Haddon Robinson (in What Jesus Taught about Successful Living) once suggested that Matthew 7:1 was perhaps the best known quote from the lips of Jesus of Nazareth.
"Judge not, lest you be judged."
But, that's not the end of it. Jesus continued. "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye. Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye. 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" (Matthew 7:2-5).
THINKING ABOUT WHAT JESUS MEANT
So, in light of ALL that Jesus said, what did he mean by "Judge not, lest you be judged."
First, Jesus is rebuking hypocrisy. He is talking about the unbalanced blindness that we can have when we conclude that the small problem someone else has, but can't see, is more important than the large problem we have -- one which we refuse to see or deal with. Paul spoke of this when he said to Christians (cf. Galatians 6:1-2), "If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in in a spirit of gentleness, keeping watch on yourself, lest you be tempted. Those who are proudly unwilling to deal with their own "logs" shouldn't be eagerly running around looking for others' "specks."
Interestingly, Jesus does suggest that once we've removed our own "log," and humbled by that, we may be ready to help someone else with their "speck." This leads to the second point.
Second, Jesus urges we live humbly and relate humbly with others. That is, we humbly understand and address our own faults first before looking to deal with the faults of others. The truth is that we live in a critical age. Our societal habit is to quickly look for fault in others and assume that they do things we consider wrong for reasons we consider unacceptable.
The reality is that we don't know the full picture of why people do what they do. Sometimes, after being quickly critical, we later get the full picture and feel embarrassed we drew the wrong conclusions. Humility forbears, and admits that it likely doesn't understand the full picture. James put it this way, "Let every one of you be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry" (cf. James 1:19).
Third, Jesus warned that our applied-on-others standards will be surprisingly applied to us. There is a hint of the disciplining work of our Father in this. Should we be in the habit of always correcting others with our pet-set of "things that should be," we may find ourselves failing in the same ways, only to feel the stinging condemnation of others that we previously dished out.
Fourth, Jesus is teaching that God alone is the only Righteous Judge, and we should leave the job to Him. Paul spoke of this to the Romans: "Don't pass judgment on another...It is before his own Master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand" (Romans 14:4).
CONCLUSION to Part 1
To this end, Paul told the Corinthian believers that we (the church) should not be engaged in judging those outside of Christ by the moral standards we have as God's redeemed children. "For what have I to do with judging outsiders," he writes (1 Corinthians 5:12). "God judges those outside."
We who belong to God are urged to relate to the unbelieving world in several key ways, all which flow from a genuinely humble heart.
We are to be "salt" in a tasteless world and "light" in dark places...winsomely expressing the love of Christ to those outside, far away, hurting. However, we are not called to lead with criticisms of them nor condemning judgment upon them.
Jesus served those far from God. He prayed for those who hated him, spent time in relationship with some of the most notorious sinners in his society, told them stories about lost coins and lost sheep and a wayward son whom a father still longed for.
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