To Judge or Not to Judge

We are in Matthew chapter 7, and we have been going through the Gospel of Matthew for about half a year.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

And before I read this passage, let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

! Heavenly Father, I tremble before your Word because this is such an important message.

But it is also such a difficult message.

Lord, speak through me. May the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing in your sight.

And help my dear brothers and sisters here at the church to hear you speak in and through your Word.

And to receive it humbly.

Despite the faulty and fallen messenger, may your perfect, infallible Word do the work.

Accomplish your purposes.

And build this church up.

Our church up.

For your glory.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

I'll just read the first six verses out loud.

If you are able, please stand as we honor God.

As we hear from Him as He speaks to us in His Word.

Judge not that you be not judged.

For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you see 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,

when there is the log 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.

Do not give dogs what is holy,

and do not throw your pearls before pigs,

lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

I titled my sermon to Judge or Not to Judge,

which may have piqued your curiosity.

After all, isn't judging a bad thing that we should never do?

Doesn't it say right here in verse 1,

Judge not?

Clearly, we should never judge, right?

This is a common misunderstanding of this passage.

And one of the reasons why Welsh pastor D. Martin Lloyd-Jones argued

that this passage held special significance for the people of his age.

And I think that's true even more for us in our age.

This is what he had to say in one of his sermons.

He says,

Different periods in the history of the church need different emphases.

And if I were asked what in particular is the need of today,

I should say that it is a consideration of this particular statement.

This is so because the whole atmosphere of life today,

and especially in religious circles,

is one that makes a correct interpretation of this statement quite vital.

We are living in an age when definitions are at a discount,

an age which dislikes thought and hates theology and doctrine and dogma.

It is an age which is characterized by a love of ease and compromise.

Anything for a quiet life, as the expression goes.

It is an age of appeasement.

It dislikes a man who knows what he believes and really believes it.

It dismisses him as a difficult person who is impossible to get on with.

We want to be open-minded and non-judgmental people, of course,

but only to a certain point.

Open-mindedness is a function of humility,

a posture of learning that acknowledges our ignorance.

However, when we have learned the truth,

then we should close our minds to the falsehoods that masquerade as truth.

That's the goal for which we opened our minds in the first place.

As 19th century English author G.K. Chesterton once put it,

the object of opening the mind,

as of opening the mouth,

is to shut it again on something solid.

We don't keep our mouths open all the time as we live, do we?

Right?

We open it only to put food in the mouth,

and then once we have food in the mouth, we shut it.

Right?

He's using that analogy to say, likewise,

that the point of opening the mind

is to take hold of something solid,

to take hold of something true.

And once we have done that, we should close it,

keep out the lies,

and hold on to the truth.

We don't want to become like the people that Paul condemns in 2 Timothy 3, 7,

always learning and never arriving at a knowledge of the truth.

Some people are so nonjudgmental that they stand up for nothing.

They don't disagree with or object to views that are contrary to Scripture.

And that kind of nonjudgmentalism fits the ethos of our postmodern age

that despises claims of exclusive absolute truth.

But Jesus' teaching in this passage is far more nuanced than that.

What we really need to be able to do

is to make true and right judgments

without being bigoted and judgmental.

What we really need to be able to do

is to be men and women of conviction and courage

as well as humility and mercy.

Is that possible?

Yes, according to Jesus it is.

And he teaches us in this passage

that only those who have humbled themselves

before the judgment of God

can judge others rightly.

I'm going to first talk about how not to judge

and then secondly I talk about why not to judge.

I'm going to kind of reverse this passage

talk about verses 3 to 6 first

and then talk about verses 1 to 2.

Because the idea of judging is so widely misunderstood

and reviled today

before I can explain what Jesus' command judge not means

I want to first explain what it doesn't mean.

It doesn't mean that we can never critique views

and beliefs or bring correction to people.

Jesus himself says in John 7 24

do not judge by appearances

but judge with right judgment.

It's the exact same word that he uses here.

He commands us to judge

but not by appearances

but judge with right judgment.

Shortly after this passage in Matthew 7 1 through 6

in Matthew 7 15 to 20

Jesus tells us

Beware of false prophets

who come to you in sheep's clothing

but inwardly are ravenous wolves

you will recognize them by their fruits.

How can we tell that these are false prophets

who deceive the world?

By judging their fruits.

The fruit of the ministry that they do.

The words that they speak.

Their teaching.

