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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. This is a bit of extended application 
from the message this morning. Remember the Jews accused Jesus 
of being demon possessed and In that particular context, he 
defends himself, he refutes them by pointing out his miracle wrought 
in Bethesda. He appeals to Moses to show that 
what he had done was not an infraction or transgression of the law. 
And then he laid down that principle concerning judgment. He says 
in John 7, 24, do not judge according to appearance, but judge with 
righteous judgment. So that'd be helpful for us to 
look at Matthew 7, verses one to five. I'll read the passage 
and then we'll pray. Judge not that you be not judged, for with 
what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the 
measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look 
at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the 
plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 
let me remove the speck from your eye, and look, a plank is 
in your own eye. Hypocrite, first remove the plank 
from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the 
speck from your brother's eye. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for the Word of God. We thank 
you that it's given by inspiration of you. It's profitable for doctrine, 
reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness. 
And certainly, this passage addresses a tendency in all of your people, 
in all of creation, to have a judgmental attitude and spirit with reference 
to others. Give us wisdom concerning what 
the text says and means, and help us, God, by the power and 
the presence of the Holy Spirit. to put these things into practice 
in our own daily lives, to bring glory to you in a manner that 
is consistent with your revelation. Forgive us now for our sin and 
unrighteousness, cleanse us afresh in that precious blood of the 
Lamb, and God, fill us now with your Holy Spirit, and we pray 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. Well, this is part of the 
Sermon on the Mount. Of course, the Lord Jesus goes 
up onto a mountain and there he teaches. And we have all kinds 
of people drawing eye to him. There's those who are unconverted. 
And so he preaches in a manner to show them the law and to show 
them their need for him. But as well, his disciples are 
attending also. So he is instructing the Christian 
in how he ought to live concerning his life before a holy God. And 
here in verses 1 to 5, he is making a prohibition against 
judgmentalism. As I mentioned this morning, 
he is not saying there is never to be judgment. This is one of 
those misunderstood passages that we have in the Bible. In 
fact, Pastor Kirkpatrick in Surrey, I think, preached this one this 
morning. He's doing a summer series on 
commonly misunderstood Bible texts. In Matthew 7, one to five 
is certainly one of them. So I wanna look first at the 
prohibition itself in verse one, secondly, the explanation in 
verse two, and then thirdly, the illustration in verses three 
to five. So let's look first at the prohibition. And there's a few things I wanna 
consider. First, the abuse of the text. I think J.C. Ryle, 
hits the nail on the head when he says, the first portion of 
these verses is one of those passages of scripture which we 
must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning. It 
is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion. 
It is possible to press the words of the Bible so far that they 
yield not medicine but poison. How many times have we heard 
this text bandied about to try and teach that there ought never 
to be judgment? Oh, you Christians are so judgmental. Your own Bible says you're not 
supposed to judge. Well, again, we need to properly 
understand what Jesus is addressing so that we can understand this 
text and understand this emphasis on judgment throughout Scripture. 
Now, in terms of the scope of the text, notice in verse one, 
judge not that you be not judged. If we lifted that out of the 
context, if we lifted it out of the Bible, if it was the only 
statement regarding judgment, then perhaps the opponents of 
Christianity would be right. Judge not that you be not judged. It's so simple and so obvious. You're never supposed to ever 
render any kind of judgment whatsoever. You see, the issue is that this 
text is not disconnected from the rest of the Bible. It's not 
disconnected from the books of Genesis to Revelation. This text 
is consistent with biblical teaching all throughout, and so we need 
to understand it in that larger context. So this cannot mean 
that a Christian is to never exercise judgment in the world. And I want to just give you various 
examples wherein it is right and where it is necessary for 
Christians to offer judgment. In the first place, look at the 
next verse, verse 6. Do not give what is holy to the 
dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them 
under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. Brethren, 
that's a judgment call. At some point in our evangelism 
of a particular sinner, we ought to conclude that they're either 
a dog or a pig and no longer cast our pearls before them. 
We are not to continue in a pattern of abuse or to, as far as we're 
able to, live at peace with all men, as Paul says in Romans chapter 
12. But if a man is an expressed 
enemy of the gospel of our blessed Lord, after several attempts, 
after trying to win him over, after trying to argue him into 
the kingdom or tell him the truth, there is that emphasis that Jesus 
says, do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls 
before swine. He's not talking about actual 
canines. He's not talking about actual 
pigs. He is talking about human beings 
that display those characteristics. that are at odds with the God 
of the scriptures, that are at odds with the people of God, 
and that are not to be entreated. And so there is a judgment involved 
in the fact that we are called to judge who may be a dog or 
a pig. Secondly, we are called to judge 
in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy. Look at Matthew 7 at verse 15. 
