Kingdom Life: Judge Rightly (Matthew 7:1-6)
The Sermon on the Mount · Matthew 7:1–6 (with Matthew 6:14–15)
Introduction: The Culture of the Kingdom
Once again we get access to this amazing teaching of Jesus, where He shows us what kingdom life looks like.
The King has come, and He said, "Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand—it is here." Then He teaches His disciples and the crowds following Him because of the miracles He's doing. He is training us in the kind of culture, the kind of light, the kind of people He wants to create.
Our text is Matthew 7:1–6, but let's look back for a minute at chapter 6:
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14–15)
Then jumping to chapter 7:
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." (Matthew 7:1–6)
As I studied this text this week, I was impressed again by Jesus' desire for His people to express something to the world—to radiate a particular light.
All over the Sermon on the Mount there is a vertical direction: a desire for us not to seek the approval of men, but to live before an audience of One. He cares about that a lot. He talks about not being hypocrites, but living before Him.
But there is also an outward dimension everywhere. Jesus says this comes out of relationship with God—there's communion with Him, and then it overflows. It becomes bright light: light set up somewhere, not covered up, like a city set on a hill for others to see. It's supposed to do that. He is after a quality—a particular culture, a particular kind of light, a particular kind of multiplication that He wants to go out.
Remember, we are multiplying people. We were created with this blessing to multiply, and everything we do was meant to multiply. Sin taints that and multiplies evil. But Jesus came to redeem it—to let sinful people be restored, turn, and begin to multiply righteousness again on the earth.
Everything you do in this world multiplies. You create culture in your attitude toward your children, your spouse, your coworkers, in the work you do. Other people watch, and that culture is being created constantly in the life you're living.
Jesus cares so much that the people of God would be salty and bright. That's what this text is getting after: in our relationships, in the way we forgive, in the way we interact with those who sin against us, we would be a bright and different people.
You don't have to look far to see a world full of division—the news, the slander, people throwing fire at each other constantly. But Jesus says: not you. You are going to be a different kind of people, and that will multiply into the world and create a different culture.
A Vision for This Season
I've been thinking about this next season for our church family, and a few things stand out that I want God to do in us:
Depth. Depth of relationship, depth of love. I want God to deepen what we have here relationally. We are a lot of beautiful things, but it needs to go deeper. That is the quality of light we're going to shine.
Witness. I'm eager for us to be a witnessing people. We did the discipleship training, and I'm praying more and more that God would grow us as witnesses in this city.
Multiplication. As we shine brightly and faithfully, we are going to multiply—in households and further out into the church.
All of these have to work together: a quality of community that shines brightly to others, leading to greater multiplication.
1. "Judge Not" (vv. 1–2)
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."
There's a call from Jesus not to judge, and every Christian wrestles with this quickly. Does it mean I shut down all my discernment? Is that what You're asking?
A helpful distinction emerged as we talked it through: there's a difference between destructive judgment and constructive discernment. Discernment goes into someone's life, seeks their good, and speaks life into their situation. Destructive judgment is a one-time, reductive verdict on who someone is.
Some of us have had this verse aimed at us by people who want to stay in their sin—"God says don't judge"—using it as a shield. But notice that Jesus casts this in the context of your own judgment. There's a call to deep humility, knowing that you have particular sins and blind spots yourself.
This isn't saying you don't address things; it's speaking to a person who approaches others with humility.
The Tension
Someone raised it well: "Judge not, that you be not judged" seems to say, don't judge. But "with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged" seems to say, judge the way you'd want to be judged. Which is it?
You're reading it rightly—there is real tension here, and Jesus states it matter-of-factly, much like James: who are you? You're not the judge. Yet He goes on to describe the ways we do judge, and He even says not to throw what is holy to dogs or pearls before swine. To do that, you must discern what is holy, what is a pig, what is a dog. You're making judgments all the time.
The Father, Son, and Spirit endowed us with His image—the image of a God who makes judgment. He gave us the capacity to discern good and right and to respond properly.
Later Jesus says to take the log out of your own eye before the speck out of another's. So you do recognize the speck—that's good—but first you understand who the true Judge is, then rightly and humbly judge yourself before offering discerning judgment to anyone else.
