How to Treat Others

Do not judge lest you be judged. I don't know how many times someone has Used this phrase or these sentence or this sentence in a way to keep people from critiquing others or evaluating others or confronting other people. on their sin. Don't judge, lest you be judged, they would say. And so there has become an erroneous view of Scripture based on people's preconceived ideas as to what Jesus is saying in Matthew chapter 7. Verse number one.

So, what does this mean? Do not judge, lest you be judged. Well, we understand that judgment is a part of what we are to do. Fact down in verse number 15, it says, Beware of the false prophets. In verse number 16, by their fruits you shall know them, the Bible says.

So there is some kind of judgment that takes place when it comes to judging those who teach the law of God. But the standard by which you judge them is never to be your standard. It's always to be God's standard. That's important to understand. Because judgment in and of itself is not b. It's only when you judge based on your human opinion and your human standard that judgment becomes bad. But when you judge according to God's standard, it's not bad. Because you measure people against the ultimate standard, the perfect standard, the law of God, in which every man is to be measured by, because every man will be judged by the law of God.

So what is Christ saying in Matthew 7, verses 1 to 12? There are a variety of interpretations that are given. Hopefully, I can summarize it for you in the brief time that we have together this morning and help you understand just two basic points in Matthew 7, verses 1 to 12. And it's this: Number one, stop.

Condemning people bas on your standard of measurement. And number two, start caring for people based on God's standard of measurement.

Two very simple points loaded with profound truth. Hopefully, you'll be able to leave today understanding what Jesus Christ is teaching. Matthew chapter 7, verse number 1, reads as follows: Do not judge, lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. The first thing I want you to notice is the rebuke that Christ gives.

He says, Look, very simply, do not judge. Crino, which means to separate or to determine. Now, what is it we're not to separate? What is it we're not to judge? Well, we just read a plethora of scriptures that speak about judging people based on what they teach and how they live. So, what is Christ saying here when he says, Do not judge? I believe he refers to the motives of man. You see, what the Pharisees would do would come and judge man, judge his motives, judge his life, without measuring them to a true standard of righteousness, but measuring them to their standard.

Of right. One author said it this way: that having a judgmental attitude toward one's petty faults, to assess others suspiciously, To seek out weaknesses, and in so doing, presents a position of authority over another. In other words, the Pharisees would come and they would place themselves above others. They would want people to ooh and to awe at their lifestyle. And so they would come and say, We have the quarter on truth, we have the standard of righteousness. And we want you to meet our standard.

And if you don't meet our standard, then you can't be a part of what we are about. And if you're not a part of what we are about, you can't get to heaven. And Christ came to wipe all that away because they would begin to judge man's motives and man's heart. And you can't do that, only God. God can do that. So Christ says, I'm going to rebuke you.

Don't judge the way you judge. Don't stand over people condemning their motives because they don't meet up to your standard. Don't do that. That's wrong. Why? What's the reason Christ gives? He gives two of them. Number one, lest you yourselves be judged.

Lest you be judged. Now, you see, the Pharisees thought that they were above criticism, they thought they were beyond being critiqued by anybody else because they were the highest form of religion. And after all, they were the guardians of the law. They were the keepers of the law. And because they were put in that position, they were the divine standard, in their opinion. But Christ says, look, understand this.

You're not above criticism. You're not above judgment because you too Will be judged. Over in John chapter 5, verse number 22, all judgment has been given to the Son. Ch says, You can't play God in the lives of people. There's only one lawgiver, there's only one judge, and that's Jesus Christ our Lord. So be careful how you stand in judgment of another person. Now, please note: you must judge false teaching. You must measure someone's teaching against the law of God. That's very important. And someone who lives an ungodly lifestyle, who disobeys the principles and guidelines of God's Holy Word, has to be held accountable to that standard.

Not your standard, but God's standard. That's supposed to happen. But to judge man's life, to judge man's ministry, to judge man's motive based on your standard of living is what Christ Himself Is condemning. And there are many of us who want other people to meet up to our standards. We want other people to come in in line with who we are. Not necessarily in line with who God Himself is. Whenever we assign people to condemnation without mercy, Because they do not do something the way we think it ought to be done, or because we believe their motives are wrong, then we set ourselves up as God in their lives.

