Judge Not?

A popular debate among Christians is the issue of judging one another. The case is most often concluded that no one has the right to judge another because God is the only judge. To judge or not to judge? What is a believer to do? According to the Oxford Dictionary, to judge means to form an opinion or conclusion about something. Judgment is a regular part of our daily lives. We judge what to wear in cold weather, we judge whether or not we are on the best career path, or whether we should get the chicken, the fish, or both. But how far does our right to judge extend? In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus famously says, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). That seems to be a clear-cut answer and many people are content to stop there. "Well, He said judge not, that's enough for me. Sure, I see my brother over there sinning but I'm not going to say anything because it is not my place, only God can judge," they say. But in the very next verse Jesus says, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged" (Matt. 7:1-2). Jesus seemed to be well aware that we would judge. His assertion means, do not judge unless you are prepared to be judged. Yet, we know as Christians that judgment for each of us is inevitable (2 Cor. 5:10). As scary as that may sound, God's judgment of Christians is not a bad thing. We will all answer to God for our righteousness or our wickedness and if we have lived righteously, we will be rewarded (1 Cor. 4:5).

Just as God's judgment towards his Holy people is nothing to dread, neither is judgment among Christians. Could it be that Jesus was not telling us not to judge but how to judge? In a time when the scribes and Pharisees were misusing the law to set themselves above others, Jesus was saying to examine the way you judge one another; examine first your own lives. Scripture speaks often of this, charging us to examine our thoughts, ways, and motives (Lam. 3:40, Gal. 6:4). Jesus wants us to make sure we are looking at our brother's lives with honesty, sincerity, and love; but this can only be accomplished once we are sure there is no plank in our own eye (Matt. 7:3).

Though God is the ultimate judge, we as Christians are responsible for admonishing one another, wherein we advise, counsel, and correct. The judgment Jesus warns against in Matthew 7 is when we direct our opinions and conclusions toward others in an unfair, hypocritical, and self-righteous manner. When we do this, we set ourselves up for God to judge us in the same way. When we are following Christ and have examined our own lives to the point where we are assured that we are walking the straight path, then it is actually our duty to judge one another. Think about it, the devil would love for us to turn a blind eye to our brother's misdeeds and to believe that, unless we are perfect, we have no right to speak to one another's sin. Tolerance of sin is contrary to the Word of God. James 5:19-20 says, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” Jesus came to judge the world in the way of giving sight to the spiritually blind and as ambassadors of Christ, we are to help further this cause (John 9:39-41).

My father, the beloved Rev. E. Phillip Terrell Sr., would say, "Whoever is greatest among you is not the one who is going to sit high and look low." Paul exhibited this sentiment more than anyone, he loved the churches but he could judge for himself that some were not righteous. Yet, he did not look down on them, as it would have been hard to do so from a jail cell. What He did do was call them on their sin and expect them to change. Was Paul judging when he told the churches they were not living right? He used to torture Christians, but, as a renewed and devout follower of Christ, he was given the authority to point out his brother's sin and charge him to correct it. Love is not condoning or approving bad behavior. God corrects those He loves and expects us to do the same (Hebrews 12:6-7). Why don't we use our authority, given by the Word of God, to admonish our brothers instead of trying to appease one another or win favor by tolerating and condoning sin? Let us examine our own lives in order to prepare and position ourselves to correct our brothers when God calls us to do so.