“"Don't Judge" Doesn't Mean "Don't Help"”

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus instructs us on proper judgment of other people. More specifically, he instructs us on improper judgment of others and the consequences of it. Often, when Jesus's facetious example of a man with a log in his eye trying to remove a speck from his brother's eye is being discussed, we end the discussion at a prohibition on removing the speck from others' eyes because we are sinners ourselves. But we should not end the discussion there because Jesus doesn't.

He continues, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5). In all of our study of these verses, we need to see the one crucial truth that Jesus does intend for us to help others see their sin and remove it from their lives. He does intend for us to remove the speck from someone else's eye, but he does not intend for us to do so from a hypocritically judgmental viewpoint of the heart.

As Christians, this tell us two things:

1) We must take an honest look at our own hearts. If there is sin, it must be removed. Period.
2) When we see a brother in sin, it is important that we are willing to HELP. Not simply to judge, but to save a brother from sin (Jas. 5:19-20).

- Dan Lankford, minister

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