Because remember if you're with us

in our series through the book of Revelation

in Revelation 13 11

it describes the second beast

which is a symbol of representation

of all the false prophets

that have deceived the world

throughout the ages.

And it says

it describes the second beast this way

is that it looks like a lamb

but that it speaks like a dragon.

False prophets when they come

they never announce themselves as false prophets.

You know?

I mean it's not like the fairytale

what is the little red riding hood?

The wolf is dressed like a grandma

but it's like patently obvious

that he's a wolf.

That's not the case with false prophets.

They don't announce themselves.

They come in sheep's clothing.

And what do sheep appear like?

They appear honest, innocent, harmless.

They're often very nice

at least on the outside.

They know how to pass as Christians.

They know how to say the right words.

They know the culture and the jargon.

They know how to ingratiate themselves

into the community,

the Christian community.

However, we can tell

that they are ravenous wolves

by their words,

by what they teach.

So undoubtedly we must exercise

discernment and judgment.

Jesus is not forbidding

this kind of necessary

and healthy judgment.

The Bible is full of examples

of this kind of necessary judgment.

After speaking about various segments

of the church,

widows and the elders

and the masters and servants

should behave and be treated

in the church,

Paul says in 1 Timothy 6,

3-5,

if anyone teaches a different doctrine

and does not agree

with the sound words

of our Lord Jesus Christ

and the teaching

that accords with godliness,

he is puffed up with conceit

and understands nothing.

He has an unhealthy craving

for controversy

and for quarrels about words

which produce envy,

dissension, slander,

evil suspicions,

and constant friction

among people

who are depraved in mind

and deprived of the truth,

imagining that godliness

is a means of gain.

That sounds like

some hard-hitting judgment,

doesn't it?

But it's accurate judgment.

It's right judgment.

You can go down the list

and search through the scriptures

and find it all over the place.

2 Timothy 2, 17-19,

Titus 1, 13,

Titus 3, 10.

Even the apostle of love,

John himself,

he says in 2 John 9-11,

this is the apostle

most known and famous

and passed throughout the history

for being someone

who was supremely loving

He says in 2 John 9-11,

Everyone who goes on ahead

and does not abide

in the teaching of Christ

does not have God.

If anyone comes to you

and does not bring this teaching,

do not receive him

into your house

or give him any greeting.

For whoever greets him

takes part in his wicked works.

All that to say,

Jesus is not commanding us

to never judge

in this kind of necessary

and healthy sense.

What then does Jesus mean

when he says judge not?

I think there are three kinds

of judgments that are forbidden

and I'm going to call them

one, hypercritical judgment,

two, hubristic judgment,

and three, hypocritical judgment.

They're all related,

so remembering the categories

are not important

because those categories

are from me

and not from the Bible,

but hopefully it helps us

to classify them

and remember them.

Looking at the context

of verses three to five,

we can first discern

that Jesus is forbidding

a kind of hypercritical judgment

that harps on other people's specks,

the specks in our brothers

and sisters' eyes

and to pass judgment on them.

For example,

Romans 14 teaches us

that there are matters

over which sincere Christians

might disagree.

And it says in Romans 14,

verse four,

who are you to pass judgment

on the servant of another?

It is before his own master

that he stands or falls.

And then it continues,

why do you pass judgment

on your brother?

Or why do you despise your brother?

For we will 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 confess to God.

So then each of us

will give an account

of himself to God.

There are non-essential matters

over which true believers

might disagree.

And we should not pass judgment

on one another

regarding those issues.

In that passage in Romans 14,

Paul gives two specific examples

of what we call

matters of indifference

or adiaphora

that Christians can,

are permitted to disagree on.

He says in Romans 14, verse two,

one person believes

he may eat anything

while the weak person

eats only vegetables.

Again, he says in verse five,

one person esteems

one day as better than another

while another esteems

all day alike.

We call these matters

of indifference

because Paul says

in Romans 14, 17 explicitly,

for the kingdom of God

is not a matter

of eating and drinking,

but of righteousness and peace

and the joy in the Holy Spirit.

So these matters

of eating and drinking

are not matters

that pertain ultimately

to the kingdom of God.

And it's okay

if believers disagree

on these things.

However,

that doesn't mean

that he's not telling us

to have no opinions

about these things at all.

He's not telling us

to suspend judgment.

No, Paul says

in Romans 14, 5,

each one should be

fully convinced

in his own mind.

