Jesus' Command #15 - Judge Not

In Matthew 7:1, Jesus commands us, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."

Before we go any further, I think we must first look at the word 'judge'.  It seems like a simple word, but I think it's taken different ways by different people in different situations.  In America, when we say, "Don't judge me!"  What we mean is, "Don't look down on me for what I just did, or what I believe."

Webster's online dictionary has many meanings for judge, this first being, "To form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises."

In my Bible research I could find two distinct uses for "judge" in the New Testament.  The first is Krino (in the Greek) "to form an opinion", much like the dictionary definition.  The second is Diakrino (in the Greek) "to make a distinction".  For instance, "Judge for yourself which is right."  Most occurrences of "judge" in the New Testament seem to be Krino; which is the case in Matthew 7.

When I read this verse in preparing this Blog, my initial thought was, "Don't judge.  Well, yes, but aren't we to hold other believers accountable?"  Let's look deeper at my preconception.

My first defense of this thought was Matthew 18:15-20.  There it talks about dealing with sin in the church.  It starts with, "If a brother sins".  It does not start with, "Judge your brother, and if you've determined that he is wrong..."  I think I have mistakenly taken this as a license to "judge" our brothers and sisters.  It's a fine line between judging and pointing out sin to them.  As I've already noted, to judge is to form an opinion.  However, to point out sin to a brother does not require you to form an opinion.  Only to recognize sin.  So in a way I was right.  We are to hold each other accountable for sin.  However, it does not require me to judge anything.  Only to know sin when I see it.

Next I thought of James 5:20 that says, "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."  This corroborates my explanation from Matthew.  I'm not to 'judge' my brother or sister in the Lord, but to help them turn from their sin.

I guess this takes me back to Matthew 7.  "Do not judge."  Yeah, I guess it's that simple.  Jesus is telling me not to 'form an opinion' of someone based on their beliefs or actions.  I am, however, to help a brother or sister turn from the sin that is evident in their life; not forgetting that Matthew 7:3-4 (the very next verses) also tells me to remove the two-by-four from my own eye before pointing out the speck of dust in my brother's.

It's all about "speaking the truth in love."  I never have reason to judge, but if I must point out sin in someone's life I should surely do it in a loving way with intent to help them turn from it and to encourage them forward.

Praise God!

Tune in next time for Jesus' command #16 - Do Not Cast Pearls

In the meantime, go introduce someone to Jesus and bring them into the Kingdom with you (Command #49)!