"Judge Not"?

I have often ran up against the “thou shalt not judge” police among both believers and nonbelievers alike. Usually the nonbelievers and skeptics use it with the most vehemence and then look at you smugly as if they have won some great victory over you.

Unfortunately, believers are not immune to misuse of this idea as well. Typically, when this quote from Jesus, found in Matthew 7:1, has been used in the context of a sermon, lesson, or other Bible teaching environment, it is quoted and exegeted properly. However, I think that speaks volumes about where many Christian get their ideas, since in regular conversation with believers I have often heard this verse referred to specifically or (more often) only vaguely to try and either justify sin or negate the person pointing the sin out.

The ideas of relativism and what the world defines as “tolerance” have so infected the church, I often hear Christians using the same no-accountability argument that non-believers use. Indeed, I rarely hear any form of “judgment” language with the context of accountability except from official lessons, sermons, devotionals, etc.

I recently read an explanation that this verse is addressing hypocrisy, not “being judgmental” as so many people use it to mean. In fact, it seems that in our culture, the idea of judging anything has a negative implication to it. This is pretty inconsistent with the way we live everyday life, judging all sorts of things from restaurants, other drivers' intentions, and how to best interact with others as we go through our day. However, applying that same way of thinking to morality gets people on edge and sets off defenses.

By completely misrepresenting the word “judge” in this verse, people think they have some great ammunition to defend their own sin, when in fact the whole point is about how and when we point out sin, not that it shouldn't be done. Certainly just because someone is a hypocrite doesn't mean their judgment may be untrue. An alcoholic telling you to not drink may be a hypocrite, but that addresses an issue with his morality. It does not dismiss yours.

The book I referenced earlier, "The Most Misused Verses in the Bible" by Eric J. Bargerhuff, states that “Jesus does not forbid all moral judgment or accountability” and that the Bible assumes Christians will use moral accountability to “come alongside [a] brother or sister in an effort to bring him or her back from the error of their ways and save them from the destructive power of sin”. We can take great comfort and hope in knowing that we have not been abandoned to figure out and follow after God's will on our own. He has given us our brothers and sisters in Christ to walk this journey together and hold one another up when we stumble.

Our selfish, sinful nature isolates us from others. Our pride puts up barriers which rejects any attempt to critique or point out error in any way. However, as fallen creatures, we know we are not perfect, and we are in need of help to grow in Christ and live lives that glorify Him. Instead of a knee-jerk selfish reaction to correction, we should take refuge in the safety of a brother or sister warning us of dangers as we walk the path together.