morning devotional ritual. I think it would be good for me if I could do that, although I would be the only one to hear it, which would be a good thing, except the Lord. But it seems like some of these songs just have such powerful messages in them and such encouraging messages. I would love to get myself into the habit of being able to have a song as part of my morning devotionals. Well, I don't know what I want to do with that, but there it is. Turn to Matthew chapter 7 as we continue with the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus is teaching us on a very pertinent subject, and dare I say it's one that we all have to struggle with. Maybe we're not as conscious of it as we need to be, or as we should be. But I think it's something that nonetheless that we need to all of us work on. I think it would make us greater servants for the Lord. And that is this idea of being judgmental, being judgmental. It comes so naturally, at least it does to me. And so I have to be consciously thinking of this particular sin in my own life. Well, let's start reading in verse 1. We're in the 7th chapter of Matthew. We'll start reading in verse 1. Jesus said, Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the same way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard measure it will be measured to you. 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. There's a lot here, we're not going to cover it all, but we're just going to kind of hit and lick and we'll go on this evening. It's so easy for us to see the faults in everybody else. And leave this to say, the faults that are so ginormous in somebody else are invariably faults that we ourselves are guilty of But unfortunately, we rarely recognize it. So often what we see in others is a reflection of our own faults. And Jesus spends a lot of time on this particular subject. You know, verses 1 through 5, that's quite a few verses for Jesus to spend on one subject. And the fact that He spends so much time on this particular sin tells me that we're pretty much all Probably guilty of it. Maybe, I mean, we all have varying degrees of guilt. Don't misunderstand me. But nonetheless, we're all guilty. Everybody here has looked at someone who's standing on the street corner with a sign in their hands and made a judgment. Okay, and it's quite a lot of those people around and we all look at them and we all size them up and we all make a judgment about the kind of life that they've lived or what the kind of person that they are. We've all been standing in line at Walmart and looked at somebody else standing in that line and made a judgment about them simply by the way they were dressed, or simply by the look on their face, or the attitude that they were displaying on their face. And so we've measured these people without even talking to them, without even really knowing them, without knowing what they went through that particular day, and they have stood before us judged and condemned. And we think that just because somebody does something once that they're always going to do it. Just because somebody says something one time, they're always going to say the same thing time and time again. So we censure them and we judge them. And Jesus is warning us, clearly warning us, that we are going to be held accountable for every single judgment we make against somebody else. Now, I don't know about you, but that's Mind-boggling to me Every time every time I have a critical spirit about somebody else God is noting it in his book For later reference on Judgment Day Every time I don't know about you, but that's pretty scary for me to think about God doing that We tend to come to this teaching here about Jesus's judgment of being critical of other people and we take it lightly and we dismiss it We say it's no big deal. You know, it's no big sin. We don't need to get wrapped up in this It's really not that bad, you know, etc, etc, etc The problem is with this what Jesus is talking about here is it destroys relationships? It destroys relationships Even if you don't have a relationship with the person you're judging, and you still have a critical spirit toward them, it's going to inhibit your ability to get to know them, or to have a relationship with them, or to love them like the Bible commands us to do. Now you may be able to be nice to them, you know, But we're not commanded to be nice, we're commanded to love people. And this critical spirit interferes with that. Being critical is the main reason we have a problem getting close to people. It's the main reason that we hold people at a distance. It's the main reason that if we're critical, they hold us at a distance as well. It's a two-way street. It is hypocritical to say that you love someone and are filled with a spirit of criticism toward them. And I want to remind you, of course, that Jesus is not talking about those clear-cut moral right and wrong things that are defined in the Word of God so clearly. The issues of morality. The Word of God makes it clear that if our brother is caught up in a sin, that you have a responsibility as a loving brother to go talk to that brother or that sister about their sin so that they may correct it. If they don't listen to you, you take another with you. And if they don't listen to the three of you, then you take it before the church. And the Bible says if they don't listen to the church, then you drop their membership. We have the right to make those kinds of judgments. Not only the right, but we have the command through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to make those judgments on those things that are critical and morally wrong and that are evidently wrong. But God gives us some liberties to do things that we should not be critical of, to be individualistic. Some liberties that we are not to judge each other for. And this is what Jesus Christ is talking about in this particular passage of Scripture. In verse 2, let's pick it up. So Jesus says in verse two, for in the way you judge, you will be judged. And by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. This follows along in verse one. In verse one, we establish where it says, you know, do not be judged because you will be judged here, that we're not primarily talking about being judged by others in verse one. But in verse one, what we're talking about is being judged by God. That same theme is carried down to verse 2. We're not talking about human-to-human judgment in verse 2 just as we were not talking about primarily human-to-human judgment in verse 1. We're not talking about a horizontal plane here. We're not talking about reciprocal judgment here. We're still talking about the Father's judgment of us when we are judgmental toward other people. It's not horizontal here. It is a vertical judgment that we're talking about here. People have an innate desire to get even with you by using your judgment on them. We understand that. You know, when somebody hurts your feelings because they met a judgment, they will take the same judgment that you make on them and they will say, hey, look, you