Are We Never to Judge?
How many times are you in a discussion with someone about a moral issue and the other person throws up the force field quote of “don’t judge less you be judged?” In today’s society, we hear that common statement with regard to just about anything said or done.
Unfortunately, too often it is used by people to justify living a life without certain Biblical moral boundaries. This defense is made to justify the moral problems of abortion, same-sex marriage, co-habitation, theft, etc. When anyone tries to point out the Biblical problem with these positions, they immediately get hit with this verse as a “get-out-of-moral-jail-free” card.
But is it true? And more importantly, is it Biblical?
It may be one of the most misused and misunderstood verses in Scripture. As with every area of Scripture, we have to look at the context and audience of Matthew 7. It is imperative to read the whole passage to understand the context of this admonishment.
Reading down to verses 6 and 7, we understand Christ to be talking about acknowledging the character of the person. If you go on to verses 15 and further, you realize that discernment is needed to judge between the true believers and false ones. In this section, Jesus is teaching the Sermon on the Mount. His audience is clearly his followers but also some of the Pharisees. His purpose of the sermon and passage was about “raising the standard” with regard to our relationship with God.
While we all fail, a committed follower of Christ is one who pursues holiness and sets a high moral standard for himself before others. The Jews were used to seeing the Pharisees making “man-made” rules and judging others to a higher standard than themselves. The Pharisees were judging hypocritically. I think Christ was talking specifically about or to them. Everything that Christ did or said had a specific purpose.
Second, what does the Bible say in other areas regarding judging? To interpret the Word correctly, we have to interpret Scripture in light of other areas of the Bible, the context where it is used, the audience, etc. We also have to make sure that we don’t take one verse of Scripture and superimpose it on the rest of the Bible with one meaning or context.
Some other areas of the Bible help us to interpret this verse precisely this way. John 7:24 talks about not judging by outward appearances and making right judgments. Proverbs 31:9 says to judge righteously, and defend the rights of the poor and needy. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 talks about judging believers inside the Church. Zechariah 8:16 talks about judging with truth and peace.
The point is that living the Christian life is not an earthly promotion but a heavenly demotion. What does that mean? That means as Christians we are to emulate Christ as a servant to others. The Pharisees used unreasonable standards against the people but yet held themselves up before the crowds as symbols of righteousness. As believers, we are to make judgments but only to the degree of Biblical standards.
Scripture also teaches in the book of James that it is our responsibility to confront a brother or sister with sin. What parent wouldn’t confront a child if he or she were about to drive off a cliff spiritually? This should be done in private and always with the intent of repentance and restoration.
Finally, we need to be careful about judging self-righteously. This is the point that makes most people scream about this area of Scripture. Too often Christians are seen as judgmental because we are quick to point out the wrong very loudly.
For instance, we can’t confront a fellow believer that is involved in a specific sin if we are dealing with the same one ourselves (adultery, pornography, lust, etc.). A lot of believers use this verse as a sledge hammer to others. Our job is less about “winning the argument” and more about grace. We forget about the grace that Christ gave us, and we should be more willing to give it out.
As Christians, tone matters when we talk about most issues but even more when dealing with sin or correction. Never confront someone with the intent to injure or win the argument. The apostle Paul talks about restoring a brother gently in Galatians 1 and to be on guard lest we fall into the same temptation and sin. Our place should always be to hold up the Biblical standard but to do so out of respect and love towards one another.
S. Montgomery