The following verses however show that the subject Jesus was addressing was hypocrisy, not judgment:
"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. Matthew 7: 3-5
These verses are not imploring us to avoid judging sin correctly in our brethren. It is instructing us to first look at ourselves before we criticize someone else for the same thing we struggle with. Ironically, that is the same principle we are talking about today in regard to the world. God wants our focus on our sin and becoming more holy to be inward focused. Ourselves and the church as a whole. Not outwardly to a fallen world. If we finish this section from Matthew it should become even clearer:
"Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. Matthew 7: 6 (NLT)
It is all distraction. Our outward focus distracts us from maturing as Christians because we feel better about our state of being than we ought. Our outward focus also misinforms the world of the real problem. Sin is only the symptom. The problem is the lack of a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the problem we should be addressing with the lost. If they accept Christ, then the Holy Spirit will do the convicting of the sin.
Throughout the Old Testament God
continually rebuked
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 2Chronicles 7: 14-15
These verses are often used by
well-intended Christians to rally people to pray for
Realize that if the world humbled itself it would only do so according to the standards it sets up. If they prayed and sought the face of God, quite often it would be a God they were making up as they went along because they do not understand the things of God. Even if they turned from their wicked ways it wouldn't matter because none of these things address the relationship problem they have. They would still lack the relationship they need with their Creator. They still need the reconciliation that can only come through Jesus:
