1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2 (KJV)
I was just wondering how many of us truly understand this portion of scripture.
How do you think the Lord wants us to take heed to this scripture? Do you really think there is an important message the Lord wants us to understand concerning "judging others"?
I think Oswald Chambers has the classic statement regarding this:
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Beware of Criticizing Others
Oswald Chambers
~Judge not lest ye be judged~
Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, "Don’t." The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5 ). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24 ). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God."
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The part I love the most: " There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation." I keep trying to remind myself of this but sometimes it just doesn't "take."
hi, many fall into trouble in this area because there are many greek words that are translated into the word judge. some we have to do and others are forbidden. the problem is that the forbidden (krino) is now the most widely used. it is dangerous to allign yourself with the accuser of the brethren.(satan).jimp
Potentially one of the most misquoted and misunderstood passages in Scripture.
People use this verse constantly to justify avoiding the confrontation of error.
If we point out something that goes against the Word of God, it's not us judging, as it's something that God has already judged Himself. There's a vast difference between the two.
And I do mean VAST.
Notice how if anyone ever says that something goes against what the Word teaches, you'll automatically start seeing this verse fly around. Doesn't matter if you don't say anything specific/personal about who came out with the false teaching (though there are times that this must be addressed as well).
Anyone who has a love for the Truth, and of the Word should well appreciate having everything they say measured by the same standard (The Bible). We're already going to be judged by what it says, so it should equally be our standard to judge by, as we're not the ones judging (which God didn't give us the right to do, since our standard is skewed, while His is not).
Remember, it's not us judging if God has already said that something is so.
This is such as important question.
There should be antire thread devoted to this question.
Today, I learned about judgment in light of a brief study of Joseph's response to his brothers in Genesis 50:19:
"But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?'" (Gen. 50:19 NRSV)
Forgiveness. The strange bedfellow of judgment. Judgment is only helpful when self-inflicted. As the secret of every possible human evil can be revealed in my own heart. Judgment, therefore, should always be accompanied with a mirror.
Judgment. Ahh! Perhaps judgment is one of the few acts of the will which complement self-consciousness. Judgment is one of those rare opportunities whereby self-focus is necessary. It is the only time that the "self" adopts a reliable perception of reality. Self-judgment, that is.
This admonition regarding judgment in Matthew 7:2 also counsels us about a crucial feature of forgiveness.
The altar of Self-judgment presents a favorable atmosphere for the sacrifice of forgiveness.
Judgment results in a concept based on the phenomena of human behavior. Yet, I don't even trust my own sensory perception lest it is vettied through Christ's nature.
Judging others starts with Christ, then - automatically leaps to Forgiveness (not necessarily the elimination of consequences).
Yet, even if judgment starts with the "self" and not "Christ" - it should still lead to forgiveness, as it (according God's Word) operates most effectively when rooted in a self-ish principle (I. e., "Judge ye not, that 'YE' be..." - Matthew 7: 1).
I probably sound confused (which I am used to by now), hence, I'd love to hear more about the very mysterious and divine nature of judgment and forgiveness?
This is why I love SI so much, you read Oswald Chambers?!?
Love-in-Christ,
KP
This is such as important question.
There should be an entire thread devoted to this question.
Today, I learned about judgment in light of a brief study of Joseph's response to his brothers in Genesis 50:19:
"But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?'" (Gen. 50:19 NRSV)
Forgiveness. The strange bedfellow of judgment. Judgment is only helpful when self-inflicted. As the secret of every possible human evil can be revealed in my own heart. Judgment, therefore, should always be accompanied with a mirror.
Judgment. Ahh! Perhaps judgment is one of the few acts of the will which complement self-consciousness. Judgment is one of those rare opportunities where self-focus is necessary. It is the only time that the "self" adopts a reliable perception of reality. Self-judgment, that is.
This admonition regarding judgment in Matthew 7:2 also counsels us about a crucial feature of forgiveness.
The altar of Self-judgment presents a favorable atmosphere for the sacrifice of forgiveness.
Judgment results in a concept based on the phenomena of human behavior. Yet, I don't even trust my own sensory perception lest it is vetted through Christ's nature.
Judging others starts with Christ, then - automatically leaps to Forgiveness (not necessarily the elimination of consequences).
Yet, even if judgment starts with the "self" and not "Christ" - it should still lead to forgiveness, as it (according to God's Word) operates most effectively when rooted in a self-ish principle (I. e., "Judge ye not, that 'YE' be..." - Matthew 7: 1).
I probably sound confused (which I am used to by now), hence, I'd love to hear more about the very mysterious and divine nature of judgment and forgiveness?
This is why I love SI so much, you read Oswald Chambers?!?
Love-in-Christ,
KP
There is an excellent little book on this subject (72 pp.) called, "To Judge or Not to Judge!" by Edwin and Lillian Harvey. You can purchase it for $5.95 here...
http://www.harveycp.com/to-judge-or-not-to-judge.html
I had obtained permission from the publisher to type out portions of it for this site, but then I realized there were no "portions" I could cut out.
As EverestoSama says, I believe many have misconstrued this passage.
The authors say in their foreword, "We do not write for the able theologians. We leave that to more talented scholars. We share our gleanings with humble Christian men and women who, longing to be obedient to God, are confused by the babel of voices raised in protest against that righteous judgment which waxes indignant when God's glory and honor are at stake."
Everest wrote:
"Potentially one of the most misquoted and misunderstood passages in Scripture.
People use this verse constantly to justify avoiding the confrontation of error."
I agree, but clearly that is not the context of the passage. It is about judging people. It is about judging that "thug" walking down the street with his pants hanging down who looks like he is up to no good. It is about judging the Kardashians, instead of praying for them.
