Stop Criticizing B

Most people think that they can judge because they're under a different condition than everybody else.

The Pharisees thought they were exempt. They lived on some strata beyond the purview of any judgment when they were up here where everything was fine and only people that hear God what he says in verse two with what judgment you judge will be and what measure you measure sex evangelize someone who's leading an ungodly lifestyle. Perhaps you been told judge not that you be not judged.

But when Jesus said those words did he mean that we shouldn't judge sin.

What does that verse really mean. John MacArthur answers those questions today on grace to you as he continues to study, titled, mishandled to find out why this verse is so often interpreted, wrongly follow along. Now, with John MacArthur as she begins the lesson want to encourage you if you will with me to turn your Bible to Matthew chapter 7 now overlooked the negative, what not to do versus 1 to 6 and the principal appears in verse one noted judge not, I can stop there. That's the principal don't judge a sale. You can't reduce all of human relations down to that. As you can from the negative, as we shall see as we move along. Don't just now there are many people have misunderstood this Tolstoy, for example, the Russian novelist said Christ here totally forbids the human institution of any law court.

Now that is a gross misunderstanding of this, but there are other people illegally misunderstanding only with another aberration. They say we should never criticize.

We should never condemn anybody for anything we should never evaluate anything at all. We don't want to jazz lest we should just be Jared. Then we look at judge not, we know it doesn't mean that we are not to discriminate between truth and error mean that's infantile. It is a child.

According to Ephesians 4 that doesn't know the difference between good and evil that becomes victimized and pray to Satan's cunning craftiness because of an inability to discern. We must discern. We must discriminate we must evaluate.

There are things we must judge.

We are not to make an official judgment where not to make a hasty judgment were not to make unwarranted judgments not to do that and then worst of all, after we've made that judgment in our heart we go tell people about it, we become a talebearer or a gossiper. So were not to do gives three reasons why not I want to go through these rapidly. So hang on your seat number one to make that kind of a judgment manifests an erroneous view of God. Verse one. Secondly, don't judge because it's an erroneous view of God and also an erroneous view of others. Verse two. You see, most people think that they can judge because they're under a different condition than everybody else.

The Pharisees thought they were exempt.

They lived on some strata beyond the purview of any judgment we they were out here where everything was fine and only people that hear God but he says in verse two with what judgment you judge will be judged, and with what measure you measure will be measured to you again you get just what you get. Now some people think this is talking about human relationship you judge somebody will judge you the same way you measure out some of them no measured out to the same way and they keep it on a human level. There is a sense in which the way we treat people. Bill Bill treat us. That's that's true to some extent. Luke 638 says give and it shall be given unto you press down, shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. So there is a sense in which we will get reciprocation for the way we treat people.

But that's not the heart of this verse it all that's to miss the point. Because you see how men treat us is not what motivates us right. Paul says it is a small thing, how you judge me. That's a small issue with me. I mean that what people think of me is not a major restriction on my behavior. A man or a woman to walk with God is not so concerned about what men think is about what God thinks in the great restriction on our life. The great confining element of our life is what God thinks and what God feels about what we are not indifferent to what men feel a faithful are the wounds of a friend and we want to hear criticism like Psalm 141 let the righteous might me if I deserve it. Is it that were in different but it is that more than anything else. We seek God and his judgment in his evaluation.

As Paul said in first Corinthian's for so I believe a song about God's just what he saying is, and what you see this a powerful statement what judgment you judge, God will judge you with and what measure you measure, God will measured to you again. In other words, God is going to evaluate you on the basis of your knowledge, your light if you say alright. I know enough to judge all of you people on this, then you please you know enough to be judged on it yourself right. I mean if you're the guy who's going to be able to judge everybody else at that level.

Then you manifest evidence that you know enough to be judged for that same standard.

That's why the Bible says to whom much is given, what much is required. That's why the Bible says it, when you trample underfoot the blood of the covenant count the sacrifice of Christ, an unholy thing and you reject the full gospel is a book of Hebrews says reject the whole knowledge of everything there is to know and you reject all of that, you're going to receive the hottest hell in the sorest punishment of all because the more you reject the greater evidence you give of guilt. That's really what he sent the more you know the more you responsible for so he saying that what you think that by knowing all of this stuff.

You sit on the seat of judgment, and I'm telling you by knowing all of that you manifest the fact that you are responsible to have lived up to all of it and if you haven't, you'll be judged on. You see that a wrong view of others. They thought they were examined and everybody else was going to get it and he says no I don't have a double standard to be judged on the same basis that you're judging everybody else that's powerful. There's no double standard. We should not criticize because in criticizing we play God in criticizing, we assume that were exempt from what other people are not exempt from and we miss the point is the wrong view of others. They're not under us there equal with us and God will judge us by the same standard.

If your negative gossiping tail bearing critical judge mental your under the false illusion that you're exempt from judgment for whatever you condemn and somebody else you prove that you should be condemned for in your own life. By virtue of such knowledge. Criticism then becomes a boomerang. You throw it out and comes right back and unloving criticism, or recoil on your own head at the hand of God. Finally.

Of these three reasons not to judge when you critically judge other people. You manifest an erroneous view of yourself. I mean, are you so good that you can sit around checking out everybody else you got nothing to work on. I mean, you've got it all under control so you can spend your time evaluating everyone else. Some of us would do well to take the time we spent criticizing other people and put it to action in prayer and confession of our own sin somewhere in the closet because until we got our life straightened out. We have little usefulness in trying to assist someone else that is essentially what the Lord says in verses three and four. Listen to and this is this is like a cartoon. This is so bizarre and why, behold, is now the mode and that means a splinter or a twig. Splinter might be a good, but it is the idea of not something that's mammoth but something is the size of a twig. It's not little tiny speck. It's something substantial I mean if you got in your I would be horrendous but anyway so it's was called a splinter in your your brother's eye, and you're not considering the plank.

The timber the beam like a beam underneath the ceiling in your own you see the picture. There's a guy with a twig in his eye. He's miserable when you get anything right. It's really got a little tiny thing. I betray but imagine a twig or a sputtering right here comes a guy I'll help you in sticking out of his eyes and 8 foot 2 x 4.

I mean he can't even get over there to help the guy let alone see what's going on is that it's the blind leading the blind or how wilt thou say to thy brother, verse four.

Let me pull the splinter out of your eye, and behold, you got to buy for your own ridiculous it's it's comedic, so bizarre, we are unfit judges, not only because we are fallible and we can't play the part of God and because we are partial in our own favor and tend to think we have a different standard than everybody else because we are hopelessly and utterly blind when it comes to perception because, listen to me as soon you approach someone to judge them or to criticize them, or us to force them to your standard you give evidence of the fact that you are blind or you'd be working on your own plank instead of their splinter. That's the point.

Usually the people who see everything wrong in somebody else's life. See absolutely nothing wrong in their own life and the only gross violent, wretched sin, but never sees anything wrong in its own life is what self-righteousness and that's with the plank as long as you're self-righteous as long as your spiritually proud as long as you set yourself up as a judge, you can't help anybody out with anything. It is interesting though that in the Lord's caricature that is a far worse sin than any other, because it plays God is the vilest of all, you realize that every situation in the New Testament Jesus condemned sin, not the sinner except one self-righteousness, and there he blasted the sinner with the sin because it is the worst sin of all it plays God.

It denies the gospel. It denies the need for redemption says I'm holy like I and so the plank is self-righteous and as long as you're self-righteous and you think you're all right. And you never bothered you with your own sin.

