JUDGE NOT - Matthew 7:1
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
The more you study the commands of Christ, the more you realize what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. In this verse Christ commands us to not judge. Christ goes on to explain that we have an obligation to first judge our own life and to ensure that we are living a life that is pleasing unto the Lord.
This principle is best demonstrated by Jesus when the religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery. Jesus told the religious leaders that the one who was without sin should throw the first stone. We do not know what Jesus was writing when he stooped down and wrote in the sand, but we do know that whatever he wrote, it caused all the religious leaders to leave and not judge the woman caught in adultery.
It is pretty easy for you to judge others. Judging others comes in so many forms. When you discover that someone has sinned, how do you handle them? When someone who is poor asks you for money, how do you treat them?
We all have violated the commands of Christ as set forth in this verse. We must remember that it is God in heaven who is the ultimate Judge. Christ demonstrated great mercy while he was here on this earth and we should be following HIS example. This does not mean that we are allowed to condone sin.
When Christ died on the cross, we see that HE was placed between two sinners. One of the sinners confessed who Christ was while the other was too proud to acknowledge that he was a sinner worthy of death and that Christ was pure and holy. As we study the life of Christ, we see that HE is willing to save whosoever will call on HIS name.
Have you ever met an individual who if you tell them they cannot do something, they do it anyway to prove to you that they can. When you are judgmental, you may actually be encouraging someone to continue to live in sin because they want to prove to you that they can continue to live the way that they do.
If you desire to obey God and be a soul winner and bring others to HIM, then you must start following the commands of Christ. How can you live the commands of Christ if you do not take the time to study how Christ expects you to live? It is your knowledge of the ways of God that will enable you to live a life that causes the world to desire what you have.
Rather than judge your neighbor, you need to show love to those who God brings into your life. This means that you must love the sinner but still hate the sin. This is not an easy command of Christ but it is one that we must master if we desire to be used of God. Rather than focus upon the faults of others, we must always be looking at our own life and find the ways that God desires that we change and grow closer to HIM.
How many marriages would be different if the couples would just apply the principles found in this passage? Imagine what would happen if the husband was more concerned about finding and correcting his own problems then he was about finding problems with his wife. Imagine if the wife were to do the same. If you had a couple more concerned with their own faults then they were with the faults of their spouse, then love could really flourish in that home.