It’s good to be back in Luke’s Gospel, and today we’re looking at Jesus’ teaching on judgment in Luke 6:37–42. We started with a little fun—Jesus never called it the “Sermon on the Plain” or “Sermon on the Mount,” and He certainly didn’t ask for red pencils! But the message is serious: we’re not called to judge, because we’re all carrying logs in our own eyes. We also talked about why karma doesn’t fit in Christian theology—Jesus didn’t get what He “deserved,” and neither do we. Grace, not karma, is our hope. We give, forgive, and show mercy because that’s what we’ve received. And if we’re going to point at anything, let it be toward Jesus—not at someone else’s speck.

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Good morning. It’s good to be back with you again as we continue in our time in Luke’s Gospel. We’re in the middle of what Luke calls the Sermon on the Plain. You know, it’s funny—we call it the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, but nowhere does Jesus say:

“Hey guys, sit down. I’m fixing to give you the Sermon on the Mount.”
Or,
“Hey y’all, stand up and listen. I’m about to give you the Sermon on the Plain.”

He never calls it that! That just strikes me as a little funny.

One of the jokes from seminary was about those Bibles that have Jesus’ words in red. One of my professors used to joke, “Jesus must’ve told someone, ‘Okay guys, get out your red pencils and write this down. This is important.’” That always made me laugh.

Let’s read Luke 6:37–42:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged;
do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over—will be put into your lap;
for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

He also told them a parable:

“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?
A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself do not see 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 neighbor’s eye.”

This is Jesus’ teaching on judgment, and there’s a lot to unpack here.

First, yes—Jesus says, “Do not judge.” So let’s talk about two things:

1. Why we don’t judge.
2. Why karma doesn’t align with Christian theology.

Let’s start with karma.

One thing I think is really unhealthy for Christians is using the language of karma. We hear people say, “Well, karma will catch up with them,” or “Just do good, and good will come back to you.” But that’s not biblical.

Karma is a legalistic, transactional concept—do good, get good; do bad, get bad. But Christianity doesn’t work that way. That kind of thinking leads to a works-based theology, where blessings are rewards for good behavior. That’s not the Gospel.

As Tim Keller pointed out:
Who did more good than Jesus?
Who was more righteous than Jesus?
Who was more perfect than Jesus?

No one. And what happened to Jesus? He was crucified.

Yes, He rose again and reigns eternally—but His earthly life was marked by suffering and rejection. In fact, earlier in this same sermon, Jesus says:

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven.”

So yes—if we are faithful, we will receive our reward in heaven. But that reward does not always translate to ease or blessing here on earth.

We should want grace—not karma. The Bible says, “Your Father is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” God’s mercy doesn’t come because someone has done enough good to deserve it. And His judgment doesn’t come simply because someone has done too much bad. Grace is freely given.

I don’t want what’s coming to me—I want mercy.

We need to rid ourselves of the cultural notion of karma. That’s not our way. Grace is our way. Mercy is our hope.

Yes, some will read this passage and say, “Well, if you give, you’ll receive.” And that’s true—but the “good measure” God gives is not always measured in worldly terms. It’s something far better.

C.S. Lewis once said, “All Christianity offers you is full communion with God. But what else is there?”

If we are faithful, we’ll be blessed—but those blessings aren’t always tangible. They may not look like success or comfort. So we need to approach this text with the right mindset.

Now, let’s talk about why we don’t judge.

This gets summed up well at the end of the passage:

“How can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you don’t see the log in your own? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye…”

The reason we refrain from judgment is simple: we know better.

That’s what Paul meant when he called himself “the chief of sinners.”

Was Paul more sinful than anyone else? No. In fact, by most standards, Paul was among the most righteous. But Paul knew the law. He understood right from wrong. And he saw just how often he fell short.

Go back to Isaiah 6—when Isaiah sees the Lord, he says:

“Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips.”

Why? Because in God’s holiness, Isaiah sees his own sin more clearly.

Paul feels the same way. In Romans he says:

“The very things I should not do are the things I do. And the things I should do, I do not do. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

That’s why we don’t judge. Because we know better. And yet we still fall short. We still sin. We still gossip. We still hate. We still fail. So if I’m going to ask God for mercy every day—and I do—shouldn’t I also offer that same mercy to others?

We don’t judge not because others aren’t sinning—of course they are. We don’t judge because we’re sinning, too.

Christianity isn’t about standing over people—it’s about walking beside them. As Brennan Manning or Philip Yancey (I love them both) once said:

“Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

Rich Mullins put it this way in one of his songs:

“There’s no point in pointing fingers unless you’re pointing to the truth.”

If I’m going to use my finger, let it be to point to Jesus—not to someone else’s faults.

So we don’t judge because we’ve got logs in our own eyes. And we pray that God helps us see clearly—not so we can condemn others, but so we can love them with the same grace we’ve been shown.

There’s a lot to unpack here. But, once again, the teachings of Jesus are powerful. They can change our lives.

Alright—thanks for being with us today. We’ll pick up tomorrow with verse 43. See you then!