Citizen of Heaven, Feet on Earth: Letting Go of Judgment

Introduction

A new series begins: Citizen of Heaven, Feet on Earth. For several weeks now, the preacher has shown how Jesus teaches about the kingdom. Now we arrive at the chapter where Jesus explains how a citizen of this kingdom should live here, among others, in real life.

This first message comes from Matthew 7:1-5. It asks a simple but unsettling question: does a citizen of heaven live under the judgment of others? The preacher's answer is clear. No. And if you're truly a citizen of heaven, the condemnation of others eventually stops being relevant to your life. Let's dig in together.

Message outline

1. "Don't judge": what Jesus really means

• Matthew 7:1-2: "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you." This is a principle of reciprocity. The measure you place on others comes back on you.
• In English, you might quickly wonder: does this mean giving up discernment? Living in some kind of sanctified naivety? The preacher goes back to the original term. The word used is more precise than our "judge", it carries the sense of condemnation, in a legal sense. Passing a verdict to condemn.
• Read the passage again with that nuance: "Don't condemn, so that you won't be condemned." Suddenly it all becomes clear. Nobody wants to be condemned by someone else, especially not in a church. Nobody wants to go to a service just to be judged.
• And yet, when we feel someone's judgment, the reaction is almost automatic: we judge back the people we think are judging us. The vicious cycle starts spinning. Sometimes the person we assume is being contemptuous is just tired and forgot to smile. It doesn't matter, the spiral is already turning.

2. Simon the Pharisee and the weeping woman (Luke 7:36-50)

• Jesus is invited to the home of a Pharisee, Simon. A religious man, well respected. A woman comes in, a woman of ill repute. She falls at Jesus' feet, weeping, wiping his feet with her hair and kissing them without stopping.
• In their culture, this is completely improper. A woman doesn't enter like that, doesn't touch like that. She's dishonoring herself by letting her hair touch dirty feet. The meal becomes excruciatingly awkward. How can anyone keep eating?
• Simon doesn't say a word out loud, but in his heart he's judging, this woman, this situation, and even Jesus. Jesus, however, sees everything. He tells the story of two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty. Neither could pay. The creditor forgives them both. "Which of them will love him more?" Simon guesses the right answer.
• Then Jesus turns the scene around: "Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much" (Luke 7:44-47).
• Simon thinks he knows it all, ready to render judgment. But in the end, it's Jesus who is the true judge, Simon had understood nothing. When you judge in order to condemn, you draw condemnation onto yourself.

3. The plank in your eye (Matthew 7:3-5)

• "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5).
• The image is ridiculous, and it's meant to be. Picture Simon walking around with a plank stuck in his eye, unable to see clearly, leaning over to Jesus to say, "Wait, you've got a little speck in your eye." How could he even see it?
• What is this plank? It's whatever motivates you to correct someone else with condemnation in your heart. It's believing yourself pure enough, holy enough, clear-sighted enough to disqualify someone.
• The preacher recalls a scene from the Irish series Bad Sisters (which he doesn't recommend). A very religious man comes to say to the story's big villain, "I forgive you." The villain explodes: "People like you don't forgive people like me, because forgiveness flows from the top down." That's exactly what the plank is, believing yourself above others.
• Dallas Willard puts it this way: "Condemnation, with its usual accompaniments of anger, contempt, and self-righteousness, blinds us to the reality of the other person, and we will never know how to really help them, until we have become the kind of person who does not condemn. Period."
• If you truly want to help someone, examine yourself first. Aren't you pushing your own sins onto the other person? Are you angry, and is that really why you want to "help" them? Worse still, do you hold them in contempt? Anger is an emotion. But when it slides into contempt, you're fully in sin.
• Paul writes it in Galatians 6:1: "Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself so that you also aren't tempted."

