What “Do Not Judge” Really Means | Sermon On The Mount | Pastor Adam Bishop

Aug 16, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Truth Feels Like Judgment, Grace Feels Like Compromise

Jesus calls us to be full of grace and truth—not balancing both but embodying both. Truth without grace becomes harsh judgment, alienating those who need love. Grace without truth drifts into compromise, avoiding hard conversations. Like Jesus, we’re invited to hold conviction and compassion in tension, refusing to reduce God’s character to half-measures. This requires humility, recognizing our tendency to lean toward one extreme. Growth happens when we let Christ reshape our instincts. [30:47]

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you seen grace or truth distorted in your relationships? What one step could help you embody both this week?

Day 2: Removing Planks Before Addressing Specks

Jesus doesn’t forbid correction but insists on self-examination first. A plank in our eye isn’t just personal sin—it’s the blindness of self-righteousness that distorts how we see others. Removing it means confronting our hypocrisy, apologizing when needed, and letting God recalibrate our vision. Only then can we offer clear-eyed help instead of harsh criticism. Correction becomes healing when rooted in humility. [40:43]

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3-4, NIV)

Reflection: What “plank” have you avoided addressing? How might owning it change your next hard conversation?

Day 3: When Pigs Trample Pearls and Dust Sticks to Sandals

Jesus warns against wasting sacred truth on those determined to mock it. This isn’t rejection but discernment—recognizing when conversations become fruitless battles. Like shaking dust from sandals, walking away preserves energy for receptive hearts. It’s not giving up on people but trusting God’s timing. Sometimes love speaks; sometimes it prays silently and waits. [42:57]

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you investing energy in unproductive arguments? How could discernment free you to love better?

Day 4: The Prayer That Silences Your Voice to Hear Two Others

“Help me hear their voice and Yours” is a prayer for divine eavesdropping. It quiets our rehearsed responses to truly listen—to others’ unspoken hurts and to the Spirit’s nudges. This transforms ordinary interactions into holy ground. Wisdom isn’t having perfect answers but attending to the whispers between words. [50:10]

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV)

Reflection: Whose voice have you struggled to hear lately? What might change if you prayed this prayer today?

Day 5: Bridging the Gap Between God’s Love and Their Doubt

People won’t believe God loves them until they experience it through you. Jesus’ Golden Rule isn’t niceness—it’s radical proximity. Being a conduit means letting God’s love flow through your listening, your time, your inconvenient interruptions. The greatest apologetic isn’t arguments but ordinary moments where someone feels seen. [57:57]

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs tangible proof of God’s love? What specific action could demonstrate it this week?

Sermon Summary

Jesus in Matthew 7 does not cancel truth by saying, “Do not judge.” John’s picture of Jesus as “full of grace and truth” sets the foundation: Jesus is not balancing two competing virtues, but is completely full of both. Truth without grace becomes judgmental, and grace without truth eventually becomes compromise. The call, then, is not for truth people to become less truthful or grace people less gracious, but for every Christ follower to become more like Jesus.

Jesus’ warning about judgment exposes the heart behind correction. The text allows a person to believe someone is wrong without believing he is better than that person. Right and wrong still exist, but the motive matters. The Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt story becomes a living picture of that distinction: a man can hate what someone does and still love him, befriend him, and refuse to treat him as beneath him.

Jesus’ image of the speck and the plank does not forbid correction. The order is the issue. Correction is needed, but the plank has to come out first. Parents, friends, coworkers, students, and leaders can speak truth, but that truth lands differently when humility has already owned what is wrong in the life of the one offering correction.

Jesus’ words about dogs, pearls, and pigs bring needed discernment. The image says that when people show who they are, believe them. Some conversations are going nowhere, and Jesus gives room to back off, kick the dust off, and stop throwing sacred things into places where they will only be trampled. That same wisdom applies to dating, where potential can blind a person to patterns. If the fruit of the Spirit is missing and the same behavior keeps repeating, the pattern deserves more weight than the imagined future.

Jesus then turns to prayer: ask, seek, knock. God gives wisdom through the Holy Spirit for real conversations in real time. The simple prayer asks God for ears to hear the other person’s voice and God’s voice. The Holy Spirit helps discern whether grace, truth, correction, silence, or a simple word of kindness is needed.

Jesus brings the whole passage to the Golden Rule. God means for His people to be conduits of His love, grace, and truth. The greatest kingdom impact begins when the church leaves the room and becomes God’s plan A for people who have no reason yet to believe that God loves them.