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, 
but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. That's a judgment call. How do we discriminate? How do 
we understand? How do we identify that? Well, 
we hold them up to the scripture. We judge them in light of the 
scripture. We judge their prophesying, their 
teaching, their preaching in light of God's holy truth. If 
they come up short, if they are wanting, if they are lacking, 
then we judge them to be false prophets. Notice in verse 16, 
you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn 
bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears 
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot 
bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree 
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the 
fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. By their 
fruits you will be able to judge them, you will be able to discern, 
you will be able to understand where they're coming from, and 
if they are false prophets, have no truck with them. Turn over 
to the book of Galatians, another place where we see that we're 
called to judge in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy. In Galatians 
chapter 1 at verse 6, the apostle comes out of the gate and he 
says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called 
you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is 
not another. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert 
the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from 
heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached 
to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now 
I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than 
what you have received, let him be a curse. But Paul, that sounds 
judgmental. Absolutely, positively, it is 
judgmental. We are not to let heretics into 
Christian pulpits and distort the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone. We're to chase them out. We're 
to have no truck with them. We're not to listen to them. 
We are to refuse and reject them. That is a judgment call. Turn 
over the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 3. Philippians 
chapter 3 verse 1, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. 
For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for 
you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Again, he's not 
arguing, he's not warning you against the canine down the street. 
He's not suggesting that pit bulls are always violent and 
dangerous and they're going to chew you up and they're going 
to chew your children up. No, the Judaizers, or rather 
the Jews, would refer to Gentiles as dogs. So Paul takes up this 
moniker and describes the Judaizers, those who want to add works to 
faith, he calls them dogs. Notice verse two, beware of dogs, 
beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation, those who 
are seeking to get you to be circumcised in order to complete 
the transaction betwixt you and God. This is a judgment call, 
brethren, and if persons say, well, that's not kind, that's 
not loving, that's not fair, we are to judge in the manner 
that God calls us to. Turn over to the book of Revelation, 
Revelation chapter 2, the church in Ephesus, the first letter 
to the seven churches of Asia Minor. They are commended by 
Christ for having rendered judgment. We often remember the church 
at Ephesus for their problem, which was leaving their first 
love, but we don't often remember what they're commended for, and 
we should. Notice in 2.1, to the angel of 
the church of Ephesus write, these things says he who holds 
the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst 
of the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your labor, 
your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil, which 
in and of itself is a judgment call. We're rendering the verdict 
that these persons are evil and therefore we're going to avoid 
that. But he escalates it. Notice, 
and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are 
not and have found them liars. And you have persevered and have 
patience and have labored for my name's sake and have not become 
weary. So going back to Matthew 7, judge 
not, that you be not judged is not a universal statement. It 
is conditioned, it is contextual, it is in the life or in the orbit 
of the rest of God's Word. In a third manner, we are called 
to judge in matters of church discipline. So not only orthodoxy 
with reference to sound doctrine, but orthopraxy with reference 
to life and practice in Christ's church. Turn over to Matthew 
chapter 18. There we see detailed instruction 
on how to deal with somebody that has sinned against us. Now 
I know the default position in the church is to avoid them, 
to never have any dealings with them again, but that's not God's 
Word. That is not the command of Scripture. 
We're supposed to fix our relationships. If we go to the altar and there 
we want to present our gift, and we remember that somebody 
has a problem with us, we go fix that relationship. Because 
what happens horizontally affects the vertical relationship with 
God. And in the same token, if somebody sins against me, I'm 
not to just avoid them, I'm not just to write them off, I'm not 
just to think in my own head, they're dead to me and I'm not 
going to have any dealings with them. No, I need to man up and 
do what God Most High commands me to do and I need to go after 
them such that they can repent of their sin and have a right 
relationship horizontally and thus vertically. This is a judgment 
call. Notice in 1815. Moreover, if 
your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between 
you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained 
your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or 
two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every 
word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, 
what do you think they're doing? They're rendering a judgment. 
They're witnessing the process. They have heard the events and 
details, and they are saying, yeah, this guy is unrepentant. 
