H. A. Ironside recounted a story that a Bishop Potter of New York used to tell of himself. “He was sailing for Europe in one of the great trans-Atlantic liners. When he went on board, he found another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see his accommodations, he came up to the purser’s desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth and, judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person.

“The purser accepted the responsibility of caring for the valuables, and remarked, ‘It’s all right, bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason.’”

As this story illustrates, the humor of irony is sometimes rich. This story also illustrates the words of Jesus in Matthew 7, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

The words of our Lord, “Do not judge,” are the exact words used by the Apostle Paul as he admonished the Corinthians to stop judging one other. They were passing judgment by using worldly standards by which they measured various leaders like Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. These judgments were causing cliques that were threatening the unity of the church. Paul said, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

The context of 1 Corinthians is corporate (the church), while the context of Matthew 7 is personal, one brother to another. Though translated a little differently, the command in both passages is precisely the same in the original, “Stop judging!” We have a human propensity to judge others. We are often quick to see the flaws in others but blind to our own faults. The reason for this in Corinth, and the reason for this in our own lives, is pride. The Corinthians were overtaken by pride in which they elevated themselves and looked down on others. We do the same by ignoring our sins while being quick to judge the sin of others.

Jesus went on to say, “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 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.”

Please note that this is not a blanket prohibition of judging. “Judge not lest you be judged” is one of the most recognizable and quoted verses in the Bible. It is also one of the most widely misinterpreted verses in the Bible. It’s usually interpreted like this, “My friend was fired from his job for stealing. But who am I to judge? After all, Jesus said, ’Judge not lest you be judged.’” Or, “Who are you to judge me? That’s not very Christian-like. We’re all sinners, and Jesus said, ‘Judge not.’”

Jesus did say that, but he went on to say, “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.” The description given by Jesus is an almost cartoonish picture of a person with a log or plank of wood sticking out of his eye. That mental picture is so outrageous that we know Jesus is using it as a ludicrous example to show the hypocrisy of judging others when we have sin in our own lives. The prohibition is not against judging another; it is against hypocritical judging.

Jesus is calling out the sin of hypocrisy. It is hypocritical to call out sin in the life of another when we have sin in our own. Just as it would be folly to remove a speck of sawdust from someone's eye while a wooden beam is protruding from your own, so is it folly to call out someone for sin when blinded to your own. Jesus was speaking to the religious hypocrites in His audience. We don’t want to be counted among the Pharisees!

Jesus is calling out pride. The reason we are unwilling to repent of and confess our sin to God is pride. And if we won’t confess it to God, we’re surely not going to confess it to someone else. As always, humility is the antidote to pride. It takes great humility to recognize wrongdoing, confess it to another, and ask for forgiveness. But when we have clarity and spiritual sightedness about our own sin, we can approach another about theirs.

Jesus is calling out judgmentalism. In this teaching, Jesus does indeed allow one Christian to confront sin in the life of another. But he is calling out the censorial, critical attitude that we often have toward one another. Judgmentalism is an attitude that is often rampant among Christians. It is a critical spirit that looks first at people’s faults, seeing the worst in others while seeing the best in ourselves. This kind of self-righteousness is diametrically opposed to the life of grace.

It is often necessary to talk to another Christian about something amiss in their life. And yes, this is a judgment. But the judgment is based on the standard that God has determined by his Word. Therefore, your friend who stole from his boss was wrong because God’s Word has already made a judgment about stealing. It is not hypocritical, proud, or judgmental to call sin for what it is.

Here is how this may work in shoe leather. Perhaps you have something against another Christian. They have treated you poorly and hurt you to the extent that you have judged this to be sin. You genuinely want to resolve this issue to repair the relationship, so you decide to have a talk with your friend to resolve the matter.

But Jesus says, “Not so fast! Before you go to that person to talk about their sin, take some time to examine your own life.” He has given us clarity in all things; the right way to think and the appropriate way to behave. And we have all we need by His Word to judge our own attitudes and actions. Thus you will need to “speak the truth in love” because there can be no true reconciliation until the specific sin is dealt with—both yours and theirs.

The principle Jesus lays down for us here is that we should always start with ourselves. We are first and foremost responsible for our own sin. Unfortunately, the truth is that we almost always start with the other person. It’s human nature. We’ve been wronged, we are hurt, we’ve been sinned against, an injustice has been done. Our first response is to judge the words and actions of the person who hurt us.

But how did you respond? Did you raise your voice? Have you harbored anger or even hatred? Have you become bitter? Did you talk to others who were not part of the problem or part of the solution (gossip)? Confess it as sin. Take the log out of your eye. Then you will be able to see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Jesus does not say we should not judge; just that we should not judge until we have first taken care of our own sin. What is the point of judging the sin of your brother? Is it judgmentalism, or is it restoration? Our goal should always be restoration. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, then it is essential you first confess that to God before confronting another. If you have sin in the matter at hand, it’s always better to approach a brother with, “I’m sorry, I was wrong in my behavior; will you forgive me?” Once your part is taken care of, your brother is much more likely to hear about that speck of sawdust in his own eye.

Don’t pull a “Bishop Potter.” Because when we look down our noses at others in pride, we can be sure that we will be humbled.