His Family: A study through the Sermon on the Mount (Part 7)

As we step into the final chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints a beautiful picture of life within God’s family. In these verses, we hear familiar family language — brother, son, children — reminding us that we are part of something deeply relational as believers. Jesus invites us to consider how we treat our brothers and sisters in the family of God, and how we relate to our Father who cares for us perfectly. This month’s Cornerstone Impact blog will both challenge and comfort us as we seek to live as His children.

Matthew 7 starts out with a very familiar verse: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (NIV). This is a verse that many non-Christians love to bring up, while Christians often struggle with how to apply it. Jesus goes on to explain what He means by judging — He is not saying there should never be any form of judgment. The issue Jesus addresses is how and why we judge others. He doesn’t want people focusing on what’s wrong with others while ignoring what’s wrong in themselves. If we have sin in our own life (the log in our eye), we should not be preoccupied with pointing out someone else’s smaller faults (the speck in their eye).

Often, judging others when we have our own unresolved issues is a defensive move. It can give us a false sense of power, allowing us to avoid facing our own shortcomings. When we’re being judged, it can make us feel “less than,” and our natural response is often to judge back — judgment becomes a vicious cycle. As Christians, we may hear unbelievers quoting this verse to us: “How dare you judge us?” That can make us defensive. Instead of looking inward, we can be tempted to lash outward.

Verse 6 is another well-known verse: “Do not throw your pearls before pigs.” If we place verse 1 and verse 6 side by side, we see a similar structure:

• A negative command (“do not judge” / “do not give/throw”)
• Followed by a warning of what could happen (“you will be judged” / “lest they tear you to pieces”)

While verse 1 addresses judging, verse 6 is about offering someone advice or correction that they are not ready to receive. If we see a speck in our brother’s eye — recognizing that something may be wrong — that doesn’t automatically mean it’s wise or helpful to point it out. Verse 6 reminds us that offering correction to someone not spiritually ready to receive it can be futile or even harmful. If we fail to recognize whether a person is ready for correction, it may be because our own vision is clouded (by the log in our own eye). Jesus wants us to examine our own hearts before attempting to correct others.

So, Jesus isn’t telling us that we should never judge; rather, He’s cautioning us to be wise and humble when doing so. In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Paul explains that calling out fellow believers when they are living in clear disobedience to God’s Word can be a loving thing to do. But our attitude is key — it must be done with humility and love, not condemnation. It’s never our role to condemn unbelievers — only God is their judge. Our role is to extend grace and share the hope of the gospel.

There is a fine line between loving correction and harmful judgmentalism. Judgmentalism has two toxic components: condemnation (“You are less than”) and self-righteousness (“I am better than”). When we fall into this trap, empathy vanishes — and Jesus strongly warns us against this posture.

It’s easy to slip into harmful judgmentalism. To avoid that, we must “rejoin” the human race — that is, remember that we are all finite, flawed, and fallible. Recognizing our shared brokenness produces humility, which allows us to extend grace to others. Before we judge, we must keep all of this in mind and continually check our hearts.

In the next section, Jesus shifts the focus to how we relate to God, our Father. Remember how Jesus ended the previous chapter by telling us not to worry? Now He builds on that message by reminding us to trust in God’s goodness. God is approachable and accessible, like a loving father.

Jesus tells us to seek God. If we earnestly seek Him, we will find Him. In verses 9 and 10, Jesus describes how God provides for our physical needs. Then, in verse 11, He assures us that God — our loving Father — desires to give us good gifts. Whatever burdens we carry, whatever needs we perceive, we can bring them before God. This doesn’t mean God will give us whatever we want — He’s not a genie — but we can trust His goodness and rest in the knowledge that He will care for us.

Finally, Jesus concludes with the Golden Rule:

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

This simple statement beautifully summarizes Jesus’ teaching. We are called to live with empathy — the ability to understand and share in the feelings of others. While the rest of the Sermon on the Mount provides specific applications, the overarching relational principle is this: treat others the way you would like to be treated. All of our actions toward others should be guided by empathy and grace.

Are you living out the Golden Rule?

Cornerstone Impact Update

We're continuing the study through the book, Every Good Endeavor. In part 2 of the book it focuses on the problems with work in a fallen world. Last month, we looked deeper at the book of Ecclesiastes and dove into the uncomfortable truth about work: even when we pursue our passions and achieve success, we often still wrestle with the frustration and sense of meaninglessness. If you missed the blog, you can find it here:

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