For a long time it was said that John 3:16 was the most well-known and oft-quoted Bible verse, even among non-Christians. Well, those days may very well be gone, with today’s estimates being that Matthew 7:1 has actually now taken the place of John 3:16.
Jesus is speaking in Matthew 7:1 and says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” This is the verse quoted anytime you try to have a conversation with someone about why something they are doing is wrong.
But is that an actual interpretation of the verse? Is Jesus just flat out saying it is always wrong to judge in any capacity and that we are each to merely live and let live?
No. An attention to context proves otherwise, as does the whole counsel of Scripture when we allow Scripture to interpret itself.
So, let’s dive in and gain a better understanding of Jesus’ words in this verse!
What Jesus Actually Means in Matthew 7:1
As with any passage of Scripture, we must be careful not to cherrypick this one verse out of its surrounding context. Context is king, as they say, which means that in order to accurately interpret and apply the words of Matthew 7:1 to our daily lives, we must first zoom out and pay attention to the verses surrounding this one.
The Teachings of Matthew 6
When we back up and first take a look at the teachings of Christ leading up to the one we’re talking about today (this is always important, but especially so if you are trying to understand the first verse of a new chapter – back up and read the ones preceding it!), what we realize is that Jesus had just been making judgement calls regarding the actions and lifestyles of others. Consider, for example, these verses:
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” ~Matthew 6:1
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” ~Matthew 6:5
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” ~Matthew 6:12-13 (This “model prayer” presented by Christ implies that there is a right way to live and a wrong way to live – that in itself is a judgement call!)
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites,” ~Matthew 6:16a
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” ~Matthew 6:19
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” ~Matthew 6:22-23
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” ~Matthew 6:24
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” ~Matthew 6:33-34
Throughout the entire chapter of Matthew 6 Jesus is seen making judgment calls – He is saying do this and don’t do that, this is right and that is wrong, this behavior pleases God and that behavior makes you a hypocrite.
He has literally just gotten done making a number of judgments right up until the very moment when He then says in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
The Teachings of the Rest of Matthew 7
So, what’s going on here? Well, to understand what He really means by this verse, now we also have to pay attention to the context of this verse in light of the rest of Matthew 7 itself. Jesus goes on to say, in verses 2-4,
“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
When we pay attention to the words of Christ following on the heels of His words in verse 1, what we realize is that Christ is not telling us to never ever judge. He is telling us to be oh so careful to never judge *hypocritically*. That’s the key here. And, after what we saw Jesus saying in Matthew 6, this must be the case, or else He would be the hypocrite if He were now suddenly saying we are never to judge at all. No, what He is cautioning against is hypocritical judgement, not judgment in and of itself. Jesus is saying we must be careful not to judge and berate our brothers and sisters for committing the very same sins we are currently guilty of ourselves. We can’t be committing adultery and then go to our friend who is doing the same thing and judge them for their behavior. That hypocrisy is unacceptable and muddies the waters of appropriate judgment calls.
The reality that this is what Jesus actually means in Matthew 7:1 is further confirmed later on in Matthew 7,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” ~vs. 15-20
Clearly Jesus is making a judgement call here and is actually telling us to do the very same thing! If we are to know false prophets by their fruit, that means then that we are making a judgment call regarding the kind of fruit they are producing in their lives. Again, Matthew 7:1 is not a command against ever judging. It is a command against judging unfairly.
The Teachings of Paul
I always emphasize the importance of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. When this is our practice when seeking to accurately understand the meaning of Matthew 7:1, we find in the words of Paul confirmation for what we have already learned today. Paul, too, repeatedly teaches us to make judgment calls and to know the difference between good and evil. He even says in Romans 12:9, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
What we also see from Paul, however, is that not only is appropriate judgment to be without hypocrisy, it is also to be without a critical, harsh nature and presentation. Instead, it is to come from a place of love, compassion, empathy, and humility. It is to be presented as Christ would present it.
