“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1 KJV) is one of the few Bible verses that almost everyone –Christian or not—can quote. It is often brought into play when someone is offended by another person’s expressed opinion, usually about another person. This verse is pulled out as a definitive statement on the subject of judging when it should be viewed as one of the descriptives on the subject of judging others. Seldom, probably never, does someone say another person is being judgmental when all are in agreement. Ironically, when this is quoted, it is usually spat out with a judgmental attitude. The question then is who is judging—the accused or the accuser? Is not the one employing the verse in effect judging that the other person is being judgmental? There is no question but what this verse in Matthew is a true statement, since it was spoken by Jesus as part of the Sermon on the Mount, but is it the absolute statement on the issue? Does it provide the definitive statement on judging? No, it only presents one facet of the knowledge of how we are to perceive judging.
Now, one of the important aspects of the Bible is that it is meant to be read in its entirety, not just as isolated verses. This gives us fullness in our understanding of a concept, as in this situation. There are, however, certain verses you could call capsule verses because in them you find a general concept explained in a concentrated manner, and are 100% true, 100% of the time; there are no ifs, buts, or “except whens”. Examples of these would be Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, and John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. These capsule verses present a total concept that is expanded throughout Scripture. Can we say that Matthew 7:1 is one of those? Some verses issue a general truth but, not a circumscribed command. Examples of these would be Paul’s exhortations about church behavior where women are to pray only with her head covered and not cut their hair, while men are not to pray with their head covered and not have long hair (1Corinthians 11:3-4). Should we return to the practice of hat-wearing for women or require a man’s hair to be cut short in order to be considered acceptable in our Christian culture?
First Corinthians has much to say concerning judging. Chapter 2, verse 15 seems to contradict Matthew 7:1 when it quotes Paul as saying, “But he who is spiritual judges all things”. Indeed, Paul himself declares that he has judged a particular unnamed person in the church who has been immoral (5: 3). So how can we be told on one hand not to judge, but on the other to judge everything? Looking further into First Corinthians we begin to see a fuller picture of how we are to judge. First, there is a differentiation between those who are in Christ and those who of the world. God will judge those who are in the world, so we do not have to be involved in their final judgement. However, there is a clear directive to judge those who are in the church of Christ. Verse 12 reads,” For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?”
Now we need to explore the difference between “judging” and what can better be termed discernment or assessment. If I, as a woman, am walking alone on a dark evening and see a man slouching in the next doorway up, I am not “judging” if I think he might be dangerous, but rather I am being discerning. With judging comes the concepts of a set of standards and a penalty to be meted out for failure to meet those standards. We are called to be judgmental within certain contexts. If you are an employer and an employee fails to meet the criteria that has been established for employment, then you have the responsibility to let that employee go. The same type of situation exists within the church. If a professing Christian who is a member of the church fails to meet the criteria set up by the church, then it is the obligation of the other Christian church members to bring a judgement against the offending person, but in the appropriate manner.
To determine what the appropriate manner of judgement should be, we once again need to go back to the Bible in its entirety. However, one of the clearest examples is in Jesus as he lived on this earth. He was never afraid to call people out on their sins. When you read the account of the woman caught in adultery (found in John 8: 1-11) you realize that he did not condone or excuse what she had done. Isn’t it ironic that she was “caught in the act” of adultery, therefore there must have been someone else who wasn’t pulled up to Jesus for judgement? Jesus pointed out that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were being hypocritical in their judging; they were displaying wanton disrespect for fairness. Further Jesus responded to her in love by not bringing her into public humiliation. (He had effectively dispersed the crowd). However, he enforced the standards by telling her to leave her life of sin. So here we have three more points to proper judging—done privately, required something be completed to effectively denounce the prior sin, and create a bettered life.
This is a complex subject and the more I studied it, the more complex it became. However, the primary points that I gleaned were:
-Judging is not criticism. (And that’s a whole different subject!)
-As Christians we are obligated to judge in certain circumstances.
– There is a difference in whom we are to judge.
-Judgement must be meted fairly, appropriately, done with an effort to maintain a person’s self-respect, provide for action on the part of the sinner, establish a better relationship, but be administered with love.
Here’s a good verse to memorize:
“Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:9
A suggested reading for this concept is the classic, “The Scarlet Letter”, by Nathanial Hawthorne. Hester was required to wear the scarlet A, but not the one who was her partner in her adultery. Of course, the story is much more complicated than just this and digs much deeper into the effect of being judged or not judged. If you haven’t read it in a while, read it again and put it against what we read in the Bible.
Lamp for my feet 