Right?

Not only that,

Paul clearly

has an opinion himself

when he writes

about these issues

because he says

in Romans 14, 14,

I know and am

persuaded in the Lord Jesus

that no food

is unclean in itself,

but it is unclean

for anyone

who thinks it unclean.

Paul thinks

that Christians

can eat all kinds

of foods,

that there are no

clean and unclean foods

for the Christian.

And he describes

the person

who thinks

that Christians

cannot eat certain foods

as the weaker brother

or the weaker person

because of

his weak conscience.

So clearly,

Paul has an opinion

on this matter.

He's not saying

don't have any opinions

about these things,

but he's saying

you could have an opinion

and you can be fully convinced

in your own mind,

but it's just not

that important.

Don't pass judgment

on one another

for these things.

In the end,

God's going to judge.

Paul confirms his view

in Colossians 2, 16-17,

therefore let no one

pass judgment on you

in questions of food

and drink

or with regard

to a festival

or a new moon

or a Sabbath.

These are a shadow

of the things to come,

but the substance

belongs to Christ.

There are no holy days

or festivals

that Christians must observe.

There are no unclean foods

that Christians

must abstain from.

So obviously,

Paul did have an opinion

about this.

What he's saying,

however,

is to not be hypercritical

and to despise

a brother or sister

in Christ

for disagreeing

on matters of indifference.

When disagreeing

between brother and sister

becomes despising

between them,

we know that sinful judgment

that Jesus forbids

in this passage

has taken place.

Another kind of,

the second kind of judgment

that Jesus forbids here

is hubristic judgment.

Hubris is a Greek word

that describes arrogant people

who believe themselves

to be above human limitations.

Humans,

the classic,

tragic Greek heroes

who claim to be above

the rest of humanity

and dare to challenge

the gods,

the Greeks described

as having hubris.

Our hubristic judgment

goes beyond correcting

to condemning.

The parallel verse

in Luke 6, 37

of this passage

confirms this interpretation.

It says,

judge not

and you will not be judged.

Condemn not

and you will not be condemned.

Forgive

and you will be forgiven.

Condemning

involves a kind

of definitive judgment

that is inappropriate

for us.

Rendering

final verdict

is an exclusively

divine prerogative.

Paul writes

in 1 Corinthians 4,

3-5,

But with me

it is a very small thing

that I should be judged

by you

or by any human court.

In fact,

I do not even judge myself.

For I am not aware

of anything against myself,

but I am not thereby acquitted.

It is the Lord

who judges me.

Therefore,

do not pronounce judgment

before the time,

before the Lord comes,

who will bring to light

the things now hidden

in darkness

and will disclose

the purposes of the heart.

Then each one

will receive

his commendation

from God.

Only the Lord God

who brings to light

all the things

that are now hidden

in darkness,

only the Lord

who discloses

the purposes,

the secrets of our hearts

can pronounce

final judgment.

Only he has

all the knowledge

and information

and all the authority

to pronounce

that kind of judgment.

So it says

in James 4,

11 and 12,

Do not speak evil

against one another,

brothers.

The one who speaks

against a brother

or judges his brother

speaks evil

against the law

and judges the law.

But if you judge the law,

you are not a doer

of the law,

but a judge.

There is only one

lawgiver and judge.

He was able to save

and to destroy.

But who are you

to judge your neighbor?

To speak evil

against someone

is another translation

for the word slander.

When we are no longer

trying to correct

our brother or sister

to build them up,

but are instead

condemning them

to tear them down.

When we are no longer

seeking to restore

an erring brother

or sister

from sin,

but are instead

condemning them

in sin,

we are no longer

submitting ourselves

under the law.

We are putting ourselves

above the law

by breaking

the law

of the love

of neighbor.

We are no longer

law keepers,

but instead

we are arrogating

for ourselves

the seat

of law giver,

the judgment seat

of God.

That's hubristic judgment.

The surrounding context

also clues us

to the third kind

of judgment

that Jesus forbids

and that's

hypocritical judgment.

He says in verses

three to five,

why do you see

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

when there is

log 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.

Jesus is commanding us

to not judge

the same way

the Pharisees

judged him

in John 17

when he said

do not judge

by appearance

but by right judgment.

Jesus uses humor

and irony

in this passage

to accentuate his point.

