STOP JUDGING OTHERS, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE GOD’S FAVOUR…Matt.7: 1-5.
By Dr.Joshua Owoeye.1/16/05              

 
1 Stop judging others and you will not be judged.
2 For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.
3 And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?
4 How can you think of saying, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
5 Hypocrites! First get rid of the log from your own eye, then perhaps you will see well enough deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (NLT)

We live in a world today that is very quick to judge or pass judgment on those without looking at themselves first. We are quick to judge people based on race, base on the Education, base on family background based on income level, based on where they live and even based on their past.

Let us be careful as we want to play the role of Mr. or Mrs. general or rumors carrier and the same time try to show love to one another according to commandment of God.
We find it very easy to judge others based on our own standard of measure. But when we measure ourselves up against God then we see how really low we are.

I have come to even understand that as we work in God’s church that the criticism and judging does not stop. In my 48 years of church ministry  experience, I have seen church ministers in the same organization criticizing and judging other minister based on rumours,on they say !,they told me ! or I suspect. The same things with the Church leaders and members in the same church, criticizing each other, running each other down, talking on the phone about each other and the list could go on and on. Just because we say we know the Lord, and put on a suit,dressings on Sunday, go to church, read Scripture, sing, and shout does not mean we are totally right with God. We will do all of those activities on Sunday in the service then turn around immediately  after the service and judge and criticize one another,insteady of going home and think on God’s message and praying for one another.This is a devilish act.Please, let us stop it!

The word judge means to: “Render a decision on someone or something based on either right information or wrong information.”

Let  think on these questions:(1) “Have you not been judged,criticized and condemned based on rumors and lies which somebody cooked up against you  and which is not true?(2)Do you happy with people who judged you falsely?  I appeal to you to change as you are reading this message from the business of judging others”Do not see this message as message for so…and so… but please see it that God send it to you.Read Job.5:27.

Fault Finding Is Easy:
Fault finding is not difficult. Isaac Murray illustrates this in his story on how a dog hitched to a lawn mower stopped pulling to bark at a passerby. The boy who was guiding the mower said, “Don’t mind the dog, he is just barking for an excuse to rest. It is easier to bark than to pull the mower.”

Many times people think that only unbelievers are doing all that stuff because, they do not go to the Church or hold a postion in the Church. But when I came to church I found out that it not only happens in the church but it takes on a whole different meaning and level.

See church members criticize and find fault but then try to hid behind the bible or their own personal so called righteousness.

You see we try to dog others for what they are doing or not doing but then we forget about what we are doing behind closed doors at home.

You see there are two categories of church related people:
There are SAINTS and then there are CHURCH GOERS.

Saints identify with God while Church Goers identify with the Devil.

Saints have the characteristics of Love, Peace, Joy,  Longsuffering, Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness.

Church Goers have the characteristics of Hate, Annimosity, Jeoulousy, Vindictiveness, Criticism, Castigation and always trying to find fault in others.

In Acts.28:3-6, We see how quick people were to judge Paul. First they said he was a murderer, later that he was a god.

The Bible strongly opposes the judging of one another. Judging is a dangerous practice -- it defiles and destroys.

I. Criticism and Judging -- vv.1-2
1 Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

A. Criticism shows a lack of Christianity
James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
We must learn to be God controlled and not self standard measure-controlled.

b. Criticism shows a lack of consecration.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
The warning about Judging and Criticizing of others was made by Christ. Christ pulls no punches with the criticizer.
1.Do not judge; Do not criticize-v.1
2.The criticizer will be judged-v.2
3.The criticizer fails to examine himself/herself-v.3
4.The criticizer is deceived about himself/herself-v.4
5.The criticizer is a hypocrite-v.5

What I want you to understand is that anyone that always judge or criticize has not thought through what he or she is doing. If he or she were thinking, they would not criticize or judge. A thinking person knows that he or she is just as human and sinful as the next person. Therefore, do not judge anyone for your own good.

II.  Concerning Judging v.3
3 Why do you look at the speck that is in other’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

A. Seeing another’s sin: Paul told Timothy to “keep thyself pure”

You first need to see your own sins first and get clear from the heavenly judge before go on to judge other.

B. We are quick to see another person’s slackness and quick to say who does not listen, not tithe or give, who does not come to Sunday School, who does not come to church, who does not come to Bible study, and who is not qualified to teach or lead.

