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“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1). On occasion, we hear people quote a Bible verse such as this without a clear understanding of the verse or the context of the verse. Matthew 7:1 is misapplied many times in an attempt to garner support or approval for something being done contrary to God’s will, which is something that is flat-out sin! The person is really saying, “Don’t point out my faults, let me do what I want to do.”
If we continue to read in Matt. 7:1-5, the judgment under consideration is a hypocritical judgment. It is wrong to judge someone when one’s own self is plagued with sin and in desperate need of correction. As the wise lady once said, “Clean your own doorstep off before you clean someone else’s.” Let us first remove the beam from our own eye before we can pull the speck out of another’s eye.
The message is don’t be a hypocrite, but righteous judgment is a must. We depend on righteous judgment so much in our everyday lives. In Romans 13:1-4, Paul speaks of civil authority passing down judgment on the wrongdoers in the court of law. Even the immoral man expects certain laws to be upheld. He expects righteousness to prevail over the wicked. This can’t be done without righteous judgment. In Matt. 18:15-17, our Lord laid the formula for how to address a transgression committed between brethren. The process of confronting the transgressor one-on-one, with two or more witnesses, or before the church all involve the process of judging the transgressor. Certainly, this process must be done righteously with the intent of gaining back a brother.
Let us understand that judgment is a necessity. There will come a time when we all will find ourselves in the hands of the most righteous Judge. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
Brad Burkett
West End church of Christ
Livingston, TN