within the Christian Family. Matthew 71-5: Jesus repeats the word brother in vs. 3, 4 & 5. So we know Jesus is teaching us about our attitude to one another within the Christian Family.

Matthew 71&2: Christians – don’t judge one another. Jesus is not talking about judges & law courts. Jesus cannot mean we must never discern between truth & error, goodness or evil! So what does Jesus mean? Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults – unless of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging! (The Message Paraphrase)

Matthew 73-5a: Christians must not be Hypocrites! Jesus said that a disciple who behaves like this  is a hypocrite! Luke 189: Jesus told a parable to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. We tend to exaggerate the faults of others, and minimize our own faults!

Matthew 75: Don’t be a hypocrite – be a loving brother/sister. First – take the plank out of your own eye! Deal honestly with your own fault. Romans 123: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather with sober judgement…. Then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Strong people don’t put others down…… Galatians 6, verses 1 & 2: Strong people don’t put others down…… they lift them up. Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already!

Verse 6 – Jesus says something shocking: some unbelievers are like dogs and pigs! Dogs: Psalm 2216,20, Matt.1526,27, Revelation 2215 Pigs are ‘unclean’ for Jews. 2 Peter ch.2 : people who reject the Gospel, & slander Jesus are called dogs & pigs [verse 22] Sharing the Gospel with some people seems hopeless – they just trample it in the mud! But – to ‘give up on people’ & stop sharing the Gospel with them is very serious. The teaching in this verse is for exceptional circumstances!

Ephesians 429-32: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Romans 1410: You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.