READING SCHEDULE 2024
On the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” Matthew 7:1. Whenever this passage is quoted, it is often argued that nobody has the right to judge anybody at any time. It seems to the writer that this passage is one of the abused passages if not the most abused passage in Holy Writ. It has received many blows from skeptics, false teachers and immoral persons who might profess belief in God. On Sunday 6th March, 1927, the British philosopher Bertrand Russell gave a lecture at Battersea Town Hall on the topic – WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN. In this speech, Russell said:
‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’ That principle I do not think you would find was popular in the law courts of Christian countries. I have known in my time quite a number of judges who were very earnest Christians, and none of them felt that they were acting contrary to Christian principles in what they did.
Does Matthew 7:1 really mean we cannot judge at all? Is Jesus Christ teaching that no human being has the right to judge a fellow man? We live in a “politically-correct” society that seeks complete tolerance in all spheres of life. This verse has been used as a fortitude of deliverance whenever a moral norm is being discussed. What is Jesus Christ teaching in Matthew 7:1?
The word that translates judge comes from the verb ‘krino’ which has a wide semantic range: judge, condemn or discern. Like many passages of the Bible, when placed in the context, what the author seeks to communicate comes to light. Those using Matthew 7:1 to say that humans don’t have the right to judge do so by ripping the passage from its context, for the context will not permit such conclusion. In verse 6 of Matthew 7, Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine…” How will one know the dog or the swine without judging? The verse 6 can only be obeyed when one is capable of judging between the holy and unholy. In verse 15-20, Jesus spoke about false prophets. How will one know a person to be false prophet without judging the person using the word of God? Jesus commended the brethren in Ephesus for testing those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars- Revelation 2:2. The context of the passage being used as proof text for such accusation clearly boomerangs.
Elsewhere in the Bible, we see clearly that, the idea of not having the right to judge mitigates against scriptures. In John 7:24, Jesus responded to His critics by saying, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” If Matthew 7:1 is forbidding humans to make any judgment on another, then Jesus erred by urging His critics to make righteous judgment. In 1 Corinthians 5:3, Paul told the brethren in Corinth, “For I indeed, as absent in the body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.” (emphasis. added). He went further by saying, “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.” Verse 12, 13. Clearly, Paul told these Corinthians that he made judgment on the actions of the sinning brother. If Paul did not have the right to judge, then he did wrong by his clear inspired statements. Such conclusion not only derails the apostle Paul but cast serious doubt on the inspiration of the Scriptures. Hebrews 11:7 teaches that Noah, “… condemned the world and became heir of the righteous which is according to faith.” Majority of the world frowns on condemnation of another person. We seem to buy into ‘fake-love’ concept which embrace all regardless of their actions. However, the Bible tells us that Noah condemned the world. 1 Corinthians 5:5, Galatians 1:8-9, Philippians 1:9-10; 3:2 and others not only make judging legitimate but mandatory.
When one examines the context of Matthew 7 closes, one concludes that Jesus is condemning a particular judgment – hypocritical judging. Jesus explains, “For with what judgement 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 eyes. ” vs. 1-5.
Jesus is not saying don’t judge at all but rather apply the same standard of judgment to yourself first before you extend it to a brother. Hypocrites see clearly the speck in a brother’s eye but plank on their eyes are at the blind spot. D A Carson agrees with that assessment of Matthew 7:1 when he wrote, “Still less does this verse forbid all judging of any kind, for the moral distinctions drawn in the Sermon on the Mount require that decisive judgments be made.”1
J W McGarvey wrote:
The commandment is leveled at rash, censorious and uncharitable judgments, and the fault-finding spirit or disposition which condemns upon surmise without examination of the charges, forgetful that we also shall stand in the judgment and shall need mercy Rom. 14:10; Jas. 2:13.2
We are not required to be censorious about men but looking at the perfect standard of God, condemning the errors and the sins of the world making sure that we are not ourselves partakers of the same deed.
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WORK CITED
1Carson, D et al. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
2McGarvey, J. W., & Pendleton, P. (1914). The Fourfold Gospel. Cincinnati: Grand Rapids.
