Last week, we began looking at Twisted Scripture, which are sayings that are accepted by many as from the Bible but are not.  The example of Twisted Scripture that I used last week was a misquotation of the words found in Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth in which people believe that the Bible says, “God will not give you more than you can handle.”  But we now know the actual words of God are, “13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Twisted Scripture.

But Twisted Scripture can also come about by correctly citing the words of Scripture and then applying an twisted interpretation of those words.  The result of a misinterpretation of Scripture is the same as misquoting Scripture. In both cases, an altered meaning is given to the Word of God and spiritual harm follows.

Today, I would like us to explore the Twisted Scripture from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which reads, “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1).  In many cases, people use a shorthand expression of this verse, “Judge not.” This verse, “Do not judge or you too will be judged,” has become one of the more often quoted verses of the Bible on social media, especially, by nonbelievers.  In case you were wondering, the most often quoted, or most popular verse of the Bible by believers worldwide, remains John 3:16, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The popularity of quoting Matthew 7:1, “Judge not,” is a recent trend.  Historically, Matthew 7:1 was not well known inside the church and outside the church and was not quoted very often in literature.  But now that verse has become very often quoted.  It is not by accident that the “judge not” verse has been often quoted, it is intentional and reflects a change in social morality. 

A few weeks ago, we spoke about whether human society believed in objective morality?  We might recall that objective morality is the idea that right and wrong exist; that right and wrong are not a matter of opinion.  Atheists do not believe objective morality exists.  Atheists believe that we cannot say that any behavior is right or wrong.  Instead, atheists believe that ever decision is simply a matter of personal preference, including to say that such events as the Holocaust, the killing of millions of people by the Nazis in World War 2, cannot be said to be either wrong, bad, good, or right.  Therefore, the atheists make the claim since right and wrong are a matter of personal preference, then no one can sit in judgement over another.  With a rise in atheism comes the rise in awareness and popularity of the Bible verse “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1).  Therefore, atheists believe that Christians are being unchristian if anything they say sounds like a judgment and they thus demand Christian remain silent.  And many Christians believe the atheists interpretation of Scripture and are silenced.  And when atheists, those who do not believe in the existence of God, are allowed to interpret the Bible for us, we can be assured that they will create a case of Twisted Scripture.

          But should atheists be allowed to tell us what the Bible says means?  Shouldn’t the Church be able to reject Biblical interpretations by atheists? Seems logical to me that any interpretation of the Bible by an atheist should be rejected.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  There are people within the church itself who seek to align themselves with atheists rather than holding firm to the Word of God.  For today, we will consider such individuals Progressive Christians who generally believe three things.

1. Christianity is a lifestyle, not a set of beliefs.
2. Social justice is inseparable from Christianity.
3. There is “no one true faith.”

In short, there is probably greater alignment between atheists and Progressive Christians than between Progressive Christians and evangelical Christians.  As a result, we have people outside the church, atheists, as well as people seemingly inside the church, Progressive Christians, applying meanings to God’s Word that were never intended and thus creating many cases of Twisted Scripture and thus spiritual harm.

          The case of Twisted Scripture I want to explore today is the first verse of Matthew 7:1, “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1).  These are Jesus’ words and therefore we must be very careful to follow them.  But what do these words say?  The atheists and Progressive Christians would say that Jesus was clear that we must never make any judgement, any decision about the conduct of others, that might highlight any behavior on the part of someone else that may be inappropriate, self-harming, or biblically wrong. 

          Following along these lines about judgment, I read an article recently, in which the author said there are five signs that Christians are killing the Church and all of them relate to judgment.  The author said, Christians are killing the church because:

1. They don’t love; they judge.  Said another way, “The presence of judgment almost always guarantees an absence of love.”

2. They don’t help; they judge.  The thought is that people who judge almost never help and people who help almost never judge? 

3. They lack humility.  Judgment is grounded in arrogance.

4. They don’t pray for others; they judge.  You can either judge you or pray for you, but I cannot do both.

5. They don’t evangelize; they judge. If you want to end your witness to nonbelievers, then be judgmental about their behaviors.

There are some parts of what the author said which are true.  But from his observations, the author concluded, “Judgment is fundamentally incompatible with authentic Christian faith.”  Instead, he argued that Christians should come along side all people regardless of the beliefs and behaviors of the other and seek to befriend and ally themselves with others.  “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1), has been interpreted to mean, “The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.”  Again, there is some truth to this statement, but this interpretation brings a twist into Scripture that was never intended and is spiritually harmful to Christians.

