Hello jmldn2, et al, that's what it says .. e.g.
Matthew 7:1; Luke 6:37. The question is, did the Lord mean, "DO NOT JUDGE", ~
period~, or did the He actually mean something else?
For instance, if the Lord Jesus meant "
do not judge"
PERIOD, then why does He immediately begin to speak of the "ways" that we choose to judge others (in v2), or bother giving us an example & explanation of what He meant/wants us to avoid doing (hypocritical judgments) in the following three verses (v3
-5)?
Matthew 7
1 Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Then there's v6 to consider. What are we to make of it (
Matthew 7:6, that is) and how can we obey it (judge/discern who the "
dogs" and "
swine" are, IOW) if "
do not judge" is meant as a blanket statement covering every kind of judgment in every situation?
Matthew 7
6 Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Lastly, if "
do not judge" is a command without any exceptions from the Lord, then what do we do with this?
Matthew 7
15 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
So, while our judging/discerning the motivation(s) of another's heart is almost always wrong, it seems to me that we are commanded to judge the ~behavior~ of others (what they say and/or do, what is good/bad, right/wrong, righteous/sinful according to the Scriptures), for both our sake and the sake of others (particularly in the church), and for the sake of the sinning brother or sister in Christ, as well, yes .. e.g.
Matthew 18:15-17 cf 1 Corinthians 11:32.
God bless you!!
--David
p.s. - the above was all from
Matthew 7 alone. Perhaps we should take a look at what the rest of the Bible has to say, too?
The other question that comes to mind is this, is our judgment/discernment of others ALWAYS a bad thing, or does the Bible tell us that it should actually be considered to be a blessing to others, and if so, in what ways/in what situations does the Bible tell us that it is?
