Judge Not? The Meaning of Judgement in Scripture

Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, “judge not, that you be not judged,” cause many to think that passing judgment in any form, even on moral matters, is wrong (Matt. 7:1 ESV). Indeed, refusing to make moral evaluations can often appear more diplomatic and loving than the condemnation of sin. However, while there is a wrong way to judge, one which usurps God’s own authority, there is also a right way to judge, one which respects the law of God.

Taken on its own, to judge means merely to make reasoned choices between multiple options. When we say someone exercises “good judgment,” we mean that they choose wisely from among the choices presented to them. Both good and bad judgment refer to reasoned choice between multiple options, but in one case a person uses sound criteria for making the choice, and in the other he does not.

This is akin to what Jesus says in John 7:24: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” In this passage, Jesus is responding to the Jewish leaders who accuse him of breaking the Sabbath by healing a lame man. Jesus points out that the Jewish leadership permits boys to be circumcised on the Sabbath, implying that if they deem circumcision to be acceptable on the Sabbath, then healing should likewise be acceptable. The Jewish leaders are judging, to use Paul’s terms, according to the letter, and not the spirit of the law: they are judging by what appears to follow the law and not by what the substance of the law actually demands (2 Cor. 3:6). In other words, they are judging according to the wrong criteria. 

How then, are we to know the right criteria for judging? It is by the law of God, both written on our hearts (Heb. 8:10) and revealed to us in scripture, that we can most fundamentally judge right from wrong (Roberts 5:30). This kind of judgment—judgment which submits itself to the law and precepts of God—is not what Jesus is condemning in the Sermon on the Mount. It is what He is endorsing in John 7. This is a kind of “sub-judgement” which is situated beneath the will of God and gains its authority from God’s declarations. When a Christian says that adultery is wrong for example, he is not actually passing his own judgment but merely repeating a judgment God has already made (Roberts 3:30). This sort of sub-judgment, or discernment, is not only permissible but expected of Christians. 

What then, is the kind of judgment Jesus condemns in the Sermon on the Mount? This is judgment which usurps the place of God as right judge of the world. God knows all things in their fullness and is the maker of the world. He, being Himself the standard of righteousness, has the first and final word on what is right. When Jesus forbids his followers to judge during the Sermon on the Mount, he is referring to the sort of judgment the Prophet Jonah seeks to exercise over the sinful people of Nineveh in the Old Testament: deciding himself that the people of Nineveh do not deserve mercy, and being angry when God grants it to Nineveh (Jonah 3-4).  

The epistle of James elaborates well on the judgment of God: “The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (Jam. 4:11-12). We are to be doers of the law, not judges over the law. 

This certainly does not mean that we keep our discernments to ourselves over matters of right and wrong within the church and the world. This much is clear in the Book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul when, time and again, unrepentant sinners are confronted and rebuked for their wrongs, sometimes being subjected to church discipline (Acts 8:9-24, 1 Cor. 5:1-2).

Instead, as witnesses to the world and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to confront sin and sinners in a humble manner that avoids hypocrisy and springs from wisdom and generosity (Gal. 6:1-5). When we are submitted to the law of the Lord, we are free neither to condemn others to damnation nor to declare our neighbors’ salvation. We may say neither, “he is such a sinner that he is beyond saving,” nor, upon encountering obviously sinful behavior, “who am I to judge?” Both statements commit the sin of Jonah, and usurp God’s right to judge.

We who cannot keep the law ourselves have no business proclaiming either condemnation or salvation over our neighbors (Jam. 2:10-13). When we discern according to the law, it is for the purpose of deciding a course of action. When we pretend we can cast final judgment on our neighbors, it is so that we might feel righteous about ourselves. It is in submission to the will of God, and not in service of our own prideful wills, that we find the freedom to discern what is right and wrong. 

Roberts, Alastair. “Judging, Seeking, and Building.” Adversaria Videos and Podcast, Podcast

Audio, December 4, 2019, https://adversariapodcast.com/2019/12/04/judging-seeking- and-building-matthew-7/.