A podcast listener named Danny writes in,

Pastor John,

if sin is self-deceiving,

even to the extent that we don't see entire logs in our own eyes,

how can we ever know a certainty that we see clearly enough to take out

specs in our brother's eyes?

Is Jesus's point in the Matthew 7.5 that we ought not to be

hypocrites seeking out specs, or does he really

intend that we should and can take out the specs from our brother's eye?

Pastor John, what would you say to Danny?

Well, here are two questions. One, how can we ever know

with certainty that we see clearly enough to take

out specs, and the other one is, does Jesus really intend for us to

take out specs? Now, my answer to the second is

yes, Jesus really does intend for us to take the spec out of our brother's eye,

and my answer to the first question is that the prerequisite for this

is not certainty, but scripture-saturated,

spirit-dependent humility. So let me give some support for that answer.

Jesus really does intend for us to be in the lives

of our fellow believers and point out to them specs

and help them see more clearly. That's the problem with the spec, right?

You can't see. You're driving a car, you get a spec,

...