Father, your Son is the only solid ground. Everything else is sinking sand. So please help us to stand upon the solid rock of your Son and His promises, your Holy Word. In Jesus' great mighty name we pray. Amen. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. I love that. A verse when darkness seems to hide his face. Doesn't hide his face, it just feels that way at times, so it's. It's great to stand upon the truth, even when it doesn't feel. Matthew Chapter seven. And we're going to be dealing with verses four and five today. But let's start with verse one, just to gain the context. Matthew seven, verse one, judge not that you be not judged with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite. First, take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Well, several conversations have occurred since I preached on the judge not passage. I've been asked questions, questions, things like, what do we do now? Okay, we know we're not supposed to judge people's hearts and minds and motives. We understand that passing judgment, condemning others, pretending to be God is wrong. But how do we judge? How do we help people who have sinned? How do we deal with issues that do arise? What about when they're not imaginary? What about when they're not misunderstandings? What about when it's not speculation or presumption? What about when there is actual sin? How do we deal with our brothers and our sisters when they've done wrong? And I praise God for those questions because it says this is a thinking church that you all are reading your Bibles, and you want to live in light of the Word of God. And listen, brothers and sisters, we must do these things. We must help one another in this way. We cannot survive as a church without this element of judging one another with a righteous judgment. This is critical to growing in holiness, producing fruit, following Christ. We need this. And Christ knows we need this. He wants us to do this. And this is why he instructs us how. So the first thing that Jesus does before he tells us how to do this, he asks us a question. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Now we would want him just to say, tell us how to do it. Jesus doesn't always do it the way we want. He's gonna first deal with our hearts before he gives us the how-to. Now we know the Lord is using figurative language here. These items are symbolizing other things. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? We see two people, we see two eyes, we see two pieces of wood, if you will, with two different sizes. And he starts out with the question of why do you see? Why do you notice? And this word for see that you see there, it means to observe. It means to gaze, to look intently upon. This is the same word that Jesus used in Matthew six, when he says, whoever looks at a woman to lust upon her has already committed adultery with her in His heart, this word. Look, it's not just some casual glance. This is an intent, intentional looking upon. It's the same word that's used of our father in heaven who sees in secret. Jesus is asking, Why do you see? Not like we saw the trees on the way here, the cars on the way here that we couldn't pick out of a lineup. No, this intentional looking and searching. So let's look at the characters, let's look at the elements of this parable that he tells. Two people, who are the characters of the parable? You and another Christian. You and your brother. You and your sister. That just, again, takes the roof off and you see the wide range of who this can include. This doesn't say that one person is in leadership and another is only a child. One person is a missionary while another is a brand new believer. There are no exemptions. There are no exclusions. There are no excuses here. you and any other Christian, no matter how holy, no matter how weak, no matter how long they've walked with the Lord, no matter if they are a brand new believer, none of that matters. The implication is every Christian needs this type of correction and every Christian can do this type of correcting. That's encouraging. We're on equal footing, equal ground before the cross of Christ. This isn't limited to men or women or children. If you are in Christ, then this is for you. To people, we also see two eyes, the eye of your Christian brother, Christian sister, and your eye. Now, why do you think he used eye? Why this illustration? Is there anything significant about it? Does this even call to mind something that we looked at recently? I think so. I think the eye that he is speaking about here is related to the same eye that we heard about just a few verses ago. Remember when he said the eye is the lamp of the body? So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. And you may recall that, what was he referring to there? The eye was a picture of the mind, the picture of the conscience, that thing which guides us like a lamp, that thing which allows us to see. And like we sang in the song, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look into his wonderful face. The things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Jesus is cautioning us in Matthew 6 to keep our eyes single, to keep our eyes distraction free, division free, disease free. Fixed upon Christ and then 13 verses later, he again uses the eye. He brings us back to the image of the eye. Why? Because if we need to keep our eyes focused on Christ, if we need to be able to behold Him in order to serve Him and not serve this world, in order to honor Him and not honor ourselves, in order to love Him and not love this world, then anything that is wrong with our eye is going to hinder that. And