Real Perspective: learning not to judge

This past weekend at Eastbrook, as we continued our series “Becoming Real” on the Sermon on the Mount, we turned to Matthew 7:1-6. This is a very pertinent and challenging passage calling us not to hypocritically judge or condemn one another, but to walk in love together.

You can find the message video and outline below. You can also view the entire “Becoming Real” series here, as well as the devotional that accompanies the series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

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“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

Don’t Judge (7:1-2)

• What does it mean to “judge”?
• Don’t condemn
• The principle of reciprocity
• How this relates to our view of God

Gaining Perspective on Ourselves and Others (7:3-6)

• Seeing someone’s speck of sawdust but missing your own plank
• The way of the hypocrite: Speaking to others while blind to oneself
• The way of the brother: Self-reflection before helping the other

Gaining Perspective on What Helps (7:6)

• Discerning what people need
• Discerning what people can receive
• Discerning what really helps (or not)

Condemnation and Discernment in God’s Disciple Community

• Don’t condemn or sit in judgment (Matthew 7:1-5; James 4:11-12)
• Live free from anger and pride in God’s grace
• Do discern and call one another to growth (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:15)
• Live free from sin and libertinism in God’s truth
• Living as God’s disciple community with surpassing righteousness in Christ

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Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper into Jesus’ teaching on real perspective in one or more of the following ways:

• Consider memorizing Matthew 7:1-2 this week.
• Set aside some time for self-reflective prayer this week, inviting God to help you see any “plank in your own eye.” You may want to use the words of Psalm 139:23-24 as a guide for this time of prayer: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
• Find fresh perspective on this passage by reading it in a more everyday translation, such as The New Living Translation or The Message
• Consider reading an article on this passage by Dallas Willard, “On Correction and Children”