December 4, 2024 • 42 mins
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” This is one of the best-known verses in all of Scripture, even for non-Christians. Unfortunately, though, it’s also one of the most misunderstood portions of Jesus’ teaching. These words have been misused and twisted, sometimes as an excuse for sin. In this message from Matthew 7:1–6, David Platt helps us see what kind of judgment Jesus wants (and doesn’t want) from his followers. We need the help of God’s Spirit to rightly evaluate our own lives and the lives of others with humility and godly wisdom.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
This text we're about to lookat.
If you have a Bible hope you orsomebody around you does, you
can look on with Matthew.
Chapter 7 is where we're goingto be.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to.
(00:22):
We are about to look at wordsfrom Jesus that we in our
culture, every one of usdesperately need to hear.
So we're about to hear wordsfrom Jesus that strike at the
core of the tendency we have inour culture to be critical and
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judgmental of others in waysthat reveal we have a warped
understanding of ourselves, awarped understanding of others
and, ultimately, a warpedunderstanding of God himself.
So that's what we're about tolook at, and I say we have this
tendency because it's the waterwe swim in in this world and we
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need to be aware of how thistendency affects us subtly and
significantly.
So I want to encourage you, payattention close today, maybe
take notes, which there'll be alot of today Hear, listen to
what God is saying to youindividually and to us
collectively, as the church Inhis word, as God calls us to
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live very differently from thisworld.
So let me set the contextbefore we read these words from
Jesus in Matthew 7.
We're gonna read the first sixverses and these verses begin
the third of three chapters inthe Sermon on the Mount and all
throughout this sermon, jesushas been telling us there's a
better way to live in this world.
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Over and over again I'll put itup here on the screen we see
Jesus using this phrase.
You have heard it was said this, but I say to you this so
there's a better way to livethat starts in your heart and
the part of your life thatnobody else can see.
That's where Jesus started thegood life, the blessed life,
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blessed.
He says it over and over againat the beginning of Matthew,
chapter five the happy lifestarts with being poor inside in
spirit, living totallydependent on God, being pure in
heart.
It's completely focused on God,such that when you obey God and
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others harm you or speak evilagainst you, you rejoice because
you're not living for theapplause of this world.
You're infatuated withaffection for God that leads you
to give generously and praycontinually and fast humbly and
trust God completely.
It's what we saw last week tobe free from worry in this world
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and free from lust and angerand desires for revenge, to be
free even to love your enemies,because your heart is filled
with and transformed by the loveof God.
So all that leads to chapter 7.
And if I were to summarize thequestion Jesus is answering in
the verses we're about to read,this would be the question how
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do we live the good life, thehappy life, the blessed life,
with a pure heart in a fallenworld where people do wrong?
That's a question we all needto answer, because we live in a
world where everybody sins,including every one of us, in
ways that hurt others, in waysthat hurt us.
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So how do you live the goodlife in a fallen world where
people, including us, do fallenthings, do wrong, either in
general or wrong against us, us.
And Jesus says, starting inMatthew, chapter 7, verse 1,
judge not that you be not judged, for with the judgment you
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pronounce you will be judged andwith the measure you use it
will be measured to you.
Why do you see the speck that'sin your brother's eye but do
not notice the log that's inyour own eye?
Or how can you say to yourbrother let me take the speck
out of your eye when there's alog in your own eye, all right.
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So what is Jesus teaching ushere about how to live the good
life, the pure heart and afallen world where people do
wrong?
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Well, before we look at whatJesus is saying here, I want to
make sure we understand whatJesus is not saying here.
So if you're taking notes,let's start there.
Here's what Jesus is not saying.
One Jesus is not saying thatit's wrong to be a judge in a
court of law.
So for judges in our churchfamily, jesus's words judge not
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do not mean that you are out ofa job.
And we see many places inscripture, including our
church's Bible reading today inMicah, chapter six, verse eight,
where God commands us to dojustice and ordains leaders to
carry out justice.
All throughout the Bible we seejudges doing good work under
the sovereignty of God as theultimate judge.
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So this is not Jesus sayingit's wrong to be a judge in a
court of law.
Jesus is also not saying thatit's wrong to evaluate good and
evil in people and circumstances.
So this passage actuallyhighlights the need to evaluate
good and evil in yourself, likewhat's the log in your eye In
others, what's the speck intheir eyes and we're going to
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talk more about verse six later.
But Jesus is telling us todiscern, when we approach
different people with truth orcorrection, how they respond in
good or evil ways.
And all throughout Scripture,including the rest of Matthew,
chapter 7, we're told to discernwhat's good teaching and what's
evil teaching.
What's good behavior, what'sevil behavior.
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So Jesus is definitely notsaying we need to suspend all of
our faculties for discerninggood and evil in people or
circumstances and just viewevery person in every
circumstance through an amorallens Indeed.
According to the Bible, it'snecessary to evaluate good and
evil in people and circumstancesand similarly, jesus is not
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saying it's wrong to assesssomeone's spiritual condition.
Later in this chapter, jesustells us to look at the fruit of
somebody's life to see what'sin their heart.
The world divides into thosewho are followers of Jesus and
those who are not followers ofJesus.
Jesus is not saying it's wrongto assess somebody's spiritual
condition.
Finally, he's saying he's notsaying it's wrong to correct or
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rebuke somebody else in sin.
Even in this passage, jesus istelling us to help remove a
speck from a brother's eye whenthey're caught in sin.
Later, in Matthew, chapter 18,jesus outlines a whole process
for correcting and confronting abrother or sister in Christ in
sin.
For correcting and confrontinga brother or sister in Christ in
sin.
He says this process may evenlead to removing somebody from
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the church, at which point onemight think well, that sounds
critical and judgmental,removing somebody from the
church.
But Jesus is the one who tellsus to do that, which means that
what Jesus is talking about here, there in Matthew chapter 18,
is very different than whatJesus is talking about here in
Matthew chapter 7.
And just to put an exclamationpoint on all of this, look at
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John chapter 7, verse 24, withme.
Jesus says at another point donot judge by appearances, but
judge with right judgment.
You see that Jesus is tellingus to judge.
So he's telling us in Matthewchapter 7, judge not.
And the beginning of Johnchapter.
Actually that should say sorry,not John 5.
That should say John 7.
There we go.
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He says do not judge this way,but do judge this way.
So clearly, when you look atjust both these passages side by
side, you realize there is away to judge that is right and
there is a way to judge that iswrong, that we don't need to do.
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So you can't just come toMatthew, chapter seven, verse
one, and say, well, you're notsupposed to judge.
Jesus said it because Jesusalso said you are supposed to
judge with right judgment, soright way, wrong way to judge.
That leads to what Jesus issaying here.
So when Jesus says judge not,he is telling us three main
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things.
You might write them down.
One he's saying do not behypercritical.
So judging can mean what we'vealready seen helpfully, wisely
evaluating or assessing someoneor some situation.
That's a good kind of judging.
But it can also mean to becritical or condemning or even
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having an avenging attitudetowards someone, which is a bad
kind of judging.
So how do you know if you'rebeing hypercritical?
Well, let's think aboutspecific ways that Jesus and the
rest of the Bible say judgingcan be bad.
When Jesus says judge not, he'sclearly saying here and
throughout the Bible do notjudge harshly.
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Later in Matthew, chapter 18,right after, jesus outlines that
process for judging a brotheror sister in Christ in a good
way, even as I mentioned,removing them from the church.
Jesus then tells a parable.
He tells a story about a manwho owed the king a great deal
of money and the king had mercyon this man forgave him his
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enormous debt.
Then that man went out and topeople who owed him just a
little bit.
