Matthew 7:1-2 - Judge Not

  1. Think about a particular relationship in your past or present that is characterized by a pattern of judgmental, critical attitudes. How do you handle that kind of attitude? How has judgment shaped the relationship?

  2. Read Matthew 7:1-2. Why is it necessary for Jesus to give this command to his disciples? How might we take the command too far and so miss the mark of Jesus’ instruction?

  3. What reason does Jesus give in these verses for heeding the command? Why does Jesus draw our attention to God and his judgment of us rather than other people and their judgment of us?

  4. Why do you think this issue is so important to Jesus? How does our posture of self-righteous hyper-criticism affect the glory of God?

  5. Under what circumstances do you personally find it difficult to put off a critical and judgmental spirit? How are we to go about changing these sorts of unhealthy sin patterns in our lives? (for help, read Matthew 11:28-30).

Robb EsperatComment