Before you criticize or say something about someone else’s slackness you better make sure that yours is consistently tight.

But just because you are doing all of the right things do not give you the right or privilege to put someone else down because they either have not arrived at your level of commitment yet. Jesus taught us to take people where they are and with love and compassion bring them to where they need to be through prayer and encouragement from the words of God-scripture.

You may even say in your own self-righteousness that, “I don’t say those things to a persons face.” That might be true. You may not say them in a persons face, but you  say them in meetings without that person there, you say them at home  in front of your impressionable children without that person there, you say it on telephone to others when that person is not there and you say them around  other believers or you even think it in your mind.Brethren,that is not biblical.Stop it.
How many of you know that God reads your mind and also know everything about you? (I Samuel 16:7b.)  You might not verbally say anything, but God still hold you accountable for what you are thinking in your mind.
III. Condemnation and Judging v.4
4 or how can you say to your brother or sister, Let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your own eye?

Three Things are mandatory for you first according to verse 4:

A. Cleanse yourself:
II Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

B. Control Yourself
Psalms 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

C. Consecrate Yourself
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

IMPORTANT POINT!!!

IV. Cleansing from judging v.5
5 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/sister’s eye.
Before a person can join the business of judging and criticizing, he or she must extract his or her own sin first. (Isaiah.1: 16).
Three important lessons in verse 5.

A. Personal -- “Thou hypocrite.” You must cleanse your own life before you can help others.

 What it saying is that we all should help others and not tears them down.

B. Purging -- “First cast out the beam in thine own eye.”

Before you can get someone else right, you better be trying to get yourself right. How many of you know that some people either know what you are doing and sometimes whom you are doing it to.

 C. Plan -- “And then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother/sister’s eye.” Note James 4:8 says, before we can help others, we must be right with God. One cannot live hypocritically and be able to help others spiritually.

Often those who judge others misconduct are guilty of the same sin, and criticizing another is an attempt to cover their own wrongdoing. Those who judge others are not living close to God, nor are they living successful Christian lives. Remember: we are to love people and not to judge or destroy.
God is the only judge of justice.

”Shooting the Saints”-Let us learn important thing from this short story.

It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec.
He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, and then support them when they attacked the city.
Phipps’ navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral annoyed him, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships’ cannons.

No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the “saints.”

There are times each and every day that the devil tries to shoot in our lives. The Bible says, “He comes to steal, kill and destroy.”

The devil will attack your family
…attack your finances
…attack your job
…attack your marriage
…attack your ministry
…attack your joy
…attack your peace

But if you have spent all of your energy and ammunition shooting at Saints then you wont have any energy and ammunition to shoot at the devil.

You need to spend time lifting each other up. I have learned that it is easier for two to fight than one.

Consider these few questions:
 If you have alienated others, who will help you fight?
If you have talking about others, who will help you fight?
If you have gossiped about others, who will help you fight?
If you have run others down, then who will help you fight?

I HAVE LEARNED THAT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SOMEBODY TO ME, YOU WILL ALSO TURN AROUND AND TALK ABOUT ME TO THE SAME PERSON.

THE DOG THAT BRINGS A BONE WILL TAKE ONE BACK WITH THEM AS WELL.

Think on this Seriously:
When we judge and criticize, we are hypocritical. We too fail, and fail often; so to judge another person’s failure is hypocritical. The point is that we have not only failed, we shall fail again. Thus our task is four fold.
1. We are to know ourselves. We are as human as the next person and stand in just as much need of God’s forgiveness. And we shall need God’s forgiveness again and again as much as anyone else. We are all sinners saved by grace.
2. We are not to usurp God’s position as judge. He and He alone is God. He alone has the right and ability to judge according to all the facts(Jas.4:11-12)
3. We are “first to cast the beam out of our own eye” We are first to get rid of the sin in our own lives, the critical and judgemental spirit and whatever else is in us..Then we can see clearly to do what we should be doing: helping those who are failing.
4. We are to reach out in compassion and understanding to the person who has failed, not in judgement and criticism.

My prayer is that God will use this message to change your behavior to the standard of a Christian that God is looking for in His kindom. Amen. It shall be well with you as you take this message seriously. Please take time to pray for the help of Holy Spirit to help you do God’s will and be able to love your friends as thy self and also to be able to pray for all the children of God rather than criticizing and judging. Thank you and God bless you all. Amen.