Frankly, the Sawdust is More Fun!
Matthew 7:1-6
As we move now into the seventh chapter of Matthew’s gospel and
into the final one-third of the Sermon on the Mount, we are once
again faced by the temptation of removing this little section of
Scripture from its larger context
-Jesus’ words do not occur in isolation
--listen, just as an example, to these words
From the child's
story-book to the last newspaper in the country, and
every theatre and
cinema, every pillar where placards are posted
and every free
space...should be utilized in the service of this one
great mission...[no
longer shall we all] cry, "Lord, deliver us,"...[but
may those words be] transformed into an
ardent prayer: "Almighty
God, bless [us]...when the hour comes. Be
just, as Thou hast
always been
just. Judge now if we deserve our
freedom. Lord,
bless our struggle."
What do you think?
-you may critique some things, but overall, this is pretty good, right?
-do you know who said this? let me give you a few hints...he was
one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen...he was
European...he was one of the most evil men the world has ever
seen...his words were published in 1939...he was German...he
committed suicide in 1945...and these words are quoted from his
infamous book, Mein Kampf
--ok, granted, using Adolf Hitler may be an exaggerated example
of the importance of context...but it’s still true
We will completely miss the point of Jesus’ familiar words if we fail to
see them in light of what has come before and what follows
-for example, most people—Christians and non-Christians alike—
can quote the first words of Matthew 7:1...right?
--how often have you heard someone say, “Look, the Bible
says, ‘Do not judge’...so you have no right to tell me that my
lifestyle is sinful.”?
--or a Christian will say, “Well, the Bible says that we’re not
supposed to judge anyone, so who am I to say that
homosexuality and abortion and pornography are wrong?”
We live in a time when even non-Christians can quote the Bible for
their our advantage, and too many Christians are too spiritually
immature to have any valid, biblical response
-instead of speaking the truth in love, many Christians shrug their
shoulders and mumble, “Well, you’ve got a good point there.”
If you read the first three words of Matthew 7, you can logically
conclude that a Christian is not to judge...not ever
-but you might
also read “Be just, as Thou hast always been
just...Lord, bless our struggle."...and logically conclude that Adolf
Hitler was a sweet Christian man
--what matters is those words in context...of the words around
them...and in the life, belief, and actions of the speaker
Are we not to judge at all? really?
-did Jesus judge the actions of others?
--hmmm...perhaps we should ask the Jewish religious leaders that
question...or read Matthew 23 where Jesus leaves no doubt
about the true spiritual condition of those so-called leaders
---Read
Matthew 23:27-28
--or read Matthew 25 where Jesus tells three parables that all
revolve around judgment
-in response, you might argue, “True, but He’s Jesus. He’s suppose
to judge. That’s His job.”
--good point, but we have to ask if elsewhere in Scripture does
Jesus ever speak about us judging?
---Read Matthew 7:6...Jesus isn’t talking about pigs and
dogs...instead He’s talking about the importance of
using spiritual discernment
----when Jesus sends out the twelve to preach and heal, He
gives them several instructions that require them to be
discerning à
Read
Matthew 10:5-6, 11-16
----or return to the SOTM...Matthew 7:15-20 [Read]
The problem we run into is that we are sinful ourselves...and our
judgments are not always right
-first of all, we don’t know and cannot know someone else’s
motives—in fact, we struggle to understand our own motives
--Jeremiah
17:9-10 à The
heart is deceitful above all things
and
beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search
the heart and examine the mind, to
reward a man according
to his conduct, according to what
his deeds deserve.
---we are warned, here, about the inherent dangers of sitting
in judgment of others
-another problem is that we typically look at the wrong thing
--when God sends the prophet Samuel to Jesse’s house to find
the next
king of
our tendency to misjudge
---1 Samuel 16:7 à Do not
consider his appearance or his
height...The Lord does not
look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks
at
the heart.
--and if you’ve been here and been paying attention during the
last several sermons, you are hopefully saying, “Aha!”
---in the context of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, it’s
easy to see this problem in real life!
----in Matthew 6:2-4, Jesus addresses the issue of
people giving to the needy in a very public way so
others will judge them as righteous and generous
----in Matthew 6:5-13, He speaks to the problem of
people who pray loudly and who use big words and
long prayers just to make others think they are
righteous and very close to God
----in Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus points to the common
practice of fasting (i.e., going without food for a
spiritual purpose)...and He warns about those who
do it as a show, as “religious theatre”
---isolated, these three subjects can be understood as Jesus
giving examples to support His command in Matthew
6:1 à Be
careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’
before men, to be seen by them.
----but now, seen in the context of Matthew 7:1-6, we
may interpret these examples of how you and I are
so susceptible to falling for these alleged “acts of
righteousness”...and how we wrongly give way too
much spiritual credence to those who put on a
good show...which only serves as further evidence
that, as a rule, we are pretty lousy judges
--Jesus says it
best (He always does!) in John 7:24 à Stop
judging by mere appearances, and
make a right judgment.