There's no way you're going to help anybody else. Your blind is the sin of subtle, self-righteous criticism and it's a plank in your own eye, and you cannot help anybody else. But if you're more interested in the principled and the personality will deal with your own problem, not the other, not the other person. If you're really concerned about righteousness. If you're really concerned about judgment you're really concerned about truth then you're going to see it first in your own life, aren't you, because if you have the perception to know truth and see it and you have the perception to see righteousness and hunger for it. Where you going to see it is right where it is most obvious. And that's in your own heart. Immediately run to dangers right now. Judge I hear that message going to corner and confess my sin take care of me one night to get into this and really were the two dangers danger number one is we will not be willing to confront a sinning brother will say why I'm not going out on like a judge is not as we do, who I'd say we sure don't do that and danger number two will not desert, or discriminated all will say well we don't want to get that ball just for whatever you say will just take everything in and those of the two dangers and we would be devastated because if we don't confront sin, then Levin is never put out of the lot right in the church is going to get corrupted and if we don't discriminate the truth from the falls were audible walking down the line and the heresy. So the two dangers are that we would fail to deal with a brother in sin and we failed to deal with a heretic or one who would corrupt the faith one would mock the faith or blaspheme the faith and we must do that and so the Lord closes them with an injunction to cover both of those and it is a masterful balancing. First of all, he says we must still even though we have to be careful. We must maintain the tension on the balance so that we still reprove and rebuke a sinning brother verse five, first cast the beam out of thine own eye. Now he doesn't stop with this in your eyes, is get it out of your get rid of your self-righteousness.

Get rid of your pride.

You did, I believe it's a matter of confession of sin, don't you II think. First you have to look and see that it's there. Verse three consider us not the plank in your own eye, the word consider us there means to perceive in a meditative prolonged way it is used. For example, in Luke 1227.

Consider the lilies in James 123 as we behold our face in a glass is a constant look, a look of understanding a look of comprehension and so he saying, take a good look. Don't you see, you've got a spiritual problem yourself. Don't you see you got up and ungodly self-righteousness that makes you judgmental and critical of other people consider that having considered to go to verse five casted out and how do you do that by confessing it to the Lord first print is 1121. If we judge ourselves, we will be judged right doesn't have to chase in the sin of self-righteousness.

If we deal with it so I bring my life fully to the judgment of God asking the cleanse and purify to remove it and once I've done, now I can move on to verse five and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye. Listen we gotta get the thing out of our brothers. I don't we can't let them go on and send. That's to hate him. Leviticus 1917 says we've got to get it out, but we've got a deal with first are so listen to how David put it, Psalm 51 creating me oh Lord, a what clean heart Sheila create in me oh Lord, a clean heart Allison then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted to the but there's no way to teach a transgressor of the right way and there's no way to convert a sinner to God until I have in my own life.

A clean heart.

He's not saying don't help a sinning brother he say it's your own act together first because then your help is going to be the right kinds going to be the humble help is going to be the meek and quiet spirit. If you restore a brother. It says in Galatians 61 restore him in love in meekness and fear, considering thyself must also be tempted. You don't come listening brother on top you come from underneath the humility.

Jesus said to Peter and this is a very potent passage in Luke 22. He said Peter Satan is desired to have you, that he may sift you like wheat and find out what in you is real, but I've prayed for you that your faith fail not listen to this and when you are recovered, strengthen the brother. The point is you can strength of the brother until he got recovered himself. It was useless until his own life was made right you are spiritual.

Galatians 61 restore such a one, we have to be right before we can help.

So the key is a selfless, humble, were not to be a judge and God were not to be a superior thinking is a double standard were not to be a hypocrite, blaming everybody else and not seeing the sin in our own life. But we are to be a brother and having dealt with that sin we are to deal in brotherly love. Second danger is that people who say will judge not doesn't like today in this flabby sentimental data so we don't want to discriminate which no doctrine. We want to get anybody upset. We just want to let everybody will all get together, they don't discern, and they don't discriminate. And then verse six comes like a thunderbolt to them. Listen to give not that which is holy under the dogs either cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and lacerate you not listen this a fascinating verse and I want to I want to pull it together for you because I think it will really open your understanding.

Dogs in those days were not the little you know, nice smelling painted nails, rhinestone callers, funny little sweater things that flip-flop around the house today. They were not a little lap dog pet dog things you know that we spent a fortune on an all dogs in those days, apart from the dogs work with the flocks and of course in Job, talks about the dog of the flocks will be a trained dog at work in the sheep but the dogs in the cities were were a mongrel lead big bunch of dogs that scavenged around the city and ate the garbage and they were and they were a horrible ugly bunch of wild ducks.

