I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Does God allow us to make judgments about one another?

                                                             1.      Christ alone has the authority to make a judgment about a person’s eternal destination after the resurrection (Matt. 7:21-23; John 5:28-30; 12:48; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:16; 2Cor. 5:10).

                                                             2.      Yet there are other types of judgments that can be made about a person besides his or her eternal destination.  Such judgments are:

a.       Whether a person is right or wrong in any given matter;

b.       Whether a person is practicing good or evil;

c.        Whether a person speaks truth or falsehood;

d.       Whether a person is wise or foolish.

                                                             3.      Are we allowed and able to make such judgments?

B.      To answer this question, let us consider two of the Lord’s teachings regarding personal judgment.

                                                             1.      “Do not judge lest you be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matt. 7:1-2)

                                                             2.      “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)

II.      “DO NOT JUDGE LEST YOU BE JUDGED”

A.      Too often the mantra “judge not lest ye be judged” is used as a defense for wrongdoing by people who are ignorant of the Scriptures.

                                                             1.      For such people, any attempt to reprove or rebuke them by the Scriptures (2Tim. 3:16-4:2) is rejected as an unauthorized judgment.  Because Jesus said, “Do not judge,” they believe that no one can make a judgment of their actions.

                                                             2.      Many of the denominations and community churches are taking advantage of this mindset by offering to be “non-judgmental.”  This really means that these churches will not ask their members to comply with the Scriptures in their behavior.

B.      In truth, the Lord taught us to make judgments with a fair, merciful, and introspective standard (Matt. 7:1-5).

                                                             1.      The lesson taught by the Lord in this passage is that we cannot judge others by a strict standard and then expect to be judged ourselves with lenience.

a.       This passage does not mean that we may set our own standards, for God has given His word and His Son as our standard of measure (John 12:48).

b.       Rather, it means that we are all subject to the same standards of judgment that are set by God.

i.         It is wrong for us to expect others to live by God’s standards while counting ourselves as exempt from them.  God impartially holds us all to the same standards (Rom. 2:11).

ii.        We tend to see the sins of others more easily than we see our own sins.  We need to overcome this so that our flaws are as visible to us as others’ flaws.

iii.      A similar message is taught in Romans 2:1-3.

c.        Implied in this teaching is a lesson of mercy and forgiveness.

i.         If we judge others unmercifully, then we will also receive an unmerciful judgment.   See Matthew 5:7.

ii.        God mercifully offers forgiveness to us when we fall short of His standards, but we will not receive that forgiveness if we will not offer it to others ourselves.  See Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35.

                                                             2.      To demonstrate His teaching, the Lord gave an example in verses 3-5.

a.       The Lord used the visual figure of a man who sees the speck in his brother’s eye while he fails to notice the log in his own eye.  This represents one who overlooks his own major transgression while criticizing his brother’s minor flaw.

b.       Let us notice the word “hypocrite” in verse 5 and understand its connection with the word “judge” in verse 1.

i.         The English word “judge” is translated from the Greek word krinō, which means to judge or determine.  This Greek word is the root of our word “criticize.”

ii.        The English word “hypocrite” is transliterated from the Greek word hypokritēs, which is from hypo (under) and krinō (judge).

iii.      Thus, a hypocrite is literally someone who judges himself under a false opinion.  He is an imposter, for he has judged himself to be someone whom he is not.

c.        The Lord’s commandment to the hypocrite is to first correct his own transgression and then correct his brother’s flaw.  Notice that his brother’s flaw is not overlooked or excused.  It is not that he is not to judge his brother at all, but that he is to judge his brother by the same standard that is applied to him.

III.   “JUDGE WITH RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT”

A.      It is necessary for us to make judgments about one another, but those judgments must be made by a righteous standard and not by appearances based upon false opinions (John 7:14-24).

                                                             1.      In this passage, the Lord exposed the Jews for judging Him by a false standard.

a.       Notice two false judgments made by the Jews about Jesus.

i.         Jesus appeared to the Jews to have a demon because He was knowledgeable even though He had not been trained by the rabbis.

ii.        Jesus also appeared to the Jews to be a violator of the Law of Moses because He healed on the Sabbath (see John 5).

b.       Jesus corrected them, saying, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

i.         Jesus explained the truth that His understanding came from the Father and that He had not violated the Law by healing on the Sabbath.

ii.        Whereas the works of Jesus appeared to the Jews to be worthy of condemnation by their false standards, they were truly divine according to righteous judgment.

                                                             2.      Let us not make this same mistake by making false judgments based on false standards.

a.       The Jews had an unrighteous bias that prevented them from seeing Jesus for who He truly was.  Righteous judgment would have allowed them to see the truth.

b.       We likewise can allow false assumptions to create false impressions and false appearances.  Instead, let us perceive the truth through God’s word and exercise righteous judgment.

B.      This righteous judgment must be applied in every decision we make about one another.

                                                             1.      It is necessary for us to make righteous judgments about those who within the church.

a.       There are times when we must judge that a brother is in sin and cannot have fellowship with other Christians (1Cor. 5:11-13).

b.       There are also times when we must judge a person to be a false teacher who must be shunned by Christians (Rom. 16:17; 2John 10-11).

c.        Judgments based on false worldly standards or fickle emotions may lead us to make wrong choices in these matters, so let us be sure that our judgment is by God’s word.

                                                             2.      Within our families, it is often necessary to exercise righteous judgment.

a.       Husbands and wives must use righteous judgment in their marriages even when the world influences them to do otherwise (Matt. 5:31-32; 1Cor. 7:10-16; Eph. 5:22-33; Tit. 2:4-5).

b.       Parents must use righteous judgment in raising children even when the world advises a different approach (1Cor. 7:36-38; Eph. 6:4; Tit. 2:4).

c.        Children must use righteous judgment in submitting to their parents even when the children do not fully understand their parents’ decisions (Eph. 6:1-3).

                                                             3.      In the world, it is necessary to make righteous judgments about others, which includes determining who is a corrupting influence to be avoided.

a.       Christians cannot withdraw from the world, but they must minimize the effects of the world’s influence (1Cor. 5:9-10; 15:33; Eph. 5:7-12; 2Cor. 6:14-18).

b.       This is not a matter of condemning others to hell, but rather it is a matter of righteously recognizing and avoiding the dangers of temptation.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Therefore, let us understand that not only are we allowed to make judgments, but also it is necessary to do so.  God has equipped us with His word as an objective standard to use in every matter of judgment.

B.      Most importantly, let us judge who is in Christ and who is not.  For those who are, let us judge them to be our brethren.  For those who are not, let us judge that they should be led to Christ that they may have salvation in Him.