How to Judge Justly (Luke 6:36-45)

How to Judge Justly
Sunday, July 5^th, 2026
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Luke 6:36–45

Prayer

O Father we thank You for Your Son, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We thank You that out of the abundance of His heart, He has spoken to us good things, even the greatest thing, that is, the way to eternal life. Grant us to follow Him, in our words, in our deeds, in our judgments, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

Last Sunday we answered the question, What kind of judgements does Jesus forbid when he says, Judge not, lest ye be judged? And we said that there are three principal judgments that God forbids in His Word and they are (do you remember them?): 1) The Usurped Judgment, 2) The Rash Judgment, and 3) The Perverse Judgment.

Now this morning we are going to answer the question, What kind of judgments does Jesus command us to make? Or put another way, How can we judge justly? Because right after Jesus forbids all those sinful judgments that are contrary to charity, he spends the rest of his sermon explaining how to judge in a manner that truly pleases God and leads to a life that is founded upon the rock.

• So it is not enough merely to avoid sin by withholding judgment, we also have to learn how to render righteous judgments that are in harmony with God’s will, consistent with God’s love, and that is what the rest of The Sermon on the Plain is all about: How to judge in such a way that leads to eternal life.
• Now we can start to learn how to do this by way of comparison with those three judgments that God forbids. So before we expound the words of Jesus in our text, let’s briefly review those three sinful judgments we must not make, so we can learn to do the opposite.
  • 1. First there was the Usurped Judgment. And we said that this is any judgment that God has not delegated to you to make (so it’s outside your jurisdiction, “outside your lane”). This includes judgments about all final things, all hidden things, and all future things. Those judgements belong exclusively to the Lord, and we must not pretend to have the power, the knowledge, or the wisdom to judge better than He.
    • Now beneath God’s Supreme Court, He delegates a measure of His judicial authority to human beings. In Romans 13 and elsewhere we learn that God delegates authority to civil magistrates, to parents, to husbands, masters, elders, and so forth.
    • And so in order for a judgment to be righteous, you must at the very least, have the God-given authority to either punish or reward the person in question.
    • And so we said that one of the ways you can know if you are making a usurped judgment, is if you lack the ability to reward or punish the person accordingly.
      • For example, if you cannot lawfully execute the criminal for murder, then it does not belong to you to determine whether he is guilty or innocent.
    • So unless God is going to require you to give Him an account for that person or case, then it is not your place, it’s not your duty, nor your responsibility to be a judge. Instead, you should simply withhold judgment.
      • As Paul says in Romans 14, Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls… But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
    • So a minimum requirement for a judgment to be righteous/just, is that God has assigned to you His own judicial authority, otherwise it is a usurped judgment.
  • 2. Second, there is the Rash Judgment. And this is anytime we jump to conclusions about someone or something without having sufficient evidence to prove it.
    • It is human nature that you easily believe what you want to be true. And therefore, it is the mark of a corrupt mind, to wish that bad things are true about anyone.
    • And so usually rash judgments arise from an evil root, from evil suspicions, or from a bad conscience.
      • For example, the thief imagines that everyone else steals too. The liar imagines that everyone else is as dishonest as he is. The guilty often impute their own guilt to others. And the Bible says that all such evil suspicions are contrary to the love of God.
      • Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5-8, charity thinks no evil,does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
    • So love never fails to believe the best about someone, because that is how we all want other people to treat us. We would like everyone else to always put the best interpretation on our words and actions, rather than imputing to us some evil motive.
    • Now this judgment of charity (that believes the best and desires the best for others) is true even after someone has been convicted of a sin or a crime. And that is because Christians believe in the forgiveness of sins, in the correction of sinners through repentance and faith. We believe that God has the ability to convert sinners into saints, to convert compromised Christians into faithful Christians, to convert hypocrites and Pharisees (like Saul of Tarsus) into upright and honest citizens of heaven.
    • Our earthly perspective is extremely limited, and this is in part why Christian must not make rash judgments, it is folly in the first place, and it is contrary to the mind that is one fire with the love of God.
      • It says in Proverbs 18:17, The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
    • And so the opposite of a rash judgment then is a deliberate judgment, a judgment that waits until the biblical threshold for evidence is satisfied, and then only after that is someone declared guilty. Until then, you must regard them as innocent.
  • 3. Third, there is the Perverse Judgment. And this refers to any judgment that is contrary or inconsistent with the Word of God. Under this category of perverse judgments are included sins like: partiality, respecting of persons, taking a bribe, using unjust weights and measures, or tipping the scales for one’s own private gain. Against such perversions of justice, God issues the strongest condemnation.
    • For example, James 2 warns the church saying, My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
    • And then he says a few verses later, So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
• So to summarize, in order for a judgment to be just, First, it must not be usurped but rather declared by the lawful authority. Second, it must not be rash, but rather deliberate and based on sufficient evidence to prove the case. And then third, it must not be perverse, but rather in accord with the Word of God. Those are three essential requirements for a judgment to be righteous/just.
  • Now Jesus is going to cover those same three themes but from a few different angles in verses 39-45. And so let me give you the outline of our text.

