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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 2, NUMBER 50, JANUARY 12, 2003 “DO
NOT JUDGE LEST YOU BE JUDGED”
In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which is part of the
great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in verses 1 – 5, “Do not judge lest
you be judged. For in the way you
judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured
to you. And why do you look at the
speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your
own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out
of your brother’s eye.” Oh,
how many times has this passage been brought up to me!
How many times have folks told me that I was violating the precept of our
Lord expressed in these verses! How
many times have I been told, “Do not judge, lest you be judged!”
Every time I have been told that I was violating Matthew 7:1-5, it has
been by someone whose doctrines or practices I had called into question.
“You don’t have the right to judge!”
That’s what I have been told; and in a certain sense I guess that is
true. To have the right to do
something implies having the right not to do it as well.
I don’t have the right “not to judge” (for you teachers, I know
that is a double negative). Judging
is something I have been commanded to do, as have we all.
Jesus also said in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance,
but judge with righteous judgment.” Is
there a contradiction here or is Jesus talking about two different kinds of
judgment?
In 1 John 4:1, we read, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets
have gone out into the world.” That
is obviously going to require a judgment on our part.
Does this contradict what Jesus said in Matthew 7:1?
Consider a passage like 2 Thessalonians 3:6, that requires us to “keep
aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life.”
Does this not demand that we make a judgment?
Of course it does! What then
did Jesus mean in Matthew 7:1-5?
What the Lord was condemning in Matthew 7 was harsh and rash,
uncharitable and censorious judgment. It
is the kind of judgment that comes from someone who is always seeking to find
fault and who does so without truly examining the evidence.
It is the same kind of judgment that Paul condemned in Romans 2:1 – 3, “Therefore
you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you
judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who
practice such things. And do you
suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things
and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”
We are required to make righteous judgments and we must welcome the same
kind of judgments for ourselves. When
we call in question the religious beliefs and practices of someone we must be
willing to have our own religious beliefs and practices judged by the same
standard. When we judge someone’s
conduct, we must be willing to have our conduct judged by the same standard.
Failure to welcome the same judgment is to be a hypocrite of the worst
order.
There is only one standard by which we are to judge and by which are to
be judged. That standard is the Word
of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17, says,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.”
It is the standard by which all are to walk in this life and according to
our Lord in John 12:48, it is the standard by which we all will be judged when
He returns. Judge according to
God’s Word and welcome it in return.
Greg Litmer
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