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Sermon on the Mount: "Warning of Judgement", Matthew 7:1-6, · Clifford Baptist

• 0:00
  Welcome to Truth for the Journey from Clifford Baptist Church, 635 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Matthew, chapter seven, verses one through six. And the sermon is entitled Warning of Judgment, delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. Tonight, one of those sermons that we have circled. When I began this study through the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, chapter seven, verse number one is a verse that you may know from heart. You probably don't even need to turn there, but go ahead and grab your Bibles, go to Matthew chapter seven tonight. But it's one of those sermons, one of those topics that you anticipate that's coming down the line. I knew it was coming.
• 0:40
  I was praying through it, preparing for it, trying to figure out which way do I want to go? And then, guess what? A couple weeks ago, I said, oh, gosh, it's here.
• 0:48
  Like, it's no more preparing. It's coming. It's time to study and prepare for this lesson. And so tonight, the story of Jesus speaking about don't judging, don't be a person that judges.
• 1:05
  And we're going to kind of define that. We're going to look at what that means. And I don't want to give away the end of my sermon, but you're going to see that in order not to judge, it's a spirit. But you are called to discern and judge in certain ways.
• 1:19
  And so tonight, the truth of this verse is going to come out.
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  Many people misquote Matthew 7:1, misuse it. And tonight, I pray that the Holy Spirit will open our hearts and our eyes together. There's a story of a husband and wife a few years back. And when I say a few years back, it's more than three. Okay. It's 50 or 60 years ago, this husband and wife who lived in the neighborhood. It was so long ago that you hung your clothes out to dry.
• 1:50
  Now, there are some people that still do that.
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  Yes. Okay.
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  On good days, we do that. We do. But many people these days don't do that. We just throw them in the dryer and keep on. But this husband and wife, every morning they would wake up together and they would share a cup of coffee together, and they would go through quiet time together. Now, let me ask this. Is anybody in the room? Husband, wife? Do y' all do that?
• 2:18
  Anybody? Like nobody's raising their hand. All right, we got one. We got a couple hands. All right, good, good. I'm glad, because I don't. I get up way too early for my wife. She's not waking up for me, okay? I want you to know that. But this couple would wake up and they would share a cup of coffee, and they were in those retired years and they would start their day out together. And during that quiet time, that coffee time, the lady would look out her window and across the street and just give the neighbor down the road. And you know who had to listen to it, right? It's her husband. She would criticize the neighbor because her place was such a mess and she wasn't hanging the laundry outright. No one taught her the right way to do it. One morning later in the week, the woman woke up and she got her coffee and she sat down and to her surprise, the neighbor's place was no longer a mess. The clothes were spotless. Someone must have showed her how to correctly do laundry. The husband calmly replied, no, I woke up this morning earlier than you did, and I just cleaned our window. The neighbor was never the problem. The problem was the window in which the lady looked at her neighbor through. And I wonder tonight if many of our problems involve a window in which we look at others through. And it is that window that we talk about judgment, arguably one of the most misquoted, misused verses in all the Bible. We want to look at what the Bible says and associates with Jesus. Words about judgment. I'm going to start off what, what attitude do you look at others with? And that attitude leads us in a lot of ways in our judging one of another. How do we look at the world? How do you see unbelievers?
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  How tarnished is your window? Let's pray Father God, tonight, Lord, as we consider the window in which we look at others through God. I pray, Lord, by your spirit, Lord, that you will lead us in this study, Lord. And we give you the next few minutes of our time, God, we pray that your Holy Spirit will lead us in such a way that we will understand and that we will be convicted and that we will be changed not by a preacher, not by a message, but by the word of God. God, I pray tonight that you would help clean our windows through your spirit's power. In Jesus name, amen. As we think about the warnings of judgment, there's a lot of them in scripture and we're going to talk about a few of them. But tonight we're going to tackle Matthew chapter seven and I'm going to just start with verses one and two as we share in this study together. Matthew, chapter seven, starting with verse number one. Judge not that ye be not judged. For what judgment you judge, you shall Be judged. And what measure you, meteor, it shall be measured to you.
