The Problem of Others: Do Not Judge Others: Matthew 7:1-6

[sealchan]

What your saying, is the same as many Christians are taught ( Judge not, for in the way you Judge, you shalt be Judge)

But seeing that you and alot of Christians only quote half of what Jesus said.

Jesus also said, "Judge not by the appearance, but Judge righteous judgement"

What this mean is don't judge someone by their appearance alone, because the appearance can by deceiving.

Just because someone walks like their drunk, it could be they have a physical defect, that prevents them from walking normal. So they were judge by their appearance and not by righteous judgement.
So a person can judge, as long as they don't judge by the appearance alone, but by righteous judgement.

The flaw, perhaps, in my approach is that I am focusing on the scripture chapter by chapter and reading it out as a story as much as anything. I welcome references to other scripture but I focus on the experience of the scripture as a sort of real time experience. I am certain that further study will revel to me these further contexts as you and others have pointed out.

2ndpillar has also pointed out this aspect of judging with righteousness. From that I have considered how being pure in heart, as a psychological attitude that one can cultivate within one's own heart and mind, would impact how one might proceed to pass judgment on someone else.

 

[2ndpillar]

I am where I feel God wants me to be. So long as God leads us, who are we to question where?

Do not judge...

One is judged by "the word I spoke". The quote I referred to that you seem to have a problem with is Matthew 11:25. I suggest that you take it up with Yeshua. As for who leads you, I suggest you read 1 John 3:8.

New American Standard Bible John 12:48
"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.

New American Standard Bible Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

New American Standard Bible 1 John 3:8
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

 

[sealchan]

One is judged by "the word I spoke". The quote I referred to that you seem to have a problem with is Matthew 11:25. I suggest that you take it up with Yeshua. As for who leads you, I suggest you read 1 John 3:8.

New American Standard Bible John 12:48
"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.

New American Standard Bible Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

New American Standard Bible 1 John 3:8
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

From my perspective, if this scripture is only about being hypocritical then I think it just states what is obvious to everyone. If Jesus is just saying, "Don't be a hypocrite" then it isn't spiritual, just common sense. Why is he teaching his new disciples this?

But what if Jesus meant something more...that we cannot properly be the judge of ourselves and our hypocrisy. What if, as sinners, we are all prone to hypocrisy in some important way?

I was going to bring in the story of Jesus when he said "he who is without sin can cast the first stone"...only to find that the NIV has removed this scripture as a later emendation. I wanted to review this as I thought it made the case about judgment being something more universal than just hypocrisy. Many there were ready to stone someone, but when Jesus called to mind their conscience, their hypocrisy, no one, apparently felt free to judge. And Jesus extended this to all sin, not just similar sin!

Now the Beatitudes come in as a way to help to ensure one's heart isn't in a place to be hypocritical. If one isn't meek, or merciful or poor in spirit, etc...then one is likely to try to excessively judge another person. One's own critical faults will unconsciously influence you to judge someone for reasons which lie within yourself. What if the lesson is that in judging we hide our own sin, similar or no, and in judging we actually try to convince ourselves of our own purity by seeing the suffering under impurity of others, a suffering one has successfully handed out?

Then we sin in our hearts for lack of purity for we judge out of our own sin whether similar or not. That is a heartfelt truth that I think that the youngest of us might recognize as something we like to forget.

 

[sealchan]

In my own experience I have found that one of the greatest sources of my own sin arises out of my psychological bias. I first had a secure sense of this bias after learning about Jung's Psychological Types after having been given a Myers Briggs test. From that experience I learned a new pair of terms that were personally liberating: extroversion and introversion.

All my life up to that point I had thought that as a very unsocial person there was something fundamentally wrong with me because, obviously, most people seemed to be comfortably social. Having a word for my "condition" and one applied as a valid type by a widely used psychological test gave me a kind of permission to be myself and I immediately felt a great sense of relief. Furthermore, I instantly had this level of personal energy and confidence from my not having to be so self-critical that I actually was free to be more social!

Now being introverted is both a feature (not a defect) and a challenge (not an excuse) for how I approach my world. But as I learned more about how my introversion worked and the theory of personality that recognizes it, I soon learned that no one is just introverted. We are all both. But we have a bias or preference with that strongest most confident part of our personality to be one way or the other. I am also extroverted. When it comes to being philosophical I am extremely extroverted. When it comes to being "creative", I need peace and quiet and time in my own head.

My point here is that before I understood my own bias the world presented itself as a place where I was not safe. I was not okay because I was not as social as others. When I was social I felt bad inside and I often made mistakes outside. I felt like an outsider who was constantly under the burden of self-judgment and the judgment of others...and so I judged, arrogantly and often.

So it is in this sense that whether Jesus or the writer of Matthew's gospel knew it or not, the reality in God's creation is that we have, in a psychological sense, biases or beams or planks in our own "eye" (I, mind) which we must first come to understand before we can not be a hypocrite, before we can be a great deal better at cultivating the righteous attitudes that Jesus teaches if we want to achieve Heaven.

