How, Why & When do we judge others?
The Most Misused and Abused Verses in the Bible today are Matthew 7:1 —“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. * and Luke 6:37 —“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. * You hear and see them constantly, both in "real life" and on line. People use them as little defensive shields to tell others that it's perfectly ok for them to sin and no one had better say anything about it to them.
But by using those verses for that, they show their own ignorance because that's not at all what Jesus was saying.
Usually when someone quotes the verse about not judging, it's because they're being held accountable for teaching false doctrine and don't want to hear it; or sometimes because they're treating others badly and when they're told that, they don't want to hear it so they quote that verse. Or they're living in sin and don't want to be held accountable for it like the Bible tells us to, so they quote that verse. I rarely hear it quoted in context...very, very rarely. It's almost always taken completely out of context.
Matthew 7:1–6 & Luke 6:41–42 are not teaching that we shouldn't judge at all. In fact the Lord tells us that we are to judge both ourselves and others. We can't very well be discerning like we're told to be if we don't judge others, nor can we determine who needs to be saved, rebuked, corrected, taught or anything else if we don't judge others. In John, Jesus tells us to stop judging people by their appearances and make right judgments, and in many other places He tells us how to judge, which is what the verses in Matthew and Luke do. They're not saying not to judge at all, but are telling us how to judge. We are not to be hypocrites or think we're better then others and we're not to judge others about trivial matters, in other words, be nit pickers.
God says we’re to judge righteously and not to judge another person’s heart as only He can see what’s in someone’s heart. He tells He will judge everyone and everything in His time, so we’re not to do so. But, we are to judge people’s actions and words to determine if they’re behavior or words are righteous or sinful, truth or lies. Why are we to do that though? So we can put down that person? So we can gossip about them, berate them? So we can say how wonderful they are? No!
There are several reasons we’re to judge others:
1. We’re to judge things like that to determine if it’s something we should do or say and why.
2. We’re to judge it to determine if the person is already saved or not; to the best of our ability using what the Lord showed us about seeing fruit in someone’s life. We’re to do this so that we’ll know if we need to tell that person about the gospel, or if we think they’re already saved, so we’ll know they’re our brother or sister in Christ.
3. We’re to judge so that we’ll know if they’re someone we should be hanging around with, as the Lord tells us that bad character corrupts good morals.
4. We’re to judge them so we can determine what kind of response the Lord would have us make toward them or what they’ve done or said. The Lord tells us that for both unbelievers, and believers, (even enemies) we’re to pray for them, so we need to listen and judge so we know how to pray. He tells us that as far as it depends on us, we’re to live in peace with all others. If we don’t pay attention and judge, we can’t do that.
5. We’re to judge others to determine if they’re teaching heresy and are false teachers, or if they’re simply mistaken about something and are scriptural teachers. We’re to judge this not so we can put them down or call them names, but in order to talk to them and show them their error(s) so they can repent. If they choose not to, then we need to be ready to disassociate with them. We’re also told to do this so we can warn fellow believers from listening to their teachings as it’s not scriptural. Again, this doesn’t include attacking the person, but simply telling other believers they’re false teachers and need to be avoided.
This last one needs to be broken down more though because some false teachers aren’t even saved and never have been, and other believers need to be warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing. Which brings us to whether or not we can determine if another person is actually saved or not. The simple answer is, No, we can’t. Not for sure anyway, because we can’t know what’s really in another person’s heart. But at the same time, the Lord tells us that it’s important for us to make this judgment call for our own good and that of the rest of the body of Christ. So what we have to do in this case is use the discernment the Lord gives to those mature in their faith.
We have to remember that the purpose of our judgment is to protect the body of Christ from false teaching, by either bringing the false teacher to repentance and reconciling with them or separating from them in obedience to God. We should be careful to not say that another person is definitely not saved, but rather that it appears that they’re not saved, and we should be able to give definite scriptural reasons why it appears that way. It should never be left up to “feelings”.
The goal, even with this last one is always to bring the person into a close relationship with the Lord, either for the first time or to be reconciled with Him, as well as protection for the body of Christ.
That’s what the Lord tells us about all relationships. Our goal should always be reconciliation, first with the Lord and then including ourselves. Unbelievers are to be shown the love of the Lord, and told about Him. Believers are of course also to be shown the love of the Lord. We talk about “the love of the Lord” a lot and yet few of us show it. That’s because the way the Lord loves us is totally unselfish. He never put Himself before us, He always did the opposite. He put our needs and desires ahead of His own, to the point of laying down His life for us when we still hated Him and were His enemies; and that’s exactly the kind of love He expects us to show all others.
That kind of love includes forgiving the way He forgives us. That means promising not to ever bring up the incident to the person, to others, or even to ourselves ever again. Whenever we do bring it up, even to ourselves, it’s sin against the Lord. The Lord, “remembers our sins no more, when we repent and confess them, and so we’re to do for others too. The Lord doesn’t tolerate sin, but He totally and freely forgives it when we repent and that’s the pattern He tells us to follow, and even gives us specific directions as to how to do it.