He was harsh and unforgiving ofthem and when the king found
out about it he put.
That man went out and to peoplewho owed him just a little bit.
He was harsh and unforgiving ofthem and when the king found
out about it he put that man inprison because of his harshness.
Jesus is clearly saying do notbe harsh, unkind, unsympathetic
in your judgments of others.
Do not judge harshly and do notjudge quickly.
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Jesus is clearly warning hereabout hasty condemnations that
are so easy for us to make inour culture.
Right, we hear something aboutsomeone or something else, we
see something online on socialmedia.
We assume it must be truebecause, well, everything anyone
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says and everything online istrue.
We are so prone to so quicklyform judgments of others and
Jesus is saying don't do it.
Colossians, chapter 3, verse 12through 14,.
Put on patience, bearing withothers, believing the best about
others, even when you have acomplaint about them Related to
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that.
Do not judge rashly.
It's what Jesus said in John 7,24.
Do not judge by appearances.
How often do we make judgmentsabout people or circumstances
without really knowing all theinformation, sometimes based on
second, third, fourth handinformation.
Or when you think about socialmedia, it could have passed
through a hundred differenthands before it got to you.
Or after hearing just oneperspective on a person or a
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situation.
Or how often do we makejudgments about people we don't
actually know, about people wedon't actually know?
I trust we realize social mediathrives on leading us to all of
these kinds of bad judgments.
We can scroll through a feed,through post after post, video
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after video, without evenrealizing it.
We're making all kinds of rashjudgments about people or
situations.
We don't even think about it,and all the more so in the echo
chambers that social mediacreators want us to operate in,
where, once we have a certainset of assumptions about an
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individual or a group of people,we now apply all those negative
assumptions to just aboutanything that that individual or
group of people does.
You can find something wrongwith just about anybody if
that's what you're looking for.
And Jesus says no, do not livelike that.
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Do not judge rashly and do notjudge unfairly based upon your
opinions, preferences orpersonal convictions.
This is what Romans chapter 14is all about.
People in the church weredisagreeing about what food to
eat or what holidays tocelebrate.
Paul writes in Romans 14, 10,why do you pass judgment on your
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brother or you?
Why do you despise your brother?
There's a way to pass judgmentthat is despising your brother.
And it's over these secondaryor even tertiary issues which
brings us back to the wordsJesus says in Matthew, chapter 7
, verse 2, with the judgment youpronounce, you will be judged.
With the measure you use, itwill be measured to you.
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Be careful, the measures youuse for the judgments you make,
the measures you use for thejudgments you make, knowing
there is an eternallysignificant difference between
the law of God and your opinionsor preferences or even personal
convictions.
Those kinds of judgments aredivisive and destructive in the
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church, and Jesus is saying donot judge destructively in ways
that bring down your brother.
Paul continues in Romans 14, 13.
Therefore, let us not passjudgment on one another any
longer, but rather decide neverto put a stumbling block or
hindrance in the way of abrother.
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Instead, romans 14, 19,.
Let us pursue what makes forpeace and for mutual upbuilding.
What a great word.
So much in our culture is aboutbringing people down.
Jesus said my people buildothers up.
Romans 15, verses one and two.
We who are strong have anobligation to bear with the
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failings of the weak, not toplease ourselves.
Let each of us please hisneighbor for his good, to build
him up.
Just pause, think about thatfor a moment.
Think about how there is partof our flesh that actually wants
to see news or hear rumorsabout others' wrongs,
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particularly people we don'tlike or people who have what we
don't have in a way that somehow, we think, makes us feel better
about ourselves.
Ab Bruce describes what hecalls this pharisaic vice in us,
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that of exalting ourselves bydisparaging others, a very cheap
way of attaining moralsuperiority.
And we can do it so easilywithout even realizing we're
doing.
And all of this really tosummarize what Jesus is saying
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here.
He's saying do not judge.
Proudly.
His language here.
When he says judge not, thisverb is a present imperative.
Basically, what that means isit carries a sense of ongoing
action.
It's like this ongoing tendencyto look at others in judgment.
And Jesus is saying when youmake a practice of judging like
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this, you show that your heartis in a selfish place and you
need to die to yourself, to stopasserting yourself before
others and before God, to starthumbling yourself before others
and before God, which leads to atotally different heart and a
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completely different approach tojudging, which is what we see
Jesus calling us to allthroughout Scripture, even just
a few verses later in Matthew,chapter 7, verse 12,.
Lord willing, we'll look atthese few verses, this verse,
next week.
Whatever you wish that otherswould do to you, jesus says do
also to them.
This is the law and theprophets.
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Like Jesus said, judge with themeasure you want to be judged
by.
Do to others what you wouldwant them to do to you.
Do you want to be judgedharshly by others?
Do you want to be judgedquickly People who don't have
all the information?
Do you want to be judged rashly?
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Do you want to be judged basedon other people's opinions,
preferences or personalconvictions in ways that are
destructive for you and others?
Then don't do that for others.
Resist every temptation to dothat for others and do this
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because, praise God, that's nothow he judges us.
Praise God, he doesn't look forall the things that are wrong
in us to accuse us of them allthe time.
That's what the devil does.
That's his name.
He's the accuser.
So don't be like him.
Be like Jesus, who looksmercifully upon you.
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A man named Charles Hodge oncesaid no one can be severe in his
judgment who feels that themild eyes of Jesus are fixed on
him.
I'll see the mild eyes of Jesusfixed on you and then look at
others through his eyes.
And when we do that, just thinkabout how it totally transforms
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our tendency to judge others.
Just turn all these around.
Jesus is saying well, do judgegently, not harshly.
Galatians, chapter six, verseone.
If anyone is caught intransgression, you who are
spiritual should restore him ina spirit of gentleness, gently
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and patiently.
It's the first mark of love.
1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
Love is what it's patient.
Do judge generously, like theparable in Matthew, chapter 18.
As one who has been forgivenmuch for your faults, look for
opportunities to be generoustoward others in their faults.
John Stott said this commandfrom Jesus to judge not is not a
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requirement to be blind toothers in their faults, but
rather a plea to be generous toothers in their faults.
And do judge fairly, based uponwhat is clear and direct in
God's Word.
This is how God commands Hispeople to judge in 1 Corinthians
5, with the measure Godactually uses, where God's Word
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speaks clearly and directly.
We are to judge, but we're alsoto do so constructively, with
the goal of building people up.
Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5,romans 12, romans 14, ephesians,
chapter four all these passagestalk about judging others in
good ways that have as theirgoal the edification of that
person in Jesus, which is onlypossible when we judge humbly,
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when we're dead to ourselves.
Philippians, chapter two, inhumility, counting others as
more significant than ourselves,putting their interests above
our own.
Corinthians, chapter two, inhumility counting others as more
significant than ourselves,putting their interests above
our own.
You put all this together.
Jesus is saying this worldjudges a certain way.
I'm calling you to judge a verydifferent way.
The church of Jesus Christshould savor of a completely
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different spirit than the spiritof this world.
And then Jesus says not onlydon't be hypercritical, but
Jesus says, do not behypocritical.
This is another wrong way tojudge out of the overflow of
hypocrisy.
Why do you see that speck that'sin your brother's eye?
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You don't notice the log that'sin your own eye.
How can you say to your brotherlet me take the speck out of
your eye of hypocrisy.
Why do you see that speckthat's in your brother's eye.
You don't notice the log that'sin your own eye.
How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of
your eye when there's a log inyour own eye?
You hypocrite.
First take the log out of yourown eye, then you'll see clearly
.
Just take the speck out of yourbrother's eye, so anybody knows
.