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  Again, warning number one about judgment. Here it is.
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  You are not God.
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  So when we think about judging, I want to ask you a question. You probably can relate to it. Have you ever been part of something where somebody has misjudged you?
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  Maybe you have been doubted in some way, or someone told you you couldn't do something, or you would never be able to do something?
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  Maybe you can relate to something like that. So much judging comes out of, and I hope you understand this, this is in love. It comes out of ignorance, biases, or fear. I'm gonna say that again. So much of our judging, even as Christians, comes out of our own ignorance, out of biases that we have against somebody or fear.
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  And the reality today is this. By the end of this lesson, you will see that Jesus says, we must discern. We must give a judgment, pass a judgment.
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  But before we do that, you've got to understand something.
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  You are not God. I want to just fast forward with you real quick. Just fast forward to verse number 15. We're not going to talk about this tonight in depth, but we will get to it. It says this, beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Let me ask you this. How do you determine if it's a sheep or if it's a wolf in sheep's clothing? You've gotta judge somebody. You gotta discern that, right?
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  You've gotta make a judgment.
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  So on one hand in verse number seven, we hear, don't judge. And then 14 verses later, Jesus is saying this. You gotta pass a judgment. You gotta make a judgment on somebody.
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  You gotta be aware because there are wolves dressed up in sheep's clothing.
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  When we think about that, it can get confusing and we can spend our time just wondering, what should we do? So the warning of this, that you are not God, simply means this. You do not have the final say. So over someone.
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  The warning is that we should not carry a spirit that constantly judges others, constantly condemns others, constantly, constantly looks down on others as if you are so much better or as if you were God. Does that make sense? The spirit of judging should not be in the Christian's heart. The spirit that says, I'm better than you, I know more than you, I'm a better person than you, those are wrong spirits for the Christian to hold.
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  But maybe you are the person that has determined somebody's motives before you even talk to them. Have you ever done that?
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  Absolutely. We have We've determined what's gonna happen, and we haven't even talked to somebody and we've passed that judgment. We have determined what's gonna happen in those motives. Now, listen, if you are the kind of person that thinks that you are always right or you judge others in their worst moment, praise God. You didn't see me at my worst because you'd have said, don't let that boy stand up there in front and teach. In church, you judge somebody at their worst moment or you never encourage and you always condemn. Do we know people like that? Can I be honest with you? Some said in the church, and so we've got to be careful the warning that you are not God. And remember, to the Jewish people, this meant something because the Jews were God's chosen people.
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  And so Jesus is hitting them hard. Yes, they are chosen by God, but they are not God.
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  So when we think that we are imitators of God, we are to be that, but we are not to carry the gavel of judgment. And you are not to drop that gavel with a judgmental spirit. Christians have condemned people to hell without ever offering them the gospel.
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  And that is a travesty. I wrote in my notes. This gets under my skin. When you have determined somebody's eternity and you haven't even spoken a word of the truth of the gospel to them.
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  John, chapter seven, verse number 24, kind of gives us a little bit in Jesus words. Here's what he says. Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
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  Maybe that gives you the idea. Or we can hit the rewind button Back in First Samuel, Chapter 16, where we are reminded that man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. And so in this we are reminded, number one, tonight, when we think of judging, you cannot play the role of God.
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  You're not God. Point number two. Look at verse number one and two again. I'm going to read them again. Judge not that ye be not judged, for with what judgment ye judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. Again, point number two. Tonight, the warning about judgment is you are going to be judged.
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  You will be judged.
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  And so when we think about that judgment, there's a couple places in Scripture that we could go, but I want to go to Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 9 through 11, and you can just listen. You don't have to turn there. You can listen to these words. As Paul writes to those in Corinth, he says this second Corinthians chapter 5, starting with verse number 9.
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  Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
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  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
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  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God. And I trust, also are made manifest into your consciences. Hmm? How many of you know that believers are going to stand before God?
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  Now, this isn't talking about unbelievers.
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  This is talking about you. And this is talking about me.