Loving others includes putting them before ourselves, just as the Lord did for us. It means giving up our right to be “right”, even when we know they’re wrong, and allowing them to have the last say and think they’re right, for the sake of love, peace and unity. (I’m not speaking about doctrine here, but just life situations)
The world tells us that we’re to take care of ourselves first, but God says No. He says we’re to take care of others before ourselves, all the time, not sometimes, and trust Him to take care of us.
Loving others includes giving to others sacrificially. Giving of ourselves, our time, our attention, our material goods, money, or whatever they need. Not just that however, though that’s hard enough. It means giving those things sacrificially. Going above and beyond the call of duty. If we have three apples, giving at least two of them, or even all three away when the need arises, and trusting God to supply our needs. Or to put it in a way that gets all of our attention, if we have only $20 to our name and we hear of someone who needs it, we’re to give them our $20, knowing the Lord will take care of us. That’s the kind of love the Lord wants us to show others.
Are we to supply drugs or alcohol to addicts? Of course not! But we are to give them love, shelter, food, etc. Should we give them money? Probably not. Instead, pay their bills, buy them food, take them out to eat, things like that so that you know their needs are truly being met. Are we to harangue them for their addiction? No! God didn’t do that to us did He? Instead He loved us, cared for our needs, and told us of our greatest need which was for Him.
Are we to only help them if they meet our desire for them to get help in rehab? Again, no! That’s not how the Lord treated us. He died for us when we hated Him. He didn’t wait until we’d agreed we needed help! Should we charge them for our help? Did the Lord charge us? No, He paid it all. But then who will help us pay our bills? The Lord will provide for us.
Does that mean we should support others who are physically able to work, but refuse to do so? No, the Lord said that if we don't work, we don't eat. However, if someone is ill, or disabled, then yes, they need our support. Or if they've just been laid off, are in between jobs, as long as they're looking and trying, then we should help them. We should treat them the way we would want to be treated, and we cannot be the judge of whether or not they are “trying” hard enough. We are to take their word for it.
What about if we think someone is lying about something? What if someone says they've repented of a sin, but they keep doing it? What if we think someone isn't trying, but they say they are? What does the Lord tell us to do then? His Word says we're to take them at their word, regardless of our "feelings". We're to treat them as though they're telling us the truth, unless a time comes that something absolutely proves that they've been lying. That's the whole thing with not judging someone's heart again. We can't know for sure what's in another person's heart. Only the Lord can know that for sure. It's in these kind of situations that the Lord says not to judge things before their time, to leave it up to Him to judge them, and in the mean time to assume they're speaking the truth. They will get what they have coming to them if they've been lying, for the Lord will see to it. We don't have to. But what if that means that they've been taking advantage of us all that time and we've wasted all that effort? God says that nothing we've done will have been wasted. Not one little bit of it. We may not understand or see why it was necessary, but we don't have to. All we have to do is obey.
Perhaps the Lord will use all we've done to plant seeds in that person, or in other people, or both. Perhaps He will use it to grow our faith, (hopefully He will!) or perhaps He will use it to show other believers what it looks like to be a real Christian in this type of situation. There are many different ways the Lord can and does use things, ways we can't even imagine. What we can know for sure though is that nothing we do will go to waste and that it will ultimately result in God's glory and our good. You just can't ask for anything better then that!
If we could just remember that we represent Jesus to everyone we come in contact with every day...our family members, our friends, our neighbors, co-workers, boss, people on the street, the mailman, other drivers on the road, people in the stores we go in, the restaurants we eat at, the places we go for fun. Those are the people the Lord has put in our lives for us to reach. Some of them we'll never even speak to, but they'll see us, they'll see our actions, and our actions as well as our words should give others a true picture of our Lord. They should show others His sacrificial love and forgiveness.
That doesn't mean we should never get angry, even our Lord got angry. What it means is that our anger should be righteous anger, not selfish anger. That's why we're told in our anger, not to sin. The purpose of righteous anger isn't to hurt or embarrass someone, it's to fix the problem, to once again bring about reconciliation. Righteous anger has the focus of solving the problem, not getting even or showing how wrong the other person was. Sometimes, that may even include the law being involved when a law has been broken. It's really all about what's in our hearts at the time that interests the Lord. Righteous anger becomes angry at the things that anger God, not just ourselves. How often did our Lord become “angry” when someone or even a whole group of people reviled Him, made fun of Him, called Him names, or even tried to run Him out of town? Not even once. But He did get angry when He saw what people were doing to His Father’s House, and He put a stop to it. That’s the difference between righteous anger and selfish anger.
Obviously there are many reasons we must judge others, but ultimately no matter what we determine about them, the bottom line is that we’re to love them the way the Lord loves us. That’s not easy. In fact, unless we rely on God, we simply can’t do it at all. But that’s ok, because the Lord wants us to be weak and to rely on Him, so we have nothing to worry about. Let’s be the people the Lord wants us to be and begin loving others as He told us to, so we’ll be recognized as His disciples!
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”” (John 7:24)
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20)
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:35)
“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:10–14)
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:12–13)
““Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)
