We also find this relationship in these verses: That's the relationship that we have as brothers and sisters. ![]() Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. For example, look at Philippians 2:1-4: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. It is not within the purview of your responsibility to pass judgment on your brother or your sister. Passing judgment is the act of a superior. The brother relationship is between equals. Notice what he says in verse 10: "Why do you pass judgment on your brother?" You don't have the authority to pass judgment on your brother. Why? First of all, because we don't have the authority to pass judgment. This text doesn't allow for us to pass judgment on others. You don't have the authority to pass judgment. The closer a person is to us, the more likely we are to assume that we know not just whether what they did was wrong but where it came from and, more specifically, what the intention of the heart was. The better we know people, the more likely we are to pass judgment on them. He is intentionally trying to harm me and take advantage of me, and I know this because I see what's in his soul." I want another salesman." But we passing judgment by saying, "This person is not a good salesman. We make a judgment when we say, "This person is not a good salesman. Passing judgment means you look beyond what a person says or does into the very heart of the person as though you have the ability to discern, 1) why they do what they do and 2) the foundation from which it is being done (i.e., whether they are genuinely saved or not). Is she a good or a bad person? Is he a competent doctor or not? Is this a good or bad accountant? Is this a trustworthy or untrustworthy salesman?īut this text is not about making judgments. We judge the appropriateness of our clothing. We judge whether or not we have enough gas to make it where we're going. What time do we need to leave in order to make it to church on time? Questions like that are judgments. We could not survive if we didn't do this. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.įirst, I want us to experience the full weight of this text in its context, and then I want us to balance it against those areas in Scripture where judgment is clearly called for. It's another compelling passage of Scripture that calls us not to pass judgment. ![]() In Romans 14:10-12 we have what could be considered a companion passage to Matthew 7:1. If you are judging me, you are not loving me. Genuine love is a love that receives me just as I am. Genuine love is a love that doesn't judge. ![]() In fact, we use this as a baseline for establishing genuine love. That's our attitude both inside and outside the church. "Judge not that you be not judged." The shorthand for this new John 3:16 is quite simple: Don't judge me. They just know its principle, and they only hold Christians to this principle, not themselves. No one knows the address of the new John 3:16, Matthew 7:1. Of course the old John 3:16 people knew as " John 3:16." They could tell you the address of the verse. That was the verse that everyone knew, the verse that was familiar to all, the verse that you saw plastered all over the place, the verse to which people would point, the verse that even people who didn't know the Lord had somehow committed to their memory.
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