To Judge or Not to Judge

Matthew 7.1 is, perhaps, the most commonly quoted verse in the Bible today. But just because it is oft-quoted does not mean it is properly understood. Jesus does say not to judge, but then just a few sentences later says we are to judge. Is Jesus speaking out of both sides of His mouth? The answer is, "No"; rather, the truth is that we are to judge in an evaluative way, but not in a condemning way. True judgment comes from God, but we are to determine right from wrong which includes making a judgment on people (such as the false prophets in Matthew 7.15).

The challenge for us as humans is that we tend to judge based upon our emotions rather than on facts. However, for those occasions when we do have facts, we never have all of the facts. And furthermore, even if we did have all of the facts, we still have our own issues to deal with as well. 

That is the point of the first few verses in Matthew 7. Again, Jesus does say not to judge, but then He turns around and says that we should help another who has an issue (which requires us to judge that an issue is real). The challenge then is to deal with the issue, not the person.

Ultimately, these verses come down to two primary points. First, we must realize that the chapter break does us a great disservice. Matthew 6.33 is a command to seek God and His righteousness. Just a couple of sentences later (7.1) we get the command about judgment. That is issue number one. The second point is found in Matthew 7.5, just a couple of sentences after the command about judgment. In that verse, we are told to take the log out of our own eye and THEN help the other person. These two aspects fit very well with one another – especially as bookends to the central piece about judging others.

To elaborate, if we are seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness first, then we will realize our own issues before God and know we have an offense against Him to be reconciled (a log to remove from our eye). Once removed, we can see clearly – because we are seeing things from God’s perspective – which will allow us to help the other person deal with their issue. The key here is that we are to help, not crush the other person. And this is important because we seek the help (mercy) of God whom we offend with our sin far more than anyone could offend us with theirs. So, the idea here is about judging with perspective, or as verse 2 says, with the proper measure.

Several years ago, I developed the following guide to keep the measure proper. This guide may not be perfect, but I do find it helpful, and after a recent re-evaluation, I believe it is still quite proper. In preparing to judge another, first consider these four questions.

1) Have I come before God to make sure my vision is clear?

2) If I confront another person, am I seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness or my own?

3) Do I believe this person is a Christian?

   a) Yes. Ask God how to approach the situation.
   b) No. Ask God for His grace to be revealed in you so you are not seen as merely judgmental.

4) What does the Word of God say about the matter?


The guides takes into account the verses mentioned in this post (primarily Matthew 6.33 and 7.5). I hope it will help you as it has helped me. (I am not perfect by any means, but this process keeps me in check quite often.)