The Measure You Use
Jesus is deeply concerned with how we judge. Picture a measuring tape: if you use it on somebody, expect to receive the same measuring against yourself.
Is that measure from God or from other people? I believe it's from God—and this is where the forgiveness passage comes in. The two texts share a heart: the way we treat the world has reciprocation in what we can expect from God. "If you forgive others… but if you fail to forgive…"
This doesn't mean God is unmerciful. It means that if we are harsh and show no mercy, we should not expect gentle correction from Him. God does not relate to us statically. He sees everything. When we carry pride toward others, He says, "I will interact with you the way you interact with others."
As Michael noted, we can only judge behavior, not motives. We can judge against clear commandments—"you've murdered," "you've stolen"—but we can't see into a person's heart. Did that person pray to be seen by men, or by the Father? In many matters, you can only truly judge yourself, because it's so hard to see clearly into others.
The Lord sees the heart. He interacts with every motive, creating people with pure hearts and clean hands who look like Jesus to the world. Sadly, very often we are full of pride instead.
2. The Two Debtors: Simon and the Sinful Woman
While studying, I thought of the passage in Luke where Jesus dines with a religious leader.
A woman comes in—Jesus has received no foot washing or greeting—and as He reclines, she weeps on His feet, wiping them with her hair and kissing them. Instead of marveling that a sinful person is seeking a holy teacher, the leader thinks, "Doesn't He know what kind of woman that is?"
Jesus tells the story of two debtors—one owing fifty, one owing five hundred—both forgiven. Which will love more? The one forgiven much. "The one who has been forgiven much loves much; the one who has been forgiven little loves little."
The point is not that Simon was forgiven little—that's true of none of us. We are all five-hundred-talent debtors. That's the point. We fail to recognize how sinful we are at the core, and we need to see it so we can respond to God rightly and then interact with others rightly.
The religious leaders rejected Jesus because they didn't see their need for a Savior—and they also rejected those coming to Him for one. Their broken relationship with God shaped how they treated everyone. They looked at people through the lens of their own self-righteousness.
They rightly discerned that some were genuinely wicked, but they never understood that they themselves were five-hundred-talent debtors.
So the way we measure and judge others is profoundly shaped by what we believe about ourselves. It comes down to pride versus humility. We need a right-sizing of self, a right-sizing before God, and a right-sizing before others.
Hear this before we move on: If we are merciless, we should not expect mercy. If we are compassionless, we should not expect compassion. If we are harsh in judgment, we should expect harsh judgment. And—shockingly—if we are unforgiving, we should not expect to receive forgiveness. Sit with those ideas, because they are convicting.
If there are ways this morning you've been harshly judgmental—toward your spouse, someone in this room, a family member, someone in the world—understand how deeply you have been forgiven, surrender it to Him, and repent.
3. The Log and the Speck (vv. 3–5)
"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? … You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
Again, Jesus doesn't forbid judgment. In all your comings and goings, you'll see things—that's what judgment is: seeing and making a determination. It's good; it's an image-bearing capacity. But we become hypocritical when we fail to see our own sin as we come after someone else harshly.
This is a comical image. You walk into a room, see someone's sin—a speck in their eye—and walk toward them to help, knocking into things with a log hanging out of your own face. It seems so wrong that everyone knows you can't do it. Yet that's exactly what we do when we come at people without mercy.
So what does Jesus want us to do? First, search our own hearts: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; see if there is any wicked way in me." Before going to someone about their sin, ask: Is there anything between me and the Lord that would keep me from ministering to this person? Let me make sure I'm walking rightly first.
A Testimony (shared by Beth)
Beth shared a story from the past year. She felt deeply offended by someone, and the bitterness grew until a very small speck they'd committed against her had become a log in her own eye. It affected how she thought about and interacted with that person, and it tore at her.
Through counsel and seeking the Lord, she became aware of the bitterness. When she finally went to talk with the person about the offense, it ended up being more about her repenting and confessing her own sin. For months, what they had done had been so in her face—and then she realized she had been sinning ever since.
Within seconds of that conversation, the Lord removed the bitterness and resentment, and the relationship was restored. It was so easy for Satan to grab hold of that offense and use it. The hardest part was getting to that point—she could have kept justifying herself ("they did that, I shouldn't have to repent")—but the Lord led her to humility.
