It is true that we should not judge each other but it is also true that as it says in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." So we are to discern things about a person's life and if it is not in keeping with God's word, we are to avoid them. We are not to take out a full page ad in the local paper, or make sure that their sins are aired on the nightly news, but we are to consider the kind of person they are and even if they have a form of godliness (which could even mean they are church goers), if they deny the truth and its power, then we are to stay away from such people as these. It also says, "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'" 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
So when it says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye," (Matthew 7:1-5 NIV), we are to be sure that we can see clearly to help our brother who may be stumbling. We need to be sure that we, ourselves, are not guilty of the same offense (or other offenses!) that we are correcting in our brother or friend. We are to judge with right judgment as it says in John 7:24 (ESV), "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." How can we judge/discern with right judgment if we have a log in our own eye? Get yourself completely right with God, searching out every corner of your life and checking your own motivation, and then approach your brother who may be participating in things contrary to God's word. This does not make you a judge, it makes you a friend.
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God 'will give to each person according to what he has done.' To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." Romans 2:1-7 (NIV) We should not pass judgment! God is the judge and we should definitely realize that although we may help someone back on the path of life, God is the one who judges everyone according to what they have done. We should persist in doing good, seeking God's glory, honoring Him, and we will be given eternal life because of what Jesus Christ, our Lord, has done for us. We should never think that God's kindness and tolerance and patience is so that we or anyone else can get away with anything, it is because He is gracious.
"No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace." Hebrews 12:22 (The Message) God's judgment makes us just. He judges and prunes the vine and molds the clay. He is vinedresser, potter, and judge. He judges to transform us into His image.
God guides us in judgment. We need to have humble, meek hearts. Too often we feel compelled to reprimand someone because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We need to be sure that our motivation is the glory of God and the edification or building up of His people. "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way." Psalm 25:9 (KJV)
God teaches us good judgment through the knowledge of His word. "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments." Psalm 119:66 (ESV)
Sound judgment and discernment are to be pursued, obtained, and displayed. "By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck." Proverbs 3:19-22 (NIV)
We are not to be without judgment. "The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment." Proverbs 10:21 (NIV)
And we are to execute true judgment which is only from the Lord. We are to show mercy and compassion to everybody. "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions, every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." Zechariah 7:8-10 (KJV)
God is the one who judges the living and the dead. We are to discern what the will of God is, the pleasing, good, and perfect will of God according to His word, as it says in Romans 12:2 (NASB), "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." We are to encourage others to discern what the will of God is, too... "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." Matthew 7:1-5 (The Message)
"Here is a good rule for reprovers; first reform thyself." Matthew Henry
Dear Lord, Help us not to judge others but instead to have good judgment and Your power of discernment. Let the motivation of our hearts be Yours. Make us and mold us into the people You want us to be and let us be humble instruments of Your love to a lost and dying world.
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