If you're gonna help somebodyremove a from their eye which
sometimes is needed and helpfulbut that clearly involves
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somebody getting really close toyou to see what's in your eye,
to help you get it out, and thattask is impossible if somebody
has a log sticking out of theireye.
It's obviously a caricatureintended to make a point, and it
does so on a couple levels.
One isn't it interesting thatJesus refers to others' faults
as specks and our faults as logs?
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Because we're tempted to do theopposite.
We're tempted to view others'faults as big and our faults as
small.
Like it's a pressing problem insomeone when we see it in them,
it's a passing mistake when wesee it in us, and we're
particularly prone to see thingsin others that we struggle with
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ourselves.
So whenever we see something insomeone else, our first
question must be is this in me.
Where is this in me?
God held me to see.
Is this in me?
And this is the error of thehypocrite.
Don't miss it.
It's not that the hypocritefinds fault where there's fault.
That's not wrong.
It's that the hypocrite failsto apply to himself or herself
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the criticism he or she someticulously applies to somebody
else.
One writer said this way we canexperience the pleasure of
self-righteousness without thepain of penitence, which is
exactly what Jesus is calling usto.
In this passage, jesus issaying examine yourself and
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repent of your sin humbly,honestly, continuously,
continually and seriously.
Take the log out of your eyeevery day.
Your life will look differentIf you rise each morning eyes
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each morning you behold God inhis holy glory.
You ask him to help.
You see any sin in your lifethat's not pleasing to him,
anything in your thoughts, yourdesires, your motives, your
words, your actions, yourdecisions, anything that's
driven by self and not by theSpirit of Jesus, anything that
doesn't reflect the life and thelove of Jesus.
And you confess that before Godyou repent of sin.
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You receive his grace thatcovers over all that sin before
a holy God that saves you frometernal judgment.
You deserve from God.
You do that humbly, honestly,continually and seriously in
your life, it will totallychange the way you view others
in their sin, with their faults.
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I think about times whenever wehave had just times of prayer
and confession, even when wewere doing it like every single
night, gathering together forprayer, spending time in
confession.
There was never a time where wegot to that point in our
worshiping together where wespend time in confession and it
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was just like.
For me personally, it was neverjust like actually everything's
perfect at this point.
There's always in all of ourlives like need for examination,
need for God to purify us.
So to do this regularly beforeGod and then receive his grace,
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that changes the way you viewpeople around you and it guards
you from the self-righteousnessJesus is guarding us against.
I've quoted many times from anarticle on criticism from Tim
Keller that I reread all thetime.
One of my favorite parts iswhen he writes about when you're
criticized by somebody whodoesn't know you, as often
happens online.
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He puts it and the criticism hesays is completely untrue.
Keller writes when that happens, it is easy to fall into a
smugness and perhaps be temptedto laugh at how mistaken your
critics are.
Pathetic you might be temptedto say Don't do it.
Even if there is not theslightest kernel of truth in
what the critic says, you shouldnot mock them in your thoughts.
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Then he says do two things.
First, he says, remind yourselfof examples of your own
mistakes, your own foolishness,your own cluelessness in the
past times in which you reallygot something wrong.
And second, pray for the criticthat he or she grows in grace.
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Now here's what I love so muchabout that counsel from Keller,
because when I followed it,instead of unfair, unjust,
untrue criticism leading me toassert my moral superiority over
somebody else, in other words,to fueling my flesh, doing this
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actually leads me to greaterhumility, to realize, yeah, I've
thought that way, I've spokenthat way, I've missed it in the
past about people I sure knewGod's grace.
So, god, I pray for your graceover them, just as you've shown
that grace to me.
This is the heart of what Jesusis after in all of our hearts.
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Examine yourself, repent ofyour sin humbly, honestly,
continually and seriously, andthen then help others turn from
their sin personally, graciously, carefully and helpfully, jesus
says.
Then you will be able to seeclearly and take the speck out
of your brother's eye.
The New Testament contains allkinds of instructions for how to
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do this personally like, notover social media or from a
distance, but personally,graciously, gently, carefully,
as Jesus outlined in places likeMatthew 18.
Don't resort to the world's waysof going after people.
No, follow Jesus' way becauseyou want to help them in their
relationship with Him.
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It's not about you being right,it's about them being redeemed.
The hypocritical spirit keepsall of this from happening.
So Jesus says do not behypocritical.
Spirit keeps all of this fromhappening.
So Jesus says do not behypocritical.
Be quick to see, confess,repent of your own sin and to
humbly, carefully help othersturn from sin, the way Jesus
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says to do, in order to leadthem to him.
And in all of this.
So here's the third way not tojudge.
Jesus says do not be foolish.
And verse six says don't givedogs what is holy.
Don't throw your pearls beforepigs, lest they trample them
underfoot and turn to attack you.
There's a lot of discussionamong Bible scholars about
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exactly what this means.
We don't have time to exploreall of that exhaustively today,
but the overall picture is clear.
We need to be wise in the waywe relate to others, based on
how they respond to that whichis good and holy.
So don't picture.
When you picture dogs here,don't picture your favorite
domesticated furry pet.
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This is talking about wild,vicious, savage dogs.
Don't picture domesticated pigs.
If you have one of those, forthat matter, either Picture just
filthy, unclean, muddy animalswith pearls.
Jesus is saying be careful inthe way you interact with people
who are showing that they donot want or treasure what God
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wants and treasures.
So that could apply to sharingthe gospel with people who may
hate the gospel and may be usingwhat you're sharing with them
to attack you.
Or it could apply to people whoyou're trying to love in ways
Jesus has just outlined, butthey're using your actions to
turn around and attack you.
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So get the picture the intentis good, you want to see someone
restored, helped, but theydon't want to receive that in a
way you cannot control.
And Jesus is saying don't befoolish to try to control their
response in ways that don'tactually lead to good.
Maybe a couple of Proverbs willhelp us understand this
Proverbs 9, 7 through 9.
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Whoever corrects a scoffer getshimself abuse, and he who
reproves a wicked man incursinjury.
Do not reprove a scoffer or hewill hate you Reprove a wise man
and he will love you.
You see the contrast there.
A correction and reproof, theseare good things, but trying to
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do so with a scoffer, aridiculer, is not wise.
If your genuine, loving effortsto correct, reprove, help are
not received, then there comes atime to step away from that
person altogether because it'snot leading to good.
You do the same thing with awise person.
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It will lead to good.
Proverbs 26, 4 puts it this wayAnswer not a fool according to
his folly, lest you become likehim yourself.
So if someone and their follykeeps attacking you, there comes
a point where you stopanswering them lest you become
like them.
Now what's really interestingis the very next verse in
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Proverbs.
Verse 5 of chapter 26 saysAnswer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in hisown eyes.
Answer not a fool according tohis folly.
Answer a fool according to hisfolly, lest he be wise in his
own eyes.
Answer not a fool according tohis folly.
Answer a fool according to hisfolly.
Which one is it?
And this is where Proverbs wecould talk a lot about it.
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This is not like laying down alaw always must do this, always
must do that it's givingguidelines which drive us to God
to say God, help me to knowwhen it's wise to answer a fool
for their good or when it's wisenot to answer a fool, lest I'm
becoming like them, which wouldnot be good.
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This is where we need the HolySpirit to help us with wisdom.
Only he can give, and wisdom hepromises to give.
So pray.
Pray for wisdom to know when toconfront and when to avoid.
Matthew 18, we've talked aboutis a time to confront.
Jesus says.
At the same time Paul writeslater in Titus, chapter 3, as
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for a person who stirs updivision, after warning him once
and then twice, have nothingmore to do with him, knowing
that such a person is warped andsinful.
