“"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” Matthew 7:1-5 ESV
Judgement is an attitude that is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and football. What Jesus intended as a warning for His followers to refrain from making harsh and incomplete assessments about someone's character is now taken to be basically mean. Have you ever had someone say this to you, "You don't have the right to tell me when I am wrong, no matter what I am doing!" The world says we can't judge anyone at any time. We should sit back and be quiet. We should allow the things that are blatantly contrary to God's Word to go on.
Hence, the question, do Christians have the right to judge others? The answer is not a politically correct one nor is it considered correct by society's view. We are ABSOLUTELY charged to judge but not in the way we define or the world defines the word or action of judgement.
What about what Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Was Jesus saying that we as His followers don't have the right, or the ability, to gather information about others and then come to solid, biblical conclusions? Far from it.
Later in the same chapter, Jesus appears to be telling believers never to make a judgements about the behaviors and attitudes of others, He spoke about false prophets in Matthew 7:15-16 ESV, “"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Teaching us so we will know to stay away from them because we were able to make biblical assessments of what they say and do. That is judgement in its truest, most biblical form.
So what exactly was Jesus saying when He told us not to judge others? His warning was actually against spiritually immature judgement of others. Which is when you make a character assessment based on your own assumptions and incomplete information. I have to say that every single time I have made that same mistake, I have ended up so far off the reservation in my own personal assessments it was embarrassing.
The point Jesus is making is this: we are to never make an assumption about another person's character based on our own limited information or interaction. When I do this, I end up "judging" others based on comparisons in my own life and that leads me to the idea of being aware of the proverbial "plank in my own eye." What is important here is the standard of measurement. We must not find ourselves saying things like: "My life isn't perfect but at least I am not like him." That is a completely spiritually immature thing to say and it leads to the kind of judgmental spirit Jesus warned us about.
Now I am going to get personal for a moment. I am a believer and there have been times where I have allowed my temperament to be less than agreeable. Frankly, I was a raving lunatic and a grade A jerk. Over and over again I exploded in anger, all the while carrying the name of Christ. One day a friend summoned the courage to speak with me about this and told me that they saw it as a toxic character trait and a stumbling block in my life. Was he judging me by pointing out my consistent issue with anger? Absolutely not! He was simply pointing out, in a Christlike spirit of love and brotherhood, that my anger was not consistent with someone who was walking with the Lord and an example to the world around me. I was actually doing the opposite. I was allowing my anger and rage to drive others from the Lord and I was grieving the Holy Spirit through my actions. My brother did exactly what the Lord had commanded him to do. If you don't have someone like this in your life, my prayer is that you find them and soon. It will change your life if you allow yourself to be accountable to another brother or sister in Christ.
The bottom line is this: Jesus gave each one of us guidelines for how to make righteous assessments. It is our duty as brothers in Christ to examine our own hearts first and ask ourselves if we are basing our feelings on our assumptions or if we are speaking out of true love and concern because we want to restore him to a better footing and help our brother become closer in his walk with God.
Never ever are we to confuse telling the truth with being harshly judgmental. No matter what the world tells us, neither God not any of His followers are bound to our culture's definition of what truth or righteousness is.
Judgement is an attitude that is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and football. What Jesus intended as a warning for His followers to refrain from making harsh and incomplete assessments about someone's character is now taken to be basically mean. Have you ever had someone say this to you, "You don't have the right to tell me when I am wrong, no matter what I am doing!" The world says we can't judge anyone at any time. We should sit back and be quiet. We should allow the things that are blatantly contrary to God's Word to go on.
Hence, the question, do Christians have the right to judge others? The answer is not a politically correct one nor is it considered correct by society's view. We are ABSOLUTELY charged to judge but not in the way we define or the world defines the word or action of judgement.
What about what Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Was Jesus saying that we as His followers don't have the right, or the ability, to gather information about others and then come to solid, biblical conclusions? Far from it.
Later in the same chapter, Jesus appears to be telling believers never to make a judgements about the behaviors and attitudes of others, He spoke about false prophets in Matthew 7:15-16 ESV, “"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Teaching us so we will know to stay away from them because we were able to make biblical assessments of what they say and do. That is judgement in its truest, most biblical form.
So what exactly was Jesus saying when He told us not to judge others? His warning was actually against spiritually immature judgement of others. Which is when you make a character assessment based on your own assumptions and incomplete information. I have to say that every single time I have made that same mistake, I have ended up so far off the reservation in my own personal assessments it was embarrassing.
The point Jesus is making is this: we are to never make an assumption about another person's character based on our own limited information or interaction. When I do this, I end up "judging" others based on comparisons in my own life and that leads me to the idea of being aware of the proverbial "plank in my own eye." What is important here is the standard of measurement. We must not find ourselves saying things like: "My life isn't perfect but at least I am not like him." That is a completely spiritually immature thing to say and it leads to the kind of judgmental spirit Jesus warned us about.
Now I am going to get personal for a moment. I am a believer and there have been times where I have allowed my temperament to be less than agreeable. Frankly, I was a raving lunatic and a grade A jerk. Over and over again I exploded in anger, all the while carrying the name of Christ. One day a friend summoned the courage to speak with me about this and told me that they saw it as a toxic character trait and a stumbling block in my life. Was he judging me by pointing out my consistent issue with anger? Absolutely not! He was simply pointing out, in a Christlike spirit of love and brotherhood, that my anger was not consistent with someone who was walking with the Lord and an example to the world around me. I was actually doing the opposite. I was allowing my anger and rage to drive others from the Lord and I was grieving the Holy Spirit through my actions. My brother did exactly what the Lord had commanded him to do. If you don't have someone like this in your life, my prayer is that you find them and soon. It will change your life if you allow yourself to be accountable to another brother or sister in Christ.
The bottom line is this: Jesus gave each one of us guidelines for how to make righteous assessments. It is our duty as brothers in Christ to examine our own hearts first and ask ourselves if we are basing our feelings on our assumptions or if we are speaking out of true love and concern because we want to restore him to a better footing and help our brother become closer in his walk with God.
Never ever are we to confuse telling the truth with being harshly judgmental. No matter what the world tells us, neither God not any of His followers are bound to our culture's definition of what truth or righteousness is.
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