Consider, for example, Paul’s words in Romans 2:1-4,
“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
Again, we see the admonition and warning leveled against hypocritical judgment. But we also see a warning against harsh, impatient, unkind judgement calls, as well. The word translated “goodness” of God in verse 4 is translated “kindness” in other translations of the Bible, meaning that it is God’s *kindness* which leads to our repentance. It is not His wrath, His harshness, or His criticism which lead to our repentance. Instead, it is His kindness, His goodness, His patience, and His forbearance.
Yes, it is appropriate sometimes to make judgment calls between what is good and what is evil (if it weren’t, you would never be able to call murder or abuse bad!). But it is not appropriate to lace your judgment with harshness, a critical spirit, or a lack of love and kindness. As I’ve said before on Instagram, your snark will not lead to anyone’s sanctification. James confirms this in James 1:19-20, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Yes, sometimes you are to make judgment calls regarding someone’s behavior. But you are never to do so with wrath and harshness. That will not produce the righteousness of God in their lives.
The Testimony of 1 Corinthians 13
First Corinthians 13 is oftentimes referred to as being the “love chapter”, and for good reason! In this chapter, Paul lays out a thorough explanation and definition of what love is and what love is not. Interestingly, in this chapter, we do see evidence that sometimes love makes judgment calls – love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth” (verse 6).
Having said that, again, these judgement calls are laced with actual loving behavior. Consider these verses which sandwich verse 6,
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;” ~verses 4-5
“[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ~verse 7
So, yes, true love will call out sin when needed, but only from a heart of kindness, love, and a desire for the other person’s longterm wellbeing and growth. True love wants what is best for the other person, so sometimes love will say the hard truths. But it will always do so *in love*. Love is the key thing here. Peter concurs in 1 Peter 4:8 – “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Judging Fruit, not Hearts
There’s one last thing I want to be sure to say here. We have already seen that it is right, appropriate, and good to make judgment calls between what is right and what is wrong behavior. But do you remember Christ’s words in Matthew 7 regarding false prophets? He said we will know them by their *fruits*, meaning that it is the outward behavior that we are allowed to judge. What we cannot judge, however, is heart motive. And that is very important to point out here.
I can’t tell you the number of times I see people on social media making judgment calls about a person’s heart motive for doing what they are doing. Friend, let me say this loud and clear: unless someone expressly reveals to you what is in their heart of hearts and flat our tells you what their inner motivation is for their outward choices, that is something you cannot know, and therefore you have no right to try to make that judgment call. Jesus said we will know them by their fruits – not by their heart motivations. And, sometimes, though we may disagree with someone’s outward choices, their motivation for doing what they did is very different from what we assume it is. Therefore, we must be so careful, while we are making judgment calls, to never unfairly judge someone’s heart motivations. It simply is inappropriate to do so.
In Conclusion
So, what have we learned today? Well, we have seen that it is sometimes entirely right and proper to make a judgment call regarding someone’s outward behavior, but that that judgment must be free of hypocrisy and free of malice.
There’s one more thing I want to be sure and say here, though, as well, and that is this: do not take this biblical permission to make judgment calls as permission to go out there and be a head hunter for false doctrine or sinful life choices. This appropriateness of making judgment calls does not make it appropriate for you to message every false teacher on social media or, every chance you get, correct the sin of the people you know in real life. You will become a very lonely person very quickly at that rate!
Yes, we make judgment calls, but only when prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so, only when they are motivated by love, humility, and concern for someone’s wellbeing, and only when we have at least some relationship currency with that person. It is a complete and utter waste of breath and time to go around correcting the sins of anyone and everyone if you do not know each other and already have an established relationship, because I promise you this: they will not listen to you! And, remember – it is kindness that leads to repentance. Not being a head hunter of sin!
So, friends, yes, we are called to judge. But only without hypocrisy, with love and humility, and in the context of relationship.