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  That we're going to stand before God one day. And that warning is to the Corinthian Church, but also here in Matthew, chapter seven, that there is a standard.
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  And the way that you pass judgment on others, you will be treated the same way.
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  Did anybody grow up with parents like that?
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  That maybe the way that you treated somebody, that's the way that your punishment.
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  I had to do that. And I could tell you story after story after story of when I treated someone bad, man, I got that in return.
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  And here's what I learned very quickly. I didn't like that.
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  I didn't like it, man, if I took a stick and, well, my brother, guess what? I was gonna get smacked with a stick, too.
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  I know we gotta be careful with that. Hopefully they edit that part out. But anyway, that's the way I grew up, and I can't change it.
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  We don't like it. Do we like eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth? Do we really like it? Yes.
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  So when we think of being judged, when we think of the right thing coming our way, when we understand that the way that you treat somebody and the way that you judge somebody, there's gonna be no excuse. It will be returned to you.
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  And this is speaking to the spirit in which you look through that window at others.
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  Do you look through that window in constant criticism and judgment, or do you look through that window offering mercy and grace to people, you know, giving them the benefit of the doubt? Have you ever excused someone's judging spirit and their harsh criticism by just saying, oh, that's just the way they are?
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  Oh, you know, this person, that's just the way they are.
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  That's just the way God made them. And so what we see, we are labeling something that is sin, personality, and we're making an excuse. Oh, that's just the way they are.
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  I'm not speaking against someone being honest with someone else. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the judging, the way that you look through that window. And in a spirit of judgment. Do you remember when Mary poured ointment or perfume on the feet of Jesus? And you remember that story as she. She poured that ointment on his feet and. And then she. She washed and wiped his feet with her hair.
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  What window did Judas look through? He looked at her. He looked at that and said, oh, gosh, that ointment, that, that's. That perfume is. Is very expensive. She just wasted a lot of money.
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  She's crazy.
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  What's the window Jesus looked through? Oh, Jesus looked at her heart and just said, oh. Oh, this is true worship. She just anointed me because I'm getting ready to die. I've been more like Judas than Jesus, and I've looked through that window and I've looked down on my fellow man, my fellow sister, without looking into the heart.
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  Judas judged on the basis of money, and Jesus looked directly at her heart. Let me ask you this. What standard do you want to be judged by? Do you want to be looked at through a window of condemnation, or do you want to be looked at through a window of mercy?
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  Praise God. Praise God.
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  Jesus says this. How you look at others, it's going to come back to you. So knowing that you will stand before the Lord one day and give an account for your life and have to face Jesus, does it cause you to look at your own house? As we move to that inward look, we cannot move forward without realizing how we see others and how we judge them will be repaid to us.
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  Luke's parallel.
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  And you don't have to turn there. We're gonna get to this on a Sunday morning one day.
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  But Luke's parallel story to this does not go in depth. But Luke 6, 36, 38. Here's what Luke writes.
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  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Forgive, and ye shall be forg.
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  Give, and it shall be given unto you good measure. Pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you meet withal, it shall be measured to you again.
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  Praise be to God. Luke's account is forgiveness even in the picture. And when we realize this, we can see that that judgment does not wait for one day when you stand before the Lord, that judgment can happen from. From day to day, and you can reap what you sow.
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  Others will pass judgment on you, and it will be returned to you. So point number two tonight is this. You will be judged one day before a holy God. And then day by day, things will return unto you. People will judge you the same way that you judge others. The third point tonight, look at verses three through five. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that that is in thine own eye?
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  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. The warning. The third warning when it comes to judging, sin is greater.
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  Your sin is greater. And definitely with the spirit of judging that is a sin that is greater. Many people judge to try to make themselves look good. Have you been around those people?
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  Yeah. I'm gonna be honest with you. Sometimes when I go knock elbows with the high leaders of preacher things, man, I just know this. I don't belong there. You got a few amen.
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  You got a few letters behind your name. That don't make you no better than me. You might know a lot, but that gives you no reason to walk around like you're better than anybody. Maybe you've met those kind of people in your field or in your areas of expertise, religious leaders.