This guy has found wanting. This guy is not doing what he's 
supposed to do. So notice in verse 17, and if 
he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses 
even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen 
and a tax collector. That's a judgment. We render 
a judgment upon a sinning brother that does not repent. We treat 
him like a heathen and a tax collector. You see this in 1 
Corinthians 5 as well. The apostle upbraids the Corinthian 
church because there was an instance of a man who had his father's 
wife. And the apostle says, you knew 
about this and you were arrogant about it? Paul says, get him 
out of the midst. If he's unrepentant, remove him 
from the life and context of the local church. That is a judgment 
call. Fourth, we are called to judge 
in matters concerning the sins of the eldership. Turn over to 
1 Timothy chapter 5. Again, focusing on what the text 
does not teach. It does not teach that there 
ought never to be any sort of judgment rendered whatsoever. 
We are called to judge who may be a dog or a pig. We are called 
to judge in matters of doctrinal orthodoxy. We are called to judge 
in matters of church discipline. We are called to judge in matters 
concerning sins in the eldership. Look at 1 Timothy 5, 17. Let 
the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially 
those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture says 
you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, and 
the laborer is worthy of his wages. do not receive an accusation 
against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Again, 
what's in view? There's a judgment call that's 
going to be made upon this particular elder. It must be done with due 
process. It must be done in the light 
of biblical redemption. It must be done in light of the 
laws of witnesses in Deuteronomy 17 and 19. And then notice what 
happens in verse 20. Those who are sinning rebuke 
in the presence of all that the rest also may fear. That's a 
judgment, brethren, that the church renders on a sinning elder. And then finally, we are called 
to judge in civil disputes, both in the church and in the civil 
sphere. Turn back to 1 Corinthians 6. 
1 Corinthians 6, just to see an emphasis on the judgment that 
the church is supposed to render when there is a dispute among 
brothers within that church. Notice in 1 Corinthians 6, one, 
dare any of you having a matter against another, go to law before 
the unrighteous and not before the saints. Do you not know that 
the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged 
by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you 
not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things 
that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning 
things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are 
least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your 
shame. Is it so that there is not a 
wise man among you, not even one who will be able to judge 
between his brethren? But brother goes to law against 
brother, and that before unbelievers. Don't go to the pagan judge, 
don't go to the heathen. Rather, the church ought to be 
able to render sufficient judgment in these particular matters. 
So again, an odd emphasis by the Apostle Paul, if judge not 
lest you be judged, is a universal statement that requires never 
judging anyone. And then of course, Romans chapter 
13. Romans chapter 13, verses 1 to 4. Let every soul be subject 
to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except 
from God, and those which exist are appointed by God. Therefore, 
whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, 
and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers 
are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be 
unafraid of the authority? Do it as good, and you will have 
praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you 
for good, but if you do evil, be afraid. For he does not bear 
the sword in vain, for he is God's minister and avenger to 
execute wrath on him who practices evil." Now brethren, generally 
this applies, right? Civil government has the right 
and prerogative given to it by God to render judgment. and then 
to punish in light of that violation of law up to and including the 
death penalty. Christians can function as civil 
magistrates. We're not Anabaptists. If you 
get a job in the civil government and your job is to render judgment, 
God's not at war with you. That is not a problematic situation. That is not something that he 
will say is a wicked endeavor on the part of God's people. 
What we have in Matthew 7 verse 1 is not an unqualified and universal 
prohibition to never engage in judgment. We've just seen the 
opposite. It is rather a prohibition against a particular activity 
that we are all prone to do when dealing with our brothers in 
Christ. He's condemning judgmentalism. He is condemning our everyday 
conduct with one another. That's the context of the Sermon 
on the Mount. Turn back to Matthew chapter 
5 to see the Sermon on the Mount in this way. Notice in chapter 
5 verses 38 to 42. You have heard that it was said, 
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not 
to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your 
right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to 
sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him too. Give 
to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from 
you, do not turn away. This is not a prohibition against 
locking your front door. It's not a prohibition against 
telling a criminal offender that I'm not going to allow you to 
rape my wife or my daughters. The common understanding or misunderstanding 
of this text would do away with locks, would do away with guard 
dogs, would do away with alarm systems. I mean, after all, we're 
supposed to turn the other cheek, right? You're done with my daughter, 
the wife is down at the end of the hallway. That's not what's 
in view. It is a petty, vindictive, judgmental 
spirit in day-to-day life that was exhibited by the Pharisees 
and the scribes. The religious people are the 
ones that Jesus has issues with in the Sermon on the Mount. with 
reference to everyday ethics. Yeah, as far as you're able, 
don't be vindicatory. Don't be a petty, judgmental 
individual. Don't be that person that's always 
exacting a pound of flesh. But if you are brutally assaulted, 
if you are mugged on the way home from church tonight, which 
I hope doesn't happen, Jesus doesn't condemn you calling the 
RCMB. Jesus doesn't condemn you sitting 
with the artist that's going to sketch out a picture of the 
bad guy. And Jesus doesn't condemn you 
if you go into court and you swear and tell the whole truth 
concerning this particular barbarian, and he ends up getting thrown 
in prison or executed. Christ is not at war with that. 
