Poetry

---

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1

This verse is one of the most abused verses in the 21st century
This is one of the most quoted verses
Skeptics quote this verse—
Rebellious teenagers quote this verse
Certain religious people quote this when their thoughts are challenged—
When people want to defend their cause they quote this verse
However, when this verse is quoted it is usually ripped out of context—
The tragedy is that many use this verse as a ‘scare tactic’
This verse is one of the most abused verses in the 21st century

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is a
Public criticism of the Jewish scribes and
Pharisees for their self-righteousness and abuse of the Old Testament—
Their lifestyle were judged righteously and Jesus came to
Show them this with a heart of LOVE but
He knew that some would rebel

Many people only want to focus on the positive things
That Jesus did and as a result they ignore the fact that
A large part of Jesus’ ministry was about CORRECTION
The Jews were obsessed with the concept of ‘election’
However the reality is that they needed ‘CORRECTION’

Jesus said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:20—
Here the righteousness of the Pharisees were judged—
They were wearing righteousness with their clothes
However they never had it in their hearts!

Many people only want to focus on the positive things
That Jesus did and as a result they ignore the fact that
A large part of Jesus’ ministry was about CORRECTION
The Jews were obsessed with the concept of ‘election’
However the reality is that they needed ‘CORRECTION’

When we judge a teaching, we must judge righteously
We must do it without hypocrisy—John 7:24
Jesus had already judged the Pharisees righteousness
When He taught the Sermon on the Mount—
Soon after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
Commanded that His followers make a judgement—
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine,
Lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” Matthew 7:6—Here we must judge who are dogs and who are hogs(pigs)

Again in Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus implied that
The disciples must make a judgement!
In reality there is a simple question that we must ask ourselves,
How can we watch out for false prophets if we can’t make judgements?
[1 Corinthians 5:4-5,11,13b;2 John 9-11 etc.]

Matthew 7:1 is used a lot in the 21st century
Many misuse it but forget that
A large part of Jesus’ ministry was about CORRECTION
The Jews were obsessed with the concept of ‘election’
However the reality is that they needed ‘CORRECTION’

Mark Frank

Copyright 2010

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE