When I hear or read “Only God can judge me,” I get the impression those shielding themselves with the phrase have the belief that Jesus opposed judgement, as we know it, altogether.
We’ve established judgement exists in the Bible, and that final judgement comes from God alone. But Jesus Himself spoke constantly about our judgement of each other. So, what kind of judgement is He talking about? What does He forbid, and what does He condone?
Let us start here:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
Jesus tells us that we will be judged by God by the standards we ourselves hold for others.
You may think that means you’re safe from judgement, that you mind your own business, only worry about yourself, and are nothing but a warm, compassionate, understanding person… but you are lying to yourself. We’ve established that EVERYONE will be judged.
And if no one has told you yet, read these words carefully and know them to be true. We are all guilty. Only by God’s grace and Jesus’s blood are you able to be found innocent and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
“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?”
Matthew 7:3-4 NKJV
This is often the verse that is used to label Christians as hypocrites. Which is true. Most of us are, or at the very least can be at times. Which, if we use our judgement of others the wrong way, would in fact make us hypocrites by definition, as we ourselves are lowly, imperfect sinners.
Jesus continues in the subsequent verse, telling us just that, calling us out for being hypocrites, and explaining to us we can’t help others without first helping ourselves.
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:5 NKJV
So after our eyes are opened and cleared, how do we remove the speck from our brothers and sisters without judgement? How do we make an assessment, or even have awareness of the speck’s existence, without any judgement being made?
If we want to be receivers of God’s grace, and be judged that way, then we must “judge” others that way. Our goal must be to love them and help them. The difference lies in the condition in which we help by offering correction.
Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15). If we are not to use any judgment at all, then how would we know a person is a false prophet without judging that person and their words or actions?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that we shouldn’t judge others by appearance, but with righteous judgment. He does so when He Himself is judged for healing a man on the Sabbath.
So when Jesus says “DO NOT JUDGE,” what I believe He is saying is avoid judging superficially and hypocritically. As those are harmful forms of judgement and do not come from the place of love that we ourselves hope to be judged by whenever we are judged by God.
Those who judged Jesus’s actions were so blinded by their hate, they could not see His love.
Jesus didn’t abolish the act of “judgment”; He purified it. He clarifies that we must use discernment. Teach others how they remove their specks. We are not told to ignore sin, but confront it from a place of love to protect others from their errors.
I think most of us know this. But just because our “judgment” comes from truth, doesn’t mean our hearts are being loving.
That’s where I think we as Christians go wrong the most when we evangelize. Especially in the day of social media, where people are free to spout out their opinions. It’s too easy nowadays to have your voice heard without much thought or contemplation before instantly releasing your words to the world.
It is far too easy for us as Christians to become hardened as believers of the Truth. It is simple to declare the Word to others and say, “Take it or leave it,” “That’s just the way it is,” in a matter-of-fact way that is without any warmth.
It is more difficult to both know the truth and share it with the same love that Jesus did. But the Bible shows us this is the type of follower we have to be. Everyone wants to speak about how Jesus flipped the tables and became angry, but He did so at hypocrisy. The same hypocrisy we show when we judge others wrongly.
The popular use of “Judge not” turns Jesus’ warning against hypocrisy into a prohibition against accountability.
Jesus did not say, “Never judge.” He said, “Judge rightly.” And that is a far more demanding command.
Part 4 coming soon…
Great Peace Books 