I think it is important not to deflect discussion of what this passage means by stating what it doesn't mean. What it DOES mean is enough to be getting on with.
Wow! Excellent replies! I appreciate all the contributions to this thread!
I have really enjoyed reading the many posts so far but I still believe that there is much too still learn about not judging others. I find that it is much easier to judge others than it is to show mercy to them. It is much easier to believe the wrong we hear about others, that many times will lead us to judge or condemn, than to be willing to be merciful toward others hoping that the wrong may not be true.
I also think that Jesus teaches us to truly love people, to do good to them, and even if they do us wrong be quick to forgive them.
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
I could go “on and on” but the bible also says in Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
I still wonder if we really understand?
Blessings...from brother rbanks
I think it is really important that we look at these verses in context and compare them with other verses in the New Testament on this issue. Here is the context.
Mat 7:1-5
(1) Judge not, that ye be not judged.
(2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
(3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
(4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
(5) Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
The point being made here is not that we should not judge. That interpretation is to lift the first verse out of context entirely. The point is that we will be judged with the same judgement that we have toward others. Before judging, we should be careful to allow God to deal with and cleanse us in the arena in which we are about to judge another. For example, If I have repented of bitterness and unforgiveness and walk in love, forgiveness, and grace, then I am able to judge properly another who is walking in bitterness or unforgiveness. But judgement in this sense does not mean condemnation. It means to differentiate between two things. It means to be able to identify and approach a fault or sin in another with the love of Christ and in the Spirit so that my judgement is just, righteous, and bears peaceable fruit.
Jesus dealt with just this scenario when He was rebuked for healing on the Sabbath. Joh 7:23-24
(23) If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
(24) Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
We are told that we will judge the world in the end, so we ought to be able, in the church, to judge right and wrong in matters of this world. 1Co 6:1-3
(1) Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
(2) Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
(3) Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Again, it is not condemnation in the sense of passing final judgement in this world, but it is a distinguishing between right and wrong. Paul goes on to advise that we ought to set those least esteemed in the body over this work of judging who is right and who is wrong in a dispute between brothers.
The issue with judgment is that it comes back to us in the same form it goes out from us. If I deal with my brothers and sisters in the Spirit, acting in the love of God and humility, that is the judgement that will exercised toward me. If I judge harshly, proudly, and in my flesh, that is what I can expect to be judged by in my failures as well.
rbanks wrote:
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2 (KJV)I was just wondering how many of us truly understand this portion of scripture.
How do you think the Lord wants us to take heed to this scripture? Do you really think there is an important message the Lord wants us to understand concerning "judging others"?
I understand it but that doesn’t mean I always live it, sadly. To me, these verses along with “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Ro 13:8 ) are the essence of what we will be judged by.
I trust Christ that all things will work out without me having to judge another. Why do I feel that way? I grew up spiritually in a church that did just that, the pastor never kicked anyone out (no matter how bad they acted) but many did in fact leave because of the Holy Spirit, not because a man took it upon himself to help them leave. That is a higher calling to be able to love the unlovely and to trust and allow the Lord to take care of the situation and the person. But the judgmental will always find fault with this and defend their judging!
God bless,
Lisa
Good posting brother Wayne and Lisa!
Notice the humility enjoined and the understanding of our own faults. The realization of the forgiveness we all need and are to experience. We are to experience grace, understand grace, and be gracious to others or we will condemn ourselves.
It is not judging to condemn but judging to help or give aid with an eye of love toward others.
Blessings…from brother rbanks
you are correct... the central point of the gospel message is forgiveness... how can i;having been forgiven of sooooo much look down my nose at anyone. peter ,james and john called fire down on someone and Jesus forbid them and told them that they did not know what spirit they were calling upon.the apostles came back and reported that they heard some preaching but were not in our group.Jesus said forbid them not for whosoever is not against us is with us.jimp
When Jesus said to "Judge Not" I take that to mean that we are not to condemn. The same condemnation that we condemn others the same measure will be meted back to us. And I have seen this time and time again. So many times that I have had to stop doing it in my own life because the very thing that I condemned others in, I found myself doing. Romans 2:1
Certainly we judge, we need to judge.
1 Corinthians 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1 Corinthians 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person [Why?, because we judge them that are within]
1 Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1 Corinthians 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? [or presently]
1 Corinthians 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
We need to discern how that word "Judge" is being used in scripture, one is used to condemn the other is to judge righteously which is something that we all do.
False teachers have come in unawares to mute the Church from judging, when in fact the word is saying that we are not to condemn, and there is a difference. They have successfully completed their task. We have been frightened into believing that we are not to judge anyone at all and this is not what Christ or the Apostles ever intended. The world has gotten us where they want us, say nothing against anyone so they can continue on with their plans of creating a perverse and backward world. In the days of Elijah, there was no one left to help judge Israel. Even though 7,000 had not bowed the knee to Baal, they were in hiding, Jezebel had muted them through fear of what she could do to them. We are like that today and there is just a few Elijah's out there with millions of believers that have not bowed their knee to this present world system but at the same time they say nothing. Gideon was another. We need to have our voice restored and not be afraid to stand for the truth of Gods word.
By understanding it this way, this has saved me from a lot of grief, I hope it will do the same for you.
[emphasis mine]
hi, approved is on the right track. krino (judge) is to sit in judgement with the ability to condemn(krino also)anakrino and diakrino are lesser and softer .discern, judge so that you might have wisdom in a matter etc. please do a word study on this and it becomes crystal clear.krino... jimp if you say i am a heretic ,that would be krino. if you said that you heard me say something that does not agree with the word of God. that would not be krino for you are not judgeing me but what i said.
@twayneb
That was an excellent explanation!
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