Matthew 7:1, ‘“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.’
Matthew 5:3, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
The Key to the kingdom of heaven is to have poverty of Spirit in our hearts. Looking unto Jesus and asking Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit. In the days of dryness, the river will flow in us.
Proverbs 15:5, ‘“A fool rejects his father’s discipline,
But he who regards reproof is sensible.’
Let us be sensible.
James 2:13, ‘For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.’
God Judges. We need to be merciful. We need to judge ourselves.
Matthew 7:2, ‘For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you’.
As the authority is given, God is the only judge. He will judge at the right time in a proper way.
V3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 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.’
God will judge us with the same judgement that we do. The measure will be the same. We cannot judge others, when we have the same wrong attitude towards them. Let us judge ourselves first, then we can see clearly as Jesus, who had compassionate and loving heart.
John 7:24, ‘Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Judge with righteous judgement. This is the way to judge others.
Eli judged Hannah, wrongly.
1 Samuel 1:9-17, ‘Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.”
Hannah was oppressed in spirit. There might be a cry in others heart and we cannot see this. We need the Holy Spirit to see clearly, with a compassionate and loving eye to see their oppression and pray for them in secret, so that they might be revived from their oppression.
1 Samuel 16:7, ‘But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Clearly says the way how a man looks at the outer appearance, while judging and how the Lord looks at the heart!
1 Corinthians 4:4-6, ‘For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. 5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other’.
Our conscience may be clear; but that does not mean that we are clear. The Lord examines us. We should not judge the motives of a man’s heart, the hidden things of man’s heart!
1 Corinthians 3:1-3, ‘And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?’
We see the discernment in Apostle Paul about the Corinthians; that he was not able to talk to them as to those who are spiritual men; as they were men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. We need to have the right discernment of others.
Jesus says, ‘I do not judge anyone’.
John 8:14, ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.’
Jesus forgives the adulteress.
V1, ‘But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. 3The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”’
We can notice the heart of Pharisees here; outwardly how they were acting righteous and internally how they are thinking! Their strategies were full of lust. Their heart was full of lust, as they caught a woman in the act of adultery!
Jesus says to her, ‘I do not condemn you’.
Jesus saw the attitude of Pharisees,
Matthew 23:25-28, ‘“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy.’
The attitude of Pharisees is full of hypocrisy but outwardly they appear as righteous.
First, we need to clear our hearts from sin. Whenever there is a judgmental attitude towards others, there is sin in our lives and we are covering it up and judging others! We need to get rid off, of this judgmental attitude and we need to judge ourselves first and then judge others, righteously! We need to have discernment. We need to have opinions about others in righteousness. Do not judge their motives in hearts!
Romans 2:1-3, ‘Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?’
There is no excuse for those who pass judgements about others, as they themselves practice the same things, and the judgment of God rightly falls upon them. There is no escape from the judgment of God, if we also, do the same things ourselves and judge others on them.
Romans 14:10-13, ‘But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.’
We should not put stumbling blocks on others, by passing all these judgmental things on them. Wait for the Lord. Do not judge others but judge ourselves.
2 Corinthians 5:10, ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.’
We need to give an account on everything that we have said or spoken in thought! It is very dangerous.
Matthew 7:15-18, ‘“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.’
We should have opinions on others, discernment on others. We cannot judge others but we can see the evidence of their lives, through their fruits.
Matthew 7:7, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.’
If we don’t have the wisdom or the Holy Spirit, we can approach God, and ask Him. Aim for the perfection. Let us judge ourselves and seek God. Those who hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit; only they will be given the Holy Spirit.
James 1:5, ‘But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.’
God gives generously, to all those who ask Him. We need to ask Him without any doubting! When God convicts in our hearts, we need to come to Him in faith and cleanse ourselves in His light and ask for His nature in our lives. If not, we will be a boat without any anchor, tossed here and there by the wind!
1 John 3:3, ‘And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.’
There is hope for each one of us. There is a hope; that this wrong attitude in us, will change! Let us judge others with the righteous judgment! Let us Judge ourselves. Whoever has this hope fixed on Him, will purify himself just as He is pure. We have a loving Father. Seek God’s help and He is merciful. Let us also be merciful to others. Let us have our hearts cleansed first from the defilement of flesh and spirit; and have the compassionate and loving heart towards others.
Thank God for His Word.