 

[2ndpillar]

From my perspective, if this scripture is only about being hypocritical then I think it just states what is obvious to everyone. If Jesus is just saying, "Don't be a hypocrite" then it isn't spiritual, just common sense. Why is he teaching his new disciples this?

But what if Jesus meant something more...that we cannot properly be the judge of ourselves and our hypocrisy. What if, as sinners, we are all prone to hypocrisy in some important way?

I was going to bring in the story of Jesus when he said "he who is without sin can cast the first stone"...only to find that the NIV has removed this scripture as a later emendation. I wanted to review this as I thought it made the case about judgment being something more universal than just hypocrisy. Many there were ready to stone someone, but when Jesus called to mind their conscience, their hypocrisy, no one, apparently felt free to judge. And Jesus extended this to all sin, not just similar sin!

There is hypocrisy, and there is double mindedness. You say you are a sinner, yet according to the Word of God, God does not listen to sinners. As a faithful follower of Paul, I can safely believe that you are a sinner. What happens to sinners who vocally repent and continue in their sins. Well, if they actually repented, and were healed, apparently if they sin again, something worse will happen to them. One is either a sinner or a saint, one is not both. A hypocrite is to say they keep the law with their mind, and the law of sin with their flesh (Romans 7:6).

John 5:14
“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

 

[sun rise]

Jesus taught...the measure of judgment you use on others will be used on you.

That to me is a statement of the law of karma. Another way of saying it might be "what you do unto others will be done unto you".

 

[sealchan]

There is hypocrisy, and there is double mindedness. You say you are a sinner, yet according to the Word of God, God does not listen to sinners. As a faithful follower of Paul, I can safely believe that you are a sinner. What happens to sinners who vocally repent and continue in their sins. Well, if they actually repented, and were healed, apparently if they sin again, something worse will happen to them. One is either a sinner or a saint, one is not both. A hypocrite is to say they keep the law with their mind, and the law of sin with their flesh (Romans 7:6).

John 5:14
“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

So you believe that belief in Christ means you can't sin any more?

 

[sealchan]

That to me is a statement of the law of karma. Another way of saying it might be "what you do unto others will be done unto you".

Yes, the golden rule...like every other religion teaches. It's a basic principle of morality not even spiritual really. In even shorter language: be fair.

I've been made aware in this thread that many believe this scripture merely speaks against hypocrisy. If so, then I find it disappointingly narrow-minded.

 

[2ndpillar]

That to me is a statement of the law of karma. Another way of saying it might be "what you do unto others will be done unto you".

Another reciprocal version is known as the Golden Rule, and the summation of the law (Matthew 7:12). Also pointed out by Confucius, and found in most religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, etc. Golden Rule - Wikipedia

 

[2ndpillar]

So you believe that belief in Christ means you can't sin any more?

The demons "believe" yet they shudder. Your "belief" and 5 dollars will probably get you a cup of coffee. The Muslims believe in their messiah/Christ, yet they will be as disappointed as you. The "rock"/shebna the church is built on is the "tested stone" of Isaiah 28:16, not some head steward ,who holds the keys to the house of David (Isaiah 22:22). That holder of the key, Peter and his heir the pope, will "fall" and any hanging on to him, will be "cut off" (Isaiah 22:25). As for your fallacy, such as believing that Christ is the messiah and the son of God will save you, and you will not die, but be twinkled to heaven is the same type of lie given to Eve per Genesis 3:4. "Everyone will die for their own iniquities" (Jeremiah 31:30). Being "saved" per Joel 2:31-32 is for those on Zion and in Jerusalem who will "survive", and that is by the hair of their chinny chin chin (Matthew 24:22). Being "born of God", and having His seed abide in them is what prevents one from sinning. Those that practice sin are of the devil (1 John 3:8-9) and are in this case, born of the tare seed, the message provided by the false prophet, Paul. They live in their own form of hell, and are slaves to sin, and often think of themselves as wise and intelligent (educated). (Matthew 11:25).

 

[sealchan]

This opinion piece discusses the psychological function of projection as it pertains to race relations in the United States:

When the dreaded 'other' is an angry white man - CNN

This is a nice summary of some of the political implications that result from people when they take the weak parts of themselves and see them or project them onto others.

A book I have yet to read...

https://www.amazon.com/Depth-Psychology-Ethic-Erich-Neumann/dp/0877735719

...also discusses this age old ability to project one's inner darkness onto others as a means to deny those forces within us which threaten our own inner integrity. That lack of integrity manifests in wars and persecutions that belie the moral advancement of those who commit such acts.

When Jesus discussed the mote-beam metaphor he was on to something much deeper and more important than simple hypocrisy...he had a message that we still need to hear.

 

[2ndpillar]

This opinion piece discusses the psychological function of projection as it pertains to race relations in the United States:

When the dreaded 'other' is an angry white man - CNN

This is a nice summary of some of the political implications that result from people when they take the weak parts of themselves and see them or project them onto others.

