“Judge not, that ye be not
judged.” (Matthew 7:1)
I know that I’ve
addressed this topic before in editorials, but I saw a poster the other day
that drew my mind back to it. The caption on the poster simply
read: “HOW PEOPLE IN OUR WORLD READ THE BIBLE TODAY. JUDGE NOT
......” (rest of poster blacked out). I thought this to be a very
appropriate statement about how people do or don’t “read the Bible.”
I believe that most
people have a smattering knowledge of some of the things spoken in the Bible,
but really don’t have a true understanding of them with the words on the poster
being one of them. I’m quite sure that this poster is referring to the
way a growing number of people in the world interpret Christ’s words from
Matthew 7. IE: Don’t pass judgment on any other person regardless of
their actions or behavior.
With that in mind, let’s
just take a few minutes and do a quick review of those words of Christ
and see what He’s really saying. I’ve said many times previously that to
properly study and understand something we need to see who’s talking, who he’s
talking to, the situation causing the statement to me made and the general
context of the conversation. Let’s do just that here regarding this
verse.
Of course, Christ is
doing the talking here during His sermon on the mount which contains many great
lessons besides this one. And keep in mind, this sermon is basically
telling His listeners how Christians should relate to the world and those
around them.
Starting in chapter 5 we
find Jesus continually pointing out the difference in how Christians should
conduct themselves as opposed to how the Pharisees acted. The reason for
this comparison is because the Pharisees were the very epitome of a “hypocrite.” IE: They
appeared religious, but were really only “acting” as if they were. The
Greek word “hypocrite”
actually means “actor.”
So, Jesus is talking and
the disciples are the listeners and the general context of His sermon is that
Christians are to be morally, spiritually and in general conversation, on a
higher level than the world about them. Especially those who profess to
be religious.
And so, when He makes
the statement “Judge not, that
ye be not judged”, what’s He getting at? Is he talking about
a magistrate type of judging? No. Is he talking about an act of
judgement by the elders of a congregation? Again, No. Or is He
perhaps talking about forming an opinion about something or someone? And
again, the answer is - No.
More study of the Bible
shows us that civil courts and civil rulers are approved by God and the best
reference for this is the 13th chapter of Romans. And, of course, the
church is to judge right from wrong and to take the appropriate action to
remove wrong from its midst.. And, as individuals, we have to judge right
from wrong, don’t we?
As an example, doesn’t
the 15th and 16th verses of Matt. 7 tells us to “Beware of false prophets” because they are not
what that say they are. And that how we are to recognize them is “by their fruits.” What
they produce - their actions. It’s a pretty simple equation here, isn’t
it? We’re going to have to make some sort of judgment regarding them and
then avoid following them.
What Jesus’ statement
regarding “judgment”
means is: it’s a warning to Christians to not be like the Pharisees, or any
other hypocrite, in finding faults, or condemning others while thinking
yourself to be perfect. In other words, don’t go around with a
“holier-than-thou” attitude which was very prevalent with the way the Pharisees
acted.
Jesus is simply telling
His listeners (and us) that they (we) will be judged “as they (we) judge.”
In other words, we will be judged by the same rules which we use to judge
others. A good reference to this is found in Mark 4:24 where He tells His
disciples to heed “with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you.” And James goes even
further with this principle when he says “For
he shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy.” (James
2:13)
Let me direct your
attention to two more passages that further explain these words of Jesus.
The first one is one of the great principles of the Gospel, sometimes referred
to as the “Law of Harvest.” It’s found in Gal. 6:7 and simply says:
“Whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap.”
The second passage is
found immediately following our beginning scripture “Judge not, that ye be not
judged.” And I note to you that the mis-appliers of this “Judge not”
verse disregard a verse just a few down from there, In verse 12 He
says, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them.”
And, if we return to the
“context” area of His statement in Matt. 7:1, read on down through the next 4
verses and you’ll see Him enlarging, so to speak, on the meaning of “Judging not.” He talks
about removing a tiny speck of dust from his brother’s eye all the while having
a “beam” in his
own. The idea here? Christians are not to be so quick to find fault
with each other while overlooking their own shortcomings. Sort of like the
old adage, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
In wrapping up , Jesus
is not saying that we are to “judge”
no one. He’s simply pointing out that His followers are to not judge the
way the world generally judges, IE: not considering their own condition.
It’s one of the many lessons we find in His sermon about how Christians are to
be different from the “world.”
How we are to treat each other - “in
love.” (Many scriptures) That if we have that
attitude, we will judge accordingly. The opposing idea is, that we won’t
be hypocritical in our judgments.
The long and the short
of it is: we have to judge, but by the “fruits”
that are discernible. In the way the world sees and uses this passage is,
that we can’t condemn any behavior. But, if we follow that
reasoning, we are then tacitly approving that behavior. Our job is to see
it, judge it as to it’s effect on our own soul and, if it’s wrong, avoid
it. We are not judging their souls, only God has that
authority.
--Ron Covey