We must be careful. But Christ goes on to say this: For in the way you judge, verse number 2, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured. To you. You see, the Pharisees thought that they were beyond any kind of judgment simply because they believed their standards to be divine. But Christ says, Look, there's a boomerang effect here when it comes to how you judge other people.

You see, if you place yourself in judgment over others, you claim to know the law. You claim to be God in the lives of others. If you do that, you will be held according to that same standard. That's why James says, look, don't many of you seek to be teachers. Why? Because with teaching comes what? A stricter Condemnation. There is a stricter condemnation for those who teach. Why? Because, number one, if you teach the Word of God, you are accountable to what you teach, and you must live in line with what you teach.

So, if you teach something but don't live in line with what you teach, there comes a stricter condemnation upon your life. So, Paul says, Look, you're accountable for what you know. We must understand that. Those of you who teach, you teach an ABF, you teach a small group, you teach in Sunday school. With that teaching comes a stricter condemnation. For if you ever teach error, if you teach one thing and live another thing, there comes a stricter condemnation. There is no higher calling in all the world than to be a teacher of the holy word of God.

No higher calling. But there is no greater condemnation than to teach something and not live it. And the Phar and the scribes, who plan themselves keepers and guardians of the law, Would lower the standard of the law, thus condemning themselves, and teach others to do likewise. Thus condemning themselves even further. So, if you want to treat people the right way, stop condemning them. Stop condemning them based on your standard of living. Stop condemning them because you put yourself up as judge and jury over their lives.

Don't judge them. Why? Because you too will be judged. And the same standard you use will be used by God to judge you. What's our response? Christ says this in verse number three.

And 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?

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?

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.

Response number one is this: be cleansed. Be cleansed. Be cleansed. The speck. You know, you've had something in your eye, right? A piece of dust, a piece of sawdust, or whatever, something that gets in your eye. It's a real irritant, isn't it? And Christ is not contrasting a real small thing in your eye versus a real big sin. No, he's contrasting a huge, huge sin with a gigantic thing. Humong Godzilla kind of sin. See what I'm saying? The primary point that Christ wants to get across is this: look, you sin.

But the sin of the critic is always, not always, but in this case, is greater than the sin of the one being critiqued. That's the point. He says, Look, here you are with a beam in your own eye. And in context, I think you've got to look at it from the standpoint of the Pharisees and their self-righteousness.

There is no greater beam in the eye of an individual that keeps him from seeing sin as sin than one's own self-righteousness. It's the grossest form of sin. Because it's a life of hypocrisy. David had that kind of sin. Remember when he sinned against Bathsheba and he became an adulterer? And on top of that, he had to cover it up, so he became a murderer? And so when Nathan came to confront him a year later, he gave the parable about the man who was rich and had hundreds of sheep, and he went to the real poor farmer who only had one sheep and he stole that sheep.

And he took it for himself. And David said, That's a wretched man. That's a wicked man. He needs to be hung. He needs to be killed. And Nathan said, What? You're the man, David. You're the man. You see, David's perception had been marred. Why? Because of his own self-righteousness. He couldn't even see the huge log in his own eye. Because it had blinded and blinded by a self-righteous lifestyle. It was Charles Spurgeon who said it this way. Fancy a man with a beam in his eye pretending to deal with so tender a part as the eye of another, and attempting to remove so tiny a thing as a motive splinter.

Is he not a hypocrite to pretend to be so concerned about other men's eyes, and yet he never attends to his own? Sin we may rebuke, but not if we indulge it. We may protest against evil, but not if we will practice it. That's the point. We ought to judge other men based on the standard of scripture. But we don't judge them if we have not dealt with the sin in our own lives. You see, maybe God is calling you to deal with a speck in another brother's eyes. And we are to treat other people with care and concern.