He is self-condemned.
There comes a time when youdon't continue to engage someone
based on how they haveresponded, even as you obviously
continue praying for thatperson.
Similarly, pray for wisdom toknow when to speak and when to
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be silent.
So there's times to speak andtimes to be silent.
Jesus shows us this when he'squestioned by Herod.
He knew Herod was notinterested in what was true and
Herod's heart was hard.
So when Herod asked Jesusquestions, jesus said nothing in
response.
Or pray for wisdom, to knowwhen to press in and when to
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step away.
It's not that we give up onpeople, but just think about the
times when Jesus told hisdisciples to shake the dust off
their feet and move on, whenPaul, his companions, did that
exact thing, and multiple pointsin the book of Acts.
And the point in all of this iswe need the spirit of God to
help us, to guide us, and Ishould add a note here, but an
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important one we need the spiritof Jesus in us and in others
around us to help us here,because we are all so tempted to
judge in bad ways, to behypercritical or hypocritical or
foolish, and we're often poorjudges of our own motives.
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Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter4, verse 4, which means we need
mature brothers and sisters inChrist who are willing to check
us in our judgments when they'rewithout mercy, or unfair or
harsh or any of the things wementioned, that Jesus says don't
judge this way.
We live in a world where we'reconstantly surrounded by
(33:15):
encouragement to judge in waysJesus is telling us not to judge
.
We need brothers and sisters inChrist who will look us in the
eye and gently, carefully say Idon't think you're judging
fairly, gently, generously.
In this circumstance, we needeach other to help us not be
hypercritical, hypocritical orfoolish.
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We need the spirit of Jesus inus and in ourselves which leads
to where we'll close.
So we've seen what Jesus is notsaying.
We've seen what Jesus is saying.
It's totally different than theway this world operates.
So, as we close, hear thisencouragement from God in his
word to you today, by the spiritof Jesus in you.
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So, for everyone who's afollower of Jesus, let us not
follow the hypercritical,hypocritical, foolish spirit of
this world, but out of theoverflow of the spirit of Jesus
in us, let's do the followingOne do see yourself correctly.
See yourself correctly, as wetalked about.
(34:22):
See your sin for how serious itis.
Like Paul, I'm the chief ofsinners.
See your sin for how serious itis and see God's grace towards
you for how glorious it is.
So this is not Jesus sayinghave a low view of yourself.
Just think about yourself asthe center all the time.
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This is Jesus saying have atrue view of yourself as one who
has sinned and is prone to sinin eternally serious ways
against God and who has beenforgiven and has an open door
before God to be forgivenbecause of his grace and his
love for you, and not justforgiven of your sins.
(35:04):
See yourself correctly.
You are filled with the spiritof Jesus inside of you.
This is who you are.
You have power to live likeJesus lives and to love like
Jesus loves, in a way that'stotally different from this
world.
You have supernatural power inthe fight against hypercritical,
hypocritical, foolishtendencies in this world.
(35:26):
So see yourself correctly.
Second, do see otherscompassionately.
Jesus loves sinners.
The Spirit of Jesus is in you,so you love sinners around you.
We live in a world of criticalspirits all around us Social
media, school work, socialrelationships with family and
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friends.
But the church is different.
We are different.
We have the Spirit of Jesus inus, who loves others so much he
lays down his life for them.
So that's what we do we loveothers, we serve others, we
build others up.
We want to restore others.
Yes, when they're caught in sin, we want to do that humbly,
gently, wisely, helpfully.
But how we do that?
(36:10):
Like Chrysostom, early churchfather, said, of someone who has
sinned or sinned against you,correct him, but not as a foe,
nor as an adversary, exacting apenalty, but as a physician
providing medicines, as evenmore as a brother or sister
longing to see a family memberrestored and redeemed.
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And then, for those outside thechurch, be the most encouraging
people in non-Christians' livesOf course not encouraging sin in
their lives, but caring forthem deeply, serving them
selflessly, pointing them to theone who's laid down his life
for them and their sin.
If you're not a Christian today, as I mentioned earlier, it's
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what I hope I pray you will hearand see and everything we pray
and sing and say that God lovesyou so much that he's made a way
for you to be forgiven of allyour sin before him through what
Jesus did on the cross for you,and you will trust in Jesus to
forgive you of your sin andrestore you to relationship with
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God.
He loves you so much and whenyou trust in his love for you,
it changes everything about howyou live, which leads to the
last encouragement here by thespirit of Jesus, in you see
yourself correctly, see otherscompassionately and do see God
(37:39):
clearly I mentioned when we arehypercritical, hypocritical,
foolish in all these ways, it'sbecause we have a warped view of
ourselves, others andultimately it's because we have
a warped view of ourselves,others and ultimately it's
because we have a warped view ofGod.
So I want to encourage you interms of seeing God.
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One remember God is ultimatelythe judge with a capital J and
you are not, so you need not tryto take his place.
That's why Romans 12, 19 saysdon't try to avenge yourselves.
Leave it to the judgment of God.
Don't try to play God when itcomes to others' faults.
(38:22):
Trust God and his judgments andpraise God as the ultimate
judge who is merciful to all whotrust in him.
This is where I want toencourage you to see God for who
he is to you, as a follower ofJesus, and live in light of your
(38:43):
relationship with him.
Live and love others in thelight of God as your judge, your
savior, your father, yourfriend.
Just let each one of those soakin.
When you're tempted to have acritical spirit toward others,
hypercritical, to judge harshly,quickly, rashly, destructively,
proudly.
Whenever you're tempted to behypocritical, see in others what
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you're blind to in yourself.
Whenever you're tempted tofoolishly try to control a
situation, manufacture aresponse you can't make happen,
just look up and see God as yourjudge, which means you can
trust his judgments now andforever, your savior, the God
who saves you from the judgmentyou deserve.
(39:28):
See God in this way, as the onewho looks at you Christian, not
condemningly, butcompassionately.
So many Christians live theirChristian lives viewing God as
constantly disappointed in themand condemning of them.
And that is a lie from theadversary, from the devil
(39:51):
himself.
He is the accuser.
That's his name, that's notGod's name.
God is the Savior, who lovesyou so much.
He is not disappointed in you.
He delights in you.
This is who you are.
You are his child.
He's your father who loves you,who doesn't hold your sin
(40:11):
against you.
He's not constantly looking atyou thinking about what you did
in the past.
He's looking at you and seeingthe righteousness of his own son
.
And he, god, is your judge,your savior, your father and
your friend.
God is your friend.
He loves you, walks with you,in love for you through every
(40:35):
single second of your life.
Look up and see him clearly.
Then live and love others inlight of his spirit inside you,
not the spirit of the worldaround you.
So I want to lead you to amoment before God in prayer, to
reflect on this question.
It's just between you and God.
In what ways do you need torepent today of a hypercritical,
(41:02):
hypocritical or foolish spirit.
I want to give you a momentjust to ask God to help you see
any evidences of this sort ofspirit in you, and just to ask
him, and as things start comingto your mind, don't just start
(41:25):
justifying yourself.
I mean, they deserve that Justbefore God.
God, show me any ways that I'mjudging that are not from the
Spirit of Jesus, and then askGod to forgive you, cleanse you,
knowing he wants to forgive youand that he wants to replace
(41:46):
that spirit with the fullness ofhis spirit.
So ask him to do that and hewill Just press in right now and
pray God, help us to think,make judgments, live love, speak
out of the overflow of thespirit of Jesus.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's episode of Radical with
(42:07):
David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
This text we're about to lookat.
