[Part 1 covers the misunderstandings of judging and most importantly who to start with-ourselves! Part two will cover judging believers. Part 3 will be about non-believers and false teachers.]

When someone says that Jesus says you’re not allowed to judge, that’s actually not true. Kindly correct them and say, “Yes we are.”

Contrary to common opinion, the Bible commands us to judge. We are told to “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

Testing is judging between right and wrong. The devil has successfully removed our ability to measure truth by convincing God’s people that it is wrong to judge. It is not judging that is wrong, it is the standard by which we judge, the type of judgment we exude, and the motives behind our judgment, that we must pay close attention to.

We are mandated by scripture to judge, discern, identify, and stand against immorality, false teachers, and the schemes of the enemy, by upholding the truth. Our goal is not to prove others wrong. Our goal is to bring others to repentance by referring, using, and aligning people back to God’s Word.

I’ve been down all the judgment roads as a Christian.

• I used to not care about telling people what was morally right and wrong.
• Then I started caring too much, would try too hard, and would look down on people who were believing or acting immoral or against biblical teachings.
• Then I stopped trying because people easily got offended and I didn’t want to come off judgmental.
• Nowadays, I don’t look down on people, and just share God‘s Word, and it’s up to them what they do with it. I know I have a great responsibility for believers. I pick and choose when I get entangled in conversations with nonbelievers. And I don’t know if you know this, but we have an even bigger responsibility with false teachers who are leading their flocks astray.

Before we do anything, let’s understand the word judge, its various meanings, and slash the cultural mindset about this concept that seeps into churches.

“Do not judge” is a commonly used phrase, or what I would say, a defense for one to protect their feelings or behaviors, especially if morally wrong-whether they know it or not. Even non-Christians will point out this principle from the Bible. This text is very often misunderstood and misquoted. We must understand the full context.

Just because you make a statement does not mean you are hypocritically judging someone else’s character. Avoid getting entangled in illogical, emotional conversations about this. People will use this phrase, “do not judge” to essentially poke at your character. And it hurts right? Then you end up going into defense mode and will often shut down. Or like many people do, refuse to ever make a comment because you don’t want to look like a judger. Making a statement is simply making a statement, not attacking people. Saying something is wrong in God’s eyes is simply stating a fact, not putting someone down. There truly is a right and wrong in this world despite what moral relativism posits.

Understand the word “judge” can refer to both examination and condemnation. What we see in the Bible is that we are clearly not called to condemn people. Correct, that meaning of the word judge is God’s job. He’s the only one who knows people’s hearts, who knows His elect, and who ultimately makes the final judgment of who’s going to heaven or hell. We are however, called to point people to God’s truth for correction. So, what we really see from scripture is that we are not to judge from a hypocritical vantage point. We must first be examined and corrected ourselves. We are to judge from God’s righteous viewpoint, however, and His word is what we must align ourselves and others with, especially believers. How we handle unbelievers is slightly different.

Remember our why is because we care about people’s relationships with the Lord. Let us also remember that we must let go of thinking we can fix people and trust that it is the Holy Spirit who will do that!

Let’s start with us and our posture.

We must thoroughly judge ourselves first.

It starts with us. Have you examined your own heart, confessed, repented, sought mentorship, discipleship, or counseling? Are you growing into maturity and walking away from sin?

Let’s look at possibly the most misunderstood proof text that people use against others when they say, “do not judge.” I’m going to use Luke 6, but you can also cross reference Jesus’ words from Matthew 7.

Luke 6:37-42

Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Main point: Be careful about how you look at, treat, and evaluate others. “For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If you annoyed someone in the past, how would you want them to respond to you? My guess is with grace, kindness, and mercy, not with rash, harsh, and slandering statements and treatment.

39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

Main point: First, clearly see your own faults and recognize how you need to change. Can you really help someone else when you haven’t helped yourself yet? As disciples being trained by Jesus, we must have the same mindset as Him when reviewing others’ intents and actions.

41″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ’Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Main point: “first” examine and evaluate yourself, “then” you can examine and evaluate others. We are not to make hypocritical judgments. If I drink alcohol every day, I have no right to tell someone else they are wrong for drinking alcohol every day. First get myself clean then I can help someone else get clean.

In Romans we are warned not to judge others when we are doing the same things. If we know something is wrong, we become a witness against ourselves if we are committing the same acts. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” (Romans 2:1-3)

Overall, what do we see here? It starts with us first.

In Galatians 6:1-4, Paul spoke about how we must humbly examine ourselves first before pointing out the spiritual shortcomings of others, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work.”

Therefore, confrontation should be done in gentleness as we consider ourselves first.

There’s a way to judge others.

Examining ourselves should hopefully keep our posture in a humble, kind, merciful, and forgiving state when discerning and evaluating others.

“But you should just focus on yourself. It’s not your right to tell others what to do!”

Perhaps you’ve heard this comment before? Perhaps you’ve made it.

Let’s look at another commonly misused proof text that people use when they feel “judged,” and understand more of this word’s meaning.

In James 4:11-12, we read, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”

After hearing what James said, we might think to ourselves, “That’s right! I knew it all along! No one is supposed to judge! I can’t judge you, and you can’t judge me so stay in your lane!”

Holupwait! (that’s slang for wait a minute, if you know you know)! The word that James uses here for “judge” is the Greek verb krino, found in the New Testament 114 times. It is rendered into English by a variety of terms, such as “judge,” “determine,” and “call into question.” Context matters. Remember, this word for “judge” can be used in the negative way of passing judgement, and thus condemnation; but it can also mean to “come to a conclusion” or “make a determination.” The former is based on malice; the latter is based on concern.

Speaking from concern does not mean we are speaking evil about our brothers and sisters in Christ. James is cautioning us to be careful about malice – jumping to conclusions before obtaining all the facts, and to refrain from gossip, slander and passing sentence on someone. That’s what he had in mind when he asked, “Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:12).

Plus, note he says there is one Lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. We can share our peace of mind but not our angry “piece” of mind, because…  

“…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:17-18)

Ultimately, we can’t control one’s salvation or even sanctification. We do not pass sentence. That’s in God’s hands. As laborers sent out into the harvest, we simply do our part and sow by bringing wisdom from above.

That’s why…

We must always be aligned with God’s Word.

When making a discerning decision, evaluation, examination, judgment, whatever you want to call it, we defend the bible’s stances, not our own. Instead of attacking one’s character, we simply uphold truth. We state what He says is right or wrong, not our own decisions about such things.

Jesus gives us the standard, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)

To be continued…part two will cover the differences between judging believers, non-believers, and false teachers. Stay tuned.

God Bless,

Coach Theo