now we find something in our brother's eye and something in our eye that's gonna hinder our sight. The eye is for seeing, and the thing in the eye is hindering sight, is limiting vision. It presents the risk of blindness if not dealt with. We see two people, we see two eyes, and two pieces of wood of differing sizes. So what are in these eyes? What is hindering sight? What is blocking clear view of Christ? There's a speck in your brother's eye and a log yours. This is always the case. Every time you read this, that is the situation. The beam, the log, is always in your eye, and the speck is always in your brother's eye. Any attempt to reverse this is not being faithful to the text. You read this, every time you read it, the log is in your eye, and the speck is in your brother's. So what is the speck? It's a very good translation. Basically what it is, is the idea of a chip from a piece of straw, a flake of chaff, a tiny piece of a twig. And we get those things in our eyes. The wind blows. I mow the lawn from time to time, and the grass kicks up, and you close your eyes instinctively because you get just a little piece of that in your eye. You know it's there. It's bothersome. It's painful. Everything stops. I don't care what you're doing. You get something in your eye. You want to get it out. This is not saying it's a microscopic, insignificant speck of dust that doesn't matter that it's there. That's not what this is saying. Some people have taken it that way. No, this means, this is bad. It doesn't need to be in your eye. It will damage your eye. It needs to be removed. What about the log? This literally refers to a piece of heavy timber that is used for roof construction or to bar a door. Basically, it's a two-by-four. Okay, so you have like a splinter and a two-by-four. The two-by-four is always in my eye, and the splinter and the speck is always in your eye. The splinter and the log are understood to be sins. Sin in your life blocks you from seeing the preciousness of Christ. It limits your view of the glory of God, closeness of eternity, the evaporating reality of time. They are sins, either actions, mindsets, worldviews, beliefs, behaviors, words, deeds, responsibilities left undone. That's what these things are that are in the eye. They're both sins, and yet we can't help but notice there's a major difference between sizes. One a splinter, the other a large log of wood. Let me tell you what this does not mean, which the Catholic Church has jumped on this and other people. They have said that one person has a major sin. That's the log. You know, this person has shed innocent blood. This person has laid in the bed with someone who's not their spouse. That's a major sin. And this other person, they have a minor sin. They've just told a little white lie. Here's where the Catholic Church talks about, you know, these different categories of sin, some that need to be dealt with and others not really. But one, we know that that's bad because this limits the use of such a verse. We can only do this when someone has a major sin, and that's the only way that we can engage in this. But more importantly, this minimizes sin. Are there actually small sins and big sins? Are some sins no big deal while others are major issues? J.I. Packer said, and I agree with him, there can be no small sins against a great God. Now we know that all sins are not equal in their weight. John 19 11, Jesus answered him, you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. There is such a thing as greater sin. People say all sin is sin. All sins are equal. Well, not exactly. Jesus talks about greater punishment for the cities that would not repent. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you. That's levels of punishment, levels of sin. Even looking at the Mosaic law, 613 laws, statues and commandments, all of them from God, all of them necessary, all of them absolutely and essentially necessary to obey. And yet, every one of them did not bring the death penalty. There were only certain ones that carried capital crime punishment. There are levels to sin, there are levels to punishment, but make no mistake, taking something like a lie and making it small and say, that's a small sin, that's the speck, is not being faithful to the Word of God. All liars will have their place in the lake of fire. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. A proud look, a lying tongue. Satan is called the father of lies. There are no little sins. Sin is enormous. It's vulgar because of who it is committed against. Only one sin sent the entire human race into The curse. It was only one. One sin brought all of creation under the wrath of God. Sin is not small ever. So what are the sizes? If it's not levels of sin here, you have a tiny sin and a big sin. That's the speck in the log. No. What do the sizes mean? They have to do with perspective. We're going to come back to that. So keep a tab there. Jesus asked, why do you notice the speck that is in your brother's eye? Why do you notice this chip of wood, this piece of straw, this little splinter? that is in your brother's eye. Why do you see the sin that is in your brother's life? Now, there is no problem with seeing sin in one another's lives. That's not what Jesus is rebuking here. We have to. What is the problem? But do not notice the log that is in your own eye. It's not seeing sin in someone else that's the problem. It's not noticing the log that's in your eye. That's the problem. I mean, you get this picture and you had to think about the people hearing this. Jesus paints this illustration. So here you have your Christian brother, your Christian sister, and they have this tiny splinter in their eye. And here you come along with a huge two by four hanging out of your eye socket and you stare at them concerned. Your eyebrows are all furred and your lips are pressed and you're grieved. Look at them at the prayer meeting and you're knocking over cups and lamps because you got this huge log hanging out of your face. Your main concern is their splinter. All you can think about is their speck. I mean, all you can see is the splinter in their eye. You don't say anything at this point. You just notice it. Just looking at them. You're just judging them. You're so bothered by that little speck. It's driving you crazy. Why do you see? Why do you notice? Your eye is fixed on their splinter. Your mind is meditating on their speck. It's bothering you. It's grieving you. It's frustrating you. It might even be making you angry. Why do they have this speck in their eye? It's still there. Why haven't they taken it out? Don't they care? Don't they see? But it doesn't just stop with noticing. It doesn't just stop with seeing. Notice verse four. Or how can you say to your brother? Let me take the speck out of your eye. Now it's a step up. It's not just noticing. It's not just observing. It's not just seeing. It's not just recognizing they have something wrong. Now it comes to the place of let me get that for you here. Let me remove that for you. Now there's action. I'm gonna confront them about this. Let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye. You say, you know, I need to confront this sister about her sin. It's time. I've waited. I've watched as best as I can with this huge log hanging out of my head. But, you know, I'm going to pull them over in a corner and I'm going to say here, let me take that splinter out of your eye. Hold still. And you've got this huge thing. It's laughable. You know, people hearing this, it's ridiculous. Unless it's your eye. Unless it's your eye that somebody is trying to take something out of when they have a huge log in their own. They're unable to see clearly. They're unable to do it properly. The eye is so sensitive. The eye is so fragile. And Jesus calls this hypocrisy. Verse five, you hypocrite. What does that word hypocrite mean? Probably know this already, probably heard it many times, but it has to do with the mask. the mask that a stage performer would wear. I'm not actually Julius Caesar, but I'm going to wear the mask of Julius Caesar as I'm doing this whole play. But underneath the mask, I'm someone else. My whole performance is just that. It's a performance. That's what it means to be a hypocrite. It's all a show. And when you don't remove the beam from your own eye before you notice the speck, Before you seek to remove the speck in someone else's eye, Jesus says, you're being a hypocrite. Your heart is exposed as hypocritical. Why? Why is it hypocritical to notice the speck while you have a long, to seek to remove the speck while you keep the long? Because our hearts are exposed by the beam remaining. The true reason for your speck noticing and removal is exposed by the being remaining. It's not because we value the glory of God, because God is not glorified by our log and it remains. You can't say, I'm doing this because I want God to be glorified, because if that was true, then the first thing you would do is remove the log from your own eye. Imagine a personal trainer who is obese. Imagine a dentist whose teeth are falling out. Imagine the pest control technician whose own home is infested with roaches. Imagine the midwife who aborts her own babies. We would immediately see something wrong with that. We would immediately see that's hypocrisy. To say they care about health while their own is in danger is hypocrisy. To say they care about teeth while their own are rotten is hypocrisy. To say they are disgusted by vermin while their own at home is crawling with them is hypocrisy. To say she cares about babies while killing her own is hypocrisy. To say that you care about the glory of God and that's why you see their sin, that's why you confront them about their sin while leaving your own unchecked and undealt with is hypocrisy. It's not because we value the glory of God, otherwise our being would be removed. It's not because you value holiness, because the log in your own eye is not a holy thing, and yet it remains. If holiness is the goal, the focus, the intention, then our own personal holiness would come first, wouldn't it? You would hunger and thirst for righteousness in your own heart before you start hunger and thirsting for righteousness in others. You would pursue holiness first, yourself, before you insist on others pursuing holiness, if it was really about holiness. So then why is there a log in your own eye if this is about holiness? Why do you care about the holiness of everyone else except yourself? Why does every sin need to be seen, corrected, repented of in your wife's life, in your husband's life, in your children's life, in your co-worker's life, but your own remains excused, tolerated, undealt with? This shows that holiness is not the concern, Otherwise, your own eye will be clear, but the log remains. It's not out of care for the other person's soul. Some people say that. Well, no, the reason why I'm confronting them about their sins is because I care about their soul. That's why I'm coming. But the log is still in your eye. But again, think about that. This is out of love. I love you, brother. Don't you feel it? Again, the law remains. Remember when you were growing up and you had something in your eye, maybe an eyelash, and you would go to your mother or your father and say, you know, I got something in my eye, can you help me? And they would try to help you get it out. I knew I would always go to my mother because my father, he would have me pull my eye like that and he would inhale all his breath and blow. That's not how you take things out of people's eyes. The eye is sensitive. There is a care that needs to happen when you're trying to help somebody's eye, right? But what if it was more damaging? What if your eye was scratched and you needed to go to the eye doctor? Would you go to a blind eye doctor with their tools and they're going to stretch your eye open and now they're going to try to fix all that and they can't see themselves? What's going to happen with your eye? Clearly, If somebody can't see, and they're working on your eye, they don't care about your eye, because they know I'm going to damage your eye. I can't see well enough to take care of your eye, to deal with your eye in a gentle way. To say that I care about your soul, while I have a log in my own eye saying, let me remove the speck, exposes the hypocrisy. I don't care about your eye. This has nothing to do with my love for your soul. So what's the reason? Jesus says it is hypocrisy. Why do we notice? Why do we seek to remove the speck? Because we want to judge. We want to condemn. We want to attack. We've been offended and we want to get back. We want to have our own way. And yet all the while, wickedly pretend to act in a righteous manner. It's taking a jar of sewage and wrapping it in a beautiful box and bow. This is the Pharisee in Luke 18. The Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. That's the law. filled eye looking at the speck-filled eye. This Pharisee is filled with problems that need to be dealt with, but all he can see is everyone else's stuff. All he can see and all that he's concerned with is them, them, them. Look at them. Look at their stuff. But the log is hanging out of his face. So that's the wrong way. That's how not to do it. That's the hypocritical way. What's the right way? Jesus tells us in verse 5, you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. I mentioned earlier that we would come back to the issue of perspective, these different sizes. If it's not a major sin versus a minor sin, then what is the deal with the sizes? This has to do with how you see your sin. versus how you see other people sin. Notice that you have a log in your own eye. The log is always in your eye. And this is beautiful in the community of faith because You reading this passage, where's the log? In your eye. Me reading this passage, where's the log? In my eye. This is always going to be safe because we all have the log and we all have the speck, depending on who's looking. 1 Timothy 1.15, Paul says this, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am Foremost I am the chief. What is that? That's log language The key to removing the speck is first noticing the law remember what he said in verse 3 Matthew 7 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye? But do not notice the law that is in your own eye The first thing you have to do before you try to remove your log is to notice your law You need to see it and that was the problem that was not being done in the parable You have to see your own sin. You have to see your own situation, your own condition before God. So the question that I have for you is the question I had to ask myself when I was preparing this. How do you see your sin? Even forgiven sin, the failure in your life day to day, the distance between where you are and where you desire to be. Remember what he said? Early in this sermon, blessed are those who mourn. Mourn over what? Their sin. Christians mourn over their sin. Are we still weeping? Are you still weeping over your sin? Are you still grieved by your own sin? Are you still moved? Are you still affected? Does it still shock you that God, who is holy, would have anything to do with you? The problem he is bringing out is a failure to even Notice the log. How do you think of your own sin? Is it a small thing? Is it a minor issue? Is it no big deal? Are you comparing yourself to other people and thus exalting yourself like the Pharisee in Luke 18? Are you elevating, uplifting? Or do you remember the words that Jesus said? You therefore must be what? Perfect. as your Heavenly Father is perfect. And when you look at yourself, no matter how holy, no matter how godly, no matter how much you love God, you say, I'm not perfect. I am not measured up to that standard. I see myself. Is that where we are? This is the only way to see yourself with a log. Everything else is going to be, they got the log, I got the speck. Their sin is always worse than mine. I'm always better than them. You have to notice the sin in your own heart, in your own life. Paul was fully aware who he was before the Lord. He was not living in some secret sin. Why did he say, I am the chief? Why am I he the foremost? Because he knew who God was and he knew who he was. This isn't about what you are next to me or what I am next to you, but who you are before the holy and righteous God. The first step to seeing the Lord in your own eye is to behold God. It's in seeing him and in seeing him, you will see yourself and standing next to the king of glory. You see all your failures. You see all your selfishness. You see all your pride and all your lust and all your idolatry. is to see the blood of Christ poured out for your sins. You're not thinking about your brother's sins or your sister's sins. You're saying it was my sin that he was on the cross suffering for. It was my sin he was sweating drops of blood for. It was