Christ is at war with the kind of judgmental spirit exhibited 
by the Pharisees and oftentimes exhibited by God's people in 
churches today. Calvin says these words of Christ 
do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging. but are intended 
to cure a disease which appears to be natural to us all. We see 
how all flatter themselves, and every man passes as a fair censure 
on others. This vice is attended by some 
strange enjoyment, for there is hardly any person who is not 
tickled with the desire of inquiring into other people's faults." 
It's a fault-finding methodology that Christ is denouncing. You 
see that again in verse 5. Hypocrite, first remove the plank 
from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the 
speck from who? From your brother's eye. This 
has to do with your daily interpersonal relationships. It has nothing 
to do with the rendering of a judgment by the church in an ecclesiastical 
setting on a man's doctrinal unorthodoxy or heterodoxy or 
heresy or his continual patterns of sin. It has nothing to do 
with that. So if a church excommunicates 
a sinful offender, it is not legit for outsiders to, well, 
that's not right. You're not supposed to judge. 
You have no understanding whatsoever of what the Bible says, and yet 
you're gonna try to beat us up with Bible verses that you don't 
know? Now, in terms of the meaning 
of the text, very clearly, the command forbids a nitpicking, 
fault-finding, petty approach to our brother's shortcomings. Judge not that you be not judged. Again, we see this in the illustration 
in verses four and five, or three to five. And why do you look 
at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the 
plank in your own eye? That is a nitpicky, petty, fault-finding 
mindset. It's inconsistent with that principle 
of love in 1 Corinthians 13, 7. Love bears all things, it 
believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things. And the mandate given by the 
Apostle Paul in Colossians 3, 13, bearing with one another 
and forgiving one another. See, the Apostle says that we're 
supposed to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave 
us. If God has forgiven us of a multitude 
of sin and transgression, we ought to be forgiving toward 
our brethren. Now, again, there may be those instances where 
we have to employ Matthew 18, but for the most part, brethren, 
we can let love cover a multitude of sins. That is a legitimate 
option that presents itself to the people of God that will hopefully 
protect us from the mindset that is condemned here. Again, Ryle 
says, what our Lord means to condemn is a censorious and fault-finding 
spirit, a readiness to blame others for trifling offenses 
or matters of indifference, a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments, 
a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our 
neighbors and make the worst of them. This is what our Lord 
forbids. It was common among the Pharisees. Osborne adds this, he says, the 
key component is the absence of love. So the command is contextually 
conditioned by the reality that on your day-to-day life, you're 
not supposed to be the fault-finding, censorious person that imitates 
the Pharisees instead of has God's Word lodged in their hearts. So the prohibition is not universal, 
it is not unconditional, but rather it finds itself in the 
context of the larger emphasis in Scripture. Now back to verse 
1, judge not that you be not judged. Look at chapter 7 and 
verse 12. Therefore whatever you want men 
to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets. 
We call that the golden rule. And it goes man to man. How I 
want to be treated, I should treat you. How I don't want to 
be treated, I shouldn't treat you that way. Well, the judgment 
in verse 1, judge not that you be not judged, it doesn't mean 
horizontally. It means God work. And as we 
move through this particular passage, that's the one who brings 
chastening upon the brother that engages in this particular sin. 
And that's a great sort of a stimulus, isn't it? Judge not that you 
be not judged. Don't be the nitpicker. Don't 
be the fault finder. Don't be the Pharisee. Don't 
be the guy that has to see himself as the policeman for every single 
individual in the life of Christ's holy church. That's not your 
job. That's not your area of competence. 
That is not what you have been called to do. And understand 
that if that is the tack that you take, you will be judged 
for it by God most high. That right there should lead 
all of us to consider and ponder the emphasis in the text so that 
we don't fall prey to engaging in an abuse of our place. Now 
notice secondly, the explanation, the explanation that he gives. 
