“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:1-5
Has anyone ever said to you, “Don’t judge me!”?
“Don’t judge me!” has become a common phrase in our society. People don’t want to feel guilty and they want to do what they want to do. So, when someone does something that is considered inappropriate or just plain wrong and sinful, but they want to keep doing it, they just demand that no one judge them.
Even worse, if it’s a Christian who brings up the fact that what they did was wrong, they can pull out this verse from Matthew 7 and declare that no one should judge their actions.
“Jesus said you can’t judge me, you hypocrite!”
Is that really what Jesus is saying in this passage? No.
Judging Actions vs Judging Salvation
The judging that Jesus is referring to is not whether a specific action is right or wrong, but rather whether someone is going to heaven or hell. Jesus never says that the spec in the one person’s eye isn’t there just because there is a plank in the eye of the accuser. They both have things in their eyes.
What Jesus is saying is that we are all sinful and, based on our own righteousness, we would all be condemned. We also have a tenancy to see other people’s sin and miss our own. Thus, the accuser has a full plank in his eye, but doesn’t even realize it.
Salvation is Not Based on Our Works
At the end of Matthew 7 Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish men, the fool building his house on sand and the wise man building on the rock. Do we try to build our home, our salvation, on the shifting sands of our own works and righteousness or do we build our hope and salvation of the un-moving, firm rock of Christ?
Both of these passages show us that our salvation does not come from ourselves, neither avoiding sin (the plank in our eye) or doing good works (the foundation of sand). The hope of our salvation is only in knowing Christ by faith and being known by him.
So, yes, we can judge actions.
We can say murder is wrong. We can say sex outside of marriage is wrong. In fact, doing so with the right motive and context is showing someone love. It’s warning them about the dangers they are walking into.
However, we inform them of this not to condemn them, but to lead them to repentance and salvation. Jesus is telling us not to condemn but rather realize we are just as bad and just as much in need of a savior. Thankfully, Jesus salvation is there for you, me, and all the other sinners out there…all of us.
Heavenly Father,
We sin daily, yet we tend to see other people’s sin as greater than our own. Help us to see our sin and come to You in repentance. When we see the sin of others, help us to respond with compassion, lovingly and gently revealing their sin and then sharing the Gospel with the hope of their coming to You for forgiveness. Help us not to trust on our own righteousness, but to place our trust and hope in You alone.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
Copyright 2022, Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel. All Rights Reserved.