don't even measure, you don't even come up with your own standards. But that's not what we're talking about here. And what is so amazing to me is that sometimes we don't realize that we have a different standard for other people than we have for ourselves. Our standard for other people is sometimes much more critical than any judgments we have toward ourselves. We're kind of self-serving. in our judgments. We see others' crimes so much bigger than our own crimes sometimes. But the important thing here is to remember is that Jesus is talking about being judged by our Heavenly Father. If we're hypercritical of others and we're making negative comments about them, Jesus says God is going to hold you up to those very same standards. God is going to use the standards that you're using against you. That's what he's saying in verse 2. And you're saying, well, wait a minute, this doesn't seem like that God would do that kind of a thing. It seems like, you know, that lowers the standards of God. But you got to realize that Jesus has used this reciprocal judgment thing in a way. You remember how in the Sermon on the Mount, He told us that we are to be merciful. Those that are merciful shall receive mercy. That is reciprocal. And again, Jesus said, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your heavenly father will not forgive your transgressions. There you see the reciprocal judgment that's going on. And the same principle is being applied here. We gladly, we gladly accept the principle of measure for measure when it comes to good things. In other words, if we do something good for somebody and they do something good for us, we like that. If we say something kind to somebody and they say something kind back to us, we like that. But if we say something critical to somebody and they come back with something critical toward us, we don't much like that. Okay? You know, we don't like that. We don't like that. That's where we draw the line. So what gives you the right then, if there is a right, to make a judgment on someone? If that's in the realm of possibility, what would it be that would give us the right to make a judgment about someone? One thing, the thing that God has, to have complete and perfect knowledge of that other person. to have complete and perfect knowledge. If you have all the facts on somebody, then you are in that God state where you're able to make a correct judgment or a criticism of somebody else. But you can't get all the facts just by looking at them. You may think you can. You may think you know everything there is to know about somebody just by the way they look. You can't do that. just by looking at them. You know, you don't have all the facts just by listening to one side of the story. No matter how legitimate someone may sound, if you haven't heard the other side, you don't have all the facts. We've got to be careful. If your co-worker comes up to you and says, hey, look, I know something about your boss or I know something about a co-worker, you need to be careful about how you're going to take their criticism. Your neighbor comes up to you and says, I know something about your neighbor. You need to be careful. If somebody comes up to you and says, well, I know somebody's getting a divorce, you need to be careful about how you take which sides because you don't have all the facts. And it's impossible for us to make a correct judgment when we don't have all the facts. You know, there's nothing like being publicly humiliated. Probably very few of you have experienced that, but when you're in public office or when you're standing before people, it happens, you know. And there have been times when I have made judgments that were wrong. And a result of that, I came across really as a moron and as a fool because I made judgment that I should not have made and all of a sudden it became clear to everybody that I made the wrong judgment. I shouldn't have said what I said, you know. There have been times I've been totally embarrassed and ashamed of myself for making a critical statement about someone before I had all the facts. So what is Jesus saying here practically to you and me? What is a practical thing that Jesus is saying here? I think it's this. Think before you open your mouth. It's not very deep, not very profound. But I think what Jesus is saying here is before you open your mouth, you better think about what's going to come out of it. And sometimes we don't do that. We just let it fly and it gets us in trouble. And Jesus is warning us about doing that. The thing that ought to set you apart as a child of God is that you don't talk like the world and you don't do the things the world does. I read about, I came across this acronym. And it's THINK. It's the acronym is THINK. And it stands for, before you're about to say something, ask yourself, is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? And is it kind? All of those are biblical. Nothing wrong with that acronym. It's a great acronym. You know, truth, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind. It would be amazing, probably, how our relationships would be energized if we would use that acronym, the simplicity of it, before we opened our mouths and said anything. Let's go on to verse 3. So the second reason, the second motivation, Then, before you make a critical statement, is to remind yourself, hey, God is going to use this standard against me. Whatever standard you use against somebody else, you need to remember, God is going to use that standard. In verse 3, he goes on, he makes another, the third motivation. He says, 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? Third motivational point. Actually, the point goes from verse 3 all the way down to verse 5, is what we're going to talk about here. But basically what it says is, we're going to cover it individually, each verse individually. But the whole principle is here, you and I don't have the sense. with which to judge somebody. We do not have the sense with which to judge somebody. So he starts that conversation in verse 3, and basically what he says in verse 3 is, look, you're not really concerned about truth and righteousness as much as you say you are. That's what he's saying in verse 3. Beloved, if we were as concerned about truth and good and righteousness as we say we are, we would begin by judging ourselves. That's what he says in verse 3. You begin by judging yourself. When we're more concerned about others being good, and others being right, and others doing the right thing, than we are about ourselves, we're being critical of them. We're being judgmental. And Jesus is warning us against that. If we're really concerned about what is right and good, we would begin here, in our own hearts, before we take it to somebody else. Verse 4, If you like sarcasm, you'll love verse 4. He says in verse 4, 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? Jesus is, in my mind at least, Jesus is using sarcasm in a way that's beneficial rather than destructive and rather than out of order. He is legitimately using sarcasm to