I have four more days, and four more passages in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which to consider the question the Holy Spirit put on my heart a couple weeks ago – “Am I?”
Matthew 7, the concluding chapter of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mounts is divided in my Bible into four sections. The first is a doozy! “Do Not Judge.”
This chapter begins with the instruction that everyone knows. I have often heard non-Christians, people who could not recite another single verse of Scripture, recite Matthew 7:1. “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” [HCSB]
Many times, when people use this verse, they are trying to silence someone pointing out sin. We must acknowledge that sin is based not on our opinion of right and wrong, it is based on the character of God objectively revealed in Scripture. As Christians, we are to have the discernment of the Holy Spirit in “judging” sin.
In this passage Jesus uses that horrible word, “Hypocrite.” That means we are not to point out the sin of others while we ourselves commit the same sin. Other passages also remind us about the dangers of judging, such as being harsh or unforgiving, or being proud and self-righteous.
Opposing sin is not wrong, but we must oppose it fairly and within the full counsel of God’s word. Galatians 6:1 prompts us to always remember our own vulnerability. “Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted.” [HCSB]
The question I need to contemplate today, “Am I judging sin correctly, or hypocritically?”