Prophetic Interpretation Page 8: What Does It Mean to Judge Others?

Remember that God loves everyone and wishes that none should perish…even the vilest of criminals.  He wants that all should repent.  It may not always be easy for us to accept this, but Christ loves even the worst of the worst.  What does this mean to you?  Some think “even the worst of us” to mean a person who has done some fairly bad things in life, such as lie or steal or cheat.  But the Bible does not say that God loves mankind only to a certain level of sin.  He loves ALL mankind and wants EVERYONE to repent, even the vilest of the vile.  He knows what motivates the wicked to do terrible things, and He knows better than we do that even we who call ourselves pure could become terrible monsters should we be influenced by similar evils in our lives.  That is why He doesn’t want us to pass judgment on one another.  That is why we need to be careful about our labels.

And what does that judgment mean?  What does it mean to not pass judgment on others?  Often this is misinterpreted in scripture as well, so we use our knowledge of hermeneutics again to decipher.  You must look at the meaning of what the scripture meant in the time it was written and what the overall context of the chapter is saying.  Some use Matthew 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged” as a defense against anyone who would judge them in any way.  So if I am talking to someone and I say, “So-in-so is homosexual and has sinned against God.  It is an abomination to God to be homosexual as it is written in Leviticus 18:22.  It says, “You shall not lie with a man as with a woman.  It is an abomination.”  Therefore, So-in-so is guilty of sin and needs Jesus or they will face judgment and eternal damnation”, they might reply, “Aren’t you supposed to be a Christian?  Then you shouldn’t judge So-in-so unless you want to be judged.  Hypocrite!”

Because of this line of thinking many of the faith have begun to preach against telling others that what they are doing is wrong.  “We should not judge them.  It is between them and God.”  This is becoming more common.  It has even come to the point that homosexuals are becoming pastors and priests.  “Say nothing so we don’t get labeled as being judgmental.  I’m a Christian, so I should not judge them,” is becoming so common that sin now walks openly through the doors of churches everywhere.

But have I truly judged them?  Yes!  I have judged them.  The person is a homosexual and homosexuality is wrong.  The Bible says so.  It is an abomination.  I have declared the person’s sin and judged them in their sin.  They are guilty and deserve punishment.  I have not said that I am better than them.  I have not said that I have not sinned as well.  I merely pointing out the person’s sin.  This type of person I should not do recreational things with on a regular basis.  I can know them, treat them with respect and show them God’s love, but I should avoid doing a great deal of associating with them lest their ways and thinking begin to corrupt my ways. 

This is one point of frustration for me in the thinking of Christians today.  They do not even correct one another’s wrong behavior anymore lest they offend each other.  Does not the scripture say in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”  In other words, should we not point out, in love and gentleness, the sins of others?  Should we not say to a Christian brother, “Look!  Here is your sin.  You may not want me to point it out to you, but there it is.  You need to repent and turn from your wickedness.  What you are doing is wrong.  Pray to God to help you fix this so you can “escape the snare of the devil”?

But instead of helping one another by showing each other our faults, we use Matthew 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged” as a defense against anyone who would try to correct our behaviors.  “Leave me alone,” we say.  “You are no better than I am  How dare you judge me!”

But are they right?  Does not the scripture say I should not judge?  To answer this we must determine what this judgment means that Jesus is referring to?  Jesus was referring to judgment in terms of perception.  He was not saying, “Never judge others or anything about life.”  He did not say, “You should not judge anything.”  That would be impossible.  We are creatures that must judge every day.  We judge whether or not it is good to get up on time and go to work every day.  We judge whether we should eat cereal or eggs and toast for breakfast.  We judge whether we should take this way or that to work.  We judge whether a fruit is good or if it is rotten.

No.  Jesus was not saying we should not judge.  He was saying, “Be careful not to think of yourself as being better than anyone else.  Don’t go calling that person a wretched sinner when you are one yourself.  Don’t mistreat people because you think you are better than they are.”  You see, during that time many considered themselves holy because they upheld certain traditions and rules.  These individuals thought they were holier and more righteous than others.  They would not even associate with people who did not uphold the same rules and traditions.  They viewed those people as lesser and not worth their time. 

So the understood tone of the message to all those who were listening is, “Do not point a finger at another person calling them names and labeling them as evil and hopelessly lost.  You are just as bad as they are.  You are no better.  Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, so stop going around determining who is lesser than you.”

This is what Jesus was trying to convey.  Read the rest of Chapter 7:1-5 and you will see it also goes along with this line of thought.  We should not view someone as too terrible to associate with.  We should not view someone as somehow more sick and twisted and more beyond hope than anyone else.  Even the most ruthless and terribly sick minds can be saved by the One who makes all things possible.  If we truly believe that nothing is impossible we should believe that Jesus can save even the vilest of men.  Therefore, when Jesus said to not judge He was trying to say that we need to be individuals who avoid labels that tear others down and make us feel superior.  We need to be careful to avoid using words that cause people, and even ourselves, to perceive that someone is more terrible than they truly are.