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  In Jesus day, we're no different.
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  And as we look inward at ourselves, we should want to help others. And I'm constantly looking inward.
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  And here's what I want you to know. I constantly look inward because I want to lead you well.
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  It is my job as your shepherd to lead you well.
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  Now, I know that Jesus is our ultimate shepherd, but as your earthly shepherd, I want to lead you well. And so I must constantly look inward and make sure that my life is leading in a way that you are following. I want to lead my boys and my wife. I want to lead my family well. And I have to constantly check my heart and my intentions around my family.
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  How many of you know your family can push you in those areas?
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  I try to be a good friend, and I know I probably. And a good friend and a godly friend. I. I probably failed in a lot of ways. But I've got to check my heart and my reasons.
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  And now we pick up the subject of eyes and these couple of verses.
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  We're looking inward, but we've got to look at the eye in verse. Number three we see in chapter number seven, and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider us not the beam that is in thy own eye.
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  Can I put that in Jeffrey language for you? You've got a little speck in your eye. You got a little something in your eye and you're worried about that in your neighbor's eye and in another person's eye. But in your own eye you've got a splinter, you got a two by four and all you're worried. You're not worried about the two by four in your eye. You're worried about the little speck in this other person's life, in this other person's eye. And Jesus simply says this, why verse number three, why do you look at what's in your brother's eye and you're not considering what you have in your eye? Because what you have in your eye is greater. It's more dangerous.
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  So we understand that our sin is greater.
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  What does Jesus tell that we must do? First thing you need to do is cast away your sin first.
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  And I get that from verse numbers three and verse number four.
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  As you consider the beam that is in your own eye. Or how will thou. Verse 4 How will thou say to thy brother, let me pull out thy mote out of thy eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Verse number five, Cast the beam. Cast the beam. Cast away your sin first. While we are judging someone else, we fail to realize that we have our own problems.
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  And not only do we have our own problems, but our problems are much bigger or worse than we even realize.
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  Our problem also hinders us from helping someone else. And Jesus says, why do you see somebody else's problem and can't see your own problem?
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  How many of us will honestly say we're guilty of that? I'll raise both hands tonight. Before we pass judgment the wrong way, we must first examine our own lives, our motives, our reasons, our desires, and look within in and get rid of any wrong motives of why you are peering or judging or looking at somebody else. Take care of yourself first.
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  Secondly, in verse number five it says this. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt clearly see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Now listen, it's not saying don't help out your brother.
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  It's not saying don't be concerned about what's going on in their life. Here's what it's saying, take care of your own problems first. But this, that you've got to clearly see what you're doing when you help someone else. Does that make sense?
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  You gotta see clearly. The only way that you can see clearly is to make sure that your intentions and that your spirit is right as you go to someone else to. To help them.
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  Here's your earthly example.
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  Have you ever helped somebody get something out of their eye? A gnat? An eyelash? Oh, gosh, they're bad enough.
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  I had a guy that worked for me one time in the machine shop, and he had safety glasses on. And somehow a chip, a metal chip got over those glasses and into his eye. And he calls me, Jeffrey, I need your help. I'm not touching you.
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  Like, we gotta go get help.
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  In fourth grade, we hatched out and raised chickens.
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  I'm talking some of your language now. I know that.
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  And in fourth grade, we hatched those chickens. We raised them up till they got big, and those things became our pets. But the coolest thing in fourth grade to do was we had this one chicken that would sit up on your shoulder and it would go everywhere with you. So you were the cool kid in the class. If the chicken sat on your shoulder and you'd walk up and down the halls and there's that chicken just riding along, right?
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  Well, guess what? For one time, one time, I was the cool kid in class, right? And that chicken was riding on my shoulder. And I was walking and I was talking. The biggest thing that got me in trouble in school was my mouth. I was talking and I was talking to a friend, and I just turned this way as I was talking. And about the time I turned this way, I blinked.
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  And God has blessed me with some nice eyelashes. That's the only hair on my body that's nice is my eyelashes.
