LIFE IN THE NEW COMMUNITY
Opening Prayer
My soul thirsts for You, the Living God. Quench my spiritual thirst with new insights from Your Word.
Read MATTHEW 7:1-6
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “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? 4 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? 5 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.
6 “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.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.’1
As the Sermon draws to a close, Jesus turns to how the new community will practice internal discipline and pastoral care. How will the values of the kingdom of God be maintained so that the light of the gospel will continue to shine in the world? How might the movement avoid the tmptation to turn in on itself, enforcing a legalistic identity accompanied by intolerance of legitimate difference and an attitude of superiority to those deemed to be deviant?
The word ‘judge’ here also reminds us that, ultimately, judgment is God’s prerogative alone. Human beings, including church leaders, must never preempt the divine verdict on any individual. We might paraphrase Jesus’ words here as ‘Do not attempt to play God’. This is serious, because those who dismiss people who fail to match their exacting standards in peripheral areas of belief or practice may be blind to their own hypocrisy and the danger they face at the Last Day. The contrast between the ‘speck’ and the ‘plank’ (v 3) lightens the passage, but demonstrates how absurd and laughable is the behavior of people who judge others with a harshness that God Himself will not own.
This theme runs through the New Testament. The disciples report that they stopped a man driving out demons ‘because he was not one of us’ and Jesus replies ‘Do not stop him … whoever is not against us is for us’.2 Paul warns against ‘quareling over disputable matters’ and reminds church members that ‘we will all stand before God’s judgment seat’.3
Apply
Jesus’ warning not to judge ‘or you too will be judged’ (v 1) speaks to us in the digital age. How should this warning shape our use of the internet?
Closing prayer
Forgive me Lord for criticism and judgment of others. I know I am dragging others down because it temporally makes me feel better! Help me to lift others up.
1 James 4:12 2 Mark 9:38–41 3 Rom 14:1–10
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