Judge not?

"Judge not, least ye be judged” unbelievers are quick to quote this Scripture. But, is it true we are not to judge at all? The word that is usually used for judge, or any derivation of that word, is #2919 krino (kree-no) meaning “to distinguish i.e. decide, mentally or judicially”.Though regardless of the word used, they are just different words for the same idea.

As a baseline for any Scriptural understanding, we must first look closely at the context of the passage in question. We’ll take the passage from the “sermon on the mount” as recorded in Mathew 7:1-5, though this same parable is told to His disciples in Luke 6:37-42. Before we do that however, hear the Words of our Lord from John 7:23-24, “If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.” So, clearly there is a righteous judgment that we are meant to wield. Furthermore the use of the term “circumcision”, and “the law” is used again and again to represent the outward appearance of righteousness by “keeping the law”, in stark contrast to the true inward righteousness which is by faith in God, see Romans 2:27-29. Essentially He is illustrating the same point that He rather explicitly goes on to say, which is that we are not to judge based on outward appearances, but rather by righteousness. See also Luke 7:43. Also keep in mind that the example Jesus gave is that of an action being judged for it’s lawfulness, it is not a person being judged for their salvation or value. So how do we judge righteous judgment?

First take Paul’s admonition that we should not judge those who are outside of the Body of Christ, which is the church, but we are to judge those who are living in open rebellion within the body (i.e. those who’s sins are known to be true, and not just hearsay, and who do not repent or mourn their sin), and “put them away from among us” and that we are to not eat with them who disobey the laws of God, I Corinthians 5:11-13. This command is concerning those who revel in their rebellion, as 5:1-2 shows. In 5:9-11 Paul also distinguishes between the fornicators of the world, and those who are called “brothers” or Christians that are given to fornication, covetousness, idolatry, railing (which is venomous or abusive speech), drunkenness, or extortion. Uniformly ancient Israel had a similar standard for judging, as seen in Lamentations 2:14, where Jeremiah declares; “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered (exposed) thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity (to keep you from destruction); but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.” Clearly there is a right time and a right way to deal with iniquity from among the brethren. Be careful to remember that Paul tells us that casting these brothers out who sin unrepentantly, also negates our further ability to judge them, and God alone is now their judge, I Corinthians 5:13. This kind of judgment is not about giving a sentence (punishment for the crime) nor is it about judging the intent of the person’s heart, but is simply about making it known that the body of Christ should be pure, and keeping it so in a manner condoned by the Lord and His servants. All people, even Christians sin, but we as true believers know the gravity of our sin, and they should grieve us greatly, causing us to repent whole heartedly, and immediately. Those who are unapologetic about what they do to break God’s laws, will, not may, but will cause others to follow suit, I Corinthians 5:6-8. Therefore, this particular church discipline should be better understood, and enforced.

Mathew 7:1-5 reads: “Judge not, lest you be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the spec that is in thy brothers eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the spec out of thy brothers eye.” The last statement in the passage, in light of the John 7:24 passage seems to show that righteous judgment can only be accomplished when we have honestly addressed the sin in our own lives, and gotten rid of it. In other words, you can’t “judge righteously” in a matter of a certain sin, if you yourself are indulging in sin. This is because sin has a blinding affect, which is usually manifested in our ability to justify what we do. It also shows us by the idea that “with what measure ye judge you will be judged” that if we judge others righteously, we will be righteously judged. It is also clear, thanks to James 4:11 that speaking evil of your brother is judgment.

In I Corinthians 6:2-5 we see that we are also to judge matters pertaining to this life and among the body of believers, for ourselves, rather than going to court with one another, which would thereby make a mockery of the bride of Christ. So, for one thing, judging is a contextual matter. No one will argue that judging a matter of law is evil, which we are commanded to do within the body, and not without. We are also commanded to judge our members based on the fruit of their life, in order to cast out them that live in open rebellion. As Paul put it, casting out the leaven because a little leaven leavens the whole loaf of bread. In other words, a little sin spreads through the whole body of believers.

We are also to: judge what is right Luke 12:57, judge what men say, (by comparing it to the Word of God) I Coronthians 10:15, not judge anyone concerning food, drink, a holy day, a new moon, or the Sabbath days Colossians 2:16, judge ourselves, so that we are not judged I Corinthians 11:31,

Finally, we must make a distinction between judging the world, and speaking the Truth in love. Hearing the Word of God will always convict people of their sins, as will The Spirit of God always convict people of their sins. These people will feel judged because they are being convicted in their heart, but they are not being judged. This is simply a case of word play, by changing the word conviction to judgment, they can make the straw man argument that we are going against God’s command that we not judge. Being convicted by hearing the Word of God is not a form of judgment. Declaring that a lifestyle of rebellion toward God will lead to destruction is not a form of judgment, but the world will always see it that way. People must hear that sin is eternal separation from God and that it comes with eternal punishment. And that it will be so until we believe on Christ and are baptized for the remission of sins. They must hear that they have no hope of any kind of a relationship with their creator apart from faith in Christ. They must hear that rejection of Christ will lead to eternal punishment, and that it really is eternal. Compromising these teachings is compromising a person’s hope for life, and it is also rebellion against God’s commandment to go and preach the Gospel.