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  I got long eyelashes. And even as a kid, when I blinked, that chicken thought it was something and it shot for my eyelash.
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  About the time that I blinked and opened back up, that chicken missed my eyelash and got my eye.
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  To this day, I still remember the beak of that chicken. It had white stuff from my eyeballs sitting on it. Now, I know some of you probably freaked out, right? Now, I'mma honestly say I can remember all that. I don't remember going to the doctor.
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  Maybe I did.
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  But here's what I remember the most. I remember my teacher running over and very carefully and very concerned, she starts. She grabs that chicken and gets rid of it.
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  And then she opens my eyes. She starts looking at what's going on. And then she picks up the phone and she calls my mom. And I remember my mom coming to that school and looking me over very, very, very carefully to make sure I was okay. Like I said, I don't remember going to the doctor. Maybe I did, but I don't know. It's just the way things happen. I told you, I got beat with a stick. A chicken pecked to the eye ain't too bad. You know, for so many years, there was a brown spot in my eye where that chicken left its mark.
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  Well, I tell you all that to tell you this. The way that that teacher ran to me and cared for me and tried to help me when there was something in my eye.
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  The way that my mama, she came when they called and she looked me over and with very tender hands and a tender spirit, she cared for me. She wanted to make sure, number one, I didn't lose my eyesight.
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  And number two, that everything was all right. Number three, I don't think we had fried chicken that night, but maybe we should have.
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  Let me ask you this.
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  When I think of point number three about our sin being greater.
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  Excuse me. I'm sorry about that. Yeah. Point number three, our sin being greater. There are times that we've got to cast out our sin.
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  And there are times that we've got to clearly see what we're doing.
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  And in order to help somebody else with what they have going on with what's in their eye, you've got to approach that with tenderness and care and love, just as if you were trying to help somebody get something out of their eye. When you go to correct somebody, it's gotta be done with that same spirit of love and tenderness and care.
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  You can't march into that and say, I'm better than you.
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  I know what you're doing. I know what's going on. I know how you need to change. You need to do this. They're gonna turn away and run and never come back.
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  But if you can clearly see and you go and you move in a spirit of love and care and concern, it's amazing how you can not only see clearly, but you could help out your brother and sister see clearly.
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  You can help them remove what's in their eyes after your eyes are clear, but your eyes must be clear first, like that guy that the machine shop, or even me being pecked by a chicken.
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  Nobody wanted somebody to lose their sight.
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  Nobody wanted somebody to get their eyes off Jesus.
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  You can't lose your sight of Jesus.
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  If we approach situations as carefully as that, I want to help you clearly see Jesus. I want to help you see him clearer than what you see right now. I want to help you in a spirit of love and care. It's amazing what the Lord will do.
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  I wrote here from my own notes. This is not for you, but I'm going to share it with you.
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  There are some times you don't need to open your mouth, you just need to open your heart.
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  Encourage, don't criticize.
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  There's one word that is used in chapter number five. I have to address it. It is the word hypocrite, that person that knows it all or that we have it all figured out.
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  As I studied through Acts for school, Paul wrote to the churches with major problems.
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  And here's what I want you to know. As he wrote to those churches and he visited those churches with major problems, he wrote back to them out of a spirit of love and correction. He wanted them to follow the Lord faithfully because he loved them and he knew that Jesus loved them.
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  Man, if we approached people like that, wow.
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  Hypocrisy can't replace humility.
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  Look at verse number six, last point.
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  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs.
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  Neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you or attack you.
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  There's great debate on where this verse fits in what this verse really means.
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  And in my little study. Does it go with the first five verses or does it go with the next verses? I've included it with the first five verses and here is that reason. Point number four, you must discern.
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  And I'm gonna show you that there is a spirit of godly discernment, Godly judgment that you must have.
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  Dogs in Jesus day were very different than the dogs of our day.
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  Our dogs come in, sleep on the couches and in our beds and in our homes. And that did not ate off the street or whatever somebody would throw it. It was not a pet.
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  They were scavengers and pigs to the Jews, of course were filthy dirty animals.
