The Book of Matthew • Matthew 7:1-5

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Well, good morning.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

As you turn there, I do want to say happy Mother's Day to all of the mamas who are out there today.

We are so glad that each and every one of you are here with us.

Whether you're a mama that comes here every single week, or you're a mama that's here visiting,

we are so glad and blessed that you are here.

I would like to say this to all of the mothers who are out there.

I hope your day is absolutely wonderful, filled with being pampered and being carried on and

being loved over.

I just hope that you have that opportunity today.

To all of you who have mothers, I pray that today that you find the time to honor and to

celebrate them.

I know what a blessing it is in my life to be raised in the home and still cared for by a godly

mother that God blessed me with.

I know to have a godly mother-in-law who loves me well, and a godly wife who is a mother who loves

me also.

And I need all three of them plus all the extras that I can get, right, to keep me on the right track.

And so, I pray that you honor them today.

I hope for those of you who are here, who are here consistently with us every Mother's Day,

that you don't find me redundant in what I'm about to say.

But I also would like to just kind of pause for a moment and acknowledge that for some of you,

today is an exciting day.

And for some of you, today may be a day of hurt and sorrow and grief.

I grew up in a house where my mom's mother died suddenly when my mom was 15 years old.

And every Mother's Day, every Mother's Day, while it was exciting for her to be with her

kids, it was the reminder also of her mother who had passed.

And some of you find yourself in those shoes today.

I also want to acknowledge that some of you, ladies in here, have battled with infertility,

have battled with miscarriages, and today is a reminder of something that you long for but has not happened.

Aaron and I walked through that ourselves for years, and we know the hurt that you feel.

We're praying for you.

And yet there are others whose grief this morning is a grief that I do not understand.

Who you have lost a child or children.

And today, even though you are still a mother, there is a part that is missing.

I want you to know that we are praying for you as well.

So today, we do what the church is called to do as we celebrate God today.

But we also look at those within the body.

We want to encourage, to love, to carry a burden, and to minister to all who celebrate today

and to all who grieve.

Would you pray with me?

God, we come to you this morning.

We're thanking you for what a wonderful joy and gift it is to gather in this place.

Lord, today, as we have the little ones in here with us, it's the joy and the reminder of new life

and the blessings and what motherhood brings.

But God, also with that, we're reminded of the sorrow and the grief that so many are facing.

But God, we know that you're the same God of today, regardless if it's celebration or sorrow,

and that you are with both.

So God, today, we pray for your peace.

We pray for your comfort.

All while doing so, we're thanking you for the mothers that you've blessed us with.

God, be with me as I share this morning from your word.

May every word that is said be from you and not from me.

May it be of you and not of me.

And Lord, if any of this is from me or of me, would you remove it?

Lord, so that you would be glorified.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

I want to go ahead and share with you guys.

We're going to be this morning in Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 5.

Matthew 7:1–5

Originally, kind of my routine goes for Sunday or for the week.

It's that prep during the week.

And then I get up about 4 o'clock in the morning on Sunday and then kind of go back through.

The original plans, if you saw the devotion this week, was to roll through verse 6.

And this morning, just decided to hold off on verse 6 for now.

We'll actually get that in a couple of weeks.

With that being said, it is good to be back.

For those of you who were here last week, you know that I was gone.

Josh did a wonderful job in preaching and teaching from God's Word.

And so we thank him for that.

But I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, it's good to be home today.

So thank you guys for allowing me the opportunity to be away, to preach at another church, the home church that I grew up in.

But I'm going to tell you what, it is good to be back.

So let's read Matthew 7.

We're going to read all the way through verses 1 through 5 this morning.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount teaches, he says,

Judge not that you be not judged.

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

And with the measure you used, 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 a log in your own eye?

You hypocrite.

First, take the log out of your own eye.

Then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

This morning, we're going to be talking about judging others in general, being a judgmental person.

I want to ask you a question today.

A question that we're not going to take a survey.

We're not going to raise hands.

Just think about this for yourself.

Do you consider yourself a judgmental person?

Now, I didn't ask you, do you consider the person beside you to be a judgmental person?