If you have a Bible hope you orsomebody around you does, you
can look on with Matthew.
Chapter 7 is where we're goingto be.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to.
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We are about to look at wordsfrom Jesus that we in our
culture, every one of usdesperately need to hear.
So we're about to hear wordsfrom Jesus that strike at the
core of the tendency we have inour culture to be critical and
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judgmental of others in waysthat reveal we have a warped
understanding of ourselves, awarped understanding of others
and, ultimately, a warpedunderstanding of God himself.
So that's what we're about tolook at, and I say we have this
tendency because it's the waterwe swim in in this world and we
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need to be aware of how thistendency affects us subtly and
significantly.
So I want to encourage you, payattention close today, maybe
take notes, which there'll be alot of today Hear, listen to
what God is saying to youindividually and to us
collectively, as the church Inhis word, as God calls us to
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live very differently from thisworld.
So let me set the contextbefore we read these words from
Jesus in Matthew 7.
We're gonna read the first sixverses and these verses begin
the third of three chapters inthe Sermon on the Mount and all
throughout this sermon, jesushas been telling us there's a
better way to live in this world.
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Over and over again I'll put itup here on the screen we see
Jesus using this phrase.
You have heard it was said this, but I say to you this so
there's a better way to livethat starts in your heart and
the part of your life thatnobody else can see.
That's where Jesus started thegood life, the blessed life,
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blessed.
He says it over and over againat the beginning of Matthew,
chapter five the happy lifestarts with being poor inside in
spirit, living totallydependent on God, being pure in
heart.
It's completely focused on God,such that when you obey God and
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others harm you or speak evilagainst you, you rejoice because
you're not living for theapplause of this world.
You're infatuated withaffection for God that leads you
to give generously and praycontinually and fast humbly and
trust God completely.
It's what we saw last week tobe free from worry in this world
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and free from lust and angerand desires for revenge, to be
free even to love your enemies,because your heart is filled
with and transformed by the loveof God.
So all that leads to chapter 7.
And if I were to summarize thequestion Jesus is answering in
the verses we're about to read,this would be the question how
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do we live the good life, thehappy life, the blessed life,
with a pure heart in a fallenworld where people do wrong?
That's a question we all needto answer, because we live in a
world where everybody sins,including every one of us, in
ways that hurt others, in waysthat hurt us.
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So how do you live the goodlife in a fallen world where
people, including us, do fallenthings, do wrong, either in
general or wrong against us, us.
And Jesus says, starting inMatthew, chapter 7, verse 1,
judge not that you be not judged, for with the judgment you
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pronounce you will be judged andwith the measure you use it
will be measured to you.
Why do you see the speck that'sin your brother's eye but do
not notice the log that's inyour own eye?
Or how can you say to yourbrother let me take the speck
out of your eye when there's alog in your own eye, all right.
(04:34):
So what is Jesus teaching ushere about how to live the good
life, the pure heart and afallen world where people do
wrong?
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Well, before we look at whatJesus is saying here, I want to
make sure we understand whatJesus is not saying here.
So if you're taking notes,let's start there.
Here's what Jesus is not saying.
One Jesus is not saying thatit's wrong to be a judge in a
court of law.
So for judges in our churchfamily, jesus's words judge not
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do not mean that you are out ofa job.
And we see many places inscripture, including our
church's Bible reading today inMicah, chapter six, verse eight,
where God commands us to dojustice and ordains leaders to
carry out justice.
All throughout the Bible we seejudges doing good work under
the sovereignty of God as theultimate judge.
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So this is not Jesus sayingit's wrong to be a judge in a
court of law.
Jesus is also not saying thatit's wrong to evaluate good and
evil in people and circumstances.
So this passage actuallyhighlights the need to evaluate
good and evil in yourself, likewhat's the log in your eye In
others, what's the speck intheir eyes and we're going to
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talk more about verse six later.
But Jesus is telling us todiscern, when we approach
different people with truth orcorrection, how they respond in
good or evil ways.
And all throughout Scripture,including the rest of Matthew,
chapter 7, we're told to discernwhat's good teaching and what's
evil teaching.
What's good behavior, what'sevil behavior.
(06:20):
So Jesus is definitely notsaying we need to suspend all of
our faculties for discerninggood and evil in people or
circumstances and just viewevery person in every
circumstance through an amorallens Indeed.
According to the Bible, it'snecessary to evaluate good and
evil in people and circumstancesand similarly, jesus is not
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saying it's wrong to assesssomeone's spiritual condition.
Later in this chapter, jesustells us to look at the fruit of
somebody's life to see what'sin their heart.
The world divides into thosewho are followers of Jesus and
those who are not followers ofJesus.
Jesus is not saying it's wrongto assess somebody's spiritual
condition.
Finally, he's saying he's notsaying it's wrong to correct or
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rebuke somebody else in sin.
Even in this passage, jesus istelling us to help remove a
speck from a brother's eye whenthey're caught in sin.
Later, in Matthew, chapter 18,jesus outlines a whole process
for correcting and confronting abrother or sister in Christ in
sin.
For correcting and confrontinga brother or sister in Christ in
sin.
He says this process may evenlead to removing somebody from
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the church, at which point onemight think well, that sounds
critical and judgmental,removing somebody from the
church.
But Jesus is the one who tellsus to do that, which means that
what Jesus is talking about here, there in Matthew chapter 18,
is very different than whatJesus is talking about here in
Matthew chapter 7.
And just to put an exclamationpoint on all of this, look at
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John chapter 7, verse 24, withme.
Jesus says at another point donot judge by appearances, but
judge with right judgment.
You see that Jesus is tellingus to judge.
So he's telling us in Matthewchapter 7, judge not.
And the beginning of Johnchapter.
Actually that should say sorry,not John 5.
That should say John 7.
There we go.
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He says do not judge this way,but do judge this way.
So clearly, when you look atjust both these passages side by
side, you realize there is away to judge that is right and
there is a way to judge that iswrong, that we don't need to do.
(08:32):
So you can't just come toMatthew, chapter seven, verse
one, and say, well, you're notsupposed to judge.
Jesus said it because Jesusalso said you are supposed to
judge with right judgment, soright way, wrong way to judge.
That leads to what Jesus issaying here.
So when Jesus says judge not,he is telling us three main
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things.
You might write them down.
One he's saying do not behypercritical.
So judging can mean what we'vealready seen helpfully, wisely
evaluating or assessing someoneor some situation.
That's a good kind of judging.
But it can also mean to becritical or condemning or even
(09:16):
having an avenging attitudetowards someone, which is a bad
kind of judging.
So how do you know if you'rebeing hypercritical?
Well, let's think aboutspecific ways that Jesus and the
rest of the Bible say judgingcan be bad.
When Jesus says judge not, he'sclearly saying here and
throughout the Bible do notjudge harshly.
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Later in Matthew, chapter 18,right after, jesus outlines that
process for judging a brotheror sister in Christ in a good
way, even as I mentioned,removing them from the church.
Jesus then tells a parable.
He tells a story about a manwho owed the king a great deal
of money and the king had mercyon this man forgave him his
(09:58):
enormous debt.
Then that man went out and topeople who owed him just a
little bit.
He was harsh and unforgiving ofthem and when the king found
out about it he put.
That man went out and to peoplewho owed him just a little bit.
He was harsh and unforgiving ofthem and when the king found
out about it he put that man inprison because of his harshness.
Jesus is clearly saying do notbe harsh, unkind, unsympathetic
in your judgments of others.
Do not judge harshly and do notjudge quickly.
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Jesus is clearly warning hereabout hasty condemnations that
are so easy for us to make inour culture.