Imagine a person,

it's really quite funny

to imagine it,

a huge log

sticking out

of his eye

and while he

has had the log

sticking out

of his eye,

he's straining

that very eye

that has a log

in it

and trying to perform

ocular surgery

on a brother or sister,

trying to remove

a speck

from his or her eye.

It's ludicrous.

Not only is it

impossible

to do

while the log

is sticking out

of your eye,

you cannot see clearly,

it's also ridiculous

that he is

trying to help someone

with such a little

tiny problem

when he himself

has a much bigger

problem.

This metaphor

of the eye

continues the theme

from chapter 6,

22 to 23

when Jesus said

the eye

is the lamp

of the body.

So if your eye

is healthy

or more literally,

if your eye

is single,

your whole body

will be full of light.

But if your eye

is bad,

your whole body

will be full

of darkness.

As I said,

then the attention

of the eye

reflects the affections

of the heart.

The direction

that your eyes go

reflects the orientation

of your heart.

So if your eyes

do not have

a singular focus

on the kingdom

of God

and on God's righteousness,

then we are distracted.

Our hearts

are divided.

And when that's

the case,

we do not have

the clear

spiritual sight

to perform

ocular surgery

on someone else's

spiritual eye

or soul.

Let me give you

some illustrations,

examples.

Have you ever felt

that your spouse

or your roommate

is lazy?

Or at least

that they're not

pulling enough

of their own weight.

They're not holding up

their end

of the bargain.

Maybe

that's true

to a certain degree,

but maybe

that deficiency

is merely

a speck

and there's actually

a log

in your own eye,

a log

of self-righteousness

that exaggerates

your own contributions

but belittles

or ignores

the contributions

of the other.

Maybe there's

a log

of selfishness

that exaggerates

your own needs

and wants

but minimizes

the needs

and wants

of the other.

Maybe you think

that your co-worker

or boss

or your principal

investigator

or your professor

is incompetent.

incompetent.

They don't deserve

his or her job.

But have you

considered that

their weakness

might be a speck

all the while

there's a log

in our own eye,

log of pride,

selfish ambition,

rivalry

that's envious

of others

and elevates

ourselves above

others.

perhaps you think

that someone

in church

is too

lax

or complacent

and unserious

about spiritual

things,

about important

doctrines

and spiritual

matters.

But maybe

the bigger

problem is not

them

but you.

They have a speck

in their eye

whereas you have

a log of legalism

and self-righteousness

stuck in your eye

making you

hypercritical

and unmerciful.

You can also

go the other way.

Perhaps you think

that someone

in church

is too

legalistic,

strict,

harsh,

demanding.

But what if

their problem

is actually a speck

and yours

a log?

What if

instead of

being merciful

and gracious

you're actually

being indulgent

and permissive

and making

your own

feelings

and not

God's word

the final

arbiter

of what is

important

and what is

true

and what is

good?

We cannot

see clearly

to remove

the speck

from our

brother or

sister's eye

if we have

a log

stuck in

our own

eye.

So we must

first humble

ourselves

and examine

ourselves

before the

light and

the judgment

of God

before we

attempt that

delicate

spiritual

operation

of removing

the speck.

This is

very challenging

and I know

because I

failed many

times.

And look at

what it says

in verse 3.

Why do you

see the speck

that is in

your brother's

eye but

do not

notice the

log that

is in

your own

eye?

As

sinners it

is our

natural

sinful

tendency

to think

that we

can see

the speck

in other

people's

eyes very

clearly.

But we

do not

notice the

log that

is in

our own

eye.

Jesus

doesn't

accuse us

of seeing

the log

in our

own eyes

and then

ignoring it

and not

doing anything

about it.

He says

that we

don't

actually

notice the

log in

our own

eye.

This is a

vivid

illustration

of spiritual

blindness

which is

caused by

pride.

Pride is the

root of all

sin.

Spiritual

pride has a

tendency to

blind us.

Every sin

has a

tendency

to blind

us.

In John

9 Jesus

tells the

Pharisees

that they

are blind

to spiritual

realities.

Why does

he tell

them that?

Precisely

because they

claim to

see.

That's the

trouble with

having a

log in

our eye.

We think

that we

see but

we are

in fact

blind.

The log

of sin

distorts

our vision

so that we

live in

this world

of carnivore

mirrors.

fun

house

mirrors.

You

guys know

what I'm

talking

about?

The

mirrors

that you

look at

and it

just distorts

your body

or face

to comedic

proportions.