So, if you're looking or speaking to the person beside you, maybe you're a judgmental person.

I don't know.

Do you judge people?

Now, we all do a little bit, right?

We all do a little bit.

Now, I'm not going to ask you to share here, but let's walk right into Bo's confession time.

Here are some areas of judgment that I struggle with.

If any of these offend you, pray for me.

I judge people who ride in the left lane of the interstate while go in the speed limit.

Amen?

I judge people who go to grocery stores and home improvement stores

and do not put the shopping cart away after using them,

but instead leave them in the parking lot.

Amen?

There we go.

All right, all right.

This is what traditional pastors do when they say something they want you to agree with.

All right.

I judge people who, when they park,

intentionally take up two parking spaces.

Let's keep going.

I got a lot.

I got a lot.

I judge people who, when they go to an event,

I don't care what the event is.

When they go to the event,

they sit down,

they dim their screen,

and they stay on their phone the entire time

only to ask people around them

what just happened.

I'm telling you.

Here we go.

Here we go.

I judge people.

Now this, this is.

I judge people who think Dunkin' is better than Krispy Kreme.

Now,

I ain't met a donut I'm mad at,

but let's be honest.

All right.

I got two more.

I realize that as I walk through what I'm passionate about,

they all end on food.

I judge people.

I do, and I shouldn't,

and this is,

I'm about to alienate so many of you.

I judge people who put cream and sugar in their coffee.

Amen.

Amen.

I call those milkshakes.

Now,

this one,

this one's,

this is a big one.

This is a big one.

I shouldn't.

I've got someone in my family who does this.

My immediate family,

Grayson.

I love him,

but I judge him.

I judge people

who go to restaurants

and order boneless chicken wings.

Folks,

that's called chicken nuggets.

All right.

That was fun for me.

I don't know that that should have been,

but that was fun.

I hope I didn't offend any of you.

I'm sorry if I did,

but these are just some silly,

right?

But,

but examples in my life.

I don't care what you put in your coffee.

I don't care how you order your wings.

I do care what side of the road,

though,

that you drive on going down the interstate.

That,

that one's real.

That one's real.

But we can see,

right?

Right?

These are silly,

but,

but we see,

we know,

we know what happens.

We can feel,

and Jesus teaches here,

what happens.

And this is,

this is the thought process I want to take

as we work through this.

When judgment

comes

from a self-righteous heart.

When judgment comes

from a heart

of self-righteousness.

Let's look back with me,

verses one and two of chapter seven.

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.

All right,

so Jesus here

gives a warning.

Jesus here gives a warning

to all

who are there.

Followers,

skeptics,

religious.

Jesus gives a warning.

And what Jesus is,

is doing

later on in verse five,

we'll see he uses again

the word hypocrite.

He raises the issue again

of being a hypocrite.

This time not concerning prayer,

not concerning fasting,

not concerning giving,

but this time

judging.

And his words,

those first two words,

judge not.

Now,

the way Jesus

uses this,

he's using it

in a manner

that says,

if you are judging,

stop.

And in the future,

do not judge again.

The reason why Jesus

says it this way

is what he wants

to communicate

is that there is

an urgency

that is given

by Jesus

of extra emphasis

of obedience.

judge not

lest you be judged.

Stop judging.

Don't judge

in the future.

This action

is so dangerous,

so destructive.

It isn't one

that Jesus

is calling us

to consider

or to reflect on,

but one

that calls

for immediate response.

Stop doing this now

and never do it again.

These are the words

of Jesus.

You know,

sometimes as a parent,

we look at our kids

and we say things like,

would you please

stop doing that?

Right?

Would you please

stop doing this?

But yet,

or you better

not do that again.

What we're doing

when we're addressing this

is we're playing

emphasis on this.

please stop

doing that.

Never do

this again.

And this

is what we see

from Jesus.

He carries

a weight

with them

that he's going

to expose

and reveal

to his audience

in verse 2.

for with the judgment

you pronounce

you will be judged

and with the measure

you use it

it will be measured

to you.

Now,

Jesus has used

this type of language

earlier in Matthew 6,

12

and Jesus teaches

this passage

a few weeks ago

and Jesus teaching us

how to pray

giving us the rhythm

of what he's calling us to.

