Bible Studies in the Gospel of Matthew

Bible Studies in the Gospel of Matthew
XXX

Matthew 7:1-5; John 5:30, 3:19, 7:24, 8:15-16, 26, 12:47-48; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32: Jesus said to the Jews, “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone . . . . I have many things to say and to judge concerning you.” They judged according to the flesh. Jesus judged no one according to the flesh; yet He judged anyway—according to the spirit. He passed a true and righteous judgment over them for their own best, because He loved them. He judged according to the light, according to the Word.

When Jesus says, “Judge not,” He obviously means that we should not judge according to the flesh. Judging according to the flesh is judging the way people usually judge: it is an evil, selfish judgment. If a person is not crucified with Christ, he judges according to the flesh precisely because his flesh is not crucified. The Spirit and love rule when a person is crucified with Christ.

The opposite of the judgment of light is the judgment of darkness. Everything that is revealed is light. Suspicion is judgment without light, without anything having been revealed. To be suspicious is to judge according to the flesh. It is wickedness. Blaming others and belittling and criticizing them is also judging according to the flesh.

Judging according to the flesh is also hypocrisy. You simply cannot do it any better yourself when you are not crucified with Christ. You would act just as badly or even worse if you came into the same difficult situation as the person you are judging.

God is righteous to the utmost. He measures our mistakes by the same standard that we have applied to other people’s mistakes. If we increase other people’s mistakes tenfold, He increases our sin tenfold. It is therefore very foolish to think that other people’s sins are so terrible.

However, it is healthy and good and rewarding to judge our own sin. Then we will not be judged. We will partake of much salvation if we are diligent and thorough in judging ourselves. Then we will prosper and grow rapidly in Christ Jesus.

Ambition and so-called good breeding and strength of character cause a person to be very astute in his behavior and with his words. However, his thoughts, which cannot be seen by people, can be a veritable trap for them, and for everyone else.

A person can judge very many things in his thoughts in a very short period of time and thus lose God’s pleasure and blessing, plus his own boldness, joy, peace, and all spiritual power. If a person is not God-fearing in truth, and is not faithful to God, this is manifested first of all, in his thought life.

The Preacher says, “Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom.” Eccl. 10:20. However, most poor people have cursed the rich many times while they were lying on their bed. Brothers have judged brothers for all kinds of things; marriage partners have judged each other; parents and children have judged one another; and the young have judged the older ones, etc., etc.

Therefore there is so little power, and therefore the blessings are so uneven, and therefore God’s blessings last for such a short time for most people. They judge the blessings away from themselves again.

We can determine with certainty that every brother with whom it is not going well has judged according to the flesh, and that every brother who is always blessed has abstained from judging according to the flesh.