Matthew 7
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I have heard so many Christians interpret this passage to mean you can judge others as long as you are not doing the sin yourself. However, Christ compares a plank, a log, a 2x4, in your own eye, while pointing out the speck of your brother. A plank is not a speck. A plank in your eye will greatly impair your vision, and trying to remove the speck from your brother's eye will most likely result in poking his eye out. A speck in your eye, however, will irritate your eye at worst.
This is my interpretation, and I am interested to know how others understand it. We can only change our own life, and should be examining our lives, pray that the HS search our hearts and show us the sin in our own lives first. If done in sincerity, this should keep anyone occupied, looking up to Christ to reveal our sin, rather than down at our neighbor.
He begins by warning us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. If we judge harshly without mercy, so shall we be judged by God. If we don't have all of the information, we shall be judged without hearing your case. If we judge those we don't know, we will be judged by a stranger. It is easy to judge others as bad, and ourselves good, but unlike a modern judge, listening without bias to both sides, we often judge from our own knowledge, unfairly, or without hearing all the information, bordering on gossip.
The plank would be lack of love, for example. That is far greater a sin, because if hate your brother whom you have seen, you cannot love God whom you have not seen. You have violated the one commandment Christ emphasized, loving your neighbor as yourself, and when you do this, you love God with your heart, soul and mind.
Only when you have love can you help your brother with the speck, because you are not doing it to show superiority or to shame, but to edify your brother.
So, while this passages explains how to properly judge, it severely warns about judging others incorrectly, and of focusing on the petty sin of your brother while yours is serious and needs to be address.
And yet, after all that, I hear someone say, "See? "Judge not" tell us we are to judge!"
Pearls before swine, I suppose.
How do you interpret this passage?
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I have heard so many Christians interpret this passage to mean you can judge others as long as you are not doing the sin yourself. However, Christ compares a plank, a log, a 2x4, in your own eye, while pointing out the speck of your brother. A plank is not a speck. A plank in your eye will greatly impair your vision, and trying to remove the speck from your brother's eye will most likely result in poking his eye out. A speck in your eye, however, will irritate your eye at worst.
This is my interpretation, and I am interested to know how others understand it. We can only change our own life, and should be examining our lives, pray that the HS search our hearts and show us the sin in our own lives first. If done in sincerity, this should keep anyone occupied, looking up to Christ to reveal our sin, rather than down at our neighbor.
He begins by warning us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. If we judge harshly without mercy, so shall we be judged by God. If we don't have all of the information, we shall be judged without hearing your case. If we judge those we don't know, we will be judged by a stranger. It is easy to judge others as bad, and ourselves good, but unlike a modern judge, listening without bias to both sides, we often judge from our own knowledge, unfairly, or without hearing all the information, bordering on gossip.
The plank would be lack of love, for example. That is far greater a sin, because if hate your brother whom you have seen, you cannot love God whom you have not seen. You have violated the one commandment Christ emphasized, loving your neighbor as yourself, and when you do this, you love God with your heart, soul and mind.
Only when you have love can you help your brother with the speck, because you are not doing it to show superiority or to shame, but to edify your brother.
So, while this passages explains how to properly judge, it severely warns about judging others incorrectly, and of focusing on the petty sin of your brother while yours is serious and needs to be address.
And yet, after all that, I hear someone say, "See? "Judge not" tell us we are to judge!"
Pearls before swine, I suppose.
How do you interpret this passage?
