Judgment

What Did You Learn About Judgment?

What does it mean to Judge?

Condemning someone

Deciding whether someone is right or wrong

Going to heaven or hell

Being critical

Evaluating someone's behavior

A courtroom

God punishing people

Judgment Doesn’t Always Mean Condemnation

krinō

to make a selection

to make a judgment based on taking various factors into account

to come to a conclusion after a cognitive process, reach a decision

krisis

judicial process

administration of what is right and fair

“right” in the sense of justice/righteousness

So judgment involves making a determination.

Sometimes that determination is:

"This is right."

"This is wrong."

"This person is innocent."

"This person is guilty."

"This action is wise."

"This action is foolish."

Sometimes it results in condemnation.

But judgment and condemnation aren't synonymous.

Matthew 7:1–5 NIV

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Is Jesus telling us to never make decisions concerning the behavior of one another?

Jesus isn't prohibiting discernment.

He's condemning hypocritical, self-righteous judgment.

The problem isn't:

“You noticed sin.”

The problem is:

“You noticed someone else's sin while ignoring your own.”

There are different kinds of judgment

A. Discernment

"Is this true or false?"

B. Moral judgment

"Is this behavior right or wrong?"

C. Wisdom judgment

"Is this wise or foolish?"

Romans 14 NASB95

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

D. Final judgment

This belongs uniquely to God.

Romans 14:10:

"For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God."

2 Corinthians 5:10:

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ."

There is a distinction between:

Evaluating someone's behavior & pronouncing someone's ultimate destiny.

We can say:

"That behavior is sinful."

We should be very careful about saying:

"That person is going to hell."

That's God's judgment to make.

6. God is the ultimate Judge

This is where I'd shift the focus from "Should Christians judge?" to "What does God's judgment reveal about God?"

Genesis 18:25

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?"

God's judgment is connected to His character.

He is:

Just

Righteous

Impartial

Holy

Merciful

Truthful

God doesn't judge arbitrarily.

7. Judgment isn't inherently bad

This is worth emphasizing.

We sometimes talk about God's judgment as though judgment itself is something terrible.

But imagine a world where God never judges evil.

Would that actually be good?

If someone abuses another person...

If someone exploits the vulnerable...

If someone commits terrible injustice...

Would we really want God to say:

"I don't judge."

No.

We want God to make things right.

That's why biblical judgment is actually part of the good news.

8. Judgment and justice belong together

This is an important biblical connection.

God's judgment means:

God sees what is wrong and will ultimately put things right.

That's why the Psalms frequently celebrate God's judgment.

Psalm 96:11–13 is a great example.

The coming judgment is presented as something the creation can rejoice about.

That's a very different picture from the idea that judgment is simply God looking for people to punish.

9. Judgment and mercy

Here's where you can connect this lesson back to your previous lesson on forgiveness.

God is both:

Judge AND forgiver.

Those aren't contradictory.

The cross demonstrates this beautifully.

Romans 3:25–26 explains that God is both:

just

and

the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God doesn't simply pretend sin doesn't matter.

He deals with sin while extending mercy to sinners.

That gives you a great theological question:

"How can God be both perfectly just and perfectly merciful?"

That's essentially the gospel.

10. What about judging other people?

I'd give them a simple framework.

Before judging someone, ask:

1. Am I judging the behavior or the person's heart?

I can observe someone's actions.

I cannot see their heart the way God does.

2. Am I applying the same standard to myself?

Matthew 7.

Log before speck.

3. Is this actually something Scripture calls wrong?

This is huge.

Sometimes we judge people for violating our preferences rather than God's commands.

4. Am I trying to restore them or condemn them?

Galatians 6:1:

"If anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one..."

Biblical correction should have restoration as its goal.

5. Am I leaving final judgment to God?

Romans 14:4:

"Who are you to judge the servant of another?"

And Romans 14:12:

"So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God."

11. A really important distinction

I'd put this on a slide or board:

DISCERNMENT

"Is this right or wrong?"

CONDEMNATION

"You are beyond hope."

RESTORATION

"How can I help you come back?"

Those are three very different things.

Christianity doesn't call us to abandon discernment.

It calls us to replace condemnation with restoration.

Discussion Questions

I'd probably pick 5–6 rather than ask all of these.

Why do you think "Do not judge" has become such a common description of Christianity?

What's the difference between judging someone's actions and judging someone's heart?

Can you identify a behavior as sinful without condemning the person? What does that look like?

Why is it so easy to recognize other people's sins while overlooking our own?

Is there a difference between judging something as wrong and deciding that someone is a bad person?

Should Christians ever tell someone, "What you're doing is wrong"? Why or why not?

How do we distinguish biblical convictions from personal preferences?

Why is God's judgment actually good news?

What happens when a church becomes afraid to make any moral judgments?

What happens when a church becomes obsessed with judging everyone else?

How should knowing that God will ultimately judge affect the way we treat people?

What does Jesus' command to "judge with righteous judgment" look like in real life?

Key Passages

I'd use these as your main passages rather than trying to cover dozens.

Matthew 7:1–5 — Don't judge hypocritically

John 7:24 — Judge with righteous judgment

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 — Christians are expected to make certain judgments

Galatians 6:1 — Judgment should seek restoration

Romans 14:10–13 — God is the ultimate Judge

James 4:11–12 — Don't put yourself in God's place

2 Corinthians 5:10 — Final judgment

Romans 3:21–26 — God's justice and mercy meet in Christ

The Big Idea

I'd ultimately boil the entire lesson down to this:

The Bible doesn't tell us to stop judging. It teaches us to judge differently.

Not:

"I am better than you."

But:

"What does God say is true?"

Not:

"You are condemned."

But:

"How can I help you?"

Not:

"I know your heart."

But:

"God knows your heart."

And not:

"I'll decide your fate."

But:

"We will all stand before God's judgment."