WHO DIED AND MADE YOU MY JUDGE?

Hayward’s Note:  So many people seem to misunderstand, in my opinion, of what judging really means.  Sooo, I did some research and came up with this lesson.

 

Did you know that Matthew 7:1 (“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.”) is quickly replacing John 3:16 as the most memorized and quoted verse in the Bible?  It is true!

 

For instance, let’s look at a few statements.  Let’s see if you agree with them.

1.   Pre-marital sex is wrong.  Two people living together out of wedlock are living in adultery.

2.  Homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuals need to repent of this sin in order to be right with God.

3.   Abortion is murder. It is the taking innocent human life.

4.  Lying in order to get a job or a promotion is a sin.

And the list goes on and on of things that are not “grey”. Paul tells us that “⁹ Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. ¹¹ Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  (1 Corinthians 6:9-12)

Today when these sins are even mentioned, the “world” will immediately say the Bible says  “Do not judge others” . Then they will say something like this, “Well, who died and made you judge?”

 

That brings up this question: is it ever right to pass judgment on the actions of others?  We need to be very careful how we answer that question!  We might think that Jesus would have said “No! It is never right to judge another.”  Instead, Jesus said, “It depends! There are times when you can judge and times when you cannot judge.”

 

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)

 

These verses spoke by Jesus have something very important to say about the matter of judging one another.  Whether we admit it or not, we all engage in judging from time to time.  Some people have even made it their lifestyle to judge others by their standards.  Let’s look at what Jesus has to say about this vital matter.

 

Judge means “to pronounce judgment; to expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism.”  It refers to “act the part of a judge; or to pass judgment on the words and deeds of another.”

 

In this scripture in Matthew, Jesus says “Do not judge others”.  Does this mean that all judgment is wrong?  No!  There are some occasions mentioned in the Bible where Christians are called on the exercise judgment over others. SO is there a time to judge “actions”, yes - but we have a very short leash!

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he writes “I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.”  (2 Corinthians 5: 1b) He condemns the man and his actions and calls on the church to do the same. He writes “¹² It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”  (2 Corinthians 5:12-13)  Jesus said, ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (Matthew 7:20)  As we can see here, there is some judging of actions going on in these verses.

 

There are times when the church must exercise discipline against a wayward member. This will require judging their fruits according to the Word of God.

¹⁵ “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. ¹⁶ But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17)

So, what is Jesus talking when he says “Do not judge others.”?  Jesus is talking about looking at people and attempting to judge their motives and their real spiritual condition (in other words, questioning their salvation) based on what we see in their lives. The idea here is that the judge presumes to know the condition of another person’s heart.  He sets himself up as judge and jury and proclaims the guilt and innocence of all those around him.  This is the attitude that Jesus condemns!

 

Anyone who sets himself up as the judge of others will himself face judgment someday! “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged …… The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^”  The critic forgets that he will also face God in judgment, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.”  (Romans 14:12)  One day God will use the same yardstick to judge the critic that he used to judge others!  That is a scary thought!  We should consider these verses the next time we think about sitting in judgment of another person.  Luke writes these words spoken by Jesus: ³⁷ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.”  (Luke 6:37-38)  By the way, for every person we watch and criticize, there is someone else watching us and criticizing our life!

 

Here is the bottom line: We have no right to judge and criticize the lives of those around us.  There are a few good reasons why we should really strive to do this. Here is a few:

 

 We shouldn’t criticize because we don’t always know all the facts:

 A check-out person at a store once wrote to an advice-columnist to complain that she had seen people buy "luxury" food items—like expensive birthday cakes and bags of shrimp—with their food stamps. The writer went on to say that she thought all those people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were "lazy and wasteful."

A few weeks later the columnist devoted an entire column to people who had responded to the check-out chick. One woman wrote:

“I didn’t buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So what? My husband had been working at a plant for fifteen years when it shut down. The prawn casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner and lasted us three days. Perhaps the checkout person who criticized that woman would have a different view of life after walking a mile in my shoes.”

Another woman wrote:
“I’m the woman who bought the $17 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought the check-out woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she didn’t know is the cake was for my little girl’s birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer and will probably be gone within six to eight months.”

There is no way any of us can know exactly why someone is doing something. We can save ourselves - and other people - a lot of grief by quitting altogether trying to figure out people’s hidden motives for behavior - and instead love and accept them.

 

2.  Don’t criticize because we all fail God and sin, (1 John 1:8-10).

3.  Don’t criticize because we do not know the content of the other person’s heart.

4.  Don’t criticize because, when we do, we are attempting to assume the authority of God, ⁴ Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall”.  (Rom. 14:4)  “If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.” (James 4:11-12)

 

The problem with judging others is that we are often guilty of the same or worse sins ourselves, 2 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. (Rom. 2:1). None of us are anything to brag about!  While we look at the way some people dress, act, and at the outward signs of sin in their lives; we are often blind to the prejudices, hypocritical spirit and other sins that lurk within our own heart! What makes me think that I am in any position to straighten anyone out when I am in such a mess myself? Here is the hard part.  Here is the truth that is so hard to swallow.  Jesus is saying that the sin of the critic is often greater than the sin of the person being judged!  And we are revealing a heart that lacks genuine love for our neighbor.  Jesus said , ³⁹ “….. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matt. 22:39) That ought to make us stop and think before we tear another person down, just because they don’t live up to our standards!

       

When our own heart has been fixed; when our own vision has been cleared up, we will able to reach out to a fallen brother or sister, or a lost sinner in the right spirit.  We will not approach them with a spirit of judgment, reproach and condemnation; but we will be able to come to them with a spirit of compassion and restoration.  That is the way it should be done. “6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1-2) There ought to be a desire to help a wayward brother/sister and to win a lost sinner.  Neither is possible as long as we have a judgmental, critical attitude.  When we walk in love one with another, we will be in the business of building up and not tearing down!

 

It is not wrong to confront a person with his sin.  It is wrong if you don’t.  Listen to these verses: “⁵ An open rebuke is better than hidden love!”  (Proverbs 27:5)  “³ So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.”  (Luke 17:3)  Refusing to confront a person about his sin is just as wrong as a doctor refusing to confront a patient about his sickness.  If you want to understand what Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, you must put right beside it what he said in John 7:24, “²⁴ Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”  Now that says it all. You cannot judge a tree by its leaves.  But you can judge a tree by its fruit.  You cannot judge a book by its cover.  But you can judge a book by its contents.  The key is not to judge by appearance.

 

In conclusion, we see that it is not only our right to judge the behavior of fellow Christians, but it is our loving responsibility to do so.

But always in love - and with restoration, not punishment, as the goal. That is the way God wants it to happen.