To Judge, Or Not to Judge

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7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV)

I am not sure of how many times when someone is confronting the sin of the world, that unbelievers use the verse above to justify their sinful life style. They will say, "Leave judging up to God." This is because they “love darkness rather than light.” I know in my own personal life I have been confused about this passage because I know there are times when I must make judgments. I ask of myself, what exactly does this verse means? After all, Jesus also instructed us to “judge with righteous judgment.” (See John 7:24) This is important as I do not want to play God nor do I want a stricter judgment brought against me. While the world will quote the above verse, they will not quote the following verses where Jesus goes on and instructs us how to judge.

³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ 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? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ “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. (Matthew 7:3-6 NKJV)

How do we know that someone has “a speck” in their eye without making a judgment? How do we know who the “dogs and swine” are without judging? Of course, we must judge to come to these conclusions. So is Jesus contradicting Himself, or what? No, actually He is speaking of the attitude in which we judge. That is, we are not to be hypocritical and condemning, but judge with a heart of love and restoration. 

As far as a hypocritical heart is concerned, I would like for us to consider the following analogy. Suppose you had a something in your eye and went to the doctor to have it removed. Your doctor is highly trained, yet when you went into his office, you notice that your doctor has debris in his eyes, thus he cannot see to remove the object form your eye. Yet he proceeds to remove the object anyway. How would you feel? Our sin has the same affect; it blinds us so that we are unable to judge with a righteous judgment. In other words, we must first deal with our sin, or else we will be judging hypocritically. Often times own sin leads us to have a condemning heart while judging. It is so much easier to see someone else's faults and sins than our own. Then we cop an attitude saying, "I want to see this person fry!" Consider when King David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Not only did David set up Bathsheba's husband to be killed, he cast judgment against someone for an evil David thought that he had done. King David’s verdict was “death” for this individual. Please read the passages below.

12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. ³ But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” (2 Samuel 12:1-4 NKJV)

Upon hearing of this, King David wanted this man put to death. However, David had not realized that he was this man.

⁵ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! ⁶ And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. (See 2 Samuel 12:5-7) 

Thankfully upon understanding, David repented of his evil. Whenever we see someone in sin, our hearts should be broken. We know sin leads to destruction; we hate the thought of the consequences our neighbor will face as a result of their actions. It should be our hearts desire that this person not only avoid the consequences of their actions, but also come into a right relationship with the Lord. Even if someone has to be put out of the church because of their sin, our ultimate desire for them is to realize their wrong, come to repentance and be restored to a right relationship with God. We should rejoice when they have repented and been brought back into a right relationship with God.


The following is an example of how one may approach someone in sin:

"My friend, I do not know your heart, but I do see your actions. I am concerned for you. I want God's mercy to fall upon you, not His wrath. It is out of my concern and love that I come to you seeking to tell you of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ in hopes that you will listen and receive it so that you may receive all the good that God has to offer you, and not His wrath."

For further study, you may wish to read Romans chapter 2.