he wants to honor the Lord, but because he likes the glory he receives from it. Someone may be sharing his faith while witnessing at work while others say he is not witnessing for the honor of Jesus Christ, but in order to look like a super Christian.
We cannot judge motives in this way because we cannot see the heart. You have no idea why a person is teaching or why someone else is witnessing. The only thing you can do is measure it by how consistent it is with the Word of God. Is that teacher teaching the Scripture? If he is, what right do you have to say he is doing it for self-glory? We cannot judge in that way because there is nothing concrete to enable us to judge motives. That kind of judgment is always forbidden. God reserves for Himself alone the right to judge the motives of the heart. Paul referred in Romans 2:16 to “the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” That is another reminder that God reserves for Himself the right to judge the secrets and the motives of men.
The question of judging is also discussed in Romans 14. “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God” (vs. 10-12). According to the context of these verses, the subject in question is amoral--the issue is neither biblical nor unbiblical. Yet people feel constrained to judge others for doing it. By so doing, they are judging motives.
You do not know what my motive is in preaching a sermon. Whether I am doing it because I love the glory I get from it or because I want to honor Jesus Christ cannot be known by you. You cannot really know why I wanted to build a bigger auditorium. I may have concluded that in order to be a famous preacher, it helps to preach to more people. But you really do not know that. The same questions can be raised regarding television. Some people have expressed that they think I want our ministry to be televised for the personal glory I may get from it. Many people on television become famous, and besides, some television preachers get paid a lot! There could be many reasons for my desire, but you cannot know what is going on in my heart. The only thing you can evaluate is whether or not I am being faithful to the Word. Even if I am faithful to the Word, but am doing it for the wrong motives, ultimately God will make that known when I stand before Him. You do not know why I do what I do, and ultimately I do not know why you do what you do. The only thing we can do is evaluate what is done to see if it is consistent with the Word. If it is, then the motive has to be left between the person and God. God has reserved for Himself the right to judge motives.
Paul said he did not know anything against himself, but he will not even judge himself ultimately. God will do that. The same is true for us. We may think we are doing our jobs to glorify the Lord, but we will know for sure when we stand before Jesus Christ and He judges us and reveals us for what we are. We must be very careful that we do not judge the motives of other people.
When I was in another church, people made comments about board members saying that the only reason some wanted to be on the board was because they liked to run the show. How can someone else know this? Is the man a godly man? Does he meet the qualifications set down by Scripture? If he does, then who are you to judge his motives? You do not know what is going on in his heart and mind. If that is why he is doing it, he will give an account to God for that. But we must be careful not to do what God says we should not do. Judging the motives of others is always forbidden. That is a right God reserves for Himself alone.
If we summarize the principle of judging from Matthew 7, we must recognize that we are going to be judged by the same standard by which we judge others. Before we judge others, we must also recognize that our lives must be what they ought to be before God. Jesus is primarily dealing with the matter of salvation and God’s righteousness and is saying that one must be a member of God’s family by faith before he can judge others properly. However, that principle carries over in application to us in other ways.
Where does judging fit for believers? In Matthew 7:6, Jesus says, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” This verse gives balance to the first five verses and shows that believers are to be discriminating people. After making statements regarding judging in the first five verses, Jesus says that He wants us to identify some people as dogs and some people as hogs. Then He tells us not to give to them what is holy. It is impossible to follow that command without rendering a judgment. It is a strong judgment to say that some people are unfit to have the truth of God presented to them.

Some people feel that this is not a decision they should make. But what does Christ say in this verse? He says we must discern this because He told us not to give what is holy to dogs and hogs. We are not to give them pearls. If I do not know what a dog is or what a swine is, how am I going to obey this verse? It is obvious from this context and from other passages of Scripture that Jesus is talking about people when he refers to dogs and swine. These animals were the scum of creation as far as the Jews were concerned. The dogs of Palestine in Jesus’ day were not like the household pets we are familiar with. They were wild dogs in the streets, the common scavengers of the area. The pigs mentioned were wild pigs, vicious and despised by the Jews as a picture of uncleanness. By using such a description, Jesus is talking about people who are unfit to have the truth of God presented to them. If you give the truth of God to some people, they demonstrate that they are unfit for it because they blaspheme it, ridicule it and trample it underfoot. By giving such people the truth of God, we are holding out the truth for abuse.