Right, we hear something aboutsomeone or something else, we
see something online on socialmedia.
We assume it must be truebecause, well, everything anyone
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says and everything online istrue.
We are so prone to so quicklyform judgments of others and
Jesus is saying don't do it.
Colossians, chapter 3, verse 12through 14,.
Put on patience, bearing withothers, believing the best about
others, even when you have acomplaint about them Related to
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that.
Do not judge rashly.
It's what Jesus said in John 7,24.
Do not judge by appearances.
How often do we make judgmentsabout people or circumstances
without really knowing all theinformation, sometimes based on
second, third, fourth handinformation.
Or when you think about socialmedia, it could have passed
through a hundred differenthands before it got to you.
Or after hearing just oneperspective on a person or a
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situation.
Or how often do we makejudgments about people we don't
actually know, about people wedon't actually know?
I trust we realize social mediathrives on leading us to all of
these kinds of bad judgments.
We can scroll through a feed,through post after post, video
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after video, without evenrealizing it.
We're making all kinds of rashjudgments about people or
situations.
We don't even think about it,and all the more so in the echo
chambers that social mediacreators want us to operate in,
where, once we have a certainset of assumptions about an
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individual or a group of people,we now apply all those negative
assumptions to just aboutanything that that individual or
group of people does.
You can find something wrongwith just about anybody if
that's what you're looking for.
And Jesus says no, do not livelike that.
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Do not judge rashly and do notjudge unfairly based upon your
opinions, preferences orpersonal convictions.
This is what Romans chapter 14is all about.
People in the church weredisagreeing about what food to
eat or what holidays tocelebrate.
Paul writes in Romans 14, 10,why do you pass judgment on your
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brother or you?
Why do you despise your brother?
There's a way to pass judgmentthat is despising your brother.
And it's over these secondaryor even tertiary issues which
brings us back to the wordsJesus says in Matthew, chapter 7
, verse 2, with the judgment youpronounce, you will be judged.
With the measure you use, itwill be measured to you.
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Be careful, the measures youuse for the judgments you make,
the measures you use for thejudgments you make, knowing
there is an eternallysignificant difference between
the law of God and your opinionsor preferences or even personal
convictions.
Those kinds of judgments aredivisive and destructive in the
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church, and Jesus is saying donot judge destructively in ways
that bring down your brother.
Paul continues in Romans 14, 13.
Therefore, let us not passjudgment on one another any
longer, but rather decide neverto put a stumbling block or
hindrance in the way of abrother.
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Instead, romans 14, 19,.
Let us pursue what makes forpeace and for mutual upbuilding.
What a great word.
So much in our culture is aboutbringing people down.
Jesus said my people buildothers up.
Romans 15, verses one and two.
We who are strong have anobligation to bear with the
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failings of the weak, not toplease ourselves.
Let each of us please hisneighbor for his good, to build
him up.
Just pause, think about thatfor a moment.
Think about how there is partof our flesh that actually wants
to see news or hear rumorsabout others' wrongs,
(14:45):
particularly people we don'tlike or people who have what we
don't have in a way that somehow, we think, makes us feel better
about ourselves.
Ab Bruce describes what hecalls this pharisaic vice in us,
(15:06):
that of exalting ourselves bydisparaging others, a very cheap
way of attaining moralsuperiority.
And we can do it so easilywithout even realizing we're
doing.
And all of this really tosummarize what Jesus is saying
(15:27):
here.
He's saying do not judge.
Proudly.
His language here.
When he says judge not, thisverb is a present imperative.
Basically, what that means isit carries a sense of ongoing
action.
It's like this ongoing tendencyto look at others in judgment.
And Jesus is saying when youmake a practice of judging like
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this, you show that your heartis in a selfish place and you
need to die to yourself, to stopasserting yourself before
others and before God, to starthumbling yourself before others
and before God, which leads to atotally different heart and a
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completely different approach tojudging, which is what we see
Jesus calling us to allthroughout Scripture, even just
a few verses later in Matthew,chapter 7, verse 12,.
Lord willing, we'll look atthese few verses, this verse,
next week.
Whatever you wish that otherswould do to you, jesus says do
also to them.
This is the law and theprophets.
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Like Jesus said, judge with themeasure you want to be judged
by.
Do to others what you wouldwant them to do to you.
Do you want to be judgedharshly by others?
Do you want to be judgedquickly People who don't have
all the information?
Do you want to be judged rashly?
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Do you want to be judged basedon other people's opinions,
preferences or personalconvictions in ways that are
destructive for you and others?
Then don't do that for others.
Resist every temptation to dothat for others and do this
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because, praise God, that's nothow he judges us.
Praise God, he doesn't look forall the things that are wrong
in us to accuse us of them allthe time.
That's what the devil does.
That's his name.
He's the accuser.
So don't be like him.
Be like Jesus, who looksmercifully upon you.
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A man named Charles Hodge oncesaid no one can be severe in his
judgment who feels that themild eyes of Jesus are fixed on
him.
I'll see the mild eyes of Jesusfixed on you and then look at
others through his eyes.
And when we do that, just thinkabout how it totally transforms
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our tendency to judge others.
Just turn all these around.
Jesus is saying well, do judgegently, not harshly.
Galatians, chapter six, verseone.
If anyone is caught intransgression, you who are
spiritual should restore him ina spirit of gentleness, gently
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and patiently.
It's the first mark of love.
1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
Love is what it's patient.
Do judge generously, like theparable in Matthew, chapter 18.
As one who has been forgivenmuch for your faults, look for
opportunities to be generoustoward others in their faults.
John Stott said this commandfrom Jesus to judge not is not a
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requirement to be blind toothers in their faults, but
rather a plea to be generous toothers in their faults.
And do judge fairly, based uponwhat is clear and direct in
God's Word.
This is how God commands Hispeople to judge in 1 Corinthians
5, with the measure Godactually uses, where God's Word
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speaks clearly and directly.
We are to judge, but we're alsoto do so constructively, with
the goal of building people up.
Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5,romans 12, romans 14, ephesians,
chapter four all these passagestalk about judging others in
good ways that have as theirgoal the edification of that
person in Jesus, which is onlypossible when we judge humbly,
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when we're dead to ourselves.
Philippians, chapter two, inhumility, counting others as
more significant than ourselves,putting their interests above
our own.
Corinthians, chapter two, inhumility counting others as more
significant than ourselves,putting their interests above
our own.
You put all this together.
Jesus is saying this worldjudges a certain way.
I'm calling you to judge a verydifferent way.
The church of Jesus Christshould savor of a completely
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different spirit than the spiritof this world.
And then Jesus says not onlydon't be hypercritical, but
Jesus says, do not behypocritical.
This is another wrong way tojudge out of the overflow of
hypocrisy.
Why do you see that speck that'sin your brother's eye?
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You don't notice the log that'sin your own eye.
How can you say to your brotherlet me take the speck out of
your eye of hypocrisy.
Why do you see that speckthat's in your brother's eye.
You don't notice the log that'sin your own eye.
How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of
your eye when there's a log inyour own eye?
You hypocrite.
First take the log out of yourown eye, then you'll see clearly
.
Just take the speck out of yourbrother's eye, so anybody knows
.
If you're gonna help somebodyremove a from their eye which
sometimes is needed and helpfulbut that clearly involves
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somebody getting really close toyou to see what's in your eye,
to help you get it out, and thattask is impossible if somebody
has a log sticking out of theireye.
It's obviously a caricatureintended to make a point, and it
does so on a couple levels.
One isn't it interesting thatJesus refers to others' faults
as specks and our faults as logs?
