Are We Supposed To Judge?

Are We Supposed To Judge?

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."
Matthew 7:1,2 ESV

One of the biggest objections we get when sharing our faith comes from using this verse. But let's look a little deeper into this passage.

The passage tells us to not judge. Let's look at this in context.

First, let's take an example of a real life situation. Let's say a person goes to a doctor, and the doctor gives his diagnosis. The person has such and such a disease, and, there is only one cure for it, a specific type of medicine.

What if the sick person goes home angry because he thinks the doctor has judged him. The doctor made a judgment call on what was physically wrong with him. Then he prescribed the cure for this sickness, which was another judgment call.

Was the doctor wrong in giving a diagnosis and prescribing the medicine that will help him get well?

We make judgment calls all day. Some of our judgments are off. Sometimes, we make mistakes. But some things are clear cut.

If we run a red light, and hear the sirens screaming behind us, are the cops 'judging' us for running the red light? Or could it be that we did something wrong that was clear-cut, not just someone's opinion?

This part of judging comes partly from Postmodern thinking. If one person has one truth for him, and another person has another truth for her, and if these truths do not agree, then the only conclusion we have, is that each person decides for himself or herself what is truth.

If we think like this, there can be no outside boundaries that are common to everyone. It's hard to decide what is true or not, if truth is different for each person.

Let's look at the end of the Scriptural passage. "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Vs. 7:5

This verse actually, in an indirect way, is telling us to judge. The only thing it is asking is that we judge ourselves first, before we judge other people. That way, our judgment of the other person will be fair.

When we see God in His glory and splendor, we don't see ourselves as great as we think we are. When we see how small we are before a holy God, we see others who are sinners as objects of mercy, instead of people to make fun of and put down because of their sins. We see sin as a spiritual disease, not as a measurement to compare ourselves with how well we are doing compared to others. 

"We are just beggars, telling other beggars where to find bread".

"We are sinners, telling other sinners where to find salvation".

I know the diagnosis is serious, but,
I don't want to judge you, so, I will
not prescribe any kind of medication.
I don't want you to accuse me of
judging you.