May it please the Lord to bless
us this evening as we meditate in the first two verses on the
seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, forming part, of
course, of the Sermon on the Mount, which runs from chapter
5, 6, and 7. So the first two verses of this
seventh chapter read, Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge,
ye shall be judged. and with what measure ye meet,
it shall be measured to you again." As we read this Sermon on the
Mount and the wonderful words of the Lord Jesus to his disciples
and of course the multitude that had gathered there, we must remember
his great love toward his church in setting before us so much
gracious instruction. Because how fallen we are by
nature, through that original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden, the sins passed upon all mankind. And so we today
need to be directed and instructed by the Word of God. And we're
thankful therefore that the Holy Spirit has influenced those who
wrote the Word of God to write these things in this great account,
this wonderful sermon the Lord Jesus spoke so many years ago. And how appropriate it is from
the very beginning right to the end. Everything that we read
is appropriate for us today. We should not think therefore,
well, of course that doesn't really apply to me, I don't really
come under that need. But we do, we all come under
this need. And so the Lord here comes and
he speaks in this way and he says, judge not that ye be not
judged. You might think well do we really
need a word like that? Well we all need a word like
that because we can easily come to a wrong conclusion and the
Lord himself said when he spoke on the record on the 7th chapter
of John and the 24th verse where we read judge not according to
the appearance but judge righteous judgment and again how good it
is that we have such words in the Bible to direct us because
it's very easy for all of us to judge according to the appearance. Of course we don't know what
a person is thinking in his heart. We don't know what troubles and
what trials people pass through. All we see is of course the outside. And we can so easily draw a wrong
conclusion. we would seek to be able to draw
a right conclusion. And God does enable us on many
occasions to draw right conclusions. But there is here, therefore,
a singular warning that we may be careful in our judgment, so
that we do not judge according to the appearance. But on the
other hand, we are to judge righteously with a righteous judgment. You know, there was a man that
lived many, many years ago. In actual fact, I understand
he lived before the Lord Jesus was born onto the earth. And he made this statement. The
statement was, do not judge thy neighbor until thou comest into
his place. There's a lot of truth in that
if you think about it. You know, it's only when we enter
into a condition and a situation that people are in, that we understand. And perhaps we can illustrate
that quite simply by making this statement. We've all had parents,
all have fathers and all have mothers, and we don't really
understand what it is to be bereaved of a father or mother until we've
actually entered into that position. We can think perhaps we understand.
But you see, to actually walk it out is a rather different
scenario. And so it is with our children,
our families, how we need therefore much grace to understand such
truth as this. and to realize that we don't
really understand positions until the Lord brings us into a condition
and then we understand and then we're able to come to a right
conclusion and then we're able to make a right judgment in the
fear of the Lord. And of course the Apostle James
speaks so very ably in his short epistle and speaks to us many
wonderful truths. We read a very important truth
in the 4th chapter and read in the 11th verse. This is what
it says. Speak not evil one to another
brethren. Again, we have an old nature,
don't we? We have an evil nature and we
have a wrong nature. which often perhaps likes to
speak evil of this one and that one. And here the word of God
tells us, through James, speak not evil. One of another brethren,
he that speaketh evil of his brother, and judges his brother,
speaketh evil of the law, and judges the law. But if thou judge
the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. Well of course we know that we
are not a judge in considering what the law says. We have the
law before us. There are those judges, there
are those magistrates which exist in our law today, in our land
today, and we're thankful indeed for them. But the apostle says
there is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who art thou that judgest another? And of course that great lawgiver
is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And when He comes and
when He speaks to our heart, it's then that we stand in that
position of judgment. And then it is when the Lord
judges us, we come and we stand guilty in our lives. And also
to think of how the Lord lived his life. And the many wonderful
words of wisdom gracious words that he spoke. He sets before
us a loving example as we read the Gospels and also the things
that the Apostles were able to write. So we should be thankful
therefore that we have such instruction. Judge not that ye be not judged. And the Lord goes on to say, For with what judgment ye judge,
ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye meet, it shall
be measured to you again. And that's a very searching and
a very solemn statement to realise the position that exists if we
judge wrongly. We can expect that such judgment
will be measured to us, that we will find that it is meted
out to us. But also on the other hand, if
by the grace of God we are able to do those things which are
right and God honouring those are also meted out unto us. As I was meditating on these
words and consulting various commentaries, I came across this
statement by the Reverend John Gill. And I think it's a very
succinct statement. And he tells us this, it would
be well if persons subject to a censorious spirit would put
themselves in the case and circumstances the persons are in they judge. and then consider what judgment
they would choose others should pass on them. And just to clarify,
censorious means to be very critical or to be fault-finding. So it's
a good word is it not to us tonight to think that If we want to judge
somebody in perhaps what we might think a right way, it might be
a right way, it may be a wrong way, perhaps to put ourselves
in the position of the one being judged. and to therefore see
how we would react to the words, the position that we were perhaps
going to address such a person with. And so, let me just read
this again. It would be well if persons subject
to a censorious spirit, and I suppose by nature we are up to a certain
extent, some more, some less, would put themselves In the case
and circumstances the persons are in, they judge. And then
consider what judgment they should choose, others should pass on
them. And again, we need to bring this
back, don't we, to ourselves and to how we stand before the
law of God and how we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look into our own hearts,
our own lives, to realise what perhaps we deserve and how compassionate
the Lord's been to us. How he hasn't dealt with us as
our sins deserve. How we deserve perhaps to be
cut off. Indeed if we look into our hearts,
thankfully you and I can only see into our own hearts But what
a bad state that is sometimes, isn't it? And when the Lord comes,
perhaps, and sometimes, as it were, nudges us, directs us,
and it may be in this way that He leads us to realise that our
sins, the wrong things that we have said, The wrong things that
we have done, our actions, have caused the Lord Jesus to suffer
and to bleed and die that we might receive the forgiveness
of our sins. Yes, we are sinners, aren't we?