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Because we're tempted to do theopposite.
We're tempted to view others'faults as big and our faults as
small.
Like it's a pressing problem insomeone when we see it in them,
it's a passing mistake when wesee it in us, and we're
particularly prone to see thingsin others that we struggle with
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ourselves.
So whenever we see something insomeone else, our first
question must be is this in me.
Where is this in me?
God held me to see.
Is this in me?
And this is the error of thehypocrite.
Don't miss it.
It's not that the hypocritefinds fault where there's fault.
That's not wrong.
It's that the hypocrite failsto apply to himself or herself
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the criticism he or she someticulously applies to somebody
else.
One writer said this way we canexperience the pleasure of
self-righteousness without thepain of penitence, which is
exactly what Jesus is calling usto.
In this passage, jesus issaying examine yourself and
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repent of your sin humbly,honestly, continuously,
continually and seriously.
Take the log out of your eyeevery day.
Your life will look differentIf you rise each morning eyes
(22:49):
each morning you behold God inhis holy glory.
You ask him to help.
You see any sin in your lifethat's not pleasing to him,
anything in your thoughts, yourdesires, your motives, your
words, your actions, yourdecisions, anything that's
driven by self and not by theSpirit of Jesus, anything that
doesn't reflect the life and thelove of Jesus.
And you confess that before Godyou repent of sin.
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You receive his grace thatcovers over all that sin before
a holy God that saves you frometernal judgment.
You deserve from God.
You do that humbly, honestly,continually and seriously in
your life, it will totallychange the way you view others
in their sin, with their faults.
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I think about times whenever wehave had just times of prayer
and confession, even when wewere doing it like every single
night, gathering together forprayer, spending time in
confession.
There was never a time where wegot to that point in our
worshiping together where wespend time in confession and it
(23:57):
was just like.
For me personally, it was neverjust like actually everything's
perfect at this point.
There's always in all of ourlives like need for examination,
need for God to purify us.
So to do this regularly beforeGod and then receive his grace,
(24:21):
that changes the way you viewpeople around you and it guards
you from the self-righteousnessJesus is guarding us against.
I've quoted many times from anarticle on criticism from Tim
Keller that I reread all thetime.
One of my favorite parts iswhen he writes about when you're
criticized by somebody whodoesn't know you, as often
happens online.
(24:41):
He puts it and the criticism hesays is completely untrue.
Keller writes when that happens, it is easy to fall into a
smugness and perhaps be temptedto laugh at how mistaken your
critics are.
Pathetic you might be temptedto say Don't do it.
Even if there is not theslightest kernel of truth in
what the critic says, you shouldnot mock them in your thoughts.
(25:04):
Then he says do two things.
First, he says, remind yourselfof examples of your own
mistakes, your own foolishness,your own cluelessness in the
past times in which you reallygot something wrong.
And second, pray for the criticthat he or she grows in grace.
(25:25):
Now here's what I love so muchabout that counsel from Keller,
because when I followed it,instead of unfair, unjust,
untrue criticism leading me toassert my moral superiority over
somebody else, in other words,to fueling my flesh, doing this
(25:45):
actually leads me to greaterhumility, to realize, yeah, I've
thought that way, I've spokenthat way, I've missed it in the
past about people I sure knewGod's grace.
So, god, I pray for your graceover them, just as you've shown
that grace to me.
This is the heart of what Jesusis after in all of our hearts.
(26:11):
Examine yourself, repent ofyour sin humbly, honestly,
continually and seriously, andthen then help others turn from
their sin personally, graciously, carefully and helpfully, jesus
says.
Then you will be able to seeclearly and take the speck out
of your brother's eye.
The New Testament contains allkinds of instructions for how to
(26:33):
do this personally like, notover social media or from a
distance, but personally,graciously, gently, carefully,
as Jesus outlined in places likeMatthew 18.
Don't resort to the world's waysof going after people.
No, follow Jesus' way becauseyou want to help them in their
relationship with Him.
(26:54):
It's not about you being right,it's about them being redeemed.
The hypocritical spirit keepsall of this from happening.
So Jesus says do not behypocritical.
Spirit keeps all of this fromhappening.
So Jesus says do not behypocritical.
Be quick to see, confess,repent of your own sin and to
humbly, carefully help othersturn from sin, the way Jesus
(27:16):
says to do, in order to leadthem to him.
And in all of this.
So here's the third way not tojudge.
Jesus says do not be foolish.
And verse six says don't givedogs what is holy.
Don't throw your pearls beforepigs, lest they trample them
underfoot and turn to attack you.
There's a lot of discussionamong Bible scholars about
(27:39):
exactly what this means.
We don't have time to exploreall of that exhaustively today,
but the overall picture is clear.
We need to be wise in the waywe relate to others, based on
how they respond to that whichis good and holy.
So don't picture.
When you picture dogs here,don't picture your favorite
domesticated furry pet.
(28:00):
This is talking about wild,vicious, savage dogs.
Don't picture domesticated pigs.
If you have one of those, forthat matter, either Picture just
filthy, unclean, muddy animalswith pearls.
Jesus is saying be careful inthe way you interact with people
who are showing that they donot want or treasure what God
(28:24):
wants and treasures.
So that could apply to sharingthe gospel with people who may
hate the gospel and may be usingwhat you're sharing with them
to attack you.
Or it could apply to people whoyou're trying to love in ways
Jesus has just outlined, butthey're using your actions to
turn around and attack you.
(28:45):
So get the picture the intentis good, you want to see someone
restored, helped, but theydon't want to receive that in a
way you cannot control.
And Jesus is saying don't befoolish to try to control their
response in ways that don'tactually lead to good.
Maybe a couple of Proverbs willhelp us understand this
Proverbs 9, 7 through 9.
(29:07):
Whoever corrects a scoffer getshimself abuse, and he who
reproves a wicked man incursinjury.
Do not reprove a scoffer or hewill hate you Reprove a wise man
and he will love you.
You see the contrast there.
A correction and reproof, theseare good things, but trying to
(29:27):
do so with a scoffer, aridiculer, is not wise.
If your genuine, loving effortsto correct, reprove, help are
not received, then there comes atime to step away from that
person altogether because it'snot leading to good.
You do the same thing with awise person.
(29:50):
It will lead to good.
Proverbs 26, 4 puts it this wayAnswer not a fool according to
his folly, lest you become likehim yourself.
So if someone and their follykeeps attacking you, there comes
a point where you stopanswering them lest you become
like them.
Now what's really interestingis the very next verse in
(30:13):
Proverbs.
Verse 5 of chapter 26 saysAnswer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in hisown eyes.
Answer not a fool according tohis folly.
Answer a fool according to hisfolly, lest he be wise in his
own eyes.
Answer not a fool according tohis folly.
Answer a fool according to hisfolly.
Which one is it?
And this is where Proverbs wecould talk a lot about it.
(30:34):
This is not like laying down alaw always must do this, always
must do that it's givingguidelines which drive us to God
to say God, help me to knowwhen it's wise to answer a fool
for their good or when it's wisenot to answer a fool, lest I'm
becoming like them, which wouldnot be good.
(30:55):
This is where we need the HolySpirit to help us with wisdom.
Only he can give, and wisdom hepromises to give.
So pray.
Pray for wisdom to know when toconfront and when to avoid.
Matthew 18, we've talked aboutis a time to confront.
Jesus says.
At the same time Paul writeslater in Titus, chapter 3, as
(31:18):
for a person who stirs updivision, after warning him once
and then twice, have nothingmore to do with him, knowing
that such a person is warped andsinful.
He is self-condemned.
