Author : Tom Rainwater
QUESTION: When Jesus says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” is He saying that we should never judge the sins of other people?
ANSWER: No. The context of Matthew 7:1-5 actually reminds us of our duty to correct an erring brother of his sin, helping him get the “mote” (or “speck”) out of his “eye.” However, we have no right to judge others hypocritically —and that’s what Jesus is condemning. If we are guilty of a host of sins and haven’t repented of them (represented by the “beam” in our eye), what right do we have to reprimand others for their sins? Also, how foolish is it to rebuke a brother for a sin which we also are committing? Jesus points out a weakness many people have: that they are eager to discover and expose the sins of others while, at the same time, refusing to look closely or objectively at themselves.
First, Jesus commands us to “cast the beam out of thine own eye” (verse 5) — that is, we must repent and take care of our own sin problem first. Then and only then are we in a position to “see clearly” to help our brother with his sin, which is something that we must do.
Many have lifted Matthew 7:1 out of its context to say that “we have no right to make any moral judgments about anyone.” Not only is that idea contrary to the context, it is also contrary to the entire theme of the Gospel (preaching the good news about Jesus to lost people to save them from their sins). How can you teach a sinner without first determining or judging that he is a sinner?
Besides, everyone makes moral judgments about other people and their actions — it is impossible not to do so. Think about this example: Everyone in the world made some kind of moral judgment about Osama bin Laden after September 11, 2001. Even the person who shouts, “You’re judging me! That’s wrong!” is making a judgment about the person who approached them.
If it’s wrong to judge people morally, then Jesus sinned because He pointed out the specific sins of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-36) as well as others.
Think of all the Bible examples of people who, by the will of God, preached against the sins of others: John the Baptizer confronted Herod about his adultery (Matthew 14:3-4); Peter corrected a newly converted Simon for his lapse into sin (Acts 8:18-24); Paul rebuked Peter at one point for his hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-13). We could list many more examples from both testaments.
Let’s remember our duty to help rescue others from the sin that condemns them (James 5:20). But first, have we “cast the beam out of our own eye”?