---Jesus isn’t condemning judging, per se, instead He’s
condemning poor judgment...based on the wrong things
Make no mistake: you and I are not the Judge—God is
-however, because He has given us His written Word, we do know
certain actions and attitudes are clearly sinful
--we know murder is wrong...but so is anger and hatred
--we know sex outside of marriage is wrong...but so is lust
--we know homosexuality is wrong...but so is gluttony
--we know lying is wrong...but so is failing to tell the truth
--we know drunkenness is wrong...but so is dividing the church
over trivial matters
--we know greed is wrong...but so is turning our backs on those
who are needy
--the list, of course, goes on and on
-Jesus is not commanding us to remain blind and silent in the face
of evil...He is not condemning us if we say, for example, “lying is
wrong because the Bible says it is wrong”
Another shortcoming we reveal when we try to judge?
-we say all the time “a sin is a sin is a sin”...we say, “no sin is worse
than another”
--but we don’t actually believe that...and we definitely don’t
practice it
-that’s why some of us winced when I read the list of sins above
--“How can you put murder and anger in the same sentence?”
---uh, because Jesus did
--“How can you even compare homosexuality and gluttony?”
---hey, I’m not comparing them at all...I’m simply stating that
the Bible say that both of them are wrong, that’s all
--“Hey, I don’t love money...but I just think we should give only to
those who have proven their worthiness.”
---hmmm...which is probably exactly what Jesus was thinking
when He commanded the twelve in Matthew 10:8 à
Freely you have received, freely give.
-the truth is that we Christians—and we Baptists are some of the
worst—like to pick on a few sins and identify them as worse than
others...when I was growing up in another denomination, those
sins included going to movies and dancing...today we all know
the really bad sins because fortunately for us there is never a
short supply of preachers, authors, and special interest groups to
identify the particularly evil evil for us
--my problem is that I know the Bible speaks out against
homosexuality—I have no doubt in my little mind that
homosexuality is a sin—but you know the Bible has so much
more to say about being lazy, eating too much, and ignoring
the poor and the hurting and the lost around us than it ever
does about homosexuality or gambling or whichever other
sin-of-the-week we are attacking
We jump all over some sin we don’t struggle with...and then we turn
right around and excuse our own sin
-“If you gamble, you are going to hell!”
--but “If you lust after a woman...well, c’mon, I mean, guys,
that’s how God made us right?!!!”
We say pornography is wrong (and it is)...but at the same time we
continue willfully sinning by gossiping...we say “your sin is HUGE...
and my sin, in comparison is no big deal—“plus I’m not perfect—just
forgiven”...I’ve got a “Get out of hell free” card and you don’t
You say, “I’m not perfect, but at least I didn’t get pregnant when I was
in high school”...or “at least I didn’t get arrested for DUI”...but you
continue willfully sinning by disobeying your parents
-you see, that’s the whole thing Jesus is getting at...as long as we
are trying to get the sawdust out of someone else’s eye, we don’t
have to come face-to-face with our own sin
--“But James, you can’t say that doing drugs is “sawdust” but
then claim that going to a party my parents told me not to
attend is a “plank”! That’s not fair!”
Hmmm...good point...
-let’s listen to what Paul says in Romans 1:29-32 [Read]
Huh...gossip and disobeying your parents and envy are in the same
boat as “wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity”?
-what was Paul thinking?
And they’re also in the same boat as murder, deceit, malice, slander,
hatred toward God, insolence, arrogance, boasting...as well as
inventing new ways to sin...and being senseless, faithless,
heartless, and ruthless?
-what was Paul smoking?
And these people because of their sin are deserving of death? [v. 32]
-where does Paul come up with this stuff?
--hmmm...I don’t know, but some would say the Holy Spirit
Let’s return to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7
-Jesus is saying in v. 2 that your standard of judging others is what
God will use when He judges you
In vv. 3-4, Jesus is making it plain what our priorities should be:
-take care of our own sin first...confess, repent
--and then, don’t turn our backs on all the other sinners...instead,
help them! Read v. 5!!!
--that’s why James 5:19-20 à If one
of you should wander from
the truth and someone should bring him
back, remember this:
whoever turns a sinner from the error
of his way will save him
from death and cover over a multitude
of sins.
-the problem non-believers have with us Christians isn’t when we
are truthful about sin (although that’s not exactly pleasant)...the
problem is when we spew out hypocritical judgment from
believers, churches, denominations
--that’s what those outside the church cannot stand nor
understand...and that’s particularly what those at the receiving
end of our judgment hate...and it’s why they won’t listen
---and they don’t buy into the line “I’m not perfect!”...and you
know why?
----because we toss that excuse around so flippantly
we’re essentially saying, “I’m not perfect—I just
expect you to be!”
-----and we wonder why no one’s buying the
religion we’re selling
Yes, we are to recognize sin and to call it for what it is
-yes, we are to judge the teachings of others...to, as Jesus says in
Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets”
-yes, when we step into the position as judge, we should do so only
on the basis of God’s written Word and never on the merit of our
own righteousness
While we are judging...we should first look in the mirror...and deal
with the planks...
And in all things, we are to act in love
-when did Jesus die for us (Romans 5:8)?