Upside Down - Seeing Clearly: How Repentance Replaces Judgment with Grace
TODAY, we address probably the number one sin that many people wrestle with in church life:
JUDGING OTHERS.
Whether we merely think “judgmental thoughts” toward others or speak words of judgment about others, many of us in this room have been guilty of a judgmental attitude.
So, if the passage steps on your toes this weekend, please know that it stepped on my toes first.
Let’s read the words of Jesus:
Matthew 7:1-5 (NLT2)
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
First, I want to make sure we understand what JUDGING is.
NIT-PICKING SEES FLAWS,
NOT PEOPLE.
When our oldest daughter, Sofia, was just a toddler and learning how to talk, she judged a man who walked by our table at a restaurant. We were eating outside on the sidewalk. Sofia was sitting in a highchair, and she pointed her little finger down the sidewalk and said, “Goat.” We ignored her at first, but she kept going. “Goat. Goat!” Her voice got louder and louder. She was convinced there was a goat somewhere on that sidewalk. So, we looked—and she was pointing at an older man with big ears, weird eyes, a goatee, and a bald head. Embarrassed, we tried to hush her, but as the man passed our table, she pointed furiously and yelled, “Goat! Goat! Goat!” And honestly…he kind of did look like a goat! We were first-time parents, and we felt mortified.
Now, our toddler Sofia wasn’t trying to be mean. She was simply calling out what she saw. She hadn’t learned yet to see people instead of features.
And sometimes, we do the same thing. We see someone’s flaws, past, and mistakes, and we label them without ever learning their story.
We focus on their hairstyle. Their clothing choices. Their speech patterns. Their educational level. Their occupation. Their former occupation. Their family. Their marriages. Their past lives. Whether they have too many tattoos. Whether they do not have enough tattoos. Whether they smoke. Whether they drink alcohol. That is nitpicking.
When Jesus said, “Do not judge others.” He wasn’t saying we should ignore sin. He was saying, Stop looking for what’s odd first. Stop labeling people before you love them.
When we see flaws and things we don’t like, we miss faces and the story God is writing in that person’s life. As a follower of Jesus, it is our number one responsibility to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS… it is impossible to LOVE others if you nit-pick them.
And, if you and I are constantly nit-picking and judging others, it is important to remember that Jesus also taught that…
JUDGEMENT GIVEN IS JUDGEMENT RETURNED
Matthew 7:2 (NLT2)
For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
When we judge others, we will be judged by others. If I speak harshly about others, others will speak harshly about me. If I assume the worst in people, people will assume the worst in me. Have you ever wondered why people gossip about you, spread rumors about you, and speak negatively about your character? I have.
If I nit-pick other people, other people are going to nit-pick me. If I nit-pick people because of their appearance, I will be nit-picked over my appearance. Whatever standard I use to judge and evaluate others, other people will use that same standard toward me.
So, if I make allowance for the faults of other people…If I love others. If I show them grace. If I allow the same GRACE to flow to others that I hope for myself to receive, then I will receive GRACE and LOVE from others instead of JUDGEMENT. Because judgment closes hearts that grace could have opened.
And that is why Jesus warned us about it. He knew that when we choose to judge instead of love, we lose our ability to see clearly.
YOU CAN’T TRUST YOUR VISION WITH A LOG IN YOUR EYE
Jesus used a word picture that is both funny and painful. Imagine a surgeon with a log sticking out of his eye trying to perform delicate eye surgery on someone else. Or, a basketball player trying to play a game with a blindfold. The surgeon is going to cut things off that he shouldn’t.
The basketball player may be able to dribble, but they won’t be able to play defense, score, or help their team win.
Sin clouds our vision. And, when our own personal sin clouds our vision, we lose perception. We start misjudging people. We assume things that are not true. We see the fault in someone else, but we miss repenting of the sin in our own lives.
That’s why Jesus said, “First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” That means, before you start judging somebody for sexual immorality…have you repented of sexual immorality in your own life?
That means before I start judging someone for living with their boyfriend or girlfriend, I need to repent of the lust I’ve allowed to live in my heart.
Before I start criticizing someone for losing their temper, I need to confess how I’ve spoken to my spouse, my kids, or my coworkers.
Before I shake my head at someone’s addiction, I'd better ask God to show me what I’ve been running to for comfort instead of Him.
Before I call someone a hypocrite, I'd better ask if I’ve been faking my own walk with Jesus.
We can’t help somebody else see clearly until we deal with what’s clouding our own sight. You can’t lead your friend closer to Jesus if your own sin is leading you away from Him. You can’t call someone else to repentance if you’ve stopped repenting yourself.
Jesus didn’t say we shouldn’t help others with their speck — He said, “Start with the log in your own eye first.” That word “first” matters. It means start with yourself. Start with repentance. Start with humility. Until we deal with the log in our own eye, we will never see people clearly.
But when we do…when we repent, when we get honest before God…He hands us back the very thing sin stole from us: influence. The kind of influence that leads people to Jesus instead of pushing them away.
POSITIVE INFLUENCE BEGINS WITH TRANSPARENT REPENTANCE
When Jesus said, “Then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye,” He wasn’t giving us permission to police each other’s lives. He was describing what happens when repentance clears our vision. Transparent repentance means we don’t keep repentance a secret.
It means we tell the truth about what God has brought us out of.
Positive Influence begins when the man who used to numb his pain with alcohol says to another man, “That was me, but God set me free.” It begins when a husband and wife say, “Our marriage was dead…we were selfish…but we chose repentance, and God put it back together.” It begins when someone says, “I was addicted to porn, but I asked for help, and God gave me freedom.” That’s transparent repentance.
I love the story of an individual who has been beaten down by sin and by life, yet somehow God has given them victory. Those stories are inspirational and motivational. If God can restore “their” life, then maybe it is not too much of a stretch that HE can work in my life.
You are the inspirational story that another follower of Jesus needs to read! That marriage that God redeemed and rescued – somebody needs to hear how you and your spouse overcame. That addiction that God rescued you from… an addict is sitting in our church that needs to hear your story of breaking free!
When you are transparent about your repentance, you give people hope and remind them that they are not alone. So, if this concept of living transparently is intriguing to you and you are ready to become a positive influence on others with transparent repentance, I am going to give you ways you can begin to share:
Celebrate Recovery meets every Friday night at 6:00 in the Adventure Beach building. They gather together for dinner, they worship, a brief message, then they break out into small groups.
Share your story with us, and let us know if you’re willing to tell that story as a video testimony. Whether we share your story in a sermon or on social media, people will be inspired through hearing how God removed the log from your eyes, and they will believe God can do the same in their life, too.