There are two types of judgment in the New Testament: In the first type of judgment, church discipline, Christians were suppose to judge and discipline other Believers who created divisions and / or lived in open sin. The second type of judgment was mentioned by Jesuus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:1-6
Matthew 7:1-6
“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.
“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 then turn and tear you to pieces."
THE CONTEXT
The context of Matthew's "do not judge" is set in the verses that follow it, which tell us that what we see in others can be affected by what we do ourselves. Ted Haggard was an Evangelical preacher over a large church who openly opposed gay rights/marriage. Even though he preached so against gays, he was practicing gay sex and taking meth with paid male prostitutes. Jimmi Swaggart, likewise preached and wrote books about the evils of fornication and pornography, while he himself secretly visited prostitutes and was steeped in porn.
When I was a pastor, a woman who was in my church believed that her husband and her sister were having affairs with other people. After some counseling, the truth came out that she had an affair with the man she thought her husband was having sex with.
All of these did exactly what Matthew 5 told us not to do - they judged others through the eyes of their own issue. The plank in their eyes was so big, that all they could see or understand was their own sin, and so they saw their own sin in others, whether it was real or not (usually not).
Sin is a big plank that distorts one's vision of others, but it is not the only plank that distorts vision. Many people have planks that have been thrust upon them by unjust and bad situations. A victim of rape may spend his/her entire life seeing and suspecting sexual predators that may or may not be real. Whether or not what they see in others is real, they see life in a way that has been affected by their own rape. Likewise, someone who has been badly betrayed may see betrayal in all too many situations.
SOLUTION
Jesus' solution for judging others is simple:
1. Get the plank out of your own eye first.
2. Then help others get the specks out of their eyes.
To be honest, I think once one realizes he/she has a plank in his/her eyes; the specks in most other peoples' eyes are not so important after all.
In community it is imperative that you see that your judging is a sin and that you need to make two steps:
1. First you need to confess that your judgments are not a sign of superiority, holiness, or great spiritual standards. In the context we are discussing, these are just code words for arrogance and pride. In reality, your judgments are from the flesh, and wrong.
I cannot stress the importance of realizing that you do have a problem with criticism. Rarely do we see the severity of judging others. It is kind of like an addiction in which we are convinced we do not have a problem, so once we have faced the truth that we have a problem, we are on the way to recovery.
2. Once you are able to admit that there is a beam in your own eye, the rest comes very easily. You need to get the beam out of their own eye. You can do this by confessing before God that you have a beam in your own eye and then praying that God will help you by removing it. At this point, the criticism naturally fades.
HELPING OTHERS
When I face the reality that I am judgmental and confess that to God, the power of that judmentalism is disarmed. At this point I am able to be easier on others, letting go of their offenses more easily, knowing that I am guilty of the same if not worse.
Once I have dealt with my own sins, then if there is someone who is steeped in the same or similar problem, I am much more able to help that person with their problems. And from that other person's point of view, it is easier to receive help from someone who is humble and has gone through similar issues, than it is to receive help from someone who is arrogant and critical.
WHEN SHOULD WE NOT TRY TO HELP OTHERS
Finally, at the end of Jesus' lesson, he told us to let go of those people who despise correction. Many people don't ever want to hear that there is any thing wrong with them, so if you try to help them out, they will turn around and attack you. Jesus said, "Leave them alone, or else they will turn around and attack you."
The context of Matthew's "do not judge" is set in the verses that follow it, which tell us that what we see in others can be affected by what we do ourselves. Ted Haggard was an Evangelical preacher over a large church who openly opposed gay rights/marriage. Even though he preached so against gays, he was practicing gay sex and taking meth with paid male prostitutes. Jimmi Swaggart, likewise preached and wrote books about the evils of fornication and pornography, while he himself secretly visited prostitutes and was steeped in porn.
When I was a pastor, a woman who was in my church believed that her husband and her sister were having affairs with other people. After some counseling, the truth came out that she had an affair with the man she thought her husband was having sex with.
All of these did exactly what Matthew 5 told us not to do - they judged others through the eyes of their own issue. The plank in their eyes was so big, that all they could see or understand was their own sin, and so they saw their own sin in others, whether it was real or not (usually not).
Sin is a big plank that distorts one's vision of others, but it is not the only plank that distorts vision. Many people have planks that have been thrust upon them by unjust and bad situations. A victim of rape may spend his/her entire life seeing and suspecting sexual predators that may or may not be real. Whether or not what they see in others is real, they see life in a way that has been affected by their own rape. Likewise, someone who has been badly betrayed may see betrayal in all too many situations.
SOLUTION
Jesus' solution for judging others is simple:
1. Get the plank out of your own eye first.
2. Then help others get the specks out of their eyes.
To be honest, I think once one realizes he/she has a plank in his/her eyes; the specks in most other peoples' eyes are not so important after all.
In community it is imperative that you see that your judging is a sin and that you need to make two steps:
1. First you need to confess that your judgments are not a sign of superiority, holiness, or great spiritual standards. In the context we are discussing, these are just code words for arrogance and pride. In reality, your judgments are from the flesh, and wrong.
I cannot stress the importance of realizing that you do have a problem with criticism. Rarely do we see the severity of judging others. It is kind of like an addiction in which we are convinced we do not have a problem, so once we have faced the truth that we have a problem, we are on the way to recovery.
2. Once you are able to admit that there is a beam in your own eye, the rest comes very easily. You need to get the beam out of their own eye. You can do this by confessing before God that you have a beam in your own eye and then praying that God will help you by removing it. At this point, the criticism naturally fades.
HELPING OTHERS
When I face the reality that I am judgmental and confess that to God, the power of that judmentalism is disarmed. At this point I am able to be easier on others, letting go of their offenses more easily, knowing that I am guilty of the same if not worse.
Once I have dealt with my own sins, then if there is someone who is steeped in the same or similar problem, I am much more able to help that person with their problems. And from that other person's point of view, it is easier to receive help from someone who is humble and has gone through similar issues, than it is to receive help from someone who is arrogant and critical.
WHEN SHOULD WE NOT TRY TO HELP OTHERS
Finally, at the end of Jesus' lesson, he told us to let go of those people who despise correction. Many people don't ever want to hear that there is any thing wrong with them, so if you try to help them out, they will turn around and attack you. Jesus said, "Leave them alone, or else they will turn around and attack you."
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