Kingdom citizens (church members)
have a responsibility to share in the gracious work of Christ in building and
strengthening the kingdom on earth. To accomplish this work, Christ
has gifted each of His people, engrafting them into the body and enabling them
with His Holy Spirit. Each local assembly adds to the growth of the greater
body (Eph. 4:16). The duties of each member are designed to maintain the unity
of the body through personal spiritual maturity and corporate holiness. Three terms
describe the kingdom condition in the gospel age: unity, purity,
and verity.
Matthew 7:1 is often used to
reprimand those who seek to correct others. This reaction is often expressed by
one who feels the sting of the rebuke because they are guilty. Does Christ
forbid what His followers are clearly encouraged to do? “Pay attention to
yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him”
(Luke 17:3). “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” (Prov. 27:5).
The Lord plainly commanded old
covenant saints to live in unity, purity, and integrity: “You shall not hate
[to be indifferent] your brother in your heart, but you shall reason
frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not
take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you
shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”
(Leviticus 19:17, 18). This duty is not removed but amplified in the new
covenant. As children of light, we are “to discern what is pleasing to the
Lord [and] take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose
them” (Eph. 5:10, 11). This calls for humility, discernment, spiritual
confidence, and courage in caring for Christ and kingdom. “Brothers, if
anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him
in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself” (Gal. 6:1, 2).
The term, judge, in
Matthew 7:1 means to function as a judge—to pronounce an opinion concerning
right and wrong from the bench, so to speak. It is to subject the one judged to
judicial censure by one who has no right to do so. Remember, the basic argument
of the Sermon on the Mount is not relaxing the commandments but fulfilling them
in new-covenant power and authority. New covenant people are to practice a righteousness
that exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:19, 20).
Nothing destroys unity in the
body faster than a critical spirit. It is dangerous both to one’s spiritual
life and to that of the whole body, being extremely contagious. A critical
spirit sees wrong in others and reacts with an unchristian and prideful
superiority. Such a spirit fails to love the offender or to seek his restoration
to healthy spiritual life. Such a spirit also subjects the critic to divine
discipline because he is equally guilty of sin. The critic falsely assumes a
spiritual standing because he thinks he is not guilty of the offense detected
in his brother. Sadly, the truth is that while the critic is aware of the
splinter in another’s eye, he is oblivious to the log in his own (7:4, 5).
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