Sermon preached on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at Garden Valley Chapel during our morning worship service based on Matthew 7:2.

We return to our study of the last major section of the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who has ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Imbedded in this last major section is a well-known passage that is often referred to and often quoted, and yet it is one that is widely misunderstood.

It is a passage that deals with CRITICISM - the human propensity to unduly condemn others for their faults and failings.

It is no wonder that Calvin called it a "disease, which appears to be natural to us all."

Yet this was the Pharisees in a nutshell. They sat as condemning, critical judges of other people. This was how they related to others.

Our Lord then addresses this issue and warns against a wrong judgmental attitude toward others - a discussion that dominates the first twelve verses of this chapter.

o In verses 1-6, He tells us what not to do.
o In verses 7-12, He tells us what to do.

He first gives a negative and then a positive and the sum of these two is enough to govern all our human relations.

Our Lord sets the record straight and tells us exactly how we are to relate to others. He does not mince words. He tells us what will be our temptation with regards to one another.

Our Lord has spent considerable time condemning the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, the outward appearance of righteousness for the applause of men (cf. 6:1-18). Now He instructs us on how we, as His disciples, can fall into hypocrisy too.

CONTENT

Our Lord gives us three reasons why unrighteous and unmerciful judgment is sinful: it reveals a...
1. A WRONG VIEW OF GOD (V. 1)
2. A WRONG VIEW OF OTHERS (V. 2)
3. A WRONG VIEW OF OURSELVES (VV. 3-5A)

In dealing with the opposite extreme of an unmerciful judgment, our Lord gives...
4. A RIGHT BALANCE (VV. 5B-6)

The first reason why unfair, uncharitable, unmerciful, and unrighteous judgment is sinful is because it is a wrong view of God.

The second reason why unfair, uncharitable, unmerciful, and unrighteous judgment is sinful is because it is...

A WRONG VIEW OF OTHERS - v. 2