my sin that he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Those were my sins that he was suffering for. I did that. I'm guilty. I'm responsible. This is the weight that causes you to see what have I done to the King of glory that humbles you? It's critical. John Owen said, there are two things that are suited to humble the soul of man, a due consideration of God and then of ourselves. Of God and his greatness, glory, holiness, power, majesty, and authority of ourselves in our mean, abject, and sinful condition. And this is not a new thing. Remember the Lord's prayer? We're to forgive those who have sinned against us. How can you forgive when someone has abused you? How can you forgive when someone has betrayed you? How can you forgive when someone has harassed you and persecuted you and ridiculed you? How could you possibly forgive people who have done such horrible things to you? It's in remembering what God has forgiven you of. That's the only way. It's to remember who you are before God that humbles you. It's to remember what you've been forgiven of, what you have done against God, all of your offenses, and what does that do? It takes you away from looking at them. Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant? Pay what you owe. That's not consistent with the gospel. This is the same heart that leads us to forgive. It's the same heart that leads us to be merciful. It's the same heart that leads us to love our enemies. How can you love your enemy? Because I was an enemy of God and he loved me. This is not a new doctrine. This is all throughout the scripture. And in this very sermon, this is the heart that leads us to see. I have a log. And they have a speck. Isaiah saw the law. Remember Isaiah six, verse one. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings, with two he covered his face. And with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, here's Isaiah, righteous Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah. We heard sermon earlier from the book of Isaiah. This is the same one. Isaiah sees the Lord, and what does he say? Woe is me! Pronounced a curse upon himself, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips. His whole thing was prophecy! His lips were constantly the microphone, the megaphone for the Word of God. Thus says the Lord. And the first thing he points to when he sees God is, I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Or why does he see this way? Why does he talk this way? For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Do you notice how he only brought up the people's lips after he dealt with his own? He didn't say, I dwell in the land of a people of unqueen lips, but my lips are clean. No, he said, I got a log. I got a log. Why? Not because he was living in some secret sin, because he saw the Lord and compared to him, I am utterly unworthy. Job, remember what it said in the beginning? There is no one like him, blameless. Well, what happens after Job sees the Lord? Job 42 verse 5, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Do you remember how Job was sinned against by his friends? Do you remember the wicked things they were saying against God? How they were blaspheming his name? And notice, Job doesn't bring up his friends at all. He doesn't talk about their sin at all. Why? Because he saw the Lord. Do you see this? This is how we recognize the log. This is how we notice the log in our own eyes. The only sin he saw was his own. Seeing the beauty and holiness of God, it breaks you. It humbles you. The way to see your log is to see the Lord. So behold him. But we don't stop at noticing the log. It's not enough to just see it. He tells us, remove it. First, take the log out of your own eye. How do you remove the log? Well, first, if you are living in sin, if you have secret sin, if you know, I have sinned. My hands are not clean. My heart is not pure. I have lifted up my soul to worthless idols, then repent. Repent of your own sin before you go to approach somebody else. But what if you have no known sin? What if you're not doing that? What if you have a clear conscience? What then? How do you remove the log if you have a clear conscience? It's the same thing. The log is noticed and removed in the same way. It is in beholding the Lord of glory, seeing who you are before him, because the removal of the log is the humbling of the heart. The removal of the log is the ability to see clearly. And what is the clear vision? I am unworthy of his grace and mercy. That's the place of humility. So if you set your mind in that place, then you will have clear vision. It's in seeing Christ. Remember where he's brought you from. We heard about the man and the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Remember the tax collector's prayer, but the tax collector standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. He knew what he was and it broke him. So as you remember where the Lord has brought you, as you reflect upon what you've been forgiven of, as you behold the glory and the perfection and the splendor of all that Christ is, it will prepare your heart to remove the speck. It will humble you so that you can now help your brother or your sister. Jerry Bridges said, sin is wrong, not because of what it does to me or my spouse or my children or my neighbor, but because it is an act of rebellion against the infinitely holy and majestic God. So even if this person that you need to confront has done some terrible things, you can approach them with the mindset of, I am the chief of sinners. I am a man of unclean lips. I despise myself in dust and ashes. And it's not a trick. It's not an act. It's not a game. It's not pretending. Okay, I'm going to act like I'm really a horrible person when I know I'm really not. No. God is real to you. Your sin is real to you. The blood of Christ is real to you. Forgiveness is real to you. And the more you see that, the humbler you will be to be able to approach your brother or your sister who is sinning. Your primary focus is your own heart and soul before the God who made you. And the truth of the matter is, if you have a splinter in your own eye, it feels like a log, doesn't it? I mean, when your own eye has something in it, nothing else matters. And I don't care what you're doing, what you're watching, what you're eating, everything stops because it's your eye. When you feel the weight of your own sin, Everything stops That's the idea It humbles you Because the holiness of God is before your eyes So the smallest offense is an abomination to you because of who it is against, you know That God is worthy. He is worthy of perfect obedience and not one moment of your life Have you ever given him what he's worthy of that humbles you? All of this is involved in removing the log. And now that you see clearly the glory of God, now that you see clearly the holiness of God, the kingdom of God, the son of God, the log is removed, you see yourself in light of Him, you know where you are, it's because of His mercy, because of His grace, you understand that all that He has given to you, you're unworthy of, you see clearly now. What is your motive for going to your brother? What is your motive for going to your sister? You want them to see clearly, too. You want them to behold the glory of God. This isn't because they did something to make you mad and you want to get even. No, this is for his glory. You understand that anything in their eye limits their ability to see Christ and you want them to see Christ. Anything in their eye hinders their vision and you want them to see clearly. Your motive has changed from a selfish motive, which is the way we typically judge people and approach people and confront people about their sin, with anger and impatience and talking over them, and pride to a place of humility and love for God's glory and for this person's soul. Now you have eyes that can look with compassion and mercy. Sin needs to be dealt with and it will, but the way you go is totally different now that the log is gone. You want them to see what you now see. You don't want to remove the speck because specks annoy you. You don't want to remove the splinter because you're tired of them telling you about it. You're motivated by the son of God. So what are the tools we use to remove the speck? That's the heart we're supposed to have. That's the right motive, the heart, humility, the motive, the glory of God. What are the tools? How do we actually do this? Galatians six, one brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watching yourself, lest you too be tempted. You see how there's that log spec dynamic there? You're mindful of yourself. You understand who you are before God, you who are spiritual. You're thinking in the right way. You're looking at things not in a worldly, carnal, selfish, temporal way, but in an eternal way, you before God. And here's your brother, your sister, who has fallen. They have committed sin. They're taken in a transgression is what it says, caught. Restore them in a spirit of gentleness. There should be gentleness because of the humility that you now have. Imagine the tax collector coming down off of where he was praying after he just beat his breast, after he just confessed his sin, and now he bumps into somebody who was caught in sin. How do you think he would deal with them? Spirit of gentleness. Well, what do we need to do this? First, it's not what, it's who. We need the Lord. We cannot do this by ourselves. We need his help. Otherwise, as soon as you humble yourself, you behold him, you will find yourself falling right back into that prideful, selfish, log-keeping mindset. Peter walked on the water but began to sink as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus. Galatians 5 16. But I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Apart from him, we can do nothing. We heard it earlier. Fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Without the spirit of God, you will not be able to show love. You won't. Without the Spirit of God, you won't have patience, you won't be gentle, you won't be kind, you'll be unable to be faithful to this person's soul. We need the Spirit of God as we go to do these things. Proverbs 3, 5, and 7, often quoted, not as often followed. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, even the way that we confront sin. And he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. We need to acknowledge the Lord. We need to go with the spirit of God. We need to have his help because apart from him, we can do nothing good. So you humble your heart. You go with the right motive, the kingdom of God, the glory of God. You go with a spirit of gentleness to restore walking in the spirit. And you take the word of God. The word of God, Second Corinthians, four, six, for God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How do you help remove the speck? You need the supernatural help of the word of God. And only the Word of God is going to let this other person see the glory of God, the shining face of Christ. Hebrews 4, 12, For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's what you need to help your brother or your sister. You need to take the Word of God to them because only the Word of God can cut to their heart. Only the word of God can penetrate. Only the word of God is going to allow them to see light. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And if they are blinded by the speck, they need light to see. And the word of God is a lamp. Psalm 19, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. You need the wisdom of the Lord. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Bring the word of the Lord to them. So what does this look like? You've done all these things. You've humbled yourself before the Lord. You understand what needs to be done and why it needs to be done. You've prayed to God. You've come in the spirit of gentleness to restore such a one mindful of yourself. You have scripture with you. And here's this person who has committed a sin. Brother, sister, I wanted to talk with you about something that has concerned me. Earlier, I heard you say this. I saw you do this. And the word of God says this. I observe this from you and the Word of God says this, and I know you desire to walk in holiness. I know you desire to glorify God. I know that you want to love the Lord your God, and what you've done is not consistent with that desire. So how can I help you to repent of this? How can I assist you to walk in a manner that's worthy of the calling for which you've been called? You bring the word to them, specific to what they've done. You bring the word to them, specific to the issue that is on the table. Husbands, wives, we think of this in our marriages. Aren't we constantly seeing one another's specs? Don't we constantly need to confront one another about things that go on, the way that someone spoke, something that somebody did? Not speculation, it's clearly sin. you approach in the same way, mindful of your own sin before God, that's gonna take all that base out of your voice. You're not gonna be yelling at somebody. You need to repent if you are mindful of your own sin, understanding that the only reason you have not done what they've done is the mercy of God to you. And if you've done the very things that need to be confronted about, acknowledge that. I frustrated my wife to no ends because I've admonished her about things that I have done without acknowledging my own failures in that very area. You need to be gentle. You haven't always been gentle, but I don't bring that up. That's not good. Parents, You go to bring the rod to your child, discipline your children. Make sure you remove the log. Remember that you have sinned against God. You have rebelled against your father in heaven as your own child has rebelled against you. You have fallen short of the standard of holiness set forth in the word of God as your child has fallen short of the standard of righteousness set in your own home. Remember that as you apply the rod because that will allow you to discipline not with anger and wrath and vengeance But with sorrow of heart because you know where sin leads because you've walked down that road yourself This is how we must judge This is how we must interact, mindful of our own sin, mindful of the true motive, mindful of the only way to help, the power of God, the spirit of God, the word of God, not our own opinions, not our own feelings, not our own ideas. We bring the scripture and we bring it with a heart that is mindful of the Father in heaven. Now there's one other group and We're going to deal with pigs and dogs next week, Lord willing. But there's a reality that my eyes cannot see correctly. I have blind spots, as do you. And I can't see into the soul of anyone here, and I can't judge anyone's motive. We talked about that before. The secret things belong to the Lord. I'm not the judge. But God is. And God doesn't have logs or specks or splinters or beams. God sees accurately. God sees our hearts. God sees our motives. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is death. But the Lord, his eyes are pure. His eyes are true. The Lord is in his holy temple. His eyes see. His eyelids test the children of men. And if there are any here who are still in their sins, the Lord sees you. If you are hiding secret sin, the Lord knows, he knows, he knows. Repent while there is time. His eyes are perfect. He sees to your very soul and his judgments are always accurate. Our judgments are not always accurate, but his are. Today is the day to trust him. Today is the day to repent. Today is the day to call upon him. Because if you delay, if you procrastinate, then there's no hope for another chance, no hope for salvation. Salvation is of today. Eternal life is for today. Mercy is offered today. The eyes of the Lord are upon us today. Brothers and sisters, let's judge one another with righteous judgment. I need you to judge me. Because I don't know everything and I don't do everything right. I need you to help me remove the specks out of my eye. And you need me to help you remove the specks out of yours. But let's do it in a way that's consistent with the gospel. Father, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for loving us while we hated you. Thank you for making enemies, not only your friends, but your own children. Thank you that while we were sinners and haters of God, you loved us. Father, would you please help us to see correctly our own sin before you? Help us to have the eyes that Isaiah had. Help us to have the eyes that Job had. Help us to have the eyes that even Peter had. Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Help us to have the eyes that Paul had. That we would see ourselves truly as the chief of sinners. and that that would affect how we confront one another about each other's sin. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. May the Lord be with you.