Bitterness That Festers
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump." A tiny seed of unforgiveness grows and festers.
How often do you meet someone who seems simply bitter—and then hear of a family wound where they felt deeply hurt, and that one thing has exploded into every relationship in their life? They trust no one. The fruit they multiply is hideous. That's why Jesus is so after heart-level obedience.
How do we pray? Daily: "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." A constant, "Lord, You've forgiven me; I lay it down; I want to be like You."
Beyond forgiveness, consider the other ways we're hypocrites. We notice a small area we don't like in someone—maybe a real sin, maybe a weakness—and look at them with a harsh eye. Then we go home and blow it ourselves, and we never pray for them.
These logs don't always correlate with the other person's sin. Sometimes we're judgmental in the world while our own home, character, and walk with the Lord are sour and dark. And all of it multiplies.
A Word to Marriages and Homes
Let me zero in on your family. I can't tell you how many times I've had to repent to Kate of bitterness toward her.
We get a week or two into a bickering cycle, and every time something comes up, all that runs through my head is everything wrong she's done—bigger and louder. God is merciful, and sometimes as I'm sulking I hear the gentle whisper: "Danny, look how nasty you're being to your wife right now." I say, "No, God—look at what she's done." And He says, "No. Look at how you're acting. Look at the culture you're setting." So I go and repent, and apologize poorly, because I'm still mad—and sometimes it goes better than others.
Men, especially: if your wife is doing something you're struggling with, we want to pin it on her. But take responsibility. What culture am I setting? Am I compassionate? Am I seeing? Own it first. Recognize the ways you may have been passive or domineering.
The culture that should seep out is forgiving, gentle, and patient. God is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love; He remembers we are dust; He does not deal with us according to our transgressions. What a sweet God. That's the culture He wants coming out of us.
So—in your marriages, repent of any bitterness. Lay it down. If you're biting and cutting, if you're not sweet with each other, look at what's going on. Anyone looking at your marriage should say, "They're so tender, so gentle with each other." If you're sharp with each other all the time, deal with it.
4. Removing the Speck Well
I do want to call you to remove the speck from your brother's and sister's eye. We need to be a community that does this well—a people constantly communing with the Father, dealing with our own sin first.
Then, when we see something in another's life, we check ourselves: "Lord, am I walking closely with You? Is this the right timing? Do I have a good heart here? What do You want me to say?" And then we go and gently, humbly minister.
As one brother noted from Philippians 2, when we don't think of ourselves more highly than we ought but see ourselves as equally in need of mercy, it's much easier to bring something to someone. It's less about having it all figured out—you'll always have logs in your eye—and more about your heart posture: knowing they could probably name things about you too, yet stepping out in obedience and humility when God calls you.
Two wrong responses to seeing a speck:
Ignore it—shrug and push on, because you don't want to deal with your own log. Something triggers us, and rather than go through the process, we bury it. That's hurtful to yourself and to the other person.
Attack—come at the speck harshly, with the log still in your eye.
What's beautiful is that seeing specks should draw us to repentance. The Lord's invitation is good. Not perfection—but enough that you can honestly say, "I've put my heart on the altar. I've repented and confessed. I feel not perfect, but pure by Your grace." And that becomes a movement toward the other person.
A church culture can go wrong when people misuse these things—"don't judge me, you're judging too harshly"—while everyone shrugs off sin and lives in a pseudo-holiness, aware some things are bad but harboring secret sin. That lets sin lie under the surface. We cannot be that people. We examine our own hearts, repent, and then faithfully help our erring brother or sister.
5. A Curious, Compassionate Eye Toward Outsiders
Sometimes we carry a very harsh eye toward the world. We need to remember that the people who seem most sinful to us—those in this city who celebrate or walk in particular sins of our age (homosexuality, transgenderism, celebrating abortion, and others)—we can look at them the way the religious leader looked at the woman washing Jesus' feet: with harsh judgment.
It is right to hate the sin. But Jesus wants us to look at the person and be curious about their motivations, about what's going on in their heart. Yes, they are a sinner in need of repentance—but "such were some of you," and yet you were washed.
So we go and ask questions. This is one of the best ways to do the careful work of restoring people in a spirit of gentleness. Go and say: "I'd like to share something, but first I have a couple of questions. I've noticed this—does that seem accurate to you? Have you noticed it in your own life?"