So he gives a prohibition, verse one, judge not that you be not 
judged. And then in verse two, four, 
with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with 
the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Notice 
the standard of judgment. We saw this this morning. Jesus 
says in John 7, 24, do not judge according to appearance, but 
judge with righteous judgment. That text itself assumes that 
we will judge. That text assumes and commands 
that we judge. It just demands that we judge 
in a manner that is consistent with God's holy word, that we 
judge with a righteous judgment. It's not our feelings. It's not 
our emotions. It's not our offense. It's not, 
oh, we don't like that. It's what God's word has to say. That's the standard of judgment 
that we are to employ in the various ways we are called to 
judge. And with reference to interpersonal relationships, 
we're not supposed to do it at all. fault-finding, nitpicking, 
petty approaches to our neighbor. So the prohibition in John 7, 
24, do not judge according to appearance. I cited a few passages. Exodus 23, don't give deference 
to a poor man in your courtroom. Judge him based on the facts 
of the case. Don't give deference to a rich 
man in your courtroom. Judge him with reference to the 
facts of the case. And then the several emphases 
in the Old Testament and New that God does not show partiality. I cited a particular commentator. He says, to show partiality in 
a judgment is not to give a judgment that is just because of love 
or deference or fear or the status of a person, which things have 
nothing to do with the case. That doesn't, I mean, if you 
love somebody, that doesn't change the contours of the case. As 
lovers of God and lovers of men, we want justice to be served. 
And so we don't defer, or we don't prefer, or we don't engage 
in partiality. So that's what Christ is saying 
here. He says in verse two, for with what judgment you judge, 
you will be judged. And I take that as by God. And 
with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 
It doesn't mean that God's going to enter into a nitpicking, fault-finding, 
petty attitude. But He is going to judge you 
based on that particular sin that you undertake on your own 
behalf. In other words, when you violate 
God's holy law, expect judgment, expect chastisement. Expect God 
to come to deal with you. That's the focus in verse 2. For with what judgment you judge, 
you will be judged. If you're a nitpicking, fault-finding, 
petty individual that Jesus is denouncing here, judgment is 
going to come your way. And with the measure you use, 
it will be measured back to you. You get rid of the Word of God, 
you let your preferences reign supreme, you let feelings and 
emotions call the day. Well, then God is going to deal 
with you, not that way, but according to His law, against the sin that 
you have undertaken. And then notice, thirdly, the 
illustration in verses 3 to 5. Now, this illustration is typical 
of our blessed Lord. He used kind of hyperbolic things 
to illustrate points. Remember in Matthew 23, when 
he's upbraiding the scribes and the Pharisees, and he says, you 
strain out the gnat, but you swallow the camel. Brethren, 
I have to believe somebody in the crowd smiled. I have to believe 
that somebody in the crowd got tickled when he said that. You 
can envision it. You can see it. You can see these 
Pharisees trying to strain their wine because they didn't want 
any impurities in there. And so they take great pains 
to make sure not a little gnat falls into their wine. And yet 
you swallow the camel? Again, brethren, he uses that 
hyperbole to illustrate the point. And he does the same thing here 
masterfully. Notice what he says in verses 
three to five. First, you have the illustration 
proper. Verse three, why do you look 
at the speck, the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye, but do 
not consider the plank or the log in your own eye? Now, that right in and of itself 
should give all of us cause to pause. This type of fault finding 
takes effort on the part of the fault finder. Certainly, you 
have better things to do than look for specks in your brother's 
eyes, don't you? Yes, possibly. You see, this 
takes effort to be this kind of a sinner. It actually means 
more work than just obeying Jesus at this particular point. This 
type of fault finding is a betrayal of the law of liberty. James 
invokes the law of liberty in James 2, 12, and 13 in a context 
dealing with partiality. He says specifically, so speak 
and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 
Thirdly, with reference to the illustration proper, why do you 
look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank 
in your own eye? This type of fault finding is 
a rejection of biblical procedure. You're not supposed to do this. 
You're supposed to understand that when it comes to matters, 
not only in the law courts, But when it comes to matters in our 
daily interaction, one with another, Proverbs 18, 17 is binding upon 
all men everywhere. The first to plead his cause 
seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. Earlier 
in Proverbs 18, he says, he who answers a matter before he hears 
it, this is folly, it is wickedness. And so you're going after the 
speck in your brother's eye, all the while you've got a beam. 
