Is It Christian To Judge?
Christians are regularly told, "it is not christian to judge." Do Jesus' words, "do not judge" mean "do not judge at all, or ever" (Matthew 7:1)? Do these words mean that in order to be christian -- to be like Christ -- you mustn't judge? Since Jesus is a judge (2 Cor.5:10), it would seem that, to be like Christ, christians must judge! Thus Paul wrote, "remove the wicked man from among you" (1 Cor.5:13).
Jesus continues by saying, "do not judge, lest you be judged." Does he mean "judge not" and you won't be judged? Can we altogether avoid an appearance "before the judgement seat of Christ" simply by being non-judgemental? Obviously not; there must be a different interpretation. Jesus further states that, "in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you" (Matthew 7:2). Does he mean, that if I relax the standards of right and wrong for other people (effectively lowering the bar for holy living), that Jesus will judge me by an easier standard? Obviously, we cannot rewrite the Bible, but people attempt to do so. And there are others who choose to practice a particular sin and their conscience will not allow them to judge other sinners by a strict Biblical standard. They relax the standard of measure to fit their own sinful lifestyle. Lowering the Biblical standard of holy living is not an alternative unless we are allowed to add to and take away from the word of God.
So what does Jesus mean when he says, "judge not?" In the verses following, he says, "first take the log out of your own eye, and you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:5). Finally, we get to the meaning of Jesus' words. We should not expect to escape the judgement of God when we don't practice what we preach. When you or I judge another person, we are preaching. If we know the truth, we should live by it before demanding it of others. Paul wrote, "you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things" (Rom.2:1; cf. 2:21,22). Jesus is not suggesting that we can't or shouldn't judge, he is addressing the hypocrites who demand one thing, and do another.
Christians are to "judge with righteous judgement" (John 7:24). Our judgment of others cannot be based on superficial things like appearance or dress (see James 2:1-4) By making righteous judgments, Christians know the Sheep from the Wolves (Mt.10:16; Acts 20:29), the Saved from the Lost, the good from the evil, and the Word of God from the opinions of men. The Leaders in God's Church are above reproach (Titus 1:6) and they judge spiritual matters according to the Biblical standard. Christians live by that standard, and they call for others, including the lost, to do likewise. Must a Judge be perfect? The standard of measure for ourselves and others is not perfection; the standard is the Word of God. If we had to perfectly keep the word of God, none could make it to heaven. If we all had to be perfect before we could judge matters of right and wrong, then no person could judge. We could not call for Liars, Thieves, Adulterers, and Murderers to repent until we had attained that perfection. We can teach people of grace and forgiveness without compromising the Biblical standard for holy living. The blood of Christ covers imperfect people of faith, but it does not cover the sin unrepented of.
Why do we judge? Anyone must concede that judging is pretty serious business. We judge because we know God's will and we want others to be saved. A Judge must be knowledgeable, fair, and above reproach. A Judge must know the Word of God and he must practice it. When we judge, let us be like Ezra who set about to "study" the Law and "practice" it, before we call for others to live by it (Ezra 7:10). The person who does not resolve to practice the Word of God should not be judging others.
Dan Mayfield
©2000 Dan Mayfield. Permission granted to use this article in any manner, as long as: 1) the content is not changed and 2) the name of the author is left on the article.
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