Outline of the Text

Back in verses 36-38, which we considered last week, Jesus teaches us to judge with mercy, even as God has judged us in His mercy. And then he proceeds to give us some guidance in how to do this:

• In verses 39-40, Jesus gives a parable about following the right Master, because you will become like him.
• In verses 41-42, Jesus requires that we examine and judge ourselves before judging someone else.
• And then in verses 43-45, Jesus illustrates how to judge/discern between the good and the evil.
  • So, 1) Who should you follow? 2) Who should you judge first? And 3) How do you discern between good and evil. These are the questions Jesus will now address.

Verses 39-40 – Who should you follow as Master?

³⁹And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

⁴⁰The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

• Now in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus applies this same parable, about the blind leading the blind, to the Pharisees and their followers (Matt. 15:14), and then later he denounces them saying, Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24).
  • And so the Pharisees become a kind of cartoon embodiment of this parable: they style themselves as leaders and teachers of the people, as those who have the law of Moses and can see why the nation is in such a sorry state. But Jesus says in reality, they are blind leaders leading blind followers into the ditch, and that ditch is eternal damnation.
  • So here is a warning for all leaders, for all that are in authority (pastors, parents, husbands, masters, magistrates), and it is that we are responsible for where we lead other people. And therefore, we need to know and see if we are following Christ in all of our decisions.
    • This is one of the reasons why it says in James 3:1, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
• So how do you know where you are going? How do you know (as a disciple) who you should follow? Jesus is pointing out a major problem here that we have as ignorant human beings: how can a blind follower even know that he is being led astray? Since the disciple is not above his master, how can the disciple know whether his master is worth following?
  • The answer Jesus gives is that you must decide whether or not you want to become like that master.Whoever they are, if you follow them, if you obey them, Jesus says you will eventually become like them.
• So Jesus is saying in effect, Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be like the Pharisees? Do you want to be like the world and imitate them, or do you want to like God?
  • Because Jesus is God, He knows all things, He says that He is the way, the truth, the life, and that He alone is the one who you should call Master.
  • Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 23:8-12, But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren…Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
  • The Apostle Paul knew this well and says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
  • In Ephesians 5:1 he says, Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
• So only Christ is worth following and imitating absolutely, because He is perfect God. Call Jesus alone Your Supreme Master. And then every leader beneath Jesus, including the Apostles, are only to be imitated insofar as they imitate Christ.
  • And so as parents we say to our children, obey me as I obey Christ. As husbands we say to our wives, submit to me as I submit to Christ. As elders and pastors we say to you, imitate us only to the extent that we imitate Jesus. For none of us is worth of imitating in every respect, we all have many faults and weaknesses, so imitate Christ who is perfect God and perfect man, follow Him.
  • This means you need to know who Jesus is, what he does, how he lives, how he models his own teaching.
  • How does Jesus judge the world as the one who knows all? It says in Psalm 98:9, He judges the people with equity. We know from the gospel that Jesus gives ample time for people to repent, he calls them to repentance, he pleads them to turn back from their crooked ways, and he goes to the cross to suffer for you, to pay your debts, to forgive your sins, to demonstrate by his actions God’s bleeding love for humanity.
  • How much does God desire the salvation of His people? Well how much is the life of Jesus worth? That is how much. An infinite price was offered to rescue you from the infinite debt of sin. So how can you look upon Jesus, his life, his perfection, his cross, his resurrection, and not be moved to love Him?
  • How can you look upon the mercy that was shown to you upon the cross, and then turn around and demand justice from your brother?
• Jesus says, The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
  • So if you were to look at all the judgments that you have made, would they look like the judgments that Jesus makes? If not, then you are not following Jesus closely enough.
  • How can we learn to judge more like Jesus? Jesus says you need to start by exacting justice of yourself first. Examine yourself and accuse yourself for your sins before God’s mercy seat, and then you will be able to see more clearly. He says in verses 41-42…

Verses 41-42 – Who should you judge first?