He says in verse 12,

and forgive our debts

as we have also

forgiven our debtors

and then he gives

some clarification

for that

drop down to 14

and 15

for if you forgive

others their trespasses

your heavenly father

will also forgive you

but if you do not

forgive others

their trespasses

neither will

your heavenly father

forgive

your trespasses.

Now folks

within this

what we see

in the warnings

in the examples

of Christ

concerning forgiveness

is that

he's saying like

when you're a person

of forgiveness

who forgives others

you can expect

to be forgiven

by God.

But if you're a person

who's going to withhold

forgiveness

from others

appointing yourself

as their judge

who finds them guilty

then you can expect

God

to withhold

his forgiveness

from you.

Moral of the story

forgive others.

In chapter 7

the same with this

by the means

in which you

judge others

you judge them

harshly

you judge them

without grace

you judge them

without mercy

expect to be

judged harshly.

For those

who judge

with mercy

expect mercy

from God.

So if forgiveness

and mercy

found from me

and by me

am I the source

of this goodness?

No.

Showing mercy

and forgiveness

in your life

and mine

is not a statement

of our goodness

and our grace

and who we are

but it is

an overflow

of the wisdom

that comes

from a relationship

with God.

We have

experienced

this ourselves

and so

our posture

our hearts

are living

this out

causes us

to desire

to forgive

others

right?

and to not

be judgmental.

There's part

of me right

now that wants

to soften

this

but Jesus

speaks

and speaks

clearly.

I was reading

a sermon

this week

from a pastor

who was speaking

on this passage

and here's what

he says

the heart

that has tasted

the Lord's grace

and forgiveness

will always

be restrained

in its judgment

of others.

It has seen

itself

deserving

judgment

and condemnation

before the Lord

and yet

instead of

experiencing

his burning

anger

has tasted

his infinite

mercy.

folks

are we

really

living in

and experiencing

in the truth

of our life

the goodness

of the grace

of God

in all

that means

for our life

and then

as recipients

of that grace

and the goodness

of God

poured out

on you

and I

that changes

us

in such

a radical

way

that the Bible

tells us

that the dead

come back

to life

and that

what comes

from us

as we

abide in him

is the

very picture

of what he's

done for us.

Jesus

looks

at a

judgmental

crowd

that's

there

and he

says within

there

judge not

that you

be not

judged

for with

the judgment

you

pronounce

you will

be judged

and with

the measure

you use

it

it will

be

measured

to you.

Then he

gives a

picture

ah Jesus

is so

wonderfully

creative

in this

I love

the imagery

that he

gives here

starting in

verse 3

because as

we

as the

audience

there

could

immediately

picture

what this

looks like

so can

we

as we

picture

this

ourselves

in verse

3

through 5

why do

you see

the speck

think of

like a

splinter

why do

you see

the speck

the splinter

that's 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

Jesus

paints

a picture

for us

the speck

the splinter

and the

log

the picture

that Jesus

is painting

here for

us

is how

can

you

and I

attempt

to help

another

another

with

with

a

problem

that

they

need

help

with

when

there

is

a

larger

concern

when

there

is

a

larger

problem

and

you

are

in

more

need

of

help

you

are

in

more

need

of

correction

look at

Jesus's

eye

he says

that

there's

a speck

in

your

brother's

eye

now

is

if you

got a

splinter

in your

eye

do

you

think

that

would

be

painful

absolutely

absolutely

your

eyes

are

some

of

the

most

vulnerable

parts

of

your

body

I'm

so

grateful

that

it

appears

and

it

seems

right

that

we've

moved

out

of

the

pollen

season

but

during

this

time

of

year

you're

very

aware

of

how

sensitive

your

eyes

are

you

walk

outside

and

that

wind

blows

especially

when we

hadn't

gotten

rain

in

three

and a

half

years

right

and

all

that

dust

stirs

up

and

blows

into

your

face

and

the

eyes

burn

my

wife

she

loves

a

good

back

scratch

right

she

loves

a

good

back

scratch

be

sitting

on

the

couch

watching

tv

whoever's

sitting

beside

her

hey

would

you

scratch

my

back

tell

you

it

mother's

day

this

afternoon

I

owe her

one

grace

and

those

are

one

a

back

scratch

coming

right

just

just

take

your nails

scratch

it over

scratch

it over

scratch

it

gives her

great

comfort

it

relaxes

her

do you know

what she's

never said

to me

hey

I need

I need

I need

a good

eye

scratch

could

you

just

just

just

lightly

could

you

just

work

right

in

there

no

no

why

because

what

Jesus

is

speaking

to

for both

parties

the speck

that's in

the eye

or the

log

that's

in the

eye

they both

have a

problem

they both

have something

in their

life

that needs

to be

removed

I mean

think about it

if you had

a splinter

in your

eye

and you

left it

alone

can you

imagine

what would

happen

over the

course of

time

you would

not be

able to

see

you could

potentially

get an

infection

you could

potentially

lose

your

vision

you could

potentially

lose

your

eye

while we

will talk

about the

log

it's

important

also

to talk

about

the

splinter

the

splinter

in itself

needs

to be

removed

just like

unchecked

sin

in your

life

and in

mine

and when

we allow

unchecked

sin

when we

allow

unrepentant

sin

to live

in our

life

and we

allow

the

infection

of the

work

that sin

being

done

we

can

become

useless

to the

gospel

it

can

kill

your

confidence

of faith

and for

you

and I

what we

need

when that

splinter

happens

when that

speck

is there

we need

others

in our

life

to come

alongside

us

this is the

picture

Jesus

gives

to help

us

remove

so the

solution

for the

problem

is not

mind your

own business

the solution

for the

problem

is not

you worry

about you

and you

let me

worry about

me

the problem

is

during the

time of

Jesus

and in

times like

today

we've got

people walking

with four

by fours

sticking out

of their

eye

trying to

help

people

who have

a grain

of sawdust

in theirs

and so

Jesus talks

about the

log

now while

we would

not choose

either

we would

all agree

that if

I've got

to pick

one

I'm taking

the splinter

over the

log

now

I am

not a

doctor

blood

causes me

to pass

out

I don't

handle

scraped

knees

well

but I

would like

to

pretend

that if

I were

an ER

trauma

doctor

and two

people came

into the

ER

and one

of them

has a

splinter

in their

eye

which

sounds like

something I

would do

if I

got a

splinter

in my

eye

and the

other

has a

log

protruding

from the

front

of their

face

the

person

with the

log

is getting

my

attention

I think

sometimes

we look

at this

and we

can

overestimate

Jesus'

intended

language

here

and think

that Jesus

is giving

an

unrealistic

picture

so that

we can

draw a

less than

conclusion

from it

I don't

think that's

what Jesus

is doing

at all

I think

Jesus'

