Read Matthew 7:1-6 and do the following exercises:
- Perhaps more than anything else, Christians are known in our culture for being judgmental and hypocritical – two of the very things Jesus condemns in this passages. Why do you think that is?
- All of Chapter 6 could be summed up with the words “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33). How does Jesus’ teaching about seeking God above all else provide a logical foundation for being the kind of people that don’t judge?
- Read Romans Chapter 14 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 5. What are the similarities with Jesus’ words? What are the tensions? How can we reconcile the tensions between Jesus and Paul’s words in Matt 6/Rom 14 on the one hand and Paul’s words in 1 Cor 5 on the other? How do we know when it is and isn’t appropriate to judge?
- Take some time to write out the ways you tend to judge others inappropriately. How can “seeking God’s kingdom first” help you let go of these issues?
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