You've got a log, you've got a pole hanging out of your eye. It is absolutely ludicrous that 
we engage in this sort of thing. Fourth, this type of fault finding 
is a failure to come to grips with one's own shortcomings, 
failures, and sins. The guy with the speck understands 
your issue, but you don't understand it. You've got a beam hanging 
out of your eye, and you've come after him for a piece of sawdust 
in his eye. Okay, let's deal with the sawdust, 
brother, but let's deal with that beam. Let's try to extricate 
that log that's hanging out of your eye that you're swinging 
around indiscriminately at everybody around us. John Stott says we 
have a fatal tendency to exaggerate the faults of others and minimize 
the gravity of our own sin. Yeah, that's absolutely positively 
true. And then screw tape to Wormwood 
in C.S. Lewis's book, Screw Tape Letters. 
He says, aggravate that most useful human characteristic, 
the horror and neglect of the obvious. The guy's got a pole 
hanging out of his eye, right? He says you must bring him to 
a condition in which he can practice self-examination for an hour 
without discovering any of those facts about himself which are 
perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house 
with him or worked in the same office. That is what this text 
is dealing with, this fault-finding, nitpicking attitude where you've 
got bigger issues than the person you're actually coming after. 
And then oftentimes, this type of fault-finding may involve 
what psychologists call projection. I'm gonna come after the sawdust 
that's in your eye, all the while neglecting the log that's in 
my own. They both come from the same 
place, brethren. They both come from the same 
tree. And so with reference to this, it is absolutely ludicrous, 
and Jesus condemns it by way of this illustration. Notice 
he then makes this indictment based on this illustration. Verse 
five, he says, hypocrite. Hypocrite, now that is applied 
to unbelievers in chapter 6, 2, 5, and 16. So in chapter 6, 2, 5, and 16, 
it's applied to unbelievers, but it's not confined to them. 
Jesus calls these nitpicking fault finders, these censorious 
souls, these do-gooders for all that is good and holy when it 
comes to the policing of sawdust, but have no concern whatsoever 
with reference to beams. He calls them hypocrites. Spurgeon 
says, Jesus is gentle, but he calls that man a hypocrite who 
fusses about small things and others and pays no attention 
to great matters at home in his own person. Why do you look at 
the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank 
in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 
let me remove the speck from your eye and look, a plank is 
in your own eye? Imagine going for eye surgery, 
and your eye surgeon happened to be blind. That might give 
you cause to reflect. This isn't the best place for 
me. Or perhaps you are able to go to Arizona, and you're going 
to go visit the Grand Canyon. And you're going to shell out 
the dough to get the guy to tour down to the bottom of the canyon. 
And the guy shows up with his team of burros, and he happens 
to be blind. And he says, saddle up, partner. 
We're going to shimmy down right into the bottom of the canyon. 
I'd say, nah, I don't think so, man. I am not going to do this. 
I wouldn't trust a blind man to pack my parachute. I wouldn't 
trust a blind man to fly my plane. And with reference to a blind 
man doing eye surgery on me, nope, not going to happen. Again, 
that's a judgment call, too. Judge not, lest you be judged. 
I'll take the effort on that one, or I'll take the liability 
on that one. Do you see what Jesus is saying? 
You got this beam hanging out of your eye, and you're coming 
over here and saying, brother, let me get that sawdust out of 
your eye. That is hypocrisy. Now notice the corrective in 
verse five. Hypocrite, first remove the plank 
from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the 
speck from your brother's eye. Now there's a couple of ways 
that this could go. The plank has a general reference 
to sin. deal with your own sin, so you're 
in a right posture to deal with the sins of others. That doesn't 
mean you're sinlessly perfect. It doesn't mean you're without 
blemish. It doesn't mean you're wholly harmless and undefiled. 
