Who are You to Judge Someone Else? 

By Tom Keziah

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1) is one of the most widely misused verses in the Bible.  Most of us have heard it in its most rhetorical form—”Who are you to judge someone else?”—after we have questioned the conduct of another person or group. 

By now this verse has taken on a life of its own—a life that it was never meant to have. The command of Christ has been reformulated into a mantra, repackaged as an accusation, distributed freely as a truism to a willing public, and used to the point of cliché.  These words, which were intended to be a trap for those with a hypocritically judgmental and condemnatory spirit, have been turned into an escape hatch for those desiring to hide from the spotlight of Scripture.   They are used, amazingly, as a condemnation of moral discernment—a character quality that Scripture repeatedly encourages (see the same chapter, vv. 6, 15). 

But the abduction of Christ’s words in this way is illegitimate.  For some, it may only reflect the blind acceptance (and further propagation) of a cultural quip, like the unknowing use of a counterfeit bill received earlier that day.    For others, though, it is a premeditated and culpable misuse of Scripture, akin to the antics of a young reporter who, from uncontrolled zeal, misquotes a public figure to create a scoop.  Either way, everyone who condemns sound moral discernment with Matthew 7:1 needs to get comfortable with the idea of using God’s words against Him. 

But what if they are right?  Could it be that Christ wants His faithful to keep their heads down, to strive not to notice the sins of others, to never utter a word of protest against wrongdoing?  Are we like bumper cars, doomed to a life of collision with sin? 

In this command, did the Lord intend to take away our ability to evaluate the world around us through the lens of Scripture, to recognize sin when we see it, and to discern that such sin is an affront to God, and dangerous for everyone involved, and to protect others [our children or friends] by informing them of the danger of  sin?

Of course not.  It was never the Lord’s intention to condemn the honest evaluation of another person’s actions.  Nor was it His intention to condemn the believer’s proper response to that evaluation. 

Reading the four verses that follow “Judge not!” [Mat. 7:2-5] takes 20 seconds.  For those with a desire to understand the Lord’s command, it is time well spent because it reveals that Christ’s intention was to put a halt only to sinful judgments—those made without the humility that comes with understanding one’s own sinfulness.

“Judge Not!” in its context:  Matthew 7:1-5

An investigation of the context (the words and sentences surrounding the word in question, or the historical situation in which the word was spoken) is crucial when a word’s meaning is in question.

Sam Keziah, our three year-old, simply does not articulate when he speaks.  And yet, we almost always understand what he is saying.  How can this be?  Thankfully, he peppers his words with hand gestures, voice inflections, head waggings, and dramatic volume changes.  His words, slurred and out of order, have meaning to his family because they are heard in the context of violent gesticulation.  It should be no surprise that in phone conversations with Sam, when all that context is missing, he can be heard, but not understood. 

Context is especially crucial when it comes to biblical interpretation.  Even though the word “judge” has  a range of meaning, apart from its context, the minute you stick that word in a sentence next to other words, you are going to have to decide which of the meanings the speaker or writer intended it to carry.

The word for “judge” [krino] can mean, on the one hand, to evaluate, determine, discern, decide, distinguish, consider, or analyze.  On the other hand, it can mean to punish, condemn, sentence, or bring to trial.  With the former, judging is done for the purpose of processing information in order to make a wise decision.  With the latter, judging is done for the purpose of declaring or dealing with the moral guilt of another. Which of these types of judging did Christ intend to disallow?  The former?  The latter?  Both? 

In verse one, Christ commands His listeners to “Stop judging!” (a present tense imperative). His rationale is this: those who judge will themselves be judged.  Though Christ does not say who will judge them if they don’t stop, most likely He is referring to the judgment of God, not the judgment of men (which is not typically given in Scripture as a reason to change a course of action).

At this point, the meaning of “judge” is not certain; however, the context has revealed that judging is sinful, and that God will judge a person for judging.  And interestingly, Christ has turned our attention away from the person we are presently judging, and onto our own future judgment.   This should get us thinking about ourselves.

Could He be saying that discerning and evaluating and making decisions based on available information is evil?  The answer must be “no.”  In John 7:24, using the same word for “judge,” Christ tells us not to “judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Some judgments are commanded.  Five verses away, in Matthew 7:6, Christ tells His hearers not to waste their time speaking truth to those who openly reject it (“dogs,” “swine”) – a command that requires us to be discerning and perceptive with regard to another’s sin of rejecting Christ.   In vv. 15-20, we are actually called on to notice and evaluate the actions and words of others, and to stay away from those whose actions and words are sinful.  Christ says that you can and should determine, analyze, and evaluate a person’s heart by what he does, and then you should make the decision to stay away from that person if his “fruit” is bad.

After looking at the command in Matthew 7 in the context of the chapter and Christ’s other teachings in the gospels, it seems that moral discernment—even the noticing of another person’s sins—is not what is being censured.  Thus, it appears that “condemning” is the better choice of meaning for “judge” in verse one.

In verse two, Christ adds this to His argument: “The same standard you are using against another person will be used when God judges you.”  Even if the standard you are using is appropriate and biblical, just remember that you yourself are required to meet it.  With this, Christ again redirects our attention away from the other person, and asks us to consider whether we can meet the standard we are applying to another. 

In verse three, Christ gives a hyperbolic illustration of a man who cannot meet the standard to which he is calling another.  In this illustration, you are that man, and you are focusing on a small particle in your brother’s (fellow believer’s) eye, while failing to notice the log in your own eye.  Your brother’s fault is barely noticeable; yours is obvious.  This suggests that the problem is not a faulty standard, but rather a standard that you yourself are not meeting.  Furthermore, you don’t even know that you are not meeting the standard because you are too concerned about your brother’s problems. 

In verse four, the same illustration applies, but now you are offering assistance.  It is good to help others, and perhaps, as here, your offer is genuine and gentle.  But the point is that you are not in a position to do it because the log in your eye is hitting your brother as you bend down to find the speck in his eye. 

In verse five, Christ calls “hypocrite” the one who judges by a standard that he himself is not meeting.  Hypocrisy is essentially professing something about yourself that is not true.  You are called a hypocrite because, by your proclamation of their guilt, and by your offer to help, you are making an implied proclamation of your own innocence.  When you in fact are falling short of that standard, your implied statement about yourself is untrue, and you have become a hypocrite.

This does not mean that you can never help another person with a “speck” or a “log.”  In the last part of this verse, it is assumed that brothers and sisters in Christ should be helping each other.  But the crucial first step is dealing with your own sin.  Only then can you help another. 

So, what kind of “judging” is involved in Christ’s words?  It is the sin of declaring and dealing with the moral guilt of another, while refusing to recognize and turn from your own.  This is by nature prideful and condemnatory.

 Christ’s words in Matthew 7:1 do not call on believers to lack discernment, or to fail to notice the sins of others.  It calls on us to give the greatest and prior attention to our own sins.  Christ demands that we understand and turn from our own faithlessness, and adopt a repentant and humble attitude; only then can we  encourage our brothers and sisters to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24) without hypocrisy.

In the next issue of The Clerestory, we’ll explore why making hypocritical judgments like this is akin to usurping  the rightful position of God, the only “Lawgiver and Judge” [James 4:10-12].