Thou Shalt Not Judge
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
(Mat 7:1-6)
Judge Not! – This doctrine is almost universally misunderstood by Christians. I believe that most preachers are quite aware of the true meaning behind this text, yet they are quite content that there is confusion about it. Can it be that we are simply not to judge anyone, at anytime? That is what many believe. What about verse 15 though? …
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Mat 7:15)
How would we be able to discern false prophets if we don’t make some kind of judgment? Impossible. We should therefore look for another meaning. What if Jesus is trying to teach us when to act on our judgments (pass judgment). We all make many judgments everyday, there is no way around it. How and when to pass judgment it the tricky part. It is those daily judgments we all make, and how we pass judgment that will determine how others will judge us. Not passing any judgment is not a real option so be wise in your judgment of others, knowing that you will also be judged in the same manner.
Have you ever met someone who simply has nothing good to say about anyone or anything? They are a real challenge to be around. I know I have been overly critical at times. That is the kind of judgment Jesus warns about here, petty and unnecessary judgment that can bring no good.
Yet throughout His ministry, Jesus did judge the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of His day. He judged them harshly!
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Matthew 3:7
Likewise we must be diligent to judge those who lead us, but we are failing to do that. We are failing to do that because the leaders have fooled us into thinking that it is not right to judge. We must start challenging the leaders of the faith. We must hold them accountable for what they teach. Jesus warned us about false teachers, and now they are destroying the church!
Tags: Christianity, False Doctrine, Hypocrisy
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December 21, 2006 at 3:44 pm
My favorite texts – Matthew’s sermon on the mount – it’s the book I always go back to.
It’s funny but Jesus gives us a ‘do not’ in that scenario – like ‘do not judge’. It’s funny but if we use our lives and language correctly we don’t have to be in the place of ‘judging others’ (as in condemning them) but we will play the compassion role and seek to understand the problems with the individual and offer to be an aid of some sort – I have seen it work tonnes of times – and it beats complaining.
Excellent job Ken – this one always has a strong place in my heart and always will – keep up the encouraging work.