You

look at

someone's

speck in

their eye

and then

it looks

like a

ten foot

pole.

And then

you look

at your

own log

in the

mirror

and it's

barely a

dot.

You can

hardly

see.

How

then can

we know

we have

a log

in our

own

eye?

If this

is blinding,

if it's

hard to

notice,

how can

we pay

attention

to these

things?

I think

there are

two telltale

signs that

indicate that

we have a

log in

our own

eye.

One is

a tendency

to magnify

other

people's

specks.

Ask

yourself,

do you

have a

hawk eye

when it

comes to

other

people's

sins and

faults,

but you

tend to

be blind

as a

bat when

it comes

to noticing

their

strengths,

their

gifts,

their

virtues,

things to

encourage

about

them.

If that's

the case,

then it's

very likely

that you're

not even

seeing the

specks that

you think

you see

clearly.

If we

find ourselves

becoming

very critical

of someone,

we used to

like and

appreciate this

person,

I used to

be friends

with that

person,

oh,

but we've

fallen out

of friendship.

We had

disagreement,

we had

conflict,

and now

all you can

see is

their flaws

and

specks,

then likely

you have

a log

of

unforgiveness

in your

own eyes.

And your

perception

is skewed,

and you

have one

dimensionalized

that person.

When you

find yourself

being very

critical

towards

someone,

this is a

practice that

I found

really helpful,

you start

making a

list of

their

redeeming

qualities,

and start

thanking God

for them.

Give thanks

to God

for them.

A spirit

of thanksgiving

and encouragement

counteracts the

hypercritical and

censorious spirit.

Remember,

the Bible

commands us to

outdo one

another in

showing honor.

never,

never in the

entire Bible

does it

command us

to outdo

one another

in showing

each other's

faults.

We have

to do it,

but it's

not a

competition

that we

should be

overzealous

about.

A second

telltale sign

of a log

in our

own eye

is that

when we

are overzealous

to correct

someone,

a good

question to

ask yourself

is,

do I

have

first-hand

knowledge

of this

brother or

sister's

sin?

If we

only have

second-hand

knowledge of

their sin,

then we

are not the

first line

of defense.

It's the

person with

first-hand

knowledge of

that sin

who should

bring that

loving

correction.

That person

who has the

relational

proximity to

have first-hand

awareness of

that sin,

if instead

of correcting

that brother

or sister,

comes to

you and

talks about

it,

not only

have they

shirked

their

responsibility

to love

their brother

or sister

by speaking

the truth

in love,

they have

also sinned

by gossiping

or slandering.

Speaking

ill of

someone in

a manner

that reflects

and shapes

negatively

other people's

view of

them.

If you

have only

second-hand

knowledge,

it is highly

likely that you

have incomplete

knowledge.

You have

partial knowledge.

Proverbs 12,

17 is

exceedingly

wise.

It says,

the one who

states his

case first

seems right

until the

other comes

and examines

him.

When you

have heard

only one

sided story,

even if

that person,

even when

that person

is well-meaning

and trying

his or her

best to be

fair-minded

and balanced,

that story

is going to

be inherently

incomplete.

So if you

have only

partial

second-hand

knowledge

of someone's

sin,

don't be

the first

to confront

that person

of sin.

Encourage

that person

with first-hand

knowledge to

go and

do that.

It's only

after the

first line

of defense

has fallen

that you

should consider

prayerfully

stepping in.

If despite

the fact

that you

have only

partial

second-hand

knowledge,

you're very

eager to

confront

your brother

or sister,

I heard

him say

that you

said,

that he

saw

that you

did

that.

Oh,

man.

You know

what it

says right

here?

That

overzealous

spirit is

reflective of

a log in

your own

eye.

Make sure

that your

heart responds

to the sin

that you

see in your

brother or

sister is

grief,

not glee.

If that

is how not

to judge,

then before

I go to

the next

point,

let's talk

briefly about

how to

judge well.

Jesus says

in verse

five,

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.

Note that

Jesus

doesn't

say,

mind your

own business

and never

try to take

the speck

out of

your brother's

eye.

No,

he says,

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.

So the

first step

to judging

well,

then,

is examining

ourselves,

self-reflection,

and confession

of our own

sins.

Confessing

our own

sins to

fellow

believers

is a

profound

form of

humiliation.

And

humiliation,

for us,

though hard as

it may be,

is spiritually

healthful,

it's good,

good,

because it

destroys

pride,

which is

the root

of all

sin.

A habit

of self-reflection

and confession

prepares us

to judge

and bring

correction

well.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

writes in his

book,

Life Together,

anybody who

lives beneath

the cross

and who has

discerned in

the cross

of Jesus

the utter

wickedness

of all

men

and of

his own

heart

will find

there is

no sin

that can

ever be

alien to

him.

Anybody who

has once

been horrified

by the

dreadfulness

of his

own sin

that nailed

Jesus to

the cross

will no

longer be

horrified by

even the

rankest sins

of a

brother.

When we

remove the

lock from

our own

eye first,

then we

can judge

our brothers

and sisters

fairly and

correct them

not out of

self-righteousness

but from a

broken and

contrite heart.

Secondly,

we need to

make sure

that we

are bringing

correction in

love and

gentleness.

Why?

Because removing

a speck from

someone's eye is

a very delicate

operation.

If you have

had the

blessing of a

brother or

sister trying

to do that

with you,

as I have

had many

times,

one of the

benefits of

being married

and being in

a church

where church

members actually

do that,

you know how

sensitive that

can be.

I think it's

appropriate that

Jesus uses the

metaphor of the

eye because

eye is one of

the most

sensitive parts

of our entire

body, right?

When you

have, you

know, when

you get some

sawdust on

your hand,

you just,

you know,

you get

sawdust in

your eyes.

It's stinging

and then it's

burning and

then you're

crying like a

baby to flush

that dust out

of your eye.

eye.

The eye is

such a delicate

and zealously

protected part of

our body that

when God wants

to communicate to

us in his

word just how

precious his

people are and

how protective as

our father he

feels over us,

he describes us as

the apple of his

eye, the pupil

of his eye.

When you touch

my people,

God says,

you touch the

apple of my

eye.

That's how

sensitive the

eye is.

So when we're

trying to remove

a speck from

the apple of

someone's eye,

we must take

great care and

we must be

gentle.

So Ephesians

4.15 commands

us to speak the

truth in love

to one another.

That means we

should give one

another the

benefit of the

doubt.

That means we

should give each

other the best

possible construction

question because

1 Corinthians 13

4-7 says this

is what love is

like and we're

supposed to speak

the truth in

love.

Love is patient

and kind.

Love does not

envy or boast.

It is not arrogant

or rude.

It does not insist

on its own way.

It is not irritable

or resentful.

It does not rejoice

at wrongdoing but

rejoices with the

truth.

Love bears all

things, believes

all things, hopes

all things, endures

all things.

That looks like

benefit of the

doubt.

That means we

lead when we

bring correction.

We lead with

questions, not

presumptions.

That means we

speak the truth

boldly yet with

gentleness and

humility.

I know if some

of you are like

me, you don't

like conflict.

conflict.

You'd rather

avoid conflict.

And so this is

making you really

uncomfortable and

you really, really

don't want to do

this.

Well, you're not

alone if that's

you.

Sometimes people

don't respond well

to correction even

when you do a good

job of bringing it.

And so we prefer to

avoid it sometimes.

But we must not be

controlled by the

fear of our

brother or sister.

We must be

controlled by our

love.

of our brother or

sister.

It says in James

5, 19 to 20,

my brothers, if

anyone among you

wanders from the

truth and someone

brings him back,

let him know that

whoever brings back

a sinner from his

wandering will save

his soul from

death and will

cover a multitude

of sins.

What kind of

privilege it is that

we get to partake

in that work.

That when we

restore an erring

brother or sister

from sin who has

transgressed and we

bring them back.

we cover a

multitude of sins.

We save their

soul from death.

Do you not want

your brother or

sister to do that

for you?

I want you to do

that for me.

I need you to do

that for me.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

says, nothing can

be more cruel than

that leniency which

abandons others to

sin.

Nothing can be more

compassionate than

that severe reprimand

which calls another

Christian in one's

community back from

the path of sin.

We are accountable

to one another.

We are members one

of another.

We are part of the

one body of Jesus

Christ.

Part of the same

family of God.

And that's why

three times in this

passage we see the

word brother.

And you could

insert there sister.

Brothers.

Brothers.

After Cain murders

his brother Abel and

God confronts Cain by

asking, where is your

brother Abel?

Cain famously responds,

I do not know.

This is right after he

killed him.

I don't know where he

is.

I'm not my brother's

keeper.

What do you think I

am?

