Do Not Judge?

October 11, 2023

Besides perhaps John 3:16, one of the best-known Bible verses by those outside of Christ is Matthew 7:1 which says, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1 NAS95) These words have become a battle cry for many in the world.  When a Christian points out sin in this world, here comes the reply, “Don’t judge!”  When some behavior is decried as evil, you may hear the refrain, “Jesus said don’t judge!” What did Jesus mean by these words?  Did He mean that Christians should not make determinations or statements about what is right and wrong, what is good and evil?

Of course, Jesus did not mean any such thing.  Christians must be able to distinguish between good and evil.  We must “abhor what is evil and cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9 NAS95) This requires that we must distinguish, according to the word of God, what is good and evil.  A judgement must be made!  We are to “have our senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14b NAS95).  To have this discernment is a mark of Christian maturity.  In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle Paul instructs the church at Corinth to judge those who are within the church and to “remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 5:13 NAS95) In this case of flagrant sexual immorality, the church needed to make a judgement about what was right and what was wrong and act accordingly.

What then did Jesus mean when He said, “Do not judge”?  The context indicates that Jesus is speaking of hypocritical judgment where we would criticize and condemn another when we ourselves are practicing the same, or worse.  We should not try to remove the speck in our brother’s eye when we have a wooden beam in our own.  We must be careful to not harshly condemn one another, because by our standard of measure, it will be measured back to us.

But we must never let the world talk us into blurring the lines between right and wrong.  We must never let them cow us into believing that there are no standards of morality.  Christians must judge what is right and what is wrong according to the word of God and we must stand upon the truth.   

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Aren’t You Being Judgmental?

July 3, 2020

If you stand for Christian values, you will likely hear someone say, “Aren’t you being judgmental?” I like the story of Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu philosopher. He came to the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. In his address to the delegates, he said, “We [Hindus] accept all religions to be true,” and “[it] is sin to call a man [a sinner].” Of course, in making the statement, he himself has called someone a sinner (i.e., the one who calls another a sinner). I find it amusing. The charge of being judgmental is always a boomerang.

But what about “Judge not, that you be not judged”? Doesn’t that forbid judging. Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:1-6 has three parts. The middle part uses the image of getting a speck out of someone’s eye. The image of getting a speck out of someone’s eye is a way of talking about counseling or confronting someone about sin in his or her life. This isn’t forbidden, but we are first to get the beam out of our own eye. Jesus is concerned about hypocritical judgment.

But what about “Judge not, that you be not judged’? It is indeed a warning about judgment in a section that confirms we will indeed make judgments. What is Jesus’ point? The point is found in the explanation that starts with “for.”

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:2, ESV

Jesus is warning us about unmerciful judgments. If we want mercy from God, then we need to extend mercy to others.

Finally, Jesus warns about uncritical judgment, a failure to evaluate a situation and its dangers. Holy things are not to be given to dogs, and pearls are not to be thrown to pigs, because pigs trample, and dogs attack. Wisdom can know ahead of time how certain things and people will be treated by others. Jesus is warning us of an uncritical judgment in the face of persecutors.

Jesus is not opposed to us making judgments. He is giving us warnings about unmerciful, hypocritical, and uncritical judgments. It is impossible to live the moral life without making judgments.

The charge of being judgmental is always a boomerang, because it too is a judgment. The question in such cases is do we have an agreed upon basis for moral decision making. If we are both Christians, we should in the moral teachings of the Bible. If we don’t have a common basis for morals, then the problem is likely not judgmentalism regardless of the charge, but our competing ways of deciding what is moral. Both of us have the right to attempt to persuade the other, but in the end, if we can’t agree on the basis, we may have to lovingly disagree and wait for God, the Judge.

— Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden