Self-Righteousness or Seeking God? Matthew 7:1–12. Christ’s Ethical Teaching on Relationships. A Series of Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount, Part Five

Author: Boyan Mak Mihaylov

Abstract:

Boyan Mak Mihaylov, Self-Righteousness or Seeking God? Matthew 7:1–12. Christ’s Ethical Teaching on Relationships. A Series of Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount, Part Five. Sofia: Holy Trinity Christian Church, October 10, 2026

This sermon, the fifth in a series on the Sermon on the Mount, examines Matthew 7:1–12 and Christ's ethical teaching on relationships. It focuses on four relational contexts: relationships with brothers and sisters in the faith, with those who persistently mock or reject the holy, with the Heavenly Father, and with society at large. The sermon contrasts self-righteousness—reliance on one's own opinions, works, merits, status, or religious ritual outside of Christ—with the genuine seeking of God. In Matthew 7:1–5, Jesus warns against judgmental hypocrisy, using the humorous image of the beam and the speck to show that correction of others must begin with self-examination and should be done as a physician heals, not as an enemy punishes. Matthew 7:6, on pearls, dogs, and swine, is interpreted as a warning against exposing the holy to persistent scoffers and against false religion, philosophy, or ideology that rejects God's grace and promotes human merit. Matthew 7:7–11 presents asking, seeking, and knocking as principles of prayer that place believers in dependence on God and serve as the antidote to self-righteousness. Matthew 7:12, the Golden Rule, summarizes the Law and the Prophets and is presented as an ethic that only disciples abiding in Christ can truly live out by grace. The sermon concludes with self-examination questions about reliance on personal merits, the place of seeking God in daily life, extending grace to those in broken relationships, and praying for enemies.

Original language:

Bulgarian

Keywords:

self-righteousness, seeking God, Matthew 7:1–12, Sermon on the Mount, judging others, hypocrisy, Golden Rule, prayer, grace and discipleship, Christian relationships¹

Introduction

The Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s ethical teaching about the Kingdom of God – the first of the five discourses recorded by the Evangelist Matthew. It was spoken by Christ while He was teaching and healing the crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (Matt. 4:25). At the same time an ideal, but also a transformative initiative², in which we can always find greater depth. Reflecting Christ’s ethical teaching, it was given to Christ’s disciples, who had the task of making other disciples (Matt. 28:18–20).

The entire sermon from beginning to end is filled with the idea of God’s grace and mercy, starting from the Beatitudes. The focus of Matthew 7:1–12 is primarily on relationships: 1) with brothers and sisters; 2) with a group of people whom Jesus metaphorically highlights through the examples of dogs and pigs; 3) with our Heavenly Father; 4) with people in society.

In Luke 18:9–11 Jesus tells the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, because among the listeners there were those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Therefore self-righteousness is the conviction that a believer can have some righteousness of his own outside of Christ – for example, in keeping the law, in good works, or even in observing Christian ritual. Self-righteousness always presupposes some comparison – “I am holier, more righteous, more faithful, more worthy, more active, better...” In the following verses Christ will thoroughly demolish this attitude.

“Do Not Judge, So That You May Not Be Judged...” (Matt. 7:1–5)

“1 Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5)

The verb “to judge” (κρίνω³) has three main meanings. In its literal meaning, it means to divide, to distinguish. The next meaning is to think, to evaluate. And the third meaning – to judge, to pronounce a verdict.⁴ It is obvious that the Lord Jesus Christ uses the word in its second and third meanings, because in the second verse He uses the word judgment (κρίμα⁵) and the word measure (μετρέω⁶).

Jesus shows the reciprocity of our actions toward brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God. Jesus connects the eye with spiritual vision, as He does in Matt. 5:29, Matt. 20:19, and Luke 11:34. The example He gives with the beam and the speck is comic. It can easily be verified that if we close one eye, we lose our sense of proportion and distance. Jesus calls the Christian who tries to judge, to pronounce a verdict on another Christian, a “hypocrite” (ὑποκριτής⁷) – a word also translated as actor, artist, double-faced person.

John Stott writes:

“Now Jesus exposes human hypocrisy toward other people – we concern ourselves with their small mistakes, but fail to struggle with our own personal sins”⁸

The Lord does not forbid us to correct our brother or sister (to remove the speck), but He advises us first to be aware of the measure and of our own capacity for spiritual vision. Therefore St. John Chrysostom writes concerning correction:

“Correct him, but not as an enemy or opponent demanding punishment, but as a physician giving medicine.”⁹

Practical for us. There is an excellent way to remove the speck from our brother’s eye – to lead by personal example, by giving our life for others and becoming servants: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) This is not very fashionable in our daily life. People will mock us and laugh at us, but some will be touched by God through our attitude.

