Do Not Judge

Matt 7:1-6

The word for “judge” here is the Greek word “krino.” It can mean “to decide between two or more options.” In this context it means “to evaluate and create a critical opinion of something.”

People love to use this verse against Christians as a way of saying, “You can’t tell me what to do…Your religious leader said so.”

Of course, this runs up against other things Jesus said, such as John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” So, according to the words of Jesus, there is a judgment to do and not to do.

To understand the type of judgment that Jesus said not to do in Mt. 7:1, let’s break down the passage.

But is Jesus saying we should not evaluate or use discernment? Is He suggesting that we buy into “you do you” mentality within society or among our friends? If not, why not?

No. He can’t be saying any of that. In verse 6, he mentions not throwing your pearls before swine. If we cannot judge, how are we supposed to know who are the swine? So, what is he saying here?

HOW SHOULD WE NOT JUDGE?

Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged” and then gives us a warning that if we do judge, we will be judged by the same standard that we use against others. This warning has three different applications that I can see, all of which are appropriate to shining the Gospel effectively in our world.

The first application is “Do not judge others as less than.” This seems to be the natural inference of what Jesus was saying, for the judgment of others is comparative in nature. When we compare ourselves to another person we always use a list or some standard by which to demonize them. What we fail to remember is that despite the list we may use for these comparisons (whether it be intelligence, rationality, emotions, choices, personality, self-awareness, competency, attractiveness, or something else), James 3:9 teaches that we do not have the right to curse or slander people who have been made in the likeness of God. Indeed, we are to bridle our tongue and to tame it. For the tongue “is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8). It “plots destruction, like a sharp razor,” (Ps. 52:2) and “is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully.” (Jer. 9:8)

But Jesus calls us to be light in Mt. 5:16. And what is the purpose of being light? To have others see your good works and then doxazo (praise; glorify) God. In other words, we are to make the goodness of God and the perfections of God so PUBLIC that others erupt in exultation from having encountered God. It is a praise that extols His worth, a praise that CELEBRATES His goodness!‌ It is, in short, worship.

But when you judge others, how can God be exulted in, extolled, or celebrated? (He can't)

Why?

Because judging is not a work that helps anyone see or interact with the character or worth of God. Holding somebody in contempt does not allow you to be a conduit of God’s grace. Slandering somebody does not amplify God’s kindness, nor does condemning someone for their character flaws radiate God’s patience.

Judging only helps others see the inadequacies of themselves, not the sufficiency of Christ. It makes people defensive, not receptive. And when they get defensive, what are they defending? Themselves! They are arguing for the sufficiency of themselves!

‌

"I'm not that bad!"

"Everybody does it."

"Why shouldn't I do that? What's the big deal?"

"These are my private choices. BACK OFF!" And on and on it goes.

Every defensive tactic is an argument for the inferiority of the judge (that’s you) and the supremacy of the one being judged (themselves). But they do not just protect themselves; they try to gain superiority over you by magnifying their victimization and demanding restitution and recompense in some way because they have been falsely accused and treated unfairly. This new gospel of entitlement, then, becomes the gospel they they cling to with both fists, not the Gospel of the Cross. Instead of showing them the beauty of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ, the need for a savior, and the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, your judgments have set up a dynamic in which any allusions to sin and any invitations to accept God’s gift for them are seen as an attack on their egos and an impediment to their “rights.” Instead of being a light that illuminates God and the Gospel, you have become an unwitting accomplice of Satan who keeps unbelievers “from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:4)

‌Thus, it is an important warning and reminder to us to keep the judgment of others off of our lips and out of our hearts. But when Jesus tells us, “Do not judge” He is not saying this for the other person’s sake only. He is saying it for our sake as well. He knows that there is no way we can judge a fellow human being and keep our heart pure, because “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” (Mt 15:18).

The judgment of others requires us to inflate our fragile egos by highlighting the worst in someone else without looking at (or at least minimizing) the flaws within ourselves. Or as Jesus said it, we ignore the log in our own eyes to help someone out with the speck in their eyes. This is the second application in this passage: “Do not judge yourselves as better than.” For the same standard that we use against others can be used against us.

In Romans 2:1-3, Paul says, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?”

The answer, of course, is “No.” Once again James boils down the danger of judging others via comparison to its root cause, stating “if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (James 3:14-16)

This, too, is a hindrance to the Gospel, because 1) While some may tolerate (and even prefer) that you recognize their sin without pointing it out, they will not abide the hypocrite who points out their sin but refuses to deal with his own failings, and 2) The judgment that exalts ourselves points people away from seeing how the Gospel of Christ is effectually transforming our own brokenness day by day.

2 Cor. 13:5 says that we should examine ourselves and test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. The word "test" in this verse is the same word used when discussing the "testing" of metals. It is a purifying of the metal by melting it over and over again to remove the impurities. We ought to do the same with ourselves. Examining and testing ourselves should be continual, a constant bringing of our sins before the throne of God and doing battle against them in the power of the Spirit. But this is not a man-made thing. Remember, Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Or Galatians 2:20 that says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Or 1 Cor. 15:10 “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” Therefore, as God refines us, there is a miracle occuring. I do the work but at the same time it is not I who does the work. It is I who wrestles and implements the change, but it is God who works. It is He who wills and works for his good pleasure. In this holy interaction, we behold the glory of the Lord and begin to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:1-2), so that we become living evidence of how the power of God transforms a sinner.

But this is not just another religious pathway to self-improvement where if I work hard enough or perform well enough, I will receive the verdict of being good enough. This is something altogether different. Do you realize that all other worldviews and religions operate from a position of “our performance leads to a verdict? But Christianity is the complete opposite of this.

Tim Keller explains this in his book The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness:

“Do you realize that it is only in the gospel of Jesus Christ that you get the verdict before the performance? The atheist might say that they get their self-image from being a good person. They are a good person and they hope that eventually they will get a verdict that confirms that they are a good person. Performance leads to the verdict. For the Buddhist too, performance leads to the verdict. If you are a Muslim, performance leads to the verdict. All this means that every day, you are in the courtroom, every day you are on trial. That is the problem. But Paul is saying that in Christianity, the verdict leads to performance. It is not the performance that leads to the verdict. In Christianity, the moment we believe, God says 'This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,' Or take Romans 8:1 which says 'Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'. In Christianity, the moment we believe, God imputes Christ's perfect performance to us as if it were our own, and adopts us into His family. In other words, God can say to us just as He once said to Christ, 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ “You see, the verdict is in. And now I perform on the basis of the verdict. Because He loves me and He accepts me, I do not have to do things just to build up my résumé. I do not have to do things to make me look good. I can do things for the joy of doing them. I can help people to help people -- not so I can feel better about myself, not so I can fill up the emptiness.”

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Think about that. You can step out of the proverbial courtroom. You are no longer on trial. And if you stop judging others as less than, and stop judging yourself as better than, then maybe you can avoid the third and final way of judging, which is viewing yourself as EQUAL TO God.

‌

This may be the most important injunction of all and may be the one we violate most often without realizing it. This can come in the fashion of “God shouldn’t have____” or “How could a good God do ____?” But whatever form it takes, judgment often challenges God’s character. This is the mistake that Adam and Eve made in the Garden. It is the mistake the Israelites made in the wilderness multiple times. It was the mistake they also made when asking for a king “like everyone else.” And it is the mistake we make when we speak evil against others. For in judging others we inadvertently wind up placing ourselves on equal footing with God.

James 4:11-12 teaches, “Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” (NIV)

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

‌

When we judge others we often make them less than ourselves in some way. When we judge ourselves as better than we try to make our worth dependent on our performance. And when we judge ourselves as equal to God, we boast in our wisdom or our strength or our wealth. But God does not want our boasting to rest on any of these earthly or temporary things. He wants our boasting to be rooted in understanding and knowing Him "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," (Col. 2:3), treasuring His kingdom, the pearl of great price (Mt. 13:45-46), and trusting in His never-failing strength (Ps. 73:26). Therefore, the character of God, not your situation, is THE BASIS OF THIS COMMAND: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Php. 4:4) And this is why he reminds us of our position in relation to Himself when Paul writes: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:27-31)

But if we tell God He is not enough, because our money brings more security, or that He is not supremely pleasurable because our flesh provides more enjoyment or that He is not necessary, because we are wise in our own eyes, then are we not admitting that the Gospel is not necessary or effectual for ourselves or for others. Should we be surprised, then, to find that He will judge us by those things we cling to? Will He not say, "[Your] idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat." (Ps 115:4-7) Yet, "When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!" (Isa. 57:13)

QUESTIONS?

So, in light of how not to judge, how does Matthew 7:6 ““Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” connect to these ideas?

Matthew 2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

it probably further qualifies the command against judging. One must try to discern whether presenting to others that which is holy will elicit nothing but abuse or profanity. In these instances restraint is required

Matthew (2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29))

Jesus is obviously not telling his followers not to preach to certain kinds of people, but he does recognize that after sustained rejection and reproach, it is appropriate to move on to others

It is similar to what Jesus says of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.””

Or Paul’s response in Acts 18:6 “And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.””

The Golden Rule

HOW DOES THE GOLDEN RULE APPLY TO JUDGING?

Most of these parallels phrase the rule negatively (sometimes called the “silver rule”), implying, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.” It is not clear how significant this difference is, but Jesus’ positive phrasing does remind us of the principle that we can never fully carry out Christ’s commands. As Mounce explains: “In its negative form, the Golden Rule could be satisfied by doing nothing. The positive form moves us to action on behalf of others.” But from a Christian perspective even negative commands imply positive action. Thus, e.g., in the first antithesis (5:21–26) even if we succeed in not murdering and in not hating or verbally abusing others, we still have not completely obeyed until we earnestly seek others’ well-being. With its reference to “the Law and the Prophets,” 7:12 ties back in with 5:17 and provides a frame to bracket the body of the sermon.

FINALLY, WHAT DO WE DO?

Col. 4:2-6 gives good guidance here:

1) Continue in steadfast prayer 2) Be watchful in prayer 3) Be thankful in prayer 4) pray we will make the Gospel clear, which is how we ought to speak 5) Be wise towards outsiders 6) Let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.

#1-3 are how we should interact with God in regards to the Gospel and #4-6 is how we should interact with outsiders (i.e., those who are not like us) in sharing the Gospel.