Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled Listening To Heaven’s Infallible Teacher.
The messages for the next couple of weeks will be coming from the Sermon on the Mount.
Today we are talking about The Sin of Criticism.
Prayer
God of mercy, how we adore you.
When our hearts reflect on your greatness and our smallness, we are amazed that you even notice us.
But you do!
We praise you for this.
As this offering is extended from our hearts to yours, may it be an expression of our love for you.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Matthew 7:1 AMP
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly].
(This is not a prohibition of judgment, nor is it a command to stop using godly wisdom, common sense, and moral courage together with God’s written word to discern right from wrong, to distinguish between morality and immorality, and to judge doctrinal truth. There are many judgments that are not only legitimate, but are commanded, however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.)
Scripture Reading
Matthew 7:1-5 AMP
7 “Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly].
2 For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.
3 Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Introduction
Christ’s statement, ““Do not judge and criticize and condemn, so that you will not be judged.” Points its accusing finger directly at each of us and implies that we have been found guilty.
This is one of the most disturbing passages in all of Jesus’ teachings.
Jesus centres His attention on the prevalent sin of criticism, the sin of nit picking, fault finding, and cutting other people down to size.
We can find this behaviour everywhere in our lives, at home, at work, in our churches.
We look around for people to measure.
Then we stretch those who are too short and cut off those who are too long.
We try and make people fit us exactly.
Jesus, being aware of human nature, realised the propensity of individuals to measure everyone else to themselves.
He had observed people trying to force others to fit exactly into their own concepts.
Thus Jesus gives us clear and stern instructions, “Judge not, that you not be judged!”
This is not a subtle suggestion or a gentle nudge.
“Judge not” is an imperative!
- A prohibition.
In verse 1 a present imperative is used with a negative, where Jesus said, “don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticise their faults, unless of course, you want the same treatment.
- What was Jesus prohibiting?
- Jesus was not prohibiting the due process of law.
Often this statement of Christ has been misunderstood and misapplied.
The Sermon on there Mount is a divine blueprint for social order.
But our Lord never meant for His words to be a replacement for the law.
The due process of law and the grace of God are not opposite.
They simply operate in different realms.
The spirit of the entire teachings of Christ would never advocate anarchy.
Jesus knows human nature well enough to know that government and a judicial system are necessary.
2. Jesus was not prohibiting the practice of moral judgements.
Jesus Himself passed moral judgement on others.
For instance, He called the Pharisees a generation of vipers and white washed tombs.
He announced that if they did not repent, they would surely perish.
Because of our hesitancy to make moral decisions, we tend to drift into indiscriminate moral neutrality.
Consequently, we quote this passage, “Judge not, that you may not be judged,” and in doing so abdicate our responsibility to make moral judgements.
Actually, the correct position is that we should judge morally and thus be prepared to be judged morally.
B. What was Jesus prohibiting.
He was attacking the sin of criticism.
He was addressing the hypercritical, fault finding attitude that encourages us to stretch people out or to chop them off they will conform to our measure.
Here Jesus places Himself in a diametrical opposition to those who would inflict slow death on others by relentless criticism.
Employers sometimes do this to employees, parents do it to their own children.
Teachers, by this means, destroy pupils, and some ministers wear down their church members, many church members slowly destroy their Pastors in the same way.
“Judge not, that you may not be judged,”
2. A promise.
In verse 2 Jesus said, “For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.”
This promise reflects the law of reciprocity, a law that states that we always get back what we give out.
This may not be the highest motive for appealing to others, that they should be Christlike, but it is a motive based on fact.
Dishonesty begets dishonesty, stealing begets stealing, and criticism begets criticism.
Yet the bright side of this law is that the opposite is also true, truth begets truth, faithfulness begets faithfulness, and love begets love.
The fact remains that our criticism not only causes others to be critical toward us, but we are also hurt from two other sources, ourselves and God.
“So will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure, judgment will be measured to you.”
This is simply a restatement of such verses as Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.
And Matthew 26:52, Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place; for all those who habitually draw the sword will die by the sword.
We all know that criticism, holding a grudge, hatred, and attitudes like this are destructive to a person’s body and mind.
Criticism reveals five things about us.
Our sins, our jealousies, our ignorance, our inability to deal with our own problems, and our lovelessness.
So each time we judge another, we are saying to all who have ears to hear, “This is Tyler kind of unloving person I am.”
Paul addressed himself to this same problem in Romans 2:1-3.
He said,
The Impartiality of God
2 Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things [which you denounce].
2 And we know that the judgment of God falls justly and in accordance with truth on those who practice such things.
3 But do you think this, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things, and yet do the same yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment and elude His verdict?
There are four reasons why we receive God’s judgement when we are critical toward others.
First, criticism hinders God’s work.
Second, it assumes God’s office as judge.
Third, it destroys what God has given, character and influence.
Fourth, it shows contempt toward the grace of God, which is extended to those who we would destroy by our criticism.
3. A perplexity.
In Matthew 7:3-4, Jesus said the sin of criticism creates a real perplexity.
Jesus used a bit of humour to paint the picture of a man with a log in his eye trying to pick out a splinter from another mans eye!
That’s a perplexing situation!
Not one of us is without sin, not one of us is free of glaring defects in our own life.
Jesus was saying, “Look at the ridiculous role you are playing. With a glaring flaw in your own life that everyone else can see, you nitpick at the small problems in the lives of others.”
If there is anything that Jesus does not want His followers to be, it is hypocrites.
Jesus set the example in this matter.
When He saw Zacchaeus, He wanted to help him.
This man had been cheating and defrauding the public.
Jesus could have said, “I know who you are, Zacchaeus, your one of those terrible tax collectors.
You’ve earned the bad reputation that is yours. Come down out of that tree, fall on your knees before me, and confess your sins publicly.
If you get your life straightened out, you might be good enough to come and join my followers.”
Instead of standing in judgement of this fallen man, Jesus established a relationship of love.
By the tone of His voice and the actions that followed, Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “I love you very much.”
In the light of God’s love. Zacchaeus became keenly aware of the fault in his life.
4. A proposal.
In verse 5 Jesus made a proposal.
We have our hands full in correcting the problems in our own lives without being critical in our judgement toward others.
We could spend our time quite constructively if we concentrate on our own faults, leaving the faults of others to the goodness and grace of God.
jesus’ proposal is difficult to carry out.
We naturally find ourselves asking how we can execute this proposal and what we can do about the temptation to criticise others.
First of all, we should recognise being critical of others as a sin.
It is a sin, just as stealing or lying or immorality is a sin.
In God’s eyes, being critical and hurtful toward others is serious sin.
Second, we should confess our tendency to judge as a sin.
Only through confession will we ever rid our lives of the deadly sin of criticism.
Third, we must quit doing it.
It is not enough to own up to the sin and ask God to forgive us.
We must claim the grace of God that will enable us to quit being critical.
Three good filters through which we should pass every word that comes from our mouth are, is it true?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
Conclusion.
As we go about God’s business, as opposed to the business of god, we are to see the good in people and by the grace of God bring to to the surface.
Too many people are willing to throw others aside as human rejects.
May God grant that we will become people who realise the value in each and every person.
May God save us from the ranks of those who stand idly by and point out the flaws and faults in others.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
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