Matthew 7:1–6 (ESV)
Judging Others
7 “Judge
not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s
eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do
not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
I would like to write this, but I will use the Lutheran
Study Bible, since this is a highly misunderstood and wrongly used quote in the Bible. That is “Judge not, that you be not judged.” We are to clean up our act, but we are still to approach our brother who is living in sin.
The LSB states: “One of the most difficult tasks for a Christian is to speak to a fellow believer about some personal fault (cf 18:15). This is especially difficult within a family or a congregation. Jesus sets forth a basic rule that needs to be observed:
first, practice self-examination. If you do not realize your own sins and faults, you cannot offer admonition to a fellow Christian. One who assumes the task of taking the speck out of his brother’s eye must do so with sincere love, deep humility, and
the prayer “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (6:12).
I pray: “Lord Jesus, help me see the log in my own eye before I seek to take the speck from another’s eye. Amen.”
Engelbrecht, E. A.
(2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 1592). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.