Judge Not?:

This past Sunday I preached a sermon on James 4:11-12 entitled “Who Do You Think You Are?” In the sermon we examined the sin of slander. During the sermon I only had a few minutes to talk about judging. I wish I could have gone into more detail but time ran out. Below is a more extended explanation of what I believe Jesus meant when He told us not to judge.

On the other side of the coin, lest we think we should be just mindless accepters of everything, we should talk about the most misused passage in the Bible.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:1 (ESV)

This is important stuff. There is a lot information on Matthew 7:1. Many people think Judge not, lest you be judged means we cannot make judgments about anything or anybody. They think everybody should mind their own business and not say anything about the actions of others. Ironically, this verse is often quoted by someone when they are confronted about sin in their lives. What does this verse mean? Does it mean we shouldn’t use discretion in personal relationships? Should we give our car keys to anyone who asks for them? It can’t mean that because only five verses later Jesus requires us to make a judgment about people’s spiritual state. “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.” Matthew 7:6 (ESV)

We have to judge who the dogs and the pigs are to obey the command. In Matthew 7:15-20, we are told to make judgments about teachers because some of them are heretics. In fact, in another passage of Scripture, Jesus commands us to make judgments. “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24 (ESV) In Matthew 18, the leadership of the church is told to make judgments and exclude from membership and fellowship those who refuse to repent of sin in their lives. Colossians 3:16 tells us to admonish one another, which means we are to have loving confrontation when we see something ungodly in our brother or sister’s Christian life.

What is Jesus talking about in Matthew 7? Read it in context and it is clearer. Jesus is not telling us that we can never exercise judgment, but he is condemning the judgmental nature of the Pharisees. They were quick to pick out every little thing people did wrong. Your hair is too long. Your hair is too short. You didn’t pray long enough. You didn’t sing loud enough. The key to understanding the type of judgments Jesus is talking about is seeing what they look like in Matthew 7:3ff. He said, why do you worry about the speck of sawdust in somebody else's’ eye when you have a plank in your own? Instead of spending your time trying to point out everybody else’s problems, work on your own. Then he follows it up by saying first take the log out of your eye, then you can see clearly to help somebody else. We all know people like this. As I talk about this, names and faces are coming to mind of people who always have a problem with everything.

In conclusion, Christians are called to be fruit inspectors. If someone claims to be a Christian he or she should have evidence of change in their life. If we do not see fruit we are commanded to encourage the individual to trust in Christ. In Matthew 7, Jesus is not telling us that we can never exercise judgment, but he is condemning the judgemental nature of the Pharisees.