In fact, Galatians 6 speaks to that. Over in Galatians 6, 1 and 2, it goes as follows: Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual rest. Such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted, bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. You see, most of us think that we're something, but the Bible says you're nothing.

That's what it says. If you think you're something, but in reality you're nothing, you deceive yourself. We miss that in Scripture. All of us are a bunch of big zeros. All of us are a bunch of big nothings. If it wasn't for God, we'd be absolutely on our way to hell. We're zeros. But with God, we can accomplish much, you see. And we like to hear that because that goes against our self-est, it goes against our identity, and we have an identity crisis anyway in America. But the Bible says, look, wait a minute.

If anyone thinks he's something, when in reality he's nothing, he deceives himself. Why? But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another, for each one shall bear his own load. You got to deal with your own sin. You got to deal with your own life. And that's what Christ is helping us to understand here: be clean. Be cleansed. Deal with your own life. And then you can go to your brother and deal with that which is in his life to help him grow toward maturity.

But first of all, make sure you deal with your own sin. The greatest confronters in all the scriptures are ones who are vulnerable, ones who are humble, ones who keep short accounts with God. Confess their sins on a regular basis, knowing that they are wretched, knowing that they need the mercy and grace of God in their lives. And then when they go to their brother, They are able to go in a humble spirit. Help him bear his burden. Help him when he's caught in a trespass. To help hold him up and restore that person and nurture him or her back to health.

What's our response? Number one. Be cleansed. That takes discipline. Number two, be careful. And that will take discernment. Be careful. Verse number six. Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. Now, you read that, and you think, okay, now how does that fall on the heels of verse number five? What is Christ saying here? And why is it when Christ would say in Matthew chapter 5 that we are to be salt and light in the world?

We're to shake our salt all around. We're to shine our light wherever we can possibly shine it, so the world that's in darkness will see the light of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and when Christ would say, go into all the world and preach the gospel, why does he now come and say, do not give what is holy, that is, the truth of God's word, to dogs that do not throw your pearls before swine. Why would he do that? Why would he stop us from giving forth the word of God? Why would he stop us and warn us about being very careful about where you give forth the truth of God's Holy Word?

Why? There are many people who mock and revile the truth of God's Holy Word. And if they do, Christ says, don't cast your pearl before swine.

Swine were the most despicable animals, according to Jews. He also says that do not give what is holy to dogs. Dogs were not domesticated in those days like they are today. They were mongrels, they were filthy, and the only good use for a dog is if he was used somehow to herd sheep. Outside of that, they were outdoor animals and very filthy and very nasty. And Christ says, look, if you cast that which is holy before a dog, if you cast those pearls before swine, they're going to tear you to pieces.

Turn around and walk away. Remember Matthew chapter 10? When Christ said, Look, you disciples, you go out, you go into the cities, you go knock on doors, you get an entrance into the door, and the people there reject the truth that you give them. Dust or wipe the dust off your feet and turn around and walk out because that home is a pagan home. They trample underfoot. The truth of God's holy word. Paul did that in Acts 13, didn't he? When he went into Antioch and the Jews rebelled against the truth of God's holy word, Paul said, That's it, I'm going to the Gentiles.

Acts 18 and Corinth, the same thing. He shook out his garments when the Jews in the synagogue rebelled against the truth of God's holy word. They became antagonistic against the holy truth of God. He went to the Gentiles again. Christ says, look, if someone's antagonistic towards the truth, if someone is mocking the truth that you give them, Then you need to turn around and walk away.

So be very careful. You need discernment. You need to know what to do. But when you turn around and walk away, never leave self-satisfied. Never leave gratified. Always leave as Christ left in Luke 19 when he looked over the city of Jerusalem and they began to weep because they had turned their back against the Messiah and would not accept the truth. When someone rebels against your giving forth of the Word of God, when someone wants to lash out against the truth that you give them, don't say, well, you know, they're on the way to hell anyway.

What difference does it make? You need to weep on the inside. You need to weep on the outside and say, Oh God, be merciful unto them who are sinners. And so many times we leave with the wrong attitude. And Christ says, don't do that.