⁴¹And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

⁴²Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

• These are familiar words to many people, and yet how often we fail to obey them. Do you even know that you have a beam in your eye? Do you know what your besetting sins are? Can you name your sins the way that God in His Word names them? Because the only way a beam can get removed from the eye is by you confessing them to God as the sins that they are and begging His pardon to remove them from you.
  • Until you have washed your eyes with the tears of contrition, you will not be able to see or judge rightly.
  • Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:15 that only the spiritual man can judge spiritual things.
  • And he says likewise in Galatians 6:1, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
• So why is it, that you are so quick and sure about the sins of others, but so slow and uncertain about your own sins?
• Jesus is saying that if you are quicker to judge your brother (or sister) than you are to judge and condemn your own self, then you are a hypocrite, and you are unqualified to judge anyone if you cannot judge your own self rightly. If you do not know the state of your own conscience, how can you pretend to judge another man’s state?
• A hypocrite is someone who desires to appear what he or she is not. Whereas a true Christian is someone who desires to appear as he actually is, as someone who desires to be like Jesus, who too often falls short of accomplishing that desire, and yet by God’s grace, keeps getting up so that he can make progress in imitation of Christ.
  • Remember, a Christian is a disciple, a follower, a student, a learner. None of us are perfect masters or perfect judges. So we should not act as if we are.
• Now there will be times when you have confessed your sins, you have removed the plank, and so you can see clearly now to remove your brother’s speck. And the way you’ll know that you are ready to remove that speck, is that you are possessed by the spirit of gentleness.
  • For here when it comes to removing sin, the gentle hand is the most steady hand. You want the hand of an experienced surgeon who can remove the sin with as minimal damage as possible. That is the spirit in which we should address one another.
• Listen to how St. Augustine comments on this passage. He says, When we have to find fault with anyone, [first] we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should bethink ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity. But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us.
  • That is the spirit of gentleness in which Jesus commands us to judge each other. It’s the judgment of charity, the judgment of mercy, the judgment of compassion that comes from having our own multitude of sins erased by Christ. To lament our brother’s sin as if it is was our own, this is how we love one another as we love our own self.
• Third and finally, Jesus teaches us what to do when a person or a case is doubtful. How do you discern between good and evil? To answer this Jesus gives us the analogy of a tree and its fruit. And he says that what fruit are to a tree, words are to a man’s heart. Jesus says in verses 43-45…

Verses 43-45 –How do you discern and judge between good and evil?

⁴³For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

⁴⁴For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

• First observe that a person’s heart can only be known to us by their words. This is in keeping with that earlier principle that God alone can judge the hidden things, the hidden motives of the heart, whereas we can only judge those things that are manifest, the spoken and written words of a person.
  • And so it is not usurping God’s judgment, to conclude that a man is evil because only evil words ever come out of him. There is real causal connection between the heart and the mouth.
  • And therefore, if a man’s words are mixed, we must conclude that his heart is also mixed, and that is the case for almost all of us as believers.
  • We love God, but we still love ourselves too much. We go to church and praise God, but then we are also easily angered and sometimes yell and curse other people. We are a conflicted bunch. Our old sinful nature is still there (the old man), and yet we have been given a new nature, a new heart, and are told to put on the new man in Jesus Christ. As Christians we now have a choice, of what kind of treasure we want to gather up and store in our heart.
  • If you store up Jesus, if you store up gracious thoughts, humility, meekness, the mind of Christ, then good will come out of you. But if you don’t, there is plenty of evil treasure remaining in our flesh that would love to come out. And Proverbs 10:2 warns us, Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: But righteousness delivereth from death.
• Now James 3 is basically an inspired commentary on this passage from Jesus. Listen to how he describes the inconsistency of our heart. It says in James 3:2-12,For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
  • So what are the implications of this mixed nature of our heart and words when it comes to judging other people?
  • Well for starters, this is another good reason to judge other people with charity. Because we all have said things we regret. Things we would like to retract, undo, and have everyone forget. And so even when a person is speaking evil words, can we honestly say that we have never done that too?
    • This is the beam in many of our eyes. We have evil thoughts, we have spoken evil words, and yet are quick to impute evil motives to others. This should not be so brethren.
  • A second implication is that only time will tell if a tree is ultimately good or bad. So be patient with others but be urgent with yourself. Recall what John the Baptist came preaching at the beginning of Luke, bear fruits worthy of repentance…even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
    • If you know anything about fruit trees, some of them can look totally dead in the winter, when in reality it’s just not the season for fruit. And sometimes a tree can look green and healthy in the spring, and yet summer comes and it never produces anything that tastes good.
    • Later in Luke 13:6-9, Jesus will give a parable about this saying, A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

Conclusion

So what kind of tree are you? What do your words say about your heart? And are you producing fruit for God? Because if not, Jesus says that on the day of visitation, you will be cut down and cast into the fire.

• And so I charge you, all who hear, repent of your sinful judgments, your hypocritical judgments, your perverse, rash, and usurped judgments. Cleanse your heart with the tears of repentance, and then cling to Christ and his cross by faith. Because that is the only safe place where mercy triumphs over judgment.
• In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.