Good Judgement and Bad Judgement, Part 3
Matthew 7v1-6
28th March 2025
We've been studying:
Matthew 7v1-6
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way 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 brother's 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 brother's 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 turn and tear you to pieces."
We've seen that judging in the sense of discerning the truth about a person or situation is a good thing, and judging in the sense of condemning another person is a very bad thing. We've also seen that God will discipline us when we judge people and treat them in an unloving way. Jesus says:
Matthew 7v3-5
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's 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 brother's eye."
Some people – including some Christians – take pleasure in criticising others. Some people – including some Christians – try to feel better about themselves by finding fault in others, "I may not be perfect but I'm better than him". That's awful, and it doesn't work.
Are you without sin? Since you know you're not, why do you think you're justified in criticising another person? Maybe your sin is greater than his.
We can be quite skilled when it comes to denying that our sin is sin, or pretending that our sin is only "minor" sin, whatever that means. We can make up our own hierarchy of sins, and claim that the other person's sin is outrageous, while ours is not very important. This enables us to point out the other person's sin, and try to help him, while ignoring our own, but that's a terrible thing to do.
The sin in your own life is like a plank in your eye. It distorts your vision. It prevents you seeing clearly. Jesus uses this metaphor to say that a Christian with sin in his own life is in no position to criticise another. More absurd than "the blind leading the blind", as the saying goes, is the idea of a blind optician. A Christian who denies or minimises the seriousness of his own sin, while criticising somebody else and trying to help him, must inevitably do more harm than good. You can't help another Christian to repent of whatever sin is in his life until you repent of whatever sin is in yours.
All this is true of all sin but I think Jesus is speaking particularly about the sin of judgementalism. Jesus is saying that a Christian with a critical attitude is an absurdity. In order to be a Christian, we must first acknowledge that we are sinners who need forgiveness. Remember that the Sermon on the Mount, of which this passage is a part, begins with the words "Blessed are the poor in spirit". The forgiveness of sins that we all need comes only through the redeeming blood of Christ, shed on the cross for us.
Jesus is not saying we have to be perfect before we can help another person. He is saying that any Christian who wants to address another person's sin without addressing his own, who wants to give the impression - to others or to himself - that he is without sin, is a hypocrite. Let each of us focus on his own sin issues first.
Our last study on this passage will be next week.