Read Matt 7:1–12
Mat 7:1-5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. (2) For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (3) 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? (4) 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? (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. Mat 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Well here are some well misused passages of Scripture that you’ll ever run across. What is Jesus actually saying here? What is Jesus not saying here? Many people will use this passage of Scripture to say you can never correct someone else behavior, that you cannot tell them they are doing anything wrong. That is not what Jesus is saying. Otherwise St. Paul would be contradicting Jesus when he says, 1Co 5:12 “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?”
So what is Jesus getting at? We should not place ourselves above other people. We should not judge them as be less than ourselves because we are committing the sins they are committing. If you place yourself above another person and make a judgment of them then what will be the comparison upon which you are judged? Will it not be Christ? How do you measure up to him?
Verse 5 is key here. First take out the log out your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s. You see, we are called to look into the affairs of our fellow Christians. We are called to point out the darkness to the world and call it to repentance. Yet before we can anything like that we must first humble ourselves before God. Unless you realize the enormity of your own sin how can you approach someone else in love concerning theirs? You cannot. We cannot go to someone to correct them in a spirit of judgment but of love and helpfulness recognizing our own weakness. If you try to correct someone you might even lead with your chin, that is confessing your own sins to the person you’re trying to help.
This section concludes with the Royal Law, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” Jesus came, took our sins upon himself and gave up his life for us that we may not face the judgment of God. In the same manner, we should make our brother’s sin upon ourselves and die to it. That is what we’d like others to do for us, no?
Lord Jesus Christ, you came into the world not to judge the world but to save the world. Help us to truly die to sins of others, to judge ourselves correctly that we may approach others in all humility and love that we may bring them to you so they may escape from the judgment to come. Amen.