Yesterday’s sermon was on Matthew 7. It covers a handful of topics. For a sermon on the first 23 verses, click here. Today, I want to discuss one aspect in the final stretch of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, Judging. Below is the passage:
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 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.”
Don’t Judge Me
How many times have we been in conversation with a friend, either Christian or not, and heard them talk about something un-stellar that they either did or planned to do, and their reply was related to the Bible verse, “Judge not.” Often along with that they may throw in the verse “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
For many it has proved to be an effective way of shutting down any call to a reasoned accountabilty for their actions. In fact, most people in the West, myself included, have used this line of response when people tried to address the Godless decisions I was making. Sometimes we’ll do it in jest, like when we’re eating ice cream when we’re trying to lose wait. Someone looks at us and we respond with the spoon inches from our mouth, ‘Don’t judge me.’
Other times, it is for more serious things, like hearing someone recount a wild party they were at and decided to drive home drunk. They made it safe, but put everyone on the street in physical danger. The response of “Don’t judge me” now takes on a more somber tone. Drunk driving is a serious issue that costs numerous lives each year.
So what drives this “don’t judge me” response? For those who use it, it is a smokescreen to avoid dealing with bad behavior, especially when confronted with the bad bahavior.
Sadly, for many Christians, the smokescreen works. They allow themselves to be shut down. Partly because they believe the same interpretation of this Bible verse as the person they’re trying to confront. Reading this verse at face value without deeper thought can lead us to a conclusion that we cannot address godless activity in those around us, especially those we love and care for. We are tempted to let the smokescreen work because “The Bible says Don’t Judge.” But what if there were a deeper meaning here?
Do Judge Me
Most likely, we will never hear someone say this about their actions. That is simply due to the human nature of self-preservation. However, believers are called to address the issue of fellow Christians acting in Godless ways. So let us break down Jesus’ teaching in a way that explains better how we can address a believer’s ungodly activity and at the same time “not judge them.”
First off, we have to think in terms of meaning. What do we mean when we use the word “judge?” Most of the time it conjures up an image of a legal court, where the judge sits in the seat of judgment in his robes decreeing with finality the offender’s charges and the due punishment. This is the kind of judgment we see in legal systems dealing with those who have made an infraction against the law. This kind of judgement ends with a finality of setnencing, a condemnation, if you will.
Yet there is another meaning for judge. The other meaning is to offer a critical analysis of something. It is couched in what is productive vs. destructive. It is an examination to see if something fits the parameters. If something doesn’t fit the parameters, the end goal is not a finality of sentencing, it is rebuilding from the point of error to become better, more productive.
When Paul encourages us to “judge” those within our community, it is this second meaning that he is calling us to, not the first. He is calling the members of the community to help each other pursue a Godward life with their actions, attitudes, and relationships. We are called to address reverse momentum out of a love and desire for restoration, not as a judge decreeing a finality of their waywardness. That is why Paul starts Romans 8 with “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” God isn’t giving up on us because a we make a bad decision. He is constantly calling and yearning for us to be in right relationship.
All this puts us Christians at a crossroads. When we make ungodly decisions that disrupt relationship, we aren’t condemned, we are encouraged to make them right and seek restoration. We have the choice to pursue a godly path of right relationship, or continue to back away from it. What we don’t have a right to do is shut down other caring believers who are seeking our restoration. We have no place to tell them “The Bible says don’t judge.” Because in this instance, Christians have every bit of command from the bible to judge (critically analyze our behavior in hopes of restoration). Any condemnation that comes from that is a self-imposed condemnation, as Jesus also said in John 3:18 “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Belief meaning with our heart and with our actions.
There is no condemnation in the Christian path. There is love, restoration, and freedom in pursuing right relationship. If one wants to avoid being judged (condemned) then one must be open to being judged (critically analyzed with a hope of restoration and betterment). Those are the only two chioces. It’s either one or the other. There is no gray area there.
So in our crossroads of life decisions, where do we stand in relationships to God and to people?
Just a few thoughts for reflection this week.