On one occasion I was invited to participate in a particular conference. I told those who invited me that I would let them know of my decision. Then I sat down and thought about it for awhile. As I talked to Marilyn about it, I said, “I cannot do that. They are not asking me to come and share the biblical position because they are not at all open or interested in hearing it. If I present the biblical position to them, I will only hold the Word of God up for ridicule and scorn to these people. That would be casting the pearls before the swine.” We must be discerning in this matter. For some people, the Word of God is only a matter for ridicule. If that is the case, do not give it to them. To do so would simply cause them to turn on you and would bring on more difficulty. Some of the problems Christians stir up are a result of missing this point at the end of verse 6. The result of giving the Word to such people is that “they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” For some people it is better that they not have the Word of God given to them.
Do not go to sleep yet! Do not think that I am saying you should not give the Word of God to unbelievers. That is not what I am saying; neither is that what Christ is saying in this verse. He is saying we must use discernment in giving the Word to unbelievers.
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:2, “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.” Notice who Paul is referring to as dogs--religious leaders! Those people would take the word of God and mix it together with error saying that you must be circumcised in order to be saved. Such individuals are dogs. Paul has false religious leaders primarily in view when he talks about dogs in Philippians 3.
In 2 Peter 2, dogs and pigs are brought together in an analogy representing false religious leaders and teachers. In this passage, religious leaders have been exposed to the truth of the Word of God, but they have rejected it and continue to teach their own error and heresy. “For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, „A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, „A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire’” (vs. 21, 22). These false teachers are just like dogs and pigs. They feed on vomit and wallow in mire. Peter is saying that you do not continue to pour the truth of God out before those dogs and pigs.

We have an example of this in Christ’s teachings in Matthew 15. Religious leaders are primarily in view. Jesus is saying that as you present the Word to religious leaders, they take it, twist it and corrupt it. They blaspheme it and ultimately use it against the one presenting it to them. In verse 7 Jesus says, “You hypocrites,” then He quotes from Isaiah showing how these people will hear the words, but they will not understand them. In verse 14 He instructs, “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.” Jesus says let them alone and stay away from them. In effect, you withhold the truth of God from these people because all they do with it when you give it to them is blaspheme, twist it and corrupt it. Therefore, they have forfeited their right to it.
The ministry of the Apostle Paul is in view in Acts 18:5,6: “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. And when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be upon your own heads! I am clean. From now on I shall go to the Gentiles.’” These individuals forfeited their right to have any more of the truth of God given to them. They, in effect, judged themselves unworthy of eternal life. They blasphemed the Word, so Paul turned away from them to give it to others.
One other passage with a similar example is in Titus 3:10,11: “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.” This does not mean that if you present the gospel to someone and he does not believe it, you are never to present it to him again. But if you present the Word of God to someone who actively opposes it and hates it by blaspheming it, ridiculing it or attempting to destroy it, then your responsibility is to turn from that person and give the truth of God’s Word to others.
That is a solemn command. Because of our failure to recognize this command, we have often held the Word of God up for disgrace. It happens in public ways as people, perhaps in public forums in the media, get into situations with unbelievers who ridicule the Word. When that is the case, all the believers are doing is holding the Word of God out for mockery and ridicule. We must be very careful about that.
Perhaps you have shared the Word of God with someone repeatedly whose only response has been to blaspheme it, reject it and ridicule it. That should be the indication for you to stop presenting the Word to that person and turn to others with it. It does not mean that God in His grace will not save some of them. God in His grace saved some of the Pharisees and some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. But it does mean that we must leave these individuals in His hands. Perhaps by His grace He will soften them and give them an openness to the truth. It sometimes happens, but very rarely. Religious leaders are committed to the error of their ways. But a few are turned by the grace of God to believe in Jesus Christ.
We must be discerning. We have to decide who are the dogs and the pigs. They are not fit to be given the Word of God. Some people say that we do not have the privilege to determine who is unfit to hear God’s Word. We do not have that privilege in ourselves, but we have the Word of God. In that Word, God has the right to say, and He has said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs and ... swine.” Since this is God’s Word, I must recognize that He has the right to tell me who gets His Word and who does not. He says that the dogs and the pigs do not have the right to get it. Then He tells me how I can recognize who the dogs and the pigs are. What is their attitude toward the Word? Do they blaspheme it? Do they ridicule it? Do they twist it when I share it with them? Is their attitude one of scorn and rejection? That tells me what I must do with the Word. If I find that response, I am to take it to someone else. But a decision must be made, and God says I must be the judge. I am to judge in light of the Word and a person’s response to the Word. This demands that we be evaluating others continuously in light of the Word.
