In our culture today the most common criticism people hear is to not judge others for their actions. People want to be free to be who they are and do not want others to judge or criticize their behavior in any way. And the Bible is often used to support this viewpoint. In Matthew 7:1 it says “Do not judge” and that’s as far as most people will go. But the Bible is being misquoted in this context because the rest of that verse says “or you too will be judged.” Verse 2 goes on to say “for in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged.” The Bible does not prohibit us from judging the actions of others, but it issues a stern warning that if we do we must be able to withstand judgment of our own actions. Jesus goes on to say in verse 5 that we must “first take the plank out of our own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” So it is not a matter of not judging at all, it is a matter of judging properly.
Judging is about deciding on the merits of another person’s behavior. We are constantly judging the actions of others, whether it’s politics, business, legal matters, or even the church. We do it all the time. When someone harms us we sue them because their behavior was wrong. When our children misbehave, we punish them for their inappropriate behavior. When we get poor service at a restaurant we complain to the manager about the server’s behavior or lack of it. But for the most part we don’t verbalize our judgments. But we think it. Those men on Wall Street are all greedy. That dress that Mary is wearing is inappropriate for church. I believe that George Zimmerman is guilty of murder. I think Alex Rodriguez should be banned from baseball for taking steroids. President Obama should have done something to protect our people in Benghazi. And the list goes on and on. Every opinion we have is a judgment. It is our observation on the merits of another person’s behavior.
The important question we must ask ourselves is what standard of behavior are we judging others against? If it is our own standard, then we are in deep trouble. What gives us the right to ask others to conform to our standards? I find it utterly amazing that the people who call others judgmental are usually the most judgmental people there are because they are telling others that they don’t conform to their standards, whether cultural, political, religious or ideological. When Christians speak out against homosexuality and the LGBT community calls them bigots, intolerant and homophobic, who is really judging who? When Baptists criticize other Christians for drinking alcohol, are they not judging their behavior against a Baptist standard?
There are really only 2 standards that we as American Christians can judge others against. The first are the laws of the United States. When someone breaks the law their behavior is outside our civil standard and so they must be held accountable for their inappropriate or unacceptable behavior. This is the foundation of a safe and secure society. When we see others break the law we are responsible for notifying the authorities so that appropriate action and justice can prevail. Micah 6:8 says that we are to “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Acting justly is looking out for the welfare of others and to seek justice for them.
The second standard is much higher. It is the Word of God. But this only applies to Christians. We cannot judge non-Christians against a Christian standard. Since they do not believe in God or Jesus Christ, then we cannot judge their actions against a standard they do not believe in. But we are to judge other Christians against His standards found in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 5, the Apostle Paul sharply criticizes the church in Corinth for their tolerance of sexual immorality in their church. In verses 12-14 he states, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you.” So it is clear that we as Christians should judge the behavior of other Christians according to God’s standard, and rebuke them, if we are to keep the church and body of Christ pure and Holy.
Ultimately, God is the judge of every person and will judge each of us according to what we have said and done in this life (Acts 17:31 & Matthew 12:36). And we should be very careful when judging or commenting on the actions of others as we will be judged according to the same standard that we use. If it is God’s standard, then we can rebuke other Christians, and they can rebuke us, according to God’s Word. But we have no business judging those outside of the church. God will judge them in His time.
So be careful how you judge. Because one day all of us will come before God and say, “Here Comes the Judge!”
