Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Matthew 7:1-6), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• Read the parallel passage in Luke 6:37-42. Jesus is warning us away from self-righteous hypocrisy and the condemnation of other sinners. He is advocating for a confessional and empathetic approach to addressing the sins of others. If we submit ourselves to the gracious judgment of the cross of Christ, we should be able to relate to other sinners (“brothers”), to recognize the sins they struggle with (“specks”) as the same sins we have struggled with (“logs”). Then we will be able to help lead them to the foot of the cross, to Jesus. Have you looked to the cross of Christ’s gracious judgment, and seen where your sins were leading you, where instead Jesus went on your behalf? Have you found freedom in his forgiveness, to be able to confess your sins to God and to others? Have you found cause to celebrate God’s grace in being able to relate to other sinners?

• Have you ever recognized a hypocritical, condemning attitude in your own heart toward other sinners? (If you have recognized it, that’s a work of the Holy Spirit! Remember, hypocrisy is accompanied by blindness!) Have you ever been on the receiving end of the self-righteous condemnation of a hypocrite? What is it about hypocrisy that drives wedges between people? Why are hypocrites blind, and therefore unable to lead others to Jesus? How does Jesus free us from hypocrisy? What is the result of being freed from hypocrisy and a judgmental attitude?

• Here’s a blog post going into verse 6 a little more, that strange verse about casting pearls before pigs.

• FOR THE CHILDREN: Have you ever tattled on someone else (a brother, sister, schoolmate)? Why did you tattle? (Don’t say what that person did wrong; say why you felt you had to point it out as wrong.) What are you trying to accomplish by tattling? How do you feel when you tattle on others? Is that good for your relationship with the person you tattled on? Is there some other way you can talk to that person about what he or she did, besides tattling?