But in terms of a general comportment and pursuit of holiness, you 
got it together. And so you're in a better position 
to police the sawdust in the eyes of your lesser fellows. Or the plank has a specific reference 
to the attitude condemned in verses one and two. You're a 
nitpicker, you're a fault finder. If the goal is to try to fix 
your brother's eye, it's not good to have sawdust in the eye 
either. It's a good corrective, it's a good help, it's a good 
ministry for us to undertake. It's just hypocritical when you 
happen to have a log hanging out of your eye. And so the emphasis 
may be on deal with yourself in this particular way, and then 
come to your brother in a spirit of gentleness and love. Lloyd-Jones 
says if you really do want to help others, and to help rid 
them of these blemishes and faults, and frailties and imperfections, 
First of all, realize that your spirit and your whole attitude 
has been wrong. This spirit of judging and hypercriticism 
and censoriousness that is in you is really like a beam contrasted 
with a little mote in the other person's eye. Again, most of 
us are open to correction. I hope we're God's people. We're 
blood-bought. We have the Holy Spirit. we hopefully 
will say with a hearty amen the proverb that says, faithful are 
the wounds of a friend. So when a friend comes to us, 
a brother comes to us, a wife comes to us, a husband comes 
to us, it's not always easy initially to hear that, but hey, they're 
after my good. They want my betterment. They 
want my growth and grace. They want me to live a sawdust-free 
life. That's a blessing. But if their 
attitude is one of censoriousness and nitpickiness and pettiness 
and judgmentalness that is absolutely offensive, I'm okay with dishonest 
in my eye. I'm going to be all right with 
that. In verse 5, while it is possible that the critic here 
is to be understood as aware of his own failings but concealing 
them, it is more likely that he is criticized for failing 
to apply the same standards to himself that he applies to others, 
like David in his response to Nathan's parable in 2 Samuel 
12. Remember that? Oh, David is incensed. David is outraged. David wants 
the death penalty for that rich man who took the little ewe lamb 
from that poor man and he cooked him up and barbecued him so that 
his friends would have something to eat. Oh, David's just incensed 
and outraged. He says, and thus being aware 
of the inconsistency of his behavior. The tendency is there to never 
deal with anyone else's sin because we're cowards. But when we do 
deal with other people's sins, let us do it from the posture 
of not having a beam hanging out of our eyes when we come 
to correct the sawdust eye of our fellows. In conclusion, first 
of all, the manifestation of judgmentalism, that's what's 
condemned. It's judgmentalism. It's not 
the idea of judging in those contexts specified earlier. The 
origin of this particular sin, it's Adam and our condition in 
Adam, but even as believers, we have remaining corruption. 
And typically, it's pride. Typically, it's arrogance. Typically, 
it's virtue signaling. Typically, it's a better than 
thou attitude that we manifest. And it's manifested particularly 
in pettiness, fault finding, being hypercritical. Brethren, 
it's tough to live under a hypercritical situation. Parents, remember 
this particular task as you're rearing your children. Yes, lay 
down the law of God. Yes, lay down the rules that 
you have instituted in your home. But understand, brethren, that 
a hypercritical spirit is something that exacerbates people, exasperates 
people. Excessive eagerness, curiosity, 
and peevishness. Secondly, the gravity of judgmentalism, 
the gravity of this particular sentence. It's very curious to 
me that in the context of a local church, if a brother stood up 
in a prayer meeting and said, you know, I went out and visited 
a prostitute last night, we'd be outraged and we'd call for 
church discipline. Or a brother stood up and he 
said, you know, Jesus is a creature, the watchtower is right. I'm 
gonna deny the triunity of God most high. We would be incensed 
and outraged. And yet judgmentalism, it's just 
part and parcel of church life. It's just the way it is. It's 
right there with gossip. It's right there with slander. 
It's right there with that hypercritical attitude. Somehow that doesn't, 
you know, get on our radar screen in terms of those things that 
we condemn and show outrage concerning. But with reference to the gravity, 
it is the arrogant assertion of authority over others. Who 
made you the judge and jury over other people? Solomon says, keep 
your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues 
of life. I don't know of a proverb by Solomon where he says, keep 
the heart of your fellows with all diligence, for out of it 
spring the issues of life. They need your constant surveillance 
to make sure they're always on the alert. Secondly, it is an 
expression of self-righteousness, isn't it? You got a beam in your 
eye and you're coming after the sawdust of other. I think there's 
problems there and those problems are self-righteousness. It is 
thirdly, a demonstration of a lack of charity. It's not loving to 
do it in that manner. Again, it's good to be the sawdust 
extractor from the eyes of your brethren if you do it in a spirit 
that is charitable, if you're doing it with a remedial attitude. 
If you're just criticizing incessantly your wife or your husband to 
the point where they want to go live on a roof or live out 
in the wilderness, that's not the right attitude or the right 
spirit. And then as well, it is a practical 
denial of the doctrine of remaining corruption. The doctrine of remaining 
corruption, while we don't justify sin, while we don't justify sadost 
in the eyes, we understand that that will always be the case. 
It's like Jesus said concerning the poor. The poor you will always 
have. On this side of heaven, the remaining 
corruption, we will always have. And then finally, the prevention 
of judgmentalism. And this isn't, you know, Jim 
Butler guru giving you all the things that you should do. Just 
some encouragements, some suggestions, some ideas to ponder so that 
we guard against this idea of judgmentalism. I'd suggest, first 
of all, we seek the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. 
If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, then you 
shall live. Romans chapter 8 and verse 13. We need the Holy Spirit, brethren. 