Don't just speak your mind; ask questions. Humility creates a curious heart—not a verdict first, but "I want to know you, I want to see you"—and then look for the opportunity to share a corrective word.
6. Pearls Before Pigs (v. 6)
"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
This is the verse that trips me up every time—why is it here? Because Jesus is concerned with how we interact with people and speak of spiritual matters, since it affects the world's view of the King and the kingdom. He wants people to see our good works and repent—and we can interact with the world in a way that lacks care, discernment, and wisdom.
This is another call to exercise judgment and wisdom. "Don't throw what is holy to pigs"—recognize who you're talking to; judge rightly; understand there are times and situations that are unfitting. As Proverbs says, do not rebuke a scoffer or he will attack you. That's not to say we should never speak; it's to recognize this may go poorly, that some won't respond well. Walk wisely and carefully before outsiders.
We don't want to be foolish and harsh, projecting a culture of harsh judgment that gives the world grounds to say, "They're such a judgmental people." It's a fine line. But I don't want us to deserve their slander. Even if people have met Christians who judged them harshly, I want them to be able to say, "But that's not what Beth is like. That's not what Matt is like. I met a Christian who wasn't like that."
A neighbor of mine was reading a book by an atheist that caricatured Christians. Afterward he told me, "As I read it, I was sizing you up against all of it—and you weren't any of that." Praise the Lord. We don't want to deserve the world's caricatures. We want to be wise and discerning in how we interact with one another—starting at home, in the culture we create everywhere we go.
Closing: Father, Forgive Them
Remember, on the cross Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." These were the people driving nails into His hands, who had slashed His back, mocking Him—and that heart of mercy was astonishing.
Think of Stephen, echoing his Lord as he was stoned: "Father, forgive them." Think of Paul, who approved of Stephen's stoning, yet later wrote, "Bless and do not curse." Look at the ripple effect through the church.
We are not going to be a retaliating people. We're going to look on those who hurt us and say, "Lord, forgive them. They're broken. They're ignorant. Have mercy on them, as You've shown me mercy." Oh, that this would be the culture among us.
Remember: you are washed. You have been forgiven. We are no better than any of them. The blood of Jesus needed to be poured out for you and me just as much as for anyone else. Our sin demanded the Lamb just the same. Amen.
My prayer is that we would follow this example, and that the quality of this community would be so beautiful, bright, pure, and salty to the world—that our homes, families, and workplaces would multiply that quality as light into the world.
Prayer
"God, we're so prone to wander, and I'm thankful for Your Word, which continues to correct us and call us to repentance. I pray for the children, that they would have a heart of love toward one another; for the marriages here, that we would never divide because of bitterness, unforgiveness, or harsh judgment.
Let us be light to this world and this community. Protect us from the evil one and from division. Allow us to win the lost because of the quality of our love for one another—that they would experience Your love, not harsh judgment. Make us wise to correct one another, wise to share the good news and call others to repentance.
Do this in us for Your name's sake. We want people to behold the King, Jesus, as beautiful and lovely, and Your kingdom as the treasure of all. Have Your way in us. In Jesus' name, amen."
Discussion
On curiosity and exposing what festers. What doesn't get exposed to the light festers. But we can also err by being too quick to share when we might be wrong. The healthier pattern is to speak things into the light with good, building intention, rather than letting a narrative loop in our heads, where it only grows moldier the longer it circulates.
From 1 Corinthians 5: it's not our job to judge outsiders, but those inside the church. We can "judge" with good questions and positive presumption, rather than defaulting—at our worst—to annoyance and avoidance.
On why we need Christ to judge rightly. We were never meant to be judges. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil made us judges and put us under the law. Since we now carry that insight, the only way to exercise it rightly is through Christ—which keeps us in humility and dependence.
If your heart isn't repentant, humble, and healthy, your judgments flow from a sinful place, even if you saw the situation rightly. But when we're humble and healthy in the Lord, our words become loving; the only reason we speak is because we love the person enough to walk through the process with them. "The righteous are bold as a lion."
A closing reminder. There's a difference between destructive judgment and productive judgment. Destructive judgment entered with sin, when we lost proper discernment. But we were made to see, discern, and judge productively—and God is redeeming that in us.