The Jews believed them to be filthy. The Old Testament talks about that unclean Psalm say they threatened a how will they snarled they are greedy, shameless group. They are called contemptible in first Samuel dogs were an ugly kind of being. They were anything like we have today, except for those that work with the sheep. They would be pariahs, savage mongrels live in the garbage heaps and holy things were not to be thrown to the dogs were the holy things well when you came to the temple to make sacrifice sacrifice be presented to the Lord, you keep apart take-home part go to the priest for his meal and apart go on the altar. The part that one of the altar was for God would be consumed on the altar as an offering to the Lord now.

No priest would take the part of the altar, he might throw the bones left from the part that he took and you might throw the bones of the part you took out the out the opening in the house so the dogs could have something to eat wild dogs roaming the streets, but no way was a priest going to take that which was offered to God on the altar and throw it to the dogs. That would be a horrible desecration by an unclean filthy vial animal I wouldn't do that Jesus is anybody knows you don't throw only part of a sacrifice to a bunch of wild dogs.

In other words the Lord is saying lock you better be discriminating in your ministry. There are some people who will hear your criticisms and you will respond to your work and respond to your word and respond to your efforts but don't waste the precious clues on those who would shred it and Tarrant without a thought of it significant because of the second illustration now the pigs in those days weren't quite as domesticated. Perhaps today in the get a bunch of hogs met you to be in real trouble you come out tending to freedom from pearls who do that nobody could do. That's the point when a man would have to liquidate his entire fortune to get just one pearl from the Persian seer the Indian Ocean.

There were priceless things credible thing who's going to throw proto-hog hog can appreciate a pearl true. Also, I think it's a big piece of barley and when it isn't. Boy is going bang bang in here to get antsy. Hogs don't appreciate pearls don't waste things on those who don't appreciate. Therefore you have to discern discriminate that this is a tremendous truth. People you see we have discrimination so we have to evaluate hogs were the chosen refuge of the demons in Matthew eight there were contemptible and filthy and Jewish eyes. The prodigal son this to eat pig slop and liver.

The hogs that reach the pits of Jewish culture. They were considered unclean and in Isaiah.

It says the eating of hogs flesh is an abomination to God now who are the hogs in the dogs look at second Peter two Shirley second Peter two it says in this chapter that there were false prophets among the people, and there will be false teachers.

Second Peter 21 in verse two says, and many will follow their pernicious ways. Listen. Many are going to follow the pernicious ways of false prophets, false teachers, so all the people who are involved in the false systems of religion, the adamant cover this lustful, evil, vile people, such as those were drowned in the flat verse five, those were destroyed in Sodom and Gomorrah for their homosexuality.

Those who walk in the lust of uncleanness who are self-willed, who mock angels who are scabs calls him scabs fill spots. Verse 14 cursor children in the way of Baylon. Verse 17 was without water, liars so forth, and who have verse 20 escape the pollutions of the world through a head knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but it turned away from it and then verse 22. It is happening to them according to the true proverb the dog is turned to his own vomit again and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire you take one of the street dogs and bring them and try to change his diet, but it will write back to his vomit, take a hog in the house cleaned it up. Leave the door open will be right back in slop hogs and dogs are those who, having known the truth follow the way of false teachers and false prophets and liars and deceive that's a hard hard word from the Lord because it's difficult to distinguish so much in our own mind.

We have to be dependent on the Lord. When the disciples were set out in Matthew chapter 10. He said if and if you come to a place and they don't hear your message. You leave that place and you shake the dust off your feet. Listen, Jesus was patient with Peter.

He was patient with Thomas but didn't say one single word to Herod Antipas because Herod Oedipus had a hard heart and he didn't waste the pearls see and the apostle Paul in the 18th chapter of acts when he preached of the Jews and they blaspheme in a mockingly rejected and he said your blood be on you from now on I go to the Gentiles. He turned his back and walked say what about them will listen later.