4. Three reasons the citizen of heaven doesn't judge

• Because God is the judge. Romans 14:4: "Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand." No one in the room wants to take God's place. And yet that's exactly what we do, almost automatically. God alone is the righteous judge, he sees hearts, just as Jesus saw into Simon's heart and into the heart of that woman. His judgment is perfect. Ours isn't.
• Because Jesus came to save, not to condemn. John 3:17: "For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him." The church is the body of Christ. If the head came to save, the body didn't come to beat people down. You represent Christ in this world. He came for people like you, like me, like all of us.
• Because Jesus, even right now, doesn't condemn you, he intercedes for you. Jesus is seated at the Father's right hand. He isn't talking about you behind your back. He isn't telling the Father, "That one's a lost cause." No. He's praying for you. He's interceding. And he invites you to lean on his Spirit, the only power able to make you look like him. The person for whom the condemnation of others no longer matters is the one who's starting to look like Jesus.

5. Neither naive nor condemning: the heart of the citizen of heaven

• The preacher is careful to clarify: this isn't about closing your eyes and pretending evil doesn't exist. The citizen of heaven isn't naive. The series will come back to this next week.
• He doesn't turn a blind eye to reality, but he's ready to help his neighbor, not with condemnation in his heart, but with the love of Christ in his heart.
• That's the goal. Even when we don't always get there (none of us is Jesus), knowing who we are in Christ, and knowing who he is, is what gives hope and what changes our lives.

Key takeaways

• The verb "judge" in Matthew 7:1 targets condemnation, not discernment. Discernment stays healthy; condemnation falls back on the one who carries it.
• At Simon the Pharisee's table, the forgiven woman loves much because much has been forgiven her. The judge who condemns in his heart doesn't receive that same grace.
• The plank is believing yourself above others. Until you've removed it, you can't help your brother, you can only wound him.
• Three reasons to step out of judgment: God alone is judge; Jesus came to save; Jesus intercedes for us instead of condemning us.
• The citizen of heaven isn't naive. He looks evil in the face, but helps with the love of Christ, never with condemnation.

Personal application

1. Think back over your past week: toward whom did you pronounce condemnation in your heart? A coworker, a brother or sister, your spouse, a Christian who's "not serious enough"? What do you need to confess to God today?
2. What's the plank in your own eye right now? The sin you tolerate in yourself but refuse in someone else? Name it before you try to correct anyone.
3. Has your anger toward someone tipped over into contempt? If so, stop, confess, and ask Jesus to set you free before contempt takes root.
4. If you truly need to help a brother caught in a fault (Galatians 6:1), in what spirit will you approach it? Gentleness, humility, wariness of yourself? Pray before you open your mouth.
5. How does your life reflect a Jesus who came to save, not to beat people down? Is there someone around you who needs to hear grace from you rather than a verdict this week?

Verses cited

• Matthew 7:1-5 · "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged…"
• Luke 7:36-50 · The forgiven sinful woman at Simon the Pharisee's house.
• Romans 14:4 · "Who are you who judge another's servant?"
• Galatians 6:1 · "Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness… looking to yourself."
• John 3:16-17 · "God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him."

Further reading

• Someone Who Monopolizes the Conversation: What to Do?
• Why Do Small Groups Disappear?
• How to Prepare a Small Group Bible Study

Frequently asked questions

Does "don't judge" mean a Christian should never make moral evaluations?

No. The preacher is clear: the verb Jesus uses targets condemnation, not discernment. The Bible actually calls you to evaluate teachings, your own actions, and your brother's situation. What Jesus forbids is passing a verdict to condemn someone else from a position of superiority. Discern, yes. Condemn, no.

What should I do when I genuinely see a brother caught in sin?

Galatians 6:1 gives the instructions: if a brother is caught in some fault, the one who is spiritual restores him in a spirit of gentleness, while watching himself so he isn't tempted too. First, remove the plank. Examine your own heart: is this anger? Contempt? A projection of your own struggles? Only then, with gentleness.

How do I actually break the habit of judging?

The preacher suggests two moves. First, self-examination: why does this particular sin bother me so much? Am I doing the same thing without noticing? Second, fix your eyes back on Jesus: he doesn't condemn you, he intercedes for you at the Father's right hand. The more you receive that grace, the less room the condemnation of others has in your heart.