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  Now listen, I sit here and told you all night what judging is like and what kind of spirit you need to have.
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  But you see the need to help to someone.
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  When you see that need to help someone when you have bigger problems and you can't clearly see is impossible.
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  But what is discernment?
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  Here's what discernment is according to verse number six.
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  It's not giving to dogs and pigs, the scoundrels, the holy things and the priceless things that you have.
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  Now, I'm going to read this word for word because I wrote it out in a very specific order.
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  There are some people you will humbly, honestly, lovingly try to help.
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  You can see clearly, you're trying to help them. See clearly. You want to help them with the right spirit. And here's the truth. They're not going to want to hear it.
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  Jesus agrees.
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  They aren't ready to receive the godly help.
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  And if they receive the good things of God, they will then trample them and then they will turn and attack the one who is trying to help them.
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  As you help others, as you share the gospel with people, there will be people that will not receive it.
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  Here's what Jesus says.
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  Don't keep feeding them, because they will attack.
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  And we must discern the situations in ministry and in people when we minister to them that will not benefit from what we are trying to do.
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  Jesus did the same thing when he knocked the dust off his sandals and he walked away from the people he loved.
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  He was what they needed and they wouldn't receive it.
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  So if you approach a situation with the right heart and the right spirit, with clear eyes and clear understanding and clear thinking, and you're clearly trying to help them, there are going to be people that won't know parts of that. And here's what Jesus says. Don't feed them. Don't throw the holy things to them. That does not mean quit sharing, Jesus.
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  That could mean that they're not ready to be helped, that they're comfortable with what's in their eyes.
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  The hardest thing in the world is to walk away from somebody that doesn't want the help.
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  And Jesus says that's okay, but in a discerning and a judging way, you are to look and see if they are a dog or a hog.
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  And be careful because they will attack.
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  The world does not like these verses.
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  When we get to verse number 15, we will broach this subject again about judging.
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  But tonight I want to go back to that little window.
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  Not that you will look out, but you will look at that reflection and look within.
• 32:39
  Tonight, how you see others and how you see the world.
• 32:43
  I'm not saying that you are to just let everything go. That's not what this says. You're to be okay with everything. That's not what this says.
• 32:49
  This is how you, day by day, look through your little window at the world and at people. Do you do it with a sense that you are ready to help and you are wanting to help and they need Jesus, or do you look through it and oh, this world's going to hell and they're just going to have to go.
• 33:08
  If that is our spirit, shame on us.
• 33:11
  Shame on us.
• 33:13
  So tonight, will we look at the intentions of our heart, the spirit of our heart as we approach these situations?
• 33:22
  Will we look at our inward desire to help and not hurt?
• 33:26
  Will we look at our own situations and our own sin before we jump in the middle of somebody else's mess?
• 33:34
  And there's a time where the best thing to do is not to give them what they really need.
• 33:42
  Back away.
• 33:43
  Let the spirit lead you in discerning what that looks like. Let's pray, Father. Tonight.
• 33:51
  Lord, I know that we have went longer than normal, but God, I just pray, Lord, that you will use these words.
• 33:58
  Lord, thank you that sitting down at desks over the past couple of days. You have convicted me, Lord. I'm sorry.
• 34:06
  I'm sorry that my window is dirty and I've seen the reflections of my own life and my own heart and even my own eyes.
• 34:15
  Lord, with your spirit's help, will you help me clean my window with my brothers and sisters?
• 34:21
  God, just give me your eyes. Fill me with your spirit. Not that I will be the best pastor, but I will just lead them to look to you. God, I pray that you use this message. Maybe not tonight.
• 34:35
  It may be years down the road of how we see others, how we judge others, how we stand guilty before you because of our spirit, because of our condemnation of others.
• 34:49
  Tonight, God, we submit this to you.
• 34:53
  Pray, Lord, that your spirit will use it in a powerful way in our individual lives, but in the life of the people of our church.
• 35:01
  Help us, Lord. I pray.
• 35:04
  Amen. Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church, please call our church office at 434-946-0555.