A Note from the Pastor…
“Judge not lest you be judged” from Matthew 7:1 is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied teachings in Scripture by believers and non-believers alike. When Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged,” He wasn’t issuing a blanket rule that people are never to judge others. A closer look at the rest of the passage illuminates the real issue Christ wanted to address: “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:1–5, NLT).
In his commentary on Matthew, Stuart Weber gives this excellent summary of the correct meaning of Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge others until you are prepared to be judged by the same standard. And then, when you exercise judgment toward others, do it with humility” (Holman New Testament Commentary).
In the book of John, Jesus calls us to “right” judgment.” John 7:24 states, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” In I John 4:1 we are reminded, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world,” (ESV). How can we call people to repentance if we cannot clearly proclaim the truths and standards of the Word of God? Without the Word of God and its truth’s “rightly divided” our nation will sadly continue to fall into “those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20 ESV). May God guide us in all we do for Him! (Taken in part from GotQuestions.org).
Pastor Chris
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