Judge Rightly--Matthew 7:1-6

Let's first quote the entire section so that we don't make the common error of quoting only a single verse and loosing its contextual meaning (many people like to quote verse 1 by itself to try to make it mean something it doesn't mean).

Judging Others
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “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? 4 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? 5 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.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Remember the context of the entire Sermon on the Mount so far....point people to God and act in a way which brings glory to Him.  This passage reminds us first that we don't need to usurp God's role as the ultimate Judge of the universe,, and that we should have as much grace and mercy with others as we want God to have with us (remember that verse that said that if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us?  Here it is again, just in another form).

Jesus then uses some hyperbole to make His point that He's not telling us to never judge anyone but we must first examine ourselves and we must always do so with the right attitude--to help and heal, not to harm.  If someone has a splinter in their eye, they probably are going to know that something is there causing them pain, but they probably won't be able to see what it is because it is so small and so close to them.  Therefore you as a friend might need to help them identify and get rid of the issue, but first examine yourself to make sure there isn't a glaring issue in your own life (a log coming out of your eye) that everyone sees and would hinder you from getting close to the person and effectively helping them.  "Who are you to tell me that I need to stop doing X when everyone knows that you're doing Y?"  If we do hear such things from friends then it is upon us to deal with those issues as our sin has clearly not just damaged our name and reputation, but the name and reputation of God--which again is our central theme here.

The last section here may not seem like it fits, but I promise it does.  Another type of judgment is discernment.  Jesus tells us here and other places to be discerning, and you will see throughout His ministry that He did not always treat every question as if it was an honest question...He knew when it was not and He handled different people and situations differently.  He knew when people were out for the truth and when they were out to try to destroy Him and to try to make God look bad.  We must be willing to share the gospel with everyone, but it is okay to ask people, "If I could answer that question, would you accept the answer and would it change anything about what you believe and how you live?"  If the answer is "No," then they are not seeking truth, they are seeking to make you look bad and Jesus tells you to not waste your time because it's as foolish as trying to make pigs appreciate the beauty of pearls.  Pigs and dogs are often used as metaphors for the heathen.  Pigs today aren't that different, but dogs are--they were not pets, they roamed the streets and were like vultures that cleaned up the dead things and hunted the weak and sick.  They were full of diseases and parasites and they were vicious and would attack no matter if you were trying to be kind to them.  Pigs much the same way don't care about much other than rolling around in the mud and other dirt and eating anything and everything they can.  Wild pigs are actually very dangerous and will kill and eat almost anything, even people.

So, the passage is clear, judge rightly with the right type of judgement.  It does not tell us that we need to be naive an let everyone con us, nor does it tell us that God is opposed to a judicial system that judges and punishes crimes against society, nor does it say that we are not to discern who is receptive to the gospel and who isn't or who is a true believer and who isn't (keep reading this chapter for that part), nor that we shouldn't help people rightly identify sin in their lives and deal with it.  It does tell us to be careful about condemning people (telling them they are irredeemable or they are going to hell) because only God is supposed to do that, and we are to be careful to use no standard other than God's standard when we judge and we are to use as much forgiveness, grace, and mercy with others aw we want to be shown by God.  I'll say this one last thing.  Be careful that you simply don't see your own sin in others.  We love to project our bad thinking and bad desires on others, "They only said that or did that because....." and we assign a motive that we assume is theirs because it would have been ours.  I believe this is also part of the "log in your own eye" thing, and when you see this, deal with it.  Don't correct people to put them down, but do it because you want them to be able to correctly see God and receive His full blessing in their lives and be in a right relationship with other believers.  Don't expect pigs or dogs to act like sheep, but it's okay to expect sheep to not act like pigs or dogs.  We'll see that as we continue here.  People who say they have been transformed by the gospel and show no change in heart and still act like pigs and dogs aren't going to fool God because he's going to see them from what they truly are.