July 23, 2017
Sermon on the Mount
Judging / Humility
Matthew 7:1-12
This week we’re continuing our series on "The Sermon on the Mount."
A really incredible thing about the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus didn't save his heavy hitting and culture shifting commands for a private setting, and he didn’t just save it for people whose hearts he had already won over…
Actually, The Sermon on the Mount wasn't even planned, when Jesus was surrounded by people who needed to hear the truth of who He was, He gathered them together on a hill and he shared the truth with them:
- loud and proud
- out in the open
- with nothing to hide
And that’s what we’re doing in this series… We’re meeting outside, in the open, unashamed of the truth of who God is - wanting desperately to soak up everything we can about who that man is: A God who isn't ashamed of the truth, who has nothing to hide, and who just wants to draw his people back to him.
Matthew 7:1-12
1 "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. 6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. 7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
As you’re reading / studying the Sermon on the Mount, you’re likely going to have one of two possible attitudes towards what Jesus is saying. One is the wrong way to respond and one is the right way to respond. Here in Matthew 7:1-11, Jesus addresses both attitudes.
- The first is an attitude of HYPOCRISY, and Jesus corrects this in 7:1-6.
- You look ridiculous if you hear the truths that Jesus is putting forth in his teaching and all you want to do is point out the faults of those around you.
- You should be immensely more aware of the sin in your OWN life than the sins in the lives of others.
- When you hear the Word of God, do you make yourself THE JUDGE, or do you humbly realize that you are THE JUDGED?
Romans 14:10-13
"You then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written, ‘"As surely as I live," says the Lord, "every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God."’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another."
- The second is an attitude of HUMILITY, and Jesus encourages this in 7:7-11.
- This is the attitude of one who recognizes the depth of one’s sinfulness, and the height of the standard Jesus is laying out, and realizes the only course for us is to seek God for forgiveness and mercy and acceptance.
- Jesus’ point here is not to remind us again to pray, but to remind us of the loving Father that we are praying to, and that this loving Father is a giver of good gifts.
- What is it we should ask for and seek? God himself, his kingdom, and this kingdom righteousness.
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Isaiah 55:6-7
"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
- Verse 12 is a summary principle for the entirety of the sermon, and the entirety of the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament.
- You can tell which attitude you hold by testing this principle against your own life: do you tend to condemn people (Pharisees) or love people (Disciples)?
Communication Card
- I will avoid an attitude of hypocrisy: Before I pass judgment on another, I will apply the truth of God’s Word to my own life.
- I will have an attitude of humility: I will recognize that I fall short of the standards of Kingdom righteousness, and seek the help of my loving Father.
- I will seek to do to others what I would have them do to me, for this sums up the principles of the Sermon on the Mount and the entirety of the Law and the Prophets.
