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Matthew 7:1-29
God is the one who divides asunder the soul and spirit discerning the very thoughts of everyone. Very often we don’t know all of the details about situations and we need to be careful before we jump to too many conclusions.
When we are able to get the whole picture often times it makes a ridiculous amount of difference in how we have judged a situation. We must be careful with our attitudes and give people the benefit of the doubt if we don’t know the whole story.
James 4:11-17 – There is one lawgiver and one judge. Who are we to assume the position of him?
Romans 14:10-13 – We shall all stand before the throne on the judgment day, all on the same level. This isn’t saying that we should be blind and undiscerning, but don’t set yourself up in the place of God by judging others.
Matthew 6:14-15 – The measure that you use to judge others is the same way that we will be measured.
It is much easier to pick out a flaw or character deficiency in someone else than it is to see huge issue in ourselves. First we need to cast the beam out of our own eye, then we can see clearly enough to help our brother get the thing out of his own eye.
Galatians 6:1 – There is still an obligation towards our brothers. It isn’t a harsh attitude that “I’m here to straighten you out.” Instead it is a careful, humble and merciful coming to our brother.
If there was something wrong in your heart and God would nudge someone to comet talk to you about it, who would you rather have come and approach you about your fault? The publican or the pharisee?
God is a God of much mercy and grace, this should give us much hope for ourselves and we should offer that same mercy and grace to each other.
Love covers a multitude of sins. This isn’t to say that we should overlook sins, but we are called to love each other and work with each other and overlook the some of the shortcomings of our brothers and sisters.
We cannot live this out without the help of God. Ask. Seek. Knock. This is a powerful promise to us. If we are asking, seeking and knocking consistently it is a constant, daily striving. The promise is that the door will be opened to us.
