To Judge or Not To Judge, That Is The Question

Introduction

Have you ever had a conversation that went something like this (or heard of a conversation that happened like this)?

“Committing adultery is a sin and displeasing to God. You really need to stop this affair that you’re involved in.” “But I’m happy and I feel good. My marriage is draining me. And who gave you the right to judge me?! The Bible says ‘judge not that you be not judged!’”

Or maybe someone who is leaving the Lord and His church to go to a denomination that teaches false doctrine and practices things that are unauthorized from the word of God and they say: “the people at the church of Christ are just too judgmental. The Bible says that we have no right to judge someone else.”

Matthew 7:1 is the favorite verse of many people — even those who know relatively little about the Bible, they may know this verse. Behind John 3:16, this may be people’s favorite verse in the Scriptures.

But when it is quoted, it is never quoted in its full context. It is quoted in such a way to avoid any accountability and correction from others who urge repentance and doing what is right.

This certainly qualifies as one of the hard teachings of Jesus because it is sorely abused and misused.

“Do Not Judge...”

Matthew 7:1 is often quoted and that’s it. The conclusion: the passing of any judgment is wrong, discouraging, and sinful.

Jesus qualifies the statement by stating that the kind of judgment you hold people to is the same standard that they will hold you to - Matthew 7:2

Jesus does not condemn judging in the broadest sense of the term. He is condemning a specific kind of judgment — this will become evident as we continue to examine this text.

The Bible teaches us to make judgments in matters pertaining to moral behavior, faithfulness to God, and evaluation of truth.

Jesus tells His disciples to judge with righteous judgment - John 7:24

In matters pertaining to the local church, Christians must make judgments about moral/ethical behavior and if a professed Christian is being faithful to God - 1 Corinthians 5:12

Again, in the local church, when brethren are involved in a dispute, faithful and wise Christians should make proper judgments that reach a resolution - 1 Corinthians 6:3

We must make evaluations and judgments concerning what is taught. Teachings must be true and that involves judgment - 1 Corinthians 10:15; 1 John 4:1

Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:1 does not condemn judgment altogether. Jesus is teaching us about making judgments that come from wrong motives...

The Log and the Speck

Jesus illustrates the absurdity of hyper-critical judgments with the story of the log and the speck - Matthew 7:3-5

This is supposed to be somewhat humorous.

Would you want someone who has a big 2x4 come to try to get a piece of sawdust out of your eye?

Would you want a blind eye doctor telling you that you cannot see when they cannot see?

For the sake of illustration, Jesus assumes that both of these brothers are in the wrong, on some level.

The speck does need to be removed. While it might be minor, it should not remain.

The beam needs to be removed

The person with the beam is hyper-critical and looking for something small and petty — and we have to keep in mind that this person with the beam may not be capable of seeing the situation clearly. But notice what Jesus did not say:

Jesus does not say that the speck of sawdust did not need to be removed from the person’s eye.

Jesus did not say to ignore the help from the hypocritical brother. While someone may be a hypocrite, it does not mean they are necessarily wrong in their judgment. Of course, if they cannot see themselves, their judgments are clouded, and their motives may disqualify them from judging. But when a judgment is made, it shows humility to listen their instruction and evaluate whether it might be right or wrong.

To avoid hypocrisy, we must first and foremost apply a standard of judgment to ourselves - Matthew 7:5

“First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly...”

Remove what is in your life that might be preventing you from helping others more effectively.

Then help others.

You have to be willing and capable of making fair examinations of your life and your heart before you can help others - cf. Galatians 6:1

“You Hypocrite”

Jesus employs word hypocrite; it is an interesting word.

A hypocrite is a stage actor who would wear a mask and play a role in a play. They pretend to be someone and something that they are not.

ὑποκριτής - the prefix hypo- means “under”; -krisis is the word critic. In a strict literal sense, it is an “under critic.” Hyper-critic is someone who is always looking for something to be wrong.