Key Takeaways

1. Truth needs grace, not superiority. [34:21] Jesus does not require a person to pretend wrong is right. Jesus does require the heart to give up the quiet pleasure of feeling above another person. Truth becomes faithful when love hopes for a person’s redemption, not when it wins a moral contest. [34:21]
2. Correction requires plank removal first. [40:43] Jesus does not say the speck should stay in a brother’s eye. Jesus says the plank has to come out first. Correction becomes dangerous when self-examination is skipped, because unowned sin turns truth into a weapon instead of help. [40:43]
3. Patterns matter more than potential. [46:03] The image of pearls and pigs calls for real discernment, not cynicism. Potential can sound spiritual while quietly ignoring repeated patterns that do not look like the fruit of the Spirit. Wisdom pays attention to what a person keeps choosing, not just what another person hopes they might become. [46:03]
4. Prayer trains spiritual hearing. [49:52] Asking, seeking, and knocking becomes very practical in everyday conversations. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom for the moment when a person cannot know ahead of time whether grace, truth, silence, or kindness is needed. Spiritual maturity learns to hear another person’s voice without being ruled by its own. [49:52]
5. God loves through available people. [59:18] The Golden Rule turns ordinary believers into conduits of God’s love. Some people have nothing in their life that would make them believe God loves them, so God sends one of His people into the gap. The point is not heroic effort, but availability: showing up, being present, and letting God love through a surrendered life.

## [59:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:41] - What “Do Not Judge” Means
[30:47] - Jesus Full of Grace and Truth
[31:24] - Truth People and Grace People
[34:21] - Wrong Without Feeling Superior
[35:07] - Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt
[40:43] - Specks, Planks, and Correction
[42:57] - Pearls, Pigs, and Discernment
[44:55] - Dating Potential Versus Patterns
[47:43] - Ask God for Wisdom
[49:52] - Hearing Their Voice and God’s
[54:25] - Trust the Holy Spirit
[56:29] - The Golden Rule
[57:57] - Kingdom Impact After Gathering
[59:18] - God’s Plan A for Love

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 7:1-12
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” [30:02]

John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [30:47]

Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” [46:03]

Observation questions

In Matthew 7:1-5, what order does Jesus give for dealing with the plank and the speck, and what does that suggest about correction? [40:20]
According to John 1:14, how is Jesus described, and why does that matter for understanding truth and grace together? [30:57]
In Matthew 7:6, what images does Jesus use, and what kinds of situations might fit the picture of pearls being thrown where they will only be trampled? [42:45]
In Galatians 5:22-23, what qualities are listed as the fruit of the Spirit, and which of those qualities are easiest to notice when looking at a person’s patterns over time? [46:03]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says, “Do not judge,” and then later speaks about removing a speck from a brother’s eye. How does that help explain the difference between condemning someone and helping correct someone? [40:43]
Jesus is full of grace and truth, not partly one and partly the other. What happens when truth is separated from grace, or grace is separated from truth, in real relationships? [32:27]
Jesus’ words about dogs, pearls, and pigs seem strong. How can backing away from some conversations be an act of wisdom rather than a failure to love well? [43:23]
Jesus connects asking, seeking, and knocking to everyday life with people. Why might prayer be essential when deciding whether a moment calls for truth, grace, silence, or kindness? [49:52]

Application questions

It is possible to believe someone is wrong without believing that one is better than them. Where is that most difficult right now: at home, at work, online, or with extended family? What tends to stir up superiority in the heart? [34:10]
Jesus says the plank has to come out first. Before bringing correction to someone this week, what would honest self-examination look like? Is there anything that needs to be owned, confessed, or apologized for first? [42:21]
Patterns matter. Is there a relationship in life right now where hope for someone’s potential is making it easy to ignore repeated patterns? What would it look like to take those patterns seriously? [45:53]
Some conversations are going nowhere, and discernment knows when to stop throwing pearls where they will only be trampled. Is there a conversation or conflict that may need less force and more distance for a season? What would backing off wisely look like? [43:12]
“Help me hear their voice and help me hear Your voice” is a simple prayer for daily life. What might change this week if that prayer was offered before meetings, hard conversations, family moments, or ordinary errands? [50:05]
The Holy Spirit gives wisdom in real time. When has there been a moment where the right next step turned out to be a gentle word, a hard truth, or simple silence? What helped make that clear? [50:47]
Some people have nothing in their life that would make them believe God loves them, and God often loves them through His people. Who comes to mind right now? What would being available and fully present with that person look like this week? [59:18]

Sermon Clips

24s

#GodsPlanA

“This is God's plan a. There's no plan b. God's plan a for people in this world who up until this point, there's no evidence that he would exist. Here's God's plan a. If I can just send one of my people to them, and if I could just love that individual through one of my people, they'll begin to realize there is a God who loves them. That's God's plan a. Do you see it? Is actually to use you.”