It is important to see what Christ has not said in Matthew 7. He has not said we should not be discerning. Christians, of all people, are to be most discerning. In fact, they are the only ones who can be discerning. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul contrasts believers and unbelievers. He says that believers have the Spirit of God to enable them to understand the truth. An unbeliever does not have the Spirit. Paul said in verse 15, “But he who is spiritual appraises [discerns] all things.” The word which is translated “appraises” (anakrino) is from the same basic word (krino) which is translated “judge” in Matthew 7:1. The difference is that in 1 Corinthians 2 the word has a preposition as a prefix which intensifies its meaning. Spirit-filled believers are those who are the children of God. They are to discern or judge all things because they have the Spirit of God residing in them to give them the ability to understand the Word of God. So they have God’s standard as the foundation for judgment. Believers are to be people who judge--not in the critical, destructive sense, not in the sense of trying to discern the motives of people, but in recognizing what God has said regarding character and conduct and then acting on that.
Believers are to test teachers. “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” (1
John 4:1). If someone comes along with a teaching, we are to put that teaching to the test--to prove it. The word which is translated “test” is used of testing metals to prove their genuineness. That is what we are to do with teachers. Believers must be discerning. Sometimes people get upset when I mention false teachers and false doctrines. They ask, “Who are you to judge?” I am a child of God who has the Spirit of God and the Word of God, and I am required to test the spirits, the teachers who hold themselves up as those who are true to the Word of God. Are they true or are they not? That requirement of testing them is placed upon the hearer.
While writing his second epistle, the Apostle John spoke of those who taught about Christ. He wrote in 2 John 10, 11: “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.” It is up to me to make a decision. Is this teacher genuine or not? Is what he says about Jesus Christ true or not? If I am not a discerning Christian and if he is a false teacher, I participate in his evil deeds if I encourage him in his work. Therefore, I must be a discerning judge.
The Apostle Paul gave us the same responsibility in Galatians 1:8,9: “But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.” It does not matter whether he is a man or an angel, if he preaches any other gospel than what Paul has preached, the man is to be accursed. That means we must render a judgment; we must judge people. We have a standard--the Word of God. If someone comes saying you must believe in Jesus Christ plus be circumcised, Paul says let that person be accursed. He is not teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who say you must believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized as part of your salvation are to be accursed. We must be the judges. In order to judge properly, we have to be discerning. Paul does not say this kind of judgment is a good idea; he says God demands it of us as His children.
This is the point Jesus is addressing in Matthew 7. He said verses 15 and 16, “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.” We are expected to judge between the true prophets and the false. He tells us how we can know a true prophet from one who is false. Yet, if I point out someone who is a heretic, people say, “Judge not lest you be judged.” It makes my blood boil to see people twist the Scripture like that. They pull out Matthew 7:1 and throw it around as though they were doing something spiritual. That is a good example of twisting and distorting the Word of God. Believers must be discerning people. God demands it of us. Such discernment relates to doctrine and teachers. We would not expect unbelievers to understand this because they think everyone is going to heaven and we each are going in our own way. They think the church, the sacraments or baptism will get them to heaven. Believers should not be intimidated by that approach. We ought to understand what the Scripture means when it says, “Do not judge lest you be judged.”
Believers are responsible to be discerning Christians in both matters of doctrine and conduct. We probably hear Matthew 7:1 quoted more on the subject of church discipline than on any other single subject. I could have a separate file on the letters and comments we get on church discipline and what people think it has to do with judging. Is that what Jesus is talking about here? Is He saying that if you see sin in the life of a Christian, you should not judge it because we will all give an account before God? That is not what He is saying. God is the ultimate Judge, yet He demands believers to deal with sin in the life of fellow believers.
We will ultimately arrive at Matthew 18 in our study of this Gospel, but let us look briefly now at a few verses there. Jesus said in verse 15, “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private.” Before I can reprove him, I must make a judgment that what he has done is sin. This verse does not say that if your brother does something you do not like, such as wearing his hair in a way you do not like or wearing clothes you do not like, but He says that if your brother sins, you are to reprove him. The Bible tells us that it is a sin to steal. If you know a brother who stole something, you are to render a judgment. The Word of God says that by stealing, he sinned. You are to reprove him. It does not say to keep it to yourself. It does not say to tell the preacher. It does not say to discuss it in your home Bible study. It says to go and reprove him.
Sometimes people call me on the phone and tell me they have found out about sin in a certain person’s life. Then they ask me what I think they should do. I tell them there is nothing to think about. God says you must go talk to him about his sin. “Well,” he says, “I thought maybe you would like to go talk to him.” No, I would not. If God made you aware of that believer’s sin, that is the indication that He wants you to go and reprove him. “Well, what if he doesn’t like it?” If he doesn’t like it, come back and tell me, then I will tell you the next step.