Literally, a hypocrite is someone who puts you under the microscope of their judgment.

Therefore, a hypocrite must be above everyone else [pride, boastfulness, and self-exaltation].

Their judgment applies to the person they are critical of, but they do not apply the judgment fairly to themselves and to those that are in their inner circle from whom they withhold their criticism from.

Many times, we may be critical of someone when one of our own family members does the same thing and we say nothing. It gives the appearance of special and preferential treatment.

It is easy to make judgments that are unfair and unequally applied - Matthew 7:1-2

Some make judgments with no mercy. James says that the one who judges in that way will also be given no mercy - James 2:13

“Mercy triumphs over judgment” does not mean God will ignore sins in order to appear merciful. James’ statement is not about God’s judgment. It is about our judging. It is better to show mercy than it would be to have an overbearing judgment against someone.

Judgment that is based on appearance only may easily be hypocritical judgment - John 7:24

Jesus ate with sinners, but He did not sin with sinners. A judgment based on appearance could lend itself to an absurd and wrong conclusion.

Judgment that does not recognize the need for patience, love, understanding, and mercy can easily become hypocritical judgment - James 2:13

This does not mean we ignore sin and wrong-doing. This does not mean we compromise the truth and conviction.

This means we must approach people with love, err on the side of mercy, and have a spirit of gentleness and understanding while holding our ground that is firmly planted with the Lord and the truth of His word.

Judgment that promotes self and demeans others is a hypocritical judgment - Luke 18:11-12, 14

I’m not convinced that the Pharisee recited all of the things that he did because he thought that strictly keeping those things are what saved him. I don’t think he felt that tithing and fasting earned him a place in heaven.

I do think he felt like that his doing all of these good things were what would keep him saved. He seemed to think he was better than everyone else.

But the scariest thing of all is that he did not have a grasp on reality. He forgot that he himself had been a sinner who needed forgiveness. Now, he wrongly assumes he does not need forgiveness.

That’s the hard thing about hypocrisy and hypocritical judgments: we cannot see our own heart and our own problems because we start off with the assumption that we are okay and don’t need forgiveness.

In contrast, the tax collector wanted God’s mercy and forgiveness - Luke 18:13

Jesus warns that having an overly harsh and critical spirit, where we go on a fault-finding mission, is one that is wrong. Looking for small, minor problems in someone’s life while large issues loom in ours is the essence of what Jesus is warning us about.

Is Rebuke and Correction Judgmental?

Gentle correction and encouraging repentance is not the kind of judgments that Jesus condemns in Matthew 7:1.

Offering rebuke and correction is not judgmental, even when people may say we are judging them falsely, hypocritically, and being unfair/arbitrary in our judgments.

Sexual immorality is wrong - Matthew 5:28

Marriage with someone who has been divorced without the reason of sexual immorality commits adultery - Matthew 5:32

Pointing out that Christ died and established one church that would hold to one faith and showing the errors of denominations - Ephesians 4:4-6

Exposing sinful behaviors and those who have compromised their character - Ephesians 5:10-11

Contending for the faith and truth of God’s word - Jude 3-4

Sometimes people grow angry when they hear God’s word and the correction that it provides - James 1:17-20

The ultimate perfect gift is salvation and forgiveness of sins

We have been born again by the gospel and the “word of truth”

Quick to hear the word of God. We must not be quick to speak up in a defensive rationalization of our sin and get angry at someone who is pointing out our sin and inconsistencies.

Getting angry and having a defensive posture will not produce the righteousness and salvation from God.

Conclusion

While Jesus does not give the blanket statement “judge not” to prohibit any and all kinds of judgment, He clearly wants us to carefully reflect before we judge.

We must not judge according to unfair, hypocritical, and hyper-critical forms of judgment.

Jesus does place upon us the responsibility to judge with fair and righteous judgment. And when we do so, we will help others see what is pleasing to Christ.