Just watching my

brother all the

time?

I know that it's a

common attitude of

people in New

England.

Well, that's none of

my business.

But as Pastor

Matthew Smethers

puts it in one of

his podcasts,

church membership

is where it's none

of your business

goes to die.

is where we say, I

am my brother's

keeper.

I am my sister's

keeper and they are

mine.

You might not be a

close friend of your

brother or sister in

Christ, but you don't

have to be a close

friend to bring loving

correction.

The bigger problem is

not the lack of

intimacy.

The bigger problem is

the lack of maturity in

the way people bring it.

the Bible is full of

examples of prophets

rebuking other members

of the covenant

community with whom

they have little to no

relationship.

Because it was a large

covenant community.

Micaiah with King Ahab

in 1st King 22.

Peter with Simon the

magician who was

supposedly a convert in

Acts 8, 18 to 23.

If we only admonish

those people that we

are close to, what

happens when a member

of a church is on the

fringes and they don't

have close friends?

Do we just abandon

them to sin?

On their path to

destruction?

Galatians 6, 1-5 is

inspiring and

convicting.

It says,

Brothers, sisters, if

anyone is caught in any

transgression, you who

are spiritual should

restore him in a spirit

of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself

lest you too be

tempted.

He's aware that

confronting others of

sin can be very

tempting for

ourselves.

Bear one another's

burdens and so

fulfill the law of

Christ.

But let each one test

his own work and then

his reason to boast will

be in himself alone and

not in his neighbor.

For each will have to

bear his own load.

Isn't that interesting?

He says on the one

hand that each of us

will have to stand on

our own at the final

judgment.

Each will have to bear

his own load.

judgment judgment judgment

judgment judgment judgment

judgment judgment judgment

judgment judgment judgment judgment

we will not be judged according to the fruits of our church.

We will not be judged according to the fruits of your family.

You will not be judged according to the fruits of your friends.

You will be judged according to the fruits,

whether you yourself bore fruits keeping with repentance or not.

We must stand alone in final judgment.

But until that day,

it says, bear one another's burdens.

How do we do that?

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression,

you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

On that day, we will bear our own love.

We must stand alone as individuals.

But until that day, we get to help each other.

We get to bear each other's burdens.

We get to restore each other from sin.

We get to speak the truth and love to each other

so that on that day when we have to stand alone,

we can actually stand and not fall before the judgment of God.

That's the privilege of being a member of the body of Christ

and speaking the truth and exhorting one another in love.

So I want to encourage you,

if you are members of the same local church

and you have enough relational proximity

to have come to firsthand knowledge of a sin of a brother and sister,

then it is not only your right,

it is your responsibility to say something

if there's unrepentance in it.

When it comes to unbelievers, however,

our responsibility is different.

That's why Jesus adds in verse 6,

Do not give dogs what is holy

and do not throw your pearls before pigs,

lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

It's kind of a random verse.

If you read it in context,

it seems like a random verse.

What does this have anything to do with the rest of the passage?

I've mentioned to you before

that when the Bible speaks of dogs,

you should not think of your cute pet corgis

and Pomeranians, right?

That would be anachronistic.

Dogs in the Bible times are,

and still in many parts of the world,

are scavengers, wild, disgusting animals.

They are symbols not of insiders,

pets that live in your home,

but they are symbols of outsiders,

pests that live on the street.

For this reason,

evildoers are sometimes described figuratively as dogs.

In the Bible,

in 2 Samuel 16, 9,

Psalm 22, 16,

it was the unflattering term

that the Jews of Jesus' day

used of unbelieving Gentiles.

Speaking of those who are excluded

from the new heavenly Jerusalem

in Revelation chapter 22, 15,

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

it says,

outside are the dogs

and sorcerers

and the sexually immoral

and murderers and idolaters

and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

pigs,

as you may have guessed,

is also not a complementary term.

According to Old Testament ceremonial law,

pigs were ritually unclean.

They were unclean animals,

unfit for consumption by Jews

and unfit also for sacrifice.

That's why in the Gospels,

when you read the narratives of Jesus' travels,

you only encounter pigs

when Jesus goes into the region of the Gentiles,

like the country of the Gadarenes

in Matthew chapter 8, 30 to 32.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Because of these associations,

the dogs and pigs here

refer to unbelievers,

those who have rejected Christ,

those who are incapable of receiving

the precious pearls

of God's holy truth and wisdom.