Some of them were saved but they had to be saved by coming to the gospel not by the gospel coming to them. Paul turned his back and walked there comes a time you see when we have to be careful in John's epistle. He says if somebody comes to your door and he belongs one of these false systems don't let them in your house and don't you bid him Godspeed you say, what about a soulmate echoing to the Lord, you let God take care that don't you let him trample the pearl don't you throw holy things to dogs. What is it saying, what is the holy thing and what is the pearl. I believe without a doubt it's the word of God is the truth of the word of God encompassing the gospel and all of the contents of the Scripture. We must make judgments beloved, but they must be proper righteous judgments.

We must discriminate. We must deal with sin in the life of another brother or sister but was never be judgmental and critical because we set ourselves up for some self-righteous judge and I'll tell you frankly folks, it all comes down to an attitude. I say this because I really believe this all comes down to an attitude are you criticizing are you evaluating are you discerning are you discriminating in order to know the truth and honor God or are you doing it to exalt yourself and hurt somebody else.

Ultimately comes to that decision. This is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. John's been our featured speaker over five decades. He's also Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary and his current study is titled mishandled John before you first preached this lesson for Matthew seven.

I know you put in hours of preparation. In fact, Matthew seven. I think some of your most important sermons are right there and I think about the hours you must put into preparation talk about what that looks like week after week how you study the Bible, how do you make sure you can accurately explain it to others.

What is a process look like well you know when I come to a passage of first of all, I read the passage repeatedly read it over and read over to have it in my mind. And because I'm going through books. I already know the previous passage so I'm in the flow of the of the book in the our books. By the way, 66 books and they go from the beginning to an end.

So there is a chronological flow in the intention of the of the author. So once I'm in the flow and I come to the next passage I read it until I'm familiar with it and then I go to original sources all go back like in the case of Matthew to my Greek New Testament, and I'll dig around in all the resources there so that I know I understand the original text, and that while I'm doing that I write down notes on eight and half by 11 paper.

Then I then I pull down commentaries off my shelf and I read probably not alone. 1012 commentaries on Matthew looking for insights and adding those to my notes or not. I've got the kind of the original language notes and I got commentary notes and then where I find theological issues I might pull the theology of the big book on biblical doctrine. I would use now that I wrote with Dr. Mayhew and I would look more closely at theological issues take some notes on that in my whole goal in that is to understand the passage to understand the passage that is the goal not to make a sermon. The sermon comes out of my understanding of the passage, and as I've said before, I ask questions of the text, what about this what about this what about this and when the questions I know I've got everything that I need and I can put into a sermon that may sound like a difficult process. It's not and it's a habit that you can develop. We want to send you a booklet free called how to study the Bible, it kinda follows the pattern that I just talked about maybe you can do the original language approach to it, but there are very basic principles in understanding the Bible interpreting the Bible and getting to the meaning of the Bible we share them in this little booklet called how to study the Bible. Good news, free to anyone who asks call right or email us today. Yes, friend, and I promise you this booklet will be a big help to you or any other student of Scripture again will send you a free copy of how to study the Bible. Just ask for it when you contact us today. Call our toll-free number 855 grace or go to our website Jide TY.org how to study the Bible gives you clear, practical guidance on the proper way to interpret the Bible. It also shows you some of the common mistakes people make when studying Scripture and how to avoid them. Again, this booklet is our gift to you, call our toll-free number 855 grace or go to our website Jide TY.keep in mind right now. Nearly everything we sell is 25% off the regular price that includes John's systematic theology, titled biblical doctrine. Biblical doctrine looks at the crucial doctrines in Scripture, and he answers questions you might have or questions you may be asked about the Christian faith to get a copy of biblical doctrine or the MacArthur study Bible at a 25% discount. Call us at 855 grace or go online Jide TY.org now for John MacArthur and the entire staff. I'm Phil Johnson encouraging you to tune in tomorrow when John looks at Christ's most famous and frequently misinterpreted parable. The parable of the prodigal son. Make sure you're here for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you