A book I have yet to read...

https://www.amazon.com/Depth-Psychology-Ethic-Erich-Neumann/dp/0877735719

...also discusses this age old ability to project one's inner darkness onto others as a means to deny those forces within us which threaten our own inner integrity. That lack of integrity manifests in wars and persecutions that belie the moral advancement of those who commit such acts.

When Jesus discussed the mote-beam metaphor he was on to something much deeper and more important than simple hypocrisy...he had a message that we still need to hear.

The message of Yeshua and Daniel was that the wicked would not "understand" (Daniel 12:10) & (Matthew 13;13), and that he was elated that those who considered themselves wise and intelligent (educated), such as your psychologist, were kept in the dark (Matthew 11:25)

 

[sealchan]

The message of Yeshua and Daniel was that the wicked would not "understand" (Daniel 12:10) & (Matthew 13;13), and that he was elated that those who considered themselves wise and intelligent (educated), such as your psychologist, were kept in the dark (Matthew 11:25)

That seems to me like an argument on behalf of cultivating willful ignorance.

 

[2ndpillar]

That seems to me like an argument on behalf of cultivating willful ignorance.

You have those who "understand" and those who do not have "ears to hear". (Matthew 13:13) Those thinking they are "wise and intelligent" (Matthew 11:25) apparently do not understand, even if they think they do. Much like the blind leading the blind, or one trying to pull out the splinter out of the eye of someone else, when they have a log in their own eye. Ignorance of the difference between the Word of God and the word of men, is more grounded in the false teachings of the nations fathers (Jeremiah 16:19), and this is fertile ground for confusion and deception.

 

[sealchan]

You have those who "understand" and those who do not have "ears to hear". (Matthew 13:13) Those thinking they are "wise and intelligent" (Matthew 11:25) apparently do not understand, even if they think they do. Much like the blind leading the blind, or one trying to pull out the splinter out of the eye of someone else, when they have a log in their own eye. Ignorance of the difference between the Word of God and the word of men, is more grounded in the false teachings of the nations fathers (Jeremiah 16:19), and this is fertile ground for confusion and deception.

So how do you differentiate between people who have real wisdom and those who don't? When the Word of God MUST be interpreted in the mind of anyone who reads it, what is the difference between the Word of God and the word of men?

Can you succinctly state what that difference is without just restating that there is a difference?

 

[2ndpillar]

So how do you differentiate between people who have real wisdom and those who don't? When the Word of God MUST be interpreted in the mind of anyone who reads it, what is the difference between the Word of God and the word of men?

Can you succinctly state what that difference is without just restating that there is a difference?

The Word of God is revealed by the Spirit of God through his anointing (1 John 2:27). It does not include the ramblings/babel of the false prophet Paul. The wicked/lawless (Romans 7:6) will have no understanding (Daniel 12:10). "On that day" "you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked" (Malachi 3:17-18)

 

[sealchan]

The Word of God is revealed by the Spirit of God through his anointing (1 John 2:27). It does not include the ramblings/babel of the false prophet Paul. The wicked/lawless (Romans 7:6) will have no understanding (Daniel 12:10). "On that day" "you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked" (Malachi 3:17-18)

Now all you need to do is explain how...

• One is anointed
• How one can verify for themselves they are anointed
• How others can verify that someone is anointed

Then we will have a basis for mutual respect and understanding.

 

[2ndpillar]

Now all you need to do is explain how...

• One is anointed
• How one can verify for themselves they are anointed
• How others can verify that someone is anointed

Then we will have a basis for mutual respect and understanding.

One is spiritually anointed by God (Matthew 3:16). If they don't have to ask unknown persons for answers (1 John 2:27). Being anointed is not a cure all. King Saul was anointed, yet problems followed him to his grave. You will know the disciples of Yeshua by their love for each other. (John 13:35)

 

[sealchan]

One is spiritually anointed by God (Matthew 3:16). If they don't have to ask unknown persons for answers (1 John 2:27). Being anointed is not a cure all. King Saul was anointed, yet problems followed him to his grave. You will know the disciples of Yeshua by their love for each other. (John 13:35)

So if someone doesnt ask questions and they love themselves then they know they are anointed? Do you see the problem here?

By my asking you to answer these questions am I showing you my lack of anointedness?

Now I will agree that a community showing mutual love is a noteworthy thing, but what exactly shows up that love? What do you interpret as signs of a loving community?

 

[2ndpillar]

So if someone doesnt ask questions and they love themselves then they know they are anointed? Do you see the problem here?

By my asking you to answer these questions am I showing you my lack of anointedness?

Now I will agree that a community showing mutual love is a noteworthy thing, but what exactly shows up that love? What do you interpret as signs of a loving community?

What "community" are you speaking about? The fact that you don't actually know the answers, would point to the fact that you don't have the "anointing", and a source for "all things" (1 John 2:27) While there is no problem in seeking God's righteousness, and His kingdom, the starting point would be the "Word", the Law and the prophets, not the false prophets or the shepherds feeding on the fat of the sheep (Jeremiah 34).