Pearls, Dogs, and Swine (Matt. 7:6)

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matt. 7:6)

This passage has puzzled interpreters through the centuries. The early Christian document from the 2nd century, the Didache, interprets this passage as a prohibition against the unbaptized receiving the Eucharist.¹⁰ St. John Chrysostom interprets it as people living in “incurable godlessness”¹¹ Perhaps the most accurate description is given by the reformer John Calvin, who writes:

“It must be understood that dogs and swine are names that do not refer to all corrupt people, nor to those lacking fear and true piety, but to those who, despite clear testimonies, do not hide their deep contempt for God, so that their disease proves incurable”¹²

What is obvious in what Jesus says is that dogs do not distinguish between holy and unholy, and swine are not interested in pearls and would trample them. In Matt. 13:45 Jesus tells a parable:

“45 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 and when he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matt. 13:45–46)

Obviously here Jesus is speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God is built entirely on the grace and mercy of God. Its value surpasses everything else in this world. Therefore this example speaks to us of two dangerous groups:

1) People who are incurably mocking toward the Good News. They are usually clear and easily distinguishable, because they openly oppose.

2) False religion, philosophy, and ideology that does not trust in God’s righteousness. It can also be disguised, insidious, often resembling Christianity.

“‘Cheap grace’ is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ – living and incarnate.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

If cheap grace is grace without discipleship, then self-righteousness is discipleship without grace!

Application. From the perspective of the self-righteous person, the Kingdom of God is something that such a person thinks belongs to him by right. The self-righteous person sees his place in the kingdom only as a reason to exalt himself and compare himself with others. He thinks that in some way he has earned the right to be in the Kingdom.

And in principle false religion always elevates human merits above God’s mercy and grace. Every religion, ideology, or philosophy that tramples and tears apart Christian ethics (terms from Christ’s example) and bases it on something other than righteousness in Christ is self-righteous in its essence and contrary to God. Our task is to recognize it and to guard the Holy and the Pearl from it. Our daily life is literally flooded by it – the most recent example is so-called “Christian” nationalism. Although gender ideology is on the opposite political spectrum, in essence both are different forms of self-righteousness.

Asking, Seeking, and Knocking (Matt. 7:7–11)

“7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; 8 for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone, 10 or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:7–11)

Jesus does not live with the illusion that people are good by nature. He says, “you, who are evil,” which includes us. The Father is good, unlike us. Jesus teaches three principles of prayer (compare Luke 11:9). First, God wants us to ask. He waits for our initiative. Andrew Murray writes that “asking refers to the gifts for which we pray.”¹³

Second, seeking God is an attitude of the heart necessary as preparation for coming to Him. Andrew Murray writes that “seeking is the word Scripture uses for God Himself; Christ assures me that I can find Him. But it is not enough to find God in time of need without reaching lasting communion.”¹⁴

Knocking on the door is a metaphor, since God, who is the Holy Other, must be approached in His distinctness from us. Again Murray: “knocking speaks of being admitted to live with Him and in Him. Asking for and receiving the gift in this way would lead to seeking and finding the Giver...”¹⁵ In Luke 11:9–13 it says that the Holy Spirit is the gift that will be given, in contrast to “good things” (in Matthew). But the most important thing is to listen to God in order to obey (Luke 11:28).

Practical for us. Seeking God, asking, and knocking are opposed to self-righteousness, because they place us in dependence on God and are a confession that in our human nature there is no merit in itself. Sincere prayer is the most powerful weapon against every form of self-righteousness and the desire to judge others. It shifts the focus from our self to God, who becomes the true Center of our faith.

The Essence of the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 7:12)

“Therefore, whatever you want people to do to you, do also to them; for this is the essence of the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12)

In the history of ethics this verse is known as the so-called “Golden Rule” – a fundamental ethical principle summarizing the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ about the Christian’s duty to his neighbor. It can also be stated in a negative form: “Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.” It recalls the commandment “to love the foreigner” from Deuteronomy. It is found in later Christian writings – the Didache and the Apology of Aristides, as well as in Judaism and other religions.¹⁶

Writing about the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sees our righteousness solely in our healthy relationship with Christ in the process of discipleship. John Stott summarizes: “Of course, outside of God’s grace this love is beyond our strength”¹⁷.

The Golden Rule is good for all people in the world, but the power to fulfill it is possessed above all by the disciples of Christ, if they abide in Him.

Practical for us. We live in a society where it is becoming increasingly difficult. Physical and verbal aggression, hate speech, polarization. According to Christ, if you start a war (personal or between states), war will come upon you. If you intrigue at work, others will intrigue against you. If you want to be lied to, then it is a good idea for you to lie as well.

Conclusion

It turns out that the main choice we make as Christians is between our self-righteousness, the ability to emphasize, hold on to, trust in our own opinions, works, merits, worthiness, work, status and others, or to seek God.

Let us ask ourselves the following questions today:

1. Do I trust in my opinions, works, merits, worthiness, work, status, or something else in relation to my spiritual life?

2. What place does seeking God have in my daily life? Why do I seek Him?

3. Do I show grace, unmerited mercy, toward people with whom I am in broken relationships?

4. Do I pray for grace and mercy for people who appear to me as enemies?

In the heart of the Sermon on the Mount Christ is concerned above all with our relationships. It is precisely sincere prayer and the conscious seeking of God that humbles us and places us in the right position in our relationships, both in the church and in society. He is Father, we are brothers and sisters, but we are also in relationship with the whole world.