Matthew 7:1 – Judge not, that you be not judged.

1 Corinthians 2:15 – The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

1 Corinthians 6:2 – …do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

Are we to judge or not? (I tend to lean toward one side of this seeming contradiction)

It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.

Matthew 7:1 is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible in our culture, and is used to disarm Christians in virtually every situation, saying Jesus commanded us to “Judge NOT”. And we should take this, along with every word of Jesus very seriously, but we need to try to understand what he meant and not necessarily what some may have wanted Him to say.

You see, in Matthew 7:1, when Jesus commanded followers to “judge not”, He was using a word for judge that is associated with condemnation. It is the same word found in the famous verses of John 3 – which is next to the most quoted verse in the Bible – John 3:16.

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus mission was not to condemn, and so it should be with believers.

Ok Carl, then what about the other verses that tell believers they are to judge, like the two verses above found in 1 Corinthians?

It helps me to differentiate the two general commands by remembering that we are not to condemn, yet we are discern.

A good example would be if my neighbor was telling me he never drinks alcohol, and yet I see him in the bars on Friday and Saturday night, I can rightly discern (judge) that he is a liar, and possibly a drunk!

What I cannot do is to condemn him, judge him as unworthy of the gospel, either by ignoring what I see (not hear) or by rejecting him, assuming I am better than him.

The difference is critical, for we are to discern the environment we live in, the people we associate with and the lives we ourselves live, and yet we are to always seek the good of others, not condemning any one, for that is the Lord’s prerogative only!

Be wise as serpents (discerning!)

Be innocent as doves. (non judgy!)

As I mentioned at the start, I imagine you understand where I tend to end up in this paradox, for I have often taken to using the gavel on those around me, building walls, making myself feel good, and ending up lonely. Not the choice of the wise!

What side do you prefer?

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