There comes a time when youdon't continue to engage someone
based on how they haveresponded, even as you obviously
continue praying for thatperson.
Similarly, pray for wisdom toknow when to speak and when to
(31:42):
be silent.
So there's times to speak andtimes to be silent.
Jesus shows us this when he'squestioned by Herod.
He knew Herod was notinterested in what was true and
Herod's heart was hard.
So when Herod asked Jesusquestions, jesus said nothing in
response.
Or pray for wisdom, to knowwhen to press in and when to
(32:05):
step away.
It's not that we give up onpeople, but just think about the
times when Jesus told hisdisciples to shake the dust off
their feet and move on, whenPaul, his companions, did that
exact thing, and multiple pointsin the book of Acts.
And the point in all of this iswe need the spirit of God to
help us, to guide us, and Ishould add a note here, but an
(32:29):
important one we need the spiritof Jesus in us and in others
around us to help us here,because we are all so tempted to
judge in bad ways, to behypercritical or hypocritical or
foolish, and we're often poorjudges of our own motives.
(32:51):
Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter4, verse 4, which means we need
mature brothers and sisters inChrist who are willing to check
us in our judgments when they'rewithout mercy, or unfair or
harsh or any of the things wementioned, that Jesus says don't
judge this way.
We live in a world where we'reconstantly surrounded by
(33:15):
encouragement to judge in waysJesus is telling us not to judge
.
We need brothers and sisters inChrist who will look us in the
eye and gently, carefully say Idon't think you're judging
fairly, gently, generously.
In this circumstance, we needeach other to help us not be
hypercritical, hypocritical orfoolish.
(33:38):
We need the spirit of Jesus inus and in ourselves which leads
to where we'll close.
So we've seen what Jesus is notsaying.
We've seen what Jesus is saying.
It's totally different than theway this world operates.
So, as we close, hear thisencouragement from God in his
word to you today, by the spiritof Jesus in you.
(34:00):
So, for everyone who's afollower of Jesus, let us not
follow the hypercritical,hypocritical, foolish spirit of
this world, but out of theoverflow of the spirit of Jesus
in us, let's do the followingOne do see yourself correctly.
See yourself correctly, as wetalked about.
(34:22):
See your sin for how serious itis.
Like Paul, I'm the chief ofsinners.
See your sin for how serious itis and see God's grace towards
you for how glorious it is.
So this is not Jesus sayinghave a low view of yourself.
Just think about yourself asthe center all the time.
(34:44):
This is Jesus saying have atrue view of yourself as one who
has sinned and is prone to sinin eternally serious ways
against God and who has beenforgiven and has an open door
before God to be forgivenbecause of his grace and his
love for you, and not justforgiven of your sins.
(35:04):
See yourself correctly.
You are filled with the spiritof Jesus inside of you.
This is who you are.
You have power to live likeJesus lives and to love like
Jesus loves, in a way that'stotally different from this
world.
You have supernatural power inthe fight against hypercritical,
hypocritical, foolishtendencies in this world.
(35:26):
So see yourself correctly.
Second, do see otherscompassionately.
Jesus loves sinners.
The Spirit of Jesus is in you,so you love sinners around you.
We live in a world of criticalspirits all around us Social
media, school work, socialrelationships with family and
(35:48):
friends.
But the church is different.
We are different.
We have the Spirit of Jesus inus, who loves others so much he
lays down his life for them.
So that's what we do we loveothers, we serve others, we
build others up.
We want to restore others.
Yes, when they're caught in sin, we want to do that humbly,
gently, wisely, helpfully.
But how we do that?
(36:10):
Like Chrysostom, early churchfather, said, of someone who has
sinned or sinned against you,correct him, but not as a foe,
nor as an adversary, exacting apenalty, but as a physician
providing medicines, as evenmore as a brother or sister
longing to see a family memberrestored and redeemed.
(36:32):
And then, for those outside thechurch, be the most encouraging
people in non-Christians' livesOf course not encouraging sin in
their lives, but caring forthem deeply, serving them
selflessly, pointing them to theone who's laid down his life
for them and their sin.
If you're not a Christian today, as I mentioned earlier, it's
(36:54):
what I hope I pray you will hearand see and everything we pray
and sing and say that God lovesyou so much that he's made a way
for you to be forgiven of allyour sin before him through what
Jesus did on the cross for you,and you will trust in Jesus to
forgive you of your sin andrestore you to relationship with
(37:18):
God.
He loves you so much and whenyou trust in his love for you,
it changes everything about howyou live, which leads to the
last encouragement here by thespirit of Jesus, in you see
yourself correctly, see otherscompassionately and do see God
(37:39):
clearly I mentioned when we arehypercritical, hypocritical,
foolish in all these ways, it'sbecause we have a warped view of
ourselves, others andultimately it's because we have
a warped view of ourselves,others and ultimately it's
because we have a warped view ofGod.
So I want to encourage you interms of seeing God.
(38:00):
One remember God is ultimatelythe judge with a capital J and
you are not, so you need not tryto take his place.
That's why Romans 12, 19 saysdon't try to avenge yourselves.
Leave it to the judgment of God.
Don't try to play God when itcomes to others' faults.
(38:22):
Trust God and his judgments andpraise God as the ultimate
judge who is merciful to all whotrust in him.
This is where I want toencourage you to see God for who
he is to you, as a follower ofJesus, and live in light of your
(38:43):
relationship with him.
Live and love others in thelight of God as your judge, your
savior, your father, yourfriend.
Just let each one of those soakin.
When you're tempted to have acritical spirit toward others,
hypercritical, to judge harshly,quickly, rashly, destructively,
proudly.
Whenever you're tempted to behypocritical, see in others what
(39:07):
you're blind to in yourself.
Whenever you're tempted tofoolishly try to control a
situation, manufacture aresponse you can't make happen,
just look up and see God as yourjudge, which means you can
trust his judgments now andforever, your savior, the God
who saves you from the judgmentyou deserve.
(39:28):
See God in this way, as the onewho looks at you Christian, not
condemningly, butcompassionately.
So many Christians live theirChristian lives viewing God as
constantly disappointed in themand condemning of them.
And that is a lie from theadversary, from the devil
(39:51):
himself.
He is the accuser.
That's his name, that's notGod's name.
God is the Savior, who lovesyou so much.
He is not disappointed in you.
He delights in you.
This is who you are.
You are his child.
He's your father who loves you,who doesn't hold your sin
(40:11):
against you.
He's not constantly looking atyou thinking about what you did
in the past.
He's looking at you and seeingthe righteousness of his own son
.
And he, god, is your judge,your savior, your father and
your friend.
God is your friend.
He loves you, walks with you,in love for you through every
(40:35):
single second of your life.
Look up and see him clearly.
Then live and love others inlight of his spirit inside you,
not the spirit of the worldaround you.
So I want to lead you to amoment before God in prayer, to
reflect on this question.
It's just between you and God.
In what ways do you need torepent today of a hypercritical,
(41:02):
hypocritical or foolish spirit.
I want to give you a momentjust to ask God to help you see
any evidences of this sort ofspirit in you, and just to ask
him, and as things start comingto your mind, don't just start
(41:25):
justifying yourself.
I mean, they deserve that Justbefore God.
God, show me any ways that I'mjudging that are not from the
Spirit of Jesus, and then askGod to forgive you, cleanse you,
knowing he wants to forgive youand that he wants to replace
(41:46):
that spirit with the fullness ofhis spirit.
So ask him to do that and hewill Just press in right now and
pray God, help us to think,make judgments, live love, speak
out of the overflow of thespirit of Jesus.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's episode of Radical with
(42:07):
David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
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