reach our hearts. He says, how can you say to your brother? And I want you to stop right there. He's basically saying this. When you go up to your brother and you give off the idea that, oh, I am so concerned about you. I am so concerned that you do the right thing. I am so concerned that you stop doing this sin. You know, you're putting on airs. Have you ever done that? You're not really concerned about them, primarily, but you're giving off the idea that you are so concerned about them. You're so worried about them, you know. You can't help but come to them and point out the error in their ways so they might straighten themselves out. It's all hypocritical. That's what he's saying. You're faking your concern for somebody. How can you really say you want to help somebody with a splinter in their own eye? He says, when you have this huge beam in yours, he says, you can't help them. That's what he's saying. You are totally incapable of helping them. If you go in for eye surgery, And the surgeon comes in to the office, and you're laying there in the chair, and the eye surgeon comes in, and he comes in and he's wearing these dark shades, you know, and he's got that white blind cane that blind people use, you know, and he comes into the office. He's bumping into the walls, and he's bumping into the chair, and he's bumping into the rack that has all the tools that he's going to use to do surgery, and he comes over to you, and he takes his hand, and he starts feeling your head, you know, and he starts feeling your face, and he's, you know, you can tell he's looking for your eyes. How comfortable are you going to be with him doing eye surgery? You know, that's basically what Jesus is saying here. He's incapable of doing eye surgery. He can't do eye surgery. He's blind. He's saying, you're doing the same thing. You're doing the same thing. You've got this big beam in your eye. You're incapable of making a critical judgment of somebody else. So He draws this picture here before us and says, you're just as guilty. You're just as guilty. Go on to verse 5. He says in verse 5, you hypocrite. He doesn't mention any words here. He doesn't mention any words. You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you'll see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eyes." You see, we so gleefully and easily talk about the faults of others, and we so easily criticize them, and we so easily talk negatively about them, when all the while we don't realize that we're the one with the critical spirit. We're the one, we're the one that's guilty. One of the biggest beams we have in our eyes is our own critical spirit. And Jesus is telling us we cannot judge ourselves by ourselves. We have to have an objective standard to see the beam that's in our, the log that's in our own eyes. We're too sympathetic, well, we're sympathetic toward ourselves. You know, we are, we are easy on ourselves compared to how we treat other people. And this is one of the things that Jesus Christ is getting at there. So how do we make the judgment? How do we see the log in our own eyes? How do we see the beam in our own eyes? We have to have the objective standard of God's Word. Notice in Hebrews chapter 4. Verse 12, it says, For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the vision of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We're prejudiced toward ourselves. The Word of God is not prejudice. It is true. It will discern our intentions. It will discern our thoughts. The Word of God knows what's going on inside of you, folks. Because the Word of God is living. Did you get that? It is active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. It does the job it needs to do. It does the surgery it needs to do. The Word of God does the surgery. It does it in our hearts. It's alive. When you read the Word of God, folks, it's working on you. It's just not some words on a page. It's just not ink and paper, folks. The Word of God is alive. And it works on us. And it's going to pierce our hearts. And it's going to dig into our motivations. It's going to dig into our sinfulness. It's going to show us what's really going on there. You say, well, what does it do? What is the removal of this being process? What does that removal process look like? It looks like what David said in Psalm 51. When the Word of God got to working on him, David said, Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against you and you only I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge. That's a description. That's an accurate description of what the Word of God does and how it cuts through and how it shows us what's really going on inside of me. And instead of wanting to wash away the sins of your brother and your sister, you know, and make sure everybody else is clean and free from their faults, We begin to cry out for God to wash our sins away. We become less concerned about their faults and more concerned about our own faults. And so there's a sense in which our sins take priority of the sins of others because we become conscious that we are guilty before God. We've sinned against him and that crushes us. And it humbles us and it breaks us. And when we're broken, when we get to the point where we are broken over our own sinfulness, that's when we become broken over the sinfulness of others. That's what we need. That's when the critical spirit leaves us. When we get to the point where we're genuinely broken over sin, that dispels our desire to be critical of others and hold them to a higher standard, we see that we're the same. We mourn over our sins, and then we mourn over the sins of others, and then we become gentle. Well, Jesus is the master of relationships, and I've shared with you many times that relationship is the meaning of life, and those relationships sometimes are destroyed because of our verbal abuse. Surely we can abuse others physically and mentally, but we abuse each other verbally as well. And this is what Jesus is striking at. And the real problem here, of course, is what comes out of our mouth is what's in our heart. That's the problem. What comes out of our mouth is in our heart. And Jesus said, But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart will come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. Matthew chapter 15, verses 18 and 19. So we're sinners at heart, selfish at heart, self-centered at heart. And that's why the world's in a mess it is, is in because of their hearts being sinful before God. And their hearts need to be changed, and the only way their hearts can be changed is through Jesus Christ's shed blood on the cross, which is the message you and I live and take to the world. We demonstrate to the world that we're above hypercriticism. We're above negative spirits. We're above all that. Because of Christ and the change He made in our hearts. Because of the clean slate we have through His shed blood on the cross. Well, I appreciate you being here tonight. I appreciate you being in God's house this evening. Your choice to be here and to serve Him and to worship Him so very