We're all sinners. None of us can stand up and say,
well, of course, I wouldn't do that. That's the most dangerous
thing to ever say. Because, remember what the Apostle
Peter passed through. He was so strong in himself,
but he wasn't strong in the Lord. And he said he would never deny
the Lord. He had a good intention, but he was relying on his own
strength. Just a few hours later, he didn't only deny the Lord,
he denied him with oaths and curses, Really, Peter? Is that you? Yes. You see, left
to ourselves, we fall into all manner of sin, and therefore
we have to be so careful in the things that we say. And we must
always say things in love, and that they might be used for the
benefit of those that we speak to. For with what judgment ye
judge, Ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye meet, it
shall be measured to you again." The Apostle Paul, when he wrote
to the Romans, we know that that of course is a wonderful epistle
of great instruction, not easy to understand in many parts of
it, and don't be embarrassed to confess that perhaps you don't
understand things very well, because remember Peter said that
Paul wrote things, some things hard to be understood. So don't
be embarrassed if you can't understand something, but pray to the Lord
that he might enlighten you or perhaps ask advice of one another. And so the Apostle comes and
he tells us in a this epistle to the Romans and the 14th chapter,
I think it is, and he tells us these words of good advice. It's always good to be able to
come to the Word of God and to study the Word of God and to
see what the Word of God speaks to us. And so he says, he's talking
here about those who perhaps are weak in the faith and And
we may perhaps again look at someone and say, well, I don't
think there's any life there at all. They may just be very
weak in the faith. Receive ye, but not to doubtful
disputations. For one believeth that he may
eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. Again, putting that into a spiritual
context, perhaps we might think just eating, perhaps taking,
perhaps understanding those things which we might think are very
simple and very elementary. We shouldn't think, well, that
person should know much more than that. We only know what
God reveals to us. We only know what the Spirit
of God applies to our hearts. Otherwise it's a mere head knowledge. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not, judge
him that eateth, for God received him. So we have both sides there
to consider, both sides to remember the words of the Lord as they
are directed to us. And then farther down in this
same chapter, the Lord says, For in this end Christ both died
and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead
and the living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught
thy brother? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live,
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God. So then every one of us shall
give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one
another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling
block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. That's
good words, isn't it, from the apostle. Again, it's simple sometimes
for us, without really pondering our motive and our real desires,
to put a stumbling block before someone. How much better it is
to take stumbling blocks out of the way. So as we think of
these words, there's much really, isn't there, in them. That is
seen very, very simple. And as the Apostle says, for
with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with
what measure you meet it, it shall be measured to you again.
And we shouldn't just pass over that last clause, because it
means this, that whatever we give out, good or bad, We can
expect the same to return to us. And that's a very thought-worthy
consideration, isn't it? Whatever we do, however we say,
whenever we speak, if it's good, we can expect a good return.
If it's evil, we can expect a wrong return. Just think, perhaps in
the word of God, you remember Samson. You know, Samson, he
didn't do good things, did he, in his early life. He did some
wrong things. And what was it really that led
him astray? It was his eyes, wasn't it? His eyes lusted after women. He went after them. What happened
to Samson? He had his eyes put out, didn't
he? It's a very solemn thought, wasn't it? Well, there's many
other examples which you and I can think of in the Word of
God, I'm sure. But then just to think, on the
other hand, some things which are good. You remember Joseph. Joseph, who was great in his
brethren. He was the one who was to bury
his father. And likewise, Moses, he was greatly
blessed, wasn't he? Honorable in that which he did.
And he was the one who was to take care of the bones of Joseph. So we see how the Lord does meet
out to those things which he said he will. We can easily sometimes
think, well, I don't think that will have any adverse effect
upon me. I don't think that would have
a good effect upon me. Well, we don't do things, do
we, to receive rewards. But nonetheless, we should do
things in accordance with God's will, desiring for, above all
things, His honour and His glory. What a good thing that is. If
we always have that consideration before our eyes, the things that
we do, the things that we say, are they for God's honour and
for God's glory. Well, it's a good test, isn't
it? And so let us ponder these words tonight, and remember they
are the words of the blessed Lord himself in love to our souls. Judge not that ye be not judged,
for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with
what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. Amen.