accession

of what

we do

is completely

accurate

if a

person

were to

walk

in

with a

log

protruding

from the

front

of their

face

if a

person

were to

walk

in

with

such

a

massive

object

impaled

into

them

what

we're

looking at

is a

matter

folks

of life

and

death

and I

think

this

is the

imagery

that

Jesus

is

giving

it's

not

that

the

splinter

doesn't

matter

it's

that as

he looks

at a

crowd

filled

with the

Pharisees

filled

with those

who find

within

them

their own

level of

earned

righteousness

Jesus

paints a

picture

of what

happens

when we

begin to

exalt

ourselves

an author

said

concerning

this

passage

inspection

of others

without

introspection

of myself

is the

road

to

playing

hypocrite

so what

are the

sins

here

what are

the sins

that we're

looking at

oftentimes

when this

passage is

referred

it's

referring

to

like

sin

and what

I mean

by that

is

if you

struggle

with

greed

and so

do I

before

I come

and deal

with you

or help

you

with your

greed

I need

to deal

with

I need

to work

out

the greed

that is

in my

own

life

and I

think

there can

be

something

to that

but again

I think

it's

lessening

what Jesus

is actually

pointing to

I think

the splinter

in Jesus's

illustration

here

can be

any sin

that you

and I

could possibly

think of

I think

that the

log

that he

references

very

specifically

is the

sin

of

self

righteousness

the

sin

of

self

righteousness

that

causes

us

to

look

at

ourselves

and

think

I don't

need

Jesus

because

I've

got

me

you know

and if

other

people

in this

world

were

like

me

then

they

would

be

better

off

that

I

am

the

standard

of

what

can

be

done

in

Luke

18

starting

in

verse

9

Jesus

told

a

parable

want

to read

this

to

you

I

apologize

that

it's

not

on

the

screen

but

in

Luke

Luke 18:9

18

verse

9

he

says

this

he

also

told

this

parable

to

some

who

catch

this

trusted

in

themselves

that

they

were

righteous

and

treated

others

with

contempt

he

said

two

men

went up

into

the

temple

to

pray

one

a

Pharisee

and

the

other

a

tax

collector

the

Pharisee

standing

by

himself

prayed

thus

God

I

thank

you

that

I

am

not

like

other

men

extortioners

unjust

adulterers

or

even

like

this

tax

collector

I

fast

twice

a

week

I

give

tithes

of

all

that

I

get

can

you

imagine

being

in

there

and

hearing

this

prayer

who

is

God

in

his

life

he

is

who's

the

standard

in

his

life

he

is

where

does

his

holiness

come

from

from

himself

but

the

tax

collector

standing

far off

would not

even lift

his eyes

to heaven

but beat

his

breast

a sign

of

grieving

a sign

of

repentance

saying

God

be

merciful

to

me

a

sinner

I

tell

you

this

man

went

down

to

his

house

justified

rather

than

the

other

for

everyone

who

exalts

himself

will

be

humbled

but

the

one

who

humbles

himself

will

be

exalted

be

exalted

folks

do we

have

the

log

sticking

out

of

our

eye

does

God

have

a

purpose

and

plan

for

you

in

the

life

of

the

church

to

come

alongside

one

another

to

help

us

remove

the

splinters

from

others

eyes

absolutely

Paul

calls us

to that

in

Galatians

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

that

this

is

who

we

are

to

be

but

we

can't

do

this

in

the

way

and

with

the

heart

that

God

is

calling

us

to

when

the

sin

of

self

righteousness

is

lodged

right

within

the

very

person

that

we

are

should

I

examine

when

it's

like

sin

absolutely

can

we

come

alongside

one

another

praise

God

through

the

work

of

the

Holy

Spirit

a

work

in

progress

you

bet

we

can

but

if

I'm

my

own

standard

of

holiness

if

if

I'm

my

standard

of

godly

then

folks

I've

got

a

problem

that

leads

me

to

a

path

of

death

so

for you

and I

as we

see this

as people

because we

want to

again

remind

ourselves

that

Jesus

is

not

calling

us

to

not

step

into

the

world

of

one

another

in fact

it's

the

exact

opposite

we

see

him

time

and

time

again

so

how

do I

balance

with not

being

judgmental

but

in

the

guiding

and

leading

of

the

spirit

of

God

be

corrective

for

those

followers

of

Jesus

in

my

life

that

God

has

placed

me

with

I'm

going to

give you

four

questions

to

ask

yourself

question

number

one

question

number

one

why

am

I

doing

this

why

am

I

doing

this

questioning

your

motivation

questioning

your

motivation

is it

the heart

to call

them out

is it

the heart

to put

them in

their

place

is it

the heart

to let

them know

just exactly

who they

are

is it

a call

to knock

them down

a few

notches

what

is

what

why

I'm

sorry

why

am

I

doing

this

or

is it

a call

to free

them from

the sin

that's

in

their

life

so

they

can

walk

closer

with

Jesus

question

number

two

question

number

two

what

does

my

life

look

like

what

does

my

life

look

like

not

only

should

we

examine

our

motivation

but

we

should

examine

our

walk

as

well

maybe

within

the

conversation

that

we

have

in

the

community

of

believers

we

form

accountability

to

help

one

another

live

in

the

victory

that's

in

Christ

in

overcoming

the

sin

to

sit

down

with

one

another

and invest

in

as

brothers

or as

sisters

in

Christ

and to

say

you know

what

I struggle

with this

and I see

that you