Didn’t Jesus say that we should not judge each other?

Jesus did say that we are not to judge. In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus says,

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

If these words are not strong enough, our Lord goes on to describe hypocritical judging in the following way:

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye?” 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 (vv. 3-5).

We have a clear Biblical command here to refrain from judging. Case closed, right? Well, not exactly.

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus goes on to say,

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Speaking metaphorically, Jesus creates two categories of people: dogs and pigs. In creating these categories, He is doing what? He is casting judgment. So, in Matthew 7, Jesus is not saying every type of judgment is wrong. If He were, He would have contradicted Himself. He also would have contradicted several passages of Scripture:

2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!”¹

1 Thessalonians 5:21 – “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.”²

1 John 4:1 – “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”³

Spirits cannot be tested without being judged. Examining everything carefully requires judgment. You cannot ‘test yourselves’ without first judging yourselves. So, what kind of judgment is Jesus referring to in Matthew 7?

Greek scholar, A. T. Robertson, describes Jesus’ phrase “Do not judge” in verse 1 as,

The habit of censoriousness, sharp, unjust criticism. Our word critic is from this very word. It means to separate, distinguish, discriminate. That is necessary, but prejudice (or prejudgment) is unfair, captious criticism.⁴

Jesus is not saying, ‘Do not judge at all.’ He is saying, ‘Judge by the same standard that you will be judged with.’ Look at verse 2 again, “For in the same way you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

And what measurement is that? What standard will we be judged with? We will be judged with the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says,

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Christians do have a right to judge. We have a right to judge according to the Bible. We have a right to judge according to the Word of “Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”⁵ We preach His Word⁶ because a day will come when He will judge us according to it.⁷

Any book, sermon, or article (including this one) should be judged and evaluated according to the standard of the Bible.⁸ Our book review on The Ragamuffin Gospel is no different – it is judgmental. Our future book reviews will be judgmental as well. And, as long as the review’s judgments are based upon the teachings of Scripture, that is okay.

Endnotes