That step is simple. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed” (Matt. 18:16). You do not have a choice of staying out of other believers’ lives when sin is involved. If you know of sin in a believer’s life, you must deal with it. Then if he does not listen to you, take one or two witnesses with you. Then if he does not listen to you and the witnesses, “tell it to the church” (v. 17). Then if he does not listen to the church, he is to be excommunicated.
“Judge not lest you be judged! ” someone yells. This verse does not have anything to do with the instructions regarding church discipline which are given to correct sin in a believer’s life. For someone to use this verse in this context is to distort the Scriptures just like Satan did in the temptation. He quoted Scripture out of context and threw it around as though it had some significance. The Scripture has no significance when it is twisted and distorted except to undermine what God really intends by it.
Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers and condemned them for failing to judge sin in the life of a fellow believer. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.” In that passage he was dealing with one who professed to be a believer who was involved in sin. In this case, it is not appropriate to quote, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). If you have a professing believer who is a drunkard, does it say, “Judge not lest you be judged”? No. It says to deal with his sin and excommunicate him if he fails to deal with it. “Well, who are you to judge him?” I am a child of God who is submissive to the Word of God. God says that is what we are to do. It is very simple. It is not a matter of who I am, it is a matter of who God is. Who is boss around here? God says we should not even eat with such a person. If someone runs up in such situations and says, “Judge not that you be not judged,” he is missing the point.
We need to consider one more verse on this point. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, “And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that man and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame.” Some people object to church discipline saying it would be terribly embarrassing to the person being disciplined. But when we come back to the Word of God, it tells us that embarrassment is the purpose of disciplining him. We are to refuse to associate with him in order that he may be put to shame. He is to be humiliated because of his sin. But we must recognize that the next verse says we are to treat him as a brother, not as an enemy. The purpose in this verse is not merely to humiliate him, but to bring him to his knees before God so that he will deal with his sin. Matthew 7:1 has nothing to do with a restriction on church discipline.
In this study we have wandered far afield from the material of Matthew 7. The reason we have done this is because there is so much misunderstanding in the application of Matthew 7 that I feel we need to see what is not meant by Matthew 7 as well as what is meant. The primary focus of Matthew 7 is to rebuke those who are not believers regarding judging just as this is the purpose of
Romans 2, because the unbeliever has no basis for or the ability to judge equitably. He does not have the Spirit of God within him, so he does not understand the Word of God. Any judgment he renders is apart from God who is the Judge. This is also a reminder to believers that we are not to be destructive critics ignoring sin in our own lives. We should not concentrate on the little things in other people’s lives while ignoring the significant things in our own. We are to be manifesting the character of God and of Jesus Christ in all of these areas. To judge other people’s motives is always out of line for believers because that is a prerogative God has reserved for Himself. As you look at others and evaluate what they are doing, ask yourself some questions. Is what they are doing wrong? Is it sin in light of the Word? If not, you cannot render a verdict on the basis of their motives because you do not know what is in their hearts. What they are doing may appear to be done for self glory, but maybe in their hearts they are consumed with a passion to glorify Jesus Christ. God will judge their motives. We cannot.
Jeremiah 17:10 says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind.” It is He who judges the motives. He is the One who searches the heart. We do not have that ability, so judging motives is always out of line for believers. When you hear another Christian doing that, you ought to step in and rebuke him for it. Ask him how he knows the person is doing that for self glory? How does he know the other person is doing it for more money? Ask for something concrete that is sin which can be dealt with. If there is nothing concrete, then tell the individual that his judgment is not acceptable because men cannot judge motives.
We also need to be careful so that we are discerning in what we do as we give out the Word of God. It is an awesome thing to be told not to give the truth of God to someone. Some individuals, however, have rendered themselves unfit because they are judged as dogs and pigs. They will not understand nor appreciate your giving to them the Word of God. They will only abuse it.
We must be very careful in this area. We want to share the Word of God with unbelievers because we want them to know that Jesus Christ is their Savior. But we must also recognize that for some, there is no purpose in our sharing it with them because it will simply be another occasion for them to hold the Word of God up to ridicule and scorn. It will only give them another opportunity to blaspheme and attempt to be even more ambitious in their destructive attitude toward the Word of God and in their desire to ruin our ministry for Jesus Christ.
We must be discerning as we share the truth of God. We can appreciate the fact that God has given us His Word as our guideline. He has given us His Spirit to indwell us as His children so that we can have the discernment and insight we need. The same Spirit also guides us so that we reflect God’s character in this area and in every other area of our lives. We are those who stand as representatives of Jesus Christ.