Leave in a way that honors and glorifies God. Stop condemning. And point number two, start caring. Start caring. And Christ gives us a little bridge to verse number 12, where it says, Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the law and the prophets. He gives us a bridge about prayer and about God's answer to prayer to lead us into that because it helps you understand how to care for other people. Listen to what he says: Ask, and it shall be given to you, verse number 7.

Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Now, how does that fit into the context of casting your pearls before swine and knocking the speck out of your brother's eye and cleansing the beam that's in your own eye? Very simple: this. You need to understand that to care for other people, you need to persevere in prayer. You need to persevere. In prayer. You see, when it comes to caring for other people, what you do before you ever get to them is more important than what you do when you get to them.

Did you follow me with that? That's why Christ said that before you ever send people out into the harvest, you pray the Lord of the harvest, right? You pray. Prayer is always first.

Prayer was always the first thing you do, but for us, it's always the last thing we do. You need to pray, you need to persevere in prayer. The pres imperative: keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. It's a crescendo. You keep pursuing God. Why? Because if you're going to be careful, be very careful about who you put the pearls out before and the holy truth of God before, you need to ser it from God. And if you're going to take the speck of sawdust out of someone else's eye, you need to make sure that you're prayed at the dates.

Make sure there's no one confessed in your life. Make sure you live in a righteous, holy kind of life and asking God to prepare their heart that they might be ready to receive the truth of God's holy word. You got to persevere in prayer. Ask, seek, and knock. And everyone who does this, everyone meaning the child of God, meaning because he's talking specifically to his own disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, and everyone else surrounding him on the hillside there. But everyone who knows God as king and has submitted to his kingship and has become a child of the living God, everyone who asks and seeks and knocks shall find.

The door will be opened. Because we have a God who loves to answer prayer. But before you ever care for somebody physically, make sure you care for them spiritually. Pray for them. Persevere in prayer. Ask God for wisdom, what to do, how to handle a situation, that God would be glorified in it. Persevere in prayer, and number two, accept God's answers.

Accept God's answer. Listen to what it says. Verse number 9. Or what man is there among you when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone. Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake. Will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him? We serve a perfect Father. Unlike our earthly fathers who are imperfect, unlike our earthly fathers who are evil, our Heavenly Father is good and he gives good gifts to his children.

And so, when you persevere in prayer and ask God for wisdom, God's going to give you the answer that you need. And maybe God's going to show you who you need to confront. Who you need to help bear a burden in the life of another person. And God says, Now you go.

You accept his answer. And God will give you wisdom. If any man asks wisdom, 1 James 1:5, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not. That's the way God is. He wants to give you wisdom. He wants to make you discerning. He wants to make you disciplined. He wants to make you into the kind of child that represents His kingship. And lastly, model your message. What to say. Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the law and the prophets. Jesus just doesn't say, Don't do this.

He says, Do this, do this. Would it be that all of us would wish to be treated by others in a certain way? Christ says, look, if you want to be treated a certain way, then you've got to treat other people the way you want to be treated.

Let me give you an example. If you want forgiveness, you got to be a forgiver. If you're not a forgiver, You're not going to receive forgiveness. You've got to be a forgiver. If you want love, you've got to be a lover. But boy, most of us don't want to be lovers to get loved, do we? We want people to love us first, and then we'll love them.

Christ says, No, you treat other people exactly as you want to be treated. Do you do that? As a husband, you love your wife as Christ loved the church, who sacrificially and willingly gave him up for her. Christ says, Look, if you're a husband, then that's the way you've got to love your wife.

But you know what? She doesn't love me in return. She doesn't do for me the way I think she ought to be doing. Christ says, I don't care.

I really don't care. The command is: love as I have lo. Treat them as you want to be treated. Maybe you're not loved because you don't love them. For most of us, we are devoted to self. For most of us, we are preoccupied with self. And we need to be preoccupied with God and His people. May God give us the strength to do so. When the light of your life harmonizes with the language of your lips. Lives are changed. And you've got to ask yourself the question, is the light of your life equivalent to the language of your lips?

If so, you've modeled your message. And that's how you treat other people.