Mathew 7: 1, 3, 5, 14, 21, 23 7/14/15

Mathew 7: 1, 3, 5, 21, 23

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

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? 

If we point out another's  sin we often hear these verses in response.  But we seldom hear what Jesus says immediately after these comments. Here is the continuation of the discussion:

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.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven......²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

All the above verses were spoken by Jesus in the same conversation

This is why it is so important to read scripture in context.

Many people toss Mathew 7:1 around  using "judge not" as a way to silence those who would condemn sin.  Many quote verse 3, about not pointing out your brothers sin,  as a way to reprimand those who do.

But they ignore the rest of the "sermon"

Verse 5  Actually instructs us to help our brother remove the speck (sin).

Verses 21-23 (some of the scariest verses in the bible)  point out that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will be saved, and refers to  those who are not as "evil doers".  Jesus then lays out the requirement for salvation, which is a relationship with Him -  And apparently this relationship impacts who we are, and what we do.

Jesus' words recorded in Mathew 7, were never intended to say that we shouldn't call sin, sin.

Instead Christ says we must speak the truth about sin -  and live lives that legitimize our words.

When Jesus granted forgiveness he said -  "go your way and sin no more."

Tolerance of sinners is a good thing..... Tolerance of sin is intolerable.

We must be loving, we must be humble, we must remember that we have been saved by amazing grace..... But at the same time, in a dark world, we must shine light, even when the world prefers the dark.