          Now, there is truth in the interpretation that we must value the work of reconciliation because we are called to be reconciled.  For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, the same sermon that Jesus gave us “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1), Jesus also said if we have something against a brother or sister and we come into worship, we should “24 Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24).  “The work of reconciliation should be valued,” and, in fact, reconciliation, is an indispensable part of the fabric of Christianity.  But does the call to reconcile also mean we cannot judge?

          Let’s go back to the word of God from Jesus’ lips through the Sermon on the Mount.  The sermon is presented in three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7.  Chapter 5 began the conversation, which is primarily about righteousness, that is living to the principles that underpin the Law, the Word of God.  Chapter 6 then moved into Jesus’ warning people not to display their righteousness as a badge for others to see and applaud their efforts. Jesus said this is what hypocrites do. Jesus said,

• 1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” (Matthew 6:1a)
• 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.” (Matthew 6:2a)
• 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” (Matthew 6:3a)
• 16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting” (Matthew 6:16a).

Jesus was emphasizing that His disciples must not act like the as religious hypocrites of that day, namely the Pharisees, by putting their righteousness on display for others to see and for others to admire. For religious hypocrites look down on others and elevate themselves.  The key concept to being a disciple of Jesus is not thinking or acting as though you are better than anyone else but that you are better off than anyone else; not better but better off.  Why are Christians better off?  Because Jesus, God in the flesh, who stands as Judge of all, came to us instead as Savior offering all who would belief salvation.  When we accept Christ as Savior we are freed from the judgment of sin and therefore, we are not better a nonbeliever, but we are certainly better off.

          Then in that same sermon, Jesus said, “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).  Said another way, “Do not take your righteousness, the topic of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and do as the hypocrites do and judge others as being less righteous than you are, thus turning your righteousness into self-righteousness.  If you do, you will be disappointed because you, yourself, will be judged accordingly.”

          Jesus explained his concern using a humorous parable. After Jesus said, “1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1), he then offered this parable. “3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).  That speck of dust represents a need to reconcile with God over a way of thinking, speaking or acting that is not in keeping with God’s Word, that is sin.  Jesus’ point was that there was nothing wrong with correctly concluding, judging if you will, that your brother was having a spiritual problem, here described as a speck of sawdust.  But you cannot be so arrogant as to believe you can help your brother reconcile with God when you are separated from God for the same reason, sin, only worse so!  That is what hypocrites do.  Jesus said first, reconcile yourself with God, get rid of the sin, then help your neighbor.  Discerning spiritual problems, making judgements, is not the problem.  The problem is arrogantly pretending to be righteous, when you are not, and judging others for the same behavior for which you are also guilty.

          So the idea that we must not judge, as used by atheists and Progressive Christians, is not what Jesus meant and makes the case for Twisted Scripture.  We must judge what is good and pleasing to the will of God for ourselves.  We must be willing to see others trapped by sin and not walk by to avoid being considered judgmental.  We must offer help without arrogantly condemning people.

          Now you might be saying, “Pastor, I appreciate that you shared your opinion but why should I believe that it is okay to judge without condemning?”  That is a good question, and it is a question you should ask.  I believe the answer is found in the words of Jesus.  Here are a few examples of Jesus calling us to judge.

• 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). In the same sermon, Jesus cautioned his disciples to judge the words and deeds of preachers to see if they were false in their beliefs.  And today, there are plenty of wolves in the pulpits.
• 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15).  We must be able to identify sin and help each other correct our behaviors.  It is a wonderful experience when we are part of the reconciliation of a brother or sister to the Lord but it required judgment to help.
•  24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly” (John 7:24).  We must be able to make judgments as to what thoughts, words, and behaviors are spiritually and biblically sound and which ones are not.

          Twisted Scripture by misinterpretation can lead us astray from what we are called to do.  We must know God’s Word and we must know what the words mean.  “Judge not,” is a rapidly rising and popular expression because people believe it insulates them from making all choices on personal preference.

          God has not taken away anyone’s free will to make choices of personal preference including the choice to sin.  But we have the truth of God’s Word and we so enjoy it with the most popular Bible verse, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  This makes Christians better off.  But the fuller quotation of the thoughts of John 3:16 also include these words, “17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17-18).  God sent Jesus as our Savior because God knows without Jesus we will stand before Him as Judge.  I am sure each of us can judge who among our family and friends have accepted Christ and who still stands in condemnation.  We can and are called to make that judgment.  And once we make that judgment, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation to share with them the good news of Christ, without the arrogance of being better than them, but with love of knowing they too could be better off now and for all eternity.  Let us then do as Christ commands and judge correctly.  Amen and Amen.