He's the Holy Spirit. We're not. We need His influence. We need His gracious presence 
in our lives to hopefully keep us from this attitude condemned 
by our Lord. Secondly, seek to apply biblical 
law to all matters of judgment. That's the reality. Do not judge 
according to appearance. to whims, to preferences, to 
emotions, to dreams. No, you judge with righteous 
judgment, which is the word of the living and true God. Thirdly, 
pursue humility and kill pride. The pursuit of humility by killing 
pride is a helpful way to minimize the logs so that you can deal 
faithfully with the sawdust, or so that you can minimize the 
tendency or the temptation to engage in this kind of fault-finding 
endeavor. And then fourthly, understand 
the biblical doctrine of sin and how it is true of you. You and I have remaining corruption. You and I may have a tendency 
or proclivity, I don't want to offend, but we could actually 
have some self-righteousness in us. We could actually have 
a judgmental attitude in us. We could actually be the fault-finding 
nitpickers that Jesus here condemns. We need to understand the limitations 
of our own heart that we may not be the best police officer 
to go about on this particular task. We need to understand remaining 
corruption in ourselves. Spurgeon said, instead of beholding 
with gratified gaze the small fault of another, we should act 
reasonably if we penitently consider the greater fault of ourselves. 
But then, fifthly, understand the biblical doctrine of sin 
or remaining corruption and how it is true. of others, right? Are we demanding something that 
we ourselves can never pony up? That was the problem with the 
Pharisees. They lay burdens upon you that 
they themselves cannot carry. It is absolutely crucial that 
we not only understand that we're in this boat of remaining corruption 
ourselves, but so are our wives, so are our husbands. A child 
who confesses faith in our Lord Jesus doesn't go through some 
time warp and start exhibiting himself as 30. He's still gonna 
be childish. He's still gonna have foolishness 
in him. Oh, how could you ever claim 
to be a Christian? Brethren, guard against that 
tendency. There is remaining corruption 
here, there is remaining corruption there, and we do well to remember 
that of our fellows. And then I would suggest finally, 
value, esteem, and love your brother. Value, esteem, and love 
your brother. Don't be a judge or a hypocrite, 
but be a brother. Encourage, love, exhort, be kind. If it is something that you feel 
constrained to go to them, go with the spirit of gentleness 
and affection and with a genuine desire to see them won for our 
Lord Jesus Christ, not in this sort of celebratory manner. Wow, 
I can't believe, you know, smirk, smirk, giggle, giggle, that you 
actually did that. I can't understand that. I'm 
just so holy and righteous and pure and I've never done that. 
That's the attitude that Christ herein condemns. And so by God's 
grace, may we conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent 
with his word. I suggest it sins at this level. that oftentimes do far more damage 
in the churches of Jesus Christ than does a minister or a person 
standing up and saying, you know, let's just all deny the deity 
of Jesus and become Unitarians. Let's all deny the deity of Jesus 
and become Arians. No, that's usually, I mean, it 
happens to be sure, but it's this kind of a mindset. It's 
this kind of an attitude. It's gossipy, slanderous, judgmental 
people that do positive harm and destruction to the churches 
of Christ. Let us deal with our own logs 
before we go to the sawdust of others. to praise God for Christ 
because we're going to sin. We are going to be nitpicky. 
We are going to be judgmental. Perhaps you're thinking now, 
man, I did this to my wife or I said this to my husband. I 
kind of do this on a regular basis. I really need to stop. 
Well, you're not going to go to heaven because you stop. I 
mean, you certainly need to stop, because if you don't, that evidence 
is that you've never come to the Savior. But we go to heaven 
based on the fact that Christ never sinned this sin, that Christ 
was not nitpicking, that Christ was not petty, that Christ was 
not a fault finder in the manner that He condemns in this particular 
passage. It is His righteousness, it is 
His death, it is His resurrection by which we stand. So not to 
minimize the import of the tax, to call us to a pursuit of those 
things that are pleasing in a sight, but at the end of the day, let 
us rejoice in the gospel of our salvation. Well, let us pray. 
Father, we thank you for your Word, we thank you for the clarity 
and the consistency of it, and I pray that you'd give us ears 
to hear and hearts to receive these things, and bless us and 
our families, bless us as individuals, as a church, and help us to function 
properly as citizens in civil society. We ask now that you 
would go with us, that you would cause your face to shine upon 
us, that we would know your peace and presence in our own hearts 
and lives, and that you would keep us by your grace and for 
your glory in the coming week. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.