66s

#BeAConduit

“It means you're supposed to be a conduit for God's love, a conduit for God's grace, a conduit for God's truth. Every week when you walk into our campus, you see these words, reach, teach, release. That word release is is for you, that we exist so that you can be released as a light into your world. If you just take a moment and look around this room, If you look around this room, just think about this for a moment. If everybody in this room, when we leave here in a few minutes, left our campus and lived this way every day for the next seven days with every person that we came into contact with. You just let that sink in for a minute. Do you see the exponential kingdom impact that just this room could have in seven days?”

45s

#BelieveTheirActions

“Because I hear you. You may be seeing a lot of potential, but can I encourage you? I love you enough to tell you. You're probably ignoring some patterns. Some patterns. See, if if there's a pattern of particular behavior and it doesn't match up with the fruit of the spirit, there's no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control. They continue to do things that aren't right. You call them out on it. They say, my bad, and they keep doing it over and over again. That, by definition, is a pattern, and you're all hung up on the potential, and they're showing you the pattern. And here's what God's word would say. When people show you who they are, believe them. Believe them. K?”

39s

#DontDatePotential

“And the best thing you could do, single adult, if you're in a dating relationship and you're all hung up on their potential and who they could be and all of this, the best thing you could do is dump them in the name of Jesus. Best thing you could do. Saving your time. Best thing you could do. I cannot believe a pastor would say that. Here's why a pastor would say that. Every day you spend with them is a day that life is robbing you from the opportunity to meet the person God has for you. And I love you enough to tell you that. Okay?”

70s

#ListenToHisVoice

“And if you'll pray this prayer, god will bring people into your life, at school, at work, at Starbucks, wherever you may be, and you begin to listen to what they're really saying. And as you listen to their voice, you'll begin to learn how to discern when god starts speaking to you through the still, small, quiet voice of the holy spirit. Saying things like, it sounds like they could use a little truth in love right now. Saying things like, it sounds like that they are in a state of condemnation. They could probably use some kind, gracious words right now. You don't always have to know what to say, but if you'll pray, Lord, help me to hear their voice. Lord, help me to hear your voice. Here's the here's the supernatural thing that begins to happen. It helps us keep from listening to the one voice that most often we're listening to in those situations, and that's our own voice.”

44s

#FullOfGraceAndTruth

“Jesus was the only one who ever got this right all the time. He was always full of grace and truth. He was never too truthful at the expense of being gracious, and he was never too gracious at the expense of being truthful. And I think when we recognize that we're commanded by God's word to be like Jesus, and we're supposed to be a light in this world, the hands and feet of Jesus, we begin to recognize that part of understanding and embodying this idea of grace and truth will lay a foundation that the passage today will be a little easier to understand, hopefully a little easier to apply. So, let me just give you a few things. I didn't put these in your notes, but I think this is helpful to kinda get us off and running today. Jesus doesn't call us to balance grace and truth.”

48s

#TruthWithGrace

“I hear that sometimes. We we just need to balance grace and truth. That that's actually not what is being told. We're not supposed to balance grace and truth. He calls us to be both full of grace and full of truth. Now that's challenging for a number of reasons, not the least of which is most of us are wired to be a little more of one than the other. Some of us are wired to be a little more truthful. Some of us are wired to be a little more gracious. If you're not sure how you're wired, ask the people who are closest to you. Okay? They know. They'll be happy to tell you. But either of those come with a little bit of a challenge. So here's the warning to all the the truth people. Okay? If you're a truth person, warning for the truth people. Truth without grace becomes judgmental.”

46s

#PrayToHear

“It's a little discouraging for me, but I know that's true. Okay? Now we're supposed to do all this. It's a great reminder. This is why God gave us the Holy Spirit. See, the Holy Spirit's always with you. The Holy Spirit's always guiding you. You don't have to always remember exactly what to do if you can learn how to listen and discern discern more carefully what the holy spirit is leading you to do. So you ask god for the wisdom you need. I'm a get real practical. I'm a give you a prayer. I want you to pray every day this week. It's a simple, powerful prayer. This prayer helps me a ton, god. In every conversation I have today, help me to hear their voice and help me to hear your voice.”

Ask a question about this sermon

NewHope Church This sermon · AI assistant

What does do not judge really mean?

How should Christians balance grace and truth?

How can I discern when to offer correction?