Do Not Judge!
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Jesus said this in Matthew 7:1-2
Judgment is a big issue. In order to understand this subject it is imperative to read the entire New Testament! And even the entire bible. Why? So the context is understood. Reading through the entire bible on a regular basis helps to shed light on hard to understand verses and allows a better understanding of the seemingly simple ones like this one. Without knowing the context or environment (who, what, where, how, when & why) of a verse, there can be a lot of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
With Matt 7:1, let’s first go in search of other scripture about judgment. 1 Corinthians 5 is an excellent chapter about the topic. The meat is this… “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (1 Cor 5:12-13).
“Do you not judge those who are within the church?” is a rhetorical question.* It means the same as, “You judge those who are within the church” – but asking in the form of a rhetorical question gives it even more meaning – “Of course you judge those within the church.”
The context – Paul is writing to a church he established in Corinth, so this verse pertains to believers. Paul is stating, (my own paraphrase) “Have you ever seen me pass judgment on those who don’t know God? That’s up to God to do, not me! It’s only right to judge those who call themselves believers because it’s important that we not have any of the wicked among us.” Also note that Paul performs the strongest form of judgment in verse 1 Cor 5:5 by committing a member of the church to Satan because of his immorality. Please take note that this judged man was a believer!
Paul states very clearly that believers are to only judge fellow believers. God judges the lost – see Jude 14-15. Remember that the bible doesn’t contradict itself nor would Paul(Corinthians) contradict Jesus (Matthew).
If Matt 7:1 is misinterpreted as “Do not judge anyone” it would not agree with the context of the surrounding verses. Let me show you why.
Matt 5:1 says Jesus’ disciples came to Him. Matt 6 further supports that He was in the presence of disciples because He is instructing them on how to behave and to not be hypocrites like nonbelievers. Jesus uses the unrighteous behavior of Gentiles (all nonbelievers at the time) as His examples. This line of thought flows right into the next chapter.
Verse 7:3 sees a shift from judging nonbelievers to judging believers (brother). The word judge in the Greek means, “to separate, to make a distinction, to come to a decision”. Separating a bad speck from a good eye is judgment. Trying to help a brother with a sin (speck) that you struggle with (log) is a clear sign of being a hypocrite (pretender) – which was the context of the prior chapter (sometimes it’s good to ignore chapter breaks). Personally, I am very sensitive to noticing my sins in others. Unless I have addressed my sins and have victoriously overcome them, I am of no use to others who suffer from the same things.
When we judge other believers, we are instructed by God to rebuke them in order to save them from death (James 5:19-20). Rebuking a believer is a very good thing so long as it is done with the right heart! (see Proverbs 13:1, 8; 17:10; 27:5; 28:23 and Ecc 7:5). I am very thankful for my friends who have confronted sins that they have seen in me.
Matt 7:6 says Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. That is some interesting use of words. It is saying not to waste your time trying to share righteousness (pearls) with nonbelievers(dogs are used throughout the bible in reference to nonbelievers, the most notable found in Psalm 22:16). Withholding righteousness in this verse is not about withholding fruits of the Spirit from the lost, but instead, treating a nonbeliever like they know the ways of God. How did I get to this conclusion? It parallels Matt 6:1 which says, “Beware of doing anything righteous before men…” (men being nonbelievers).
So what exactly are those righteous pearls? Judgment and rebuke. If you judge a nonbeliever they will most likely turn on you and trample you. How can one who’s never tasted the sweet water of the Spirit, know the value of a righteous admonition?
So back to that verse at the top of this post, another way to say 7:1-2 is –
“Do not judge nonbelievers, lest they judge you. If you judge nonbelievers, it will be in unrighteousness and it will be with unrighteousness that they will judge you.” (Only God can judge nonbelievers righteously.)
* A figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer. Wikipedia
