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!”
The parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18 strikes a chord with me. Too often, Christians beg for forgiveness while failing to forgive. We all have a plank in our eye. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t. The plank stays from cradle to grave, and we all need the grace of God if we are ever to receive salvation. We don’t earn salvation or get to heaven through self improvement. I think the idea of the plank is to suggest that we should work on ourselves before working on others. That is a lifelong endeavor for most (if not all) of us. If we think about our own shortcomings, we won’t have time left over to judge others. Also, judgement within the church and without seems awfully selective. How many pastors shout against homosexuality to a nodding crowd of sinners who routinely commit all manner of sins which are rarely ever covered in a sermon? Seems like everyone wants to be loudly against all the sins they aren’t tempted commit. Why can’t we just agree that God is perfect and we are not? Why do we need to dig into the details? Love God. Love your neighbor.
Steve, thanks for your feedback! Indeed we are all too ready to judge without looking at our own issues. But we must also stand for truth and God’s Word. Often I think the sins we see in others are the sins we commit ourselves. Pastors are no exception. But as long as we are standing on God’s Word and not our own, it does not invalidate our proclaiming of God’s truth to others.
Hi Barry, I loved your “Here Comes the Judge” article. A real weakness I see in our churches today is the failure to educate ourselves on what the Word of God really says. In my opinion most preachers have gotten away from teaching very much about God’s Law because they are afraid that doing so will “alienate” members of their flock. And sadly, the people have gotten away from disciplined Bible study. So as a result the people are left without a good grounding on just what the Bible really says. Moral relativism has crept in and the people now use “other people” as their measure, not the Word of God. We need to pray for our pastors and teachers to be bold in standing up for God’s Law.
Thanks CJ! I could not agree with you more! Thanks for commenting!
My daughter has rejected Christianity because of this very reason…Christian hypocrisy. I sent her to college and she came home an atheist, based on the very idea that in her eyes and experience, Christians are the biggest sinners, yet want to patrol the world. “Do as I say, not as I do”.
A little rationality lifts the quality of the debate here. Thanks for cobiuinrttng!
Pat, thanks for your comments. It is true that many young people today are rejecting the church and for good reason. Too often the church comes across as judgmental instead of loving. Every Christian in a way is a hypocrite because we profess God’s Word but are unable to keep it because of our sinful nature. It is a hard line to walk between being true to God’s Word and wanting others to do the same. We need to find the right ways and right words to do that with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
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