What can I say to people who confront me with Matthew 7:1? They seem to use it all the time for everything. Doesn't the bible say we should judge--righteously? What does that mean, and how can I explain that to people?
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This is an easy one! When they say you shouldn't judge they are judging you! So ask them why are they judging you for judging?
The truth is yes we are supposed to judge, as a matter of fact you can't live without making judgements. Christ said to first remove the beam from our own eye, then we will see clearly to help our brother remove the spec in his.
The problem with judgment is when you begin to add a punishment or condemnation to it. Like when you hear hypocrites tell people they are going to hell for something. What we are supposed to do is help our brother or sister, we are not their judges ultimately! Only God is the final judge.
The truth is yes we are supposed to judge, as a matter of fact you can't live without making judgements. Christ said to first remove the beam from our own eye, then we will see clearly to help our brother remove the spec in his.
The problem with judgment is when you begin to add a punishment or condemnation to it. Like when you hear hypocrites tell people they are going to hell for something. What we are supposed to do is help our brother or sister, we are not their judges ultimately! Only God is the final judge.
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I have found that when people toss this verse around, it is because they don't 'like' the judgement!
We can look at homosexuality as an example: Scripture tells us plainly that homosexuality is a sin. It doesn't even take a lot of discernment to see this to be the case. Thus, we are called by Christ through the Scriptures to judge this sin as wrong and against God. We are further called to warn against sin in a loving way, and also (this is the part that often gets 'lost in translation') to forgive as we would want to be forgiven (assuming a role reversal). Often though, the person we might be warning does not want to hear, let alone heed, that warning, and thus may attempt to push back by telling us 'Scripture also says to not judge!', leaving out the part about 'lest you be judged'.
God does in fact have standards on which to base judgements, so it is incorrect for someone (myself included) to use those standards to th exclusion of myself, but it would be equally wrong for any of us to then toss out the standards completely! Rather, if we are to hold those standard out for all, we must include our judgements of our own souls within those standards, i.e., not be hypocrites. Staying within the realm of sexual sin, this would mean that we would equally judge forication (sex outside of, and/or before marriage, including pornography).
Don't know if I am making any sense this morning, but in short, there is Truth, that Truth is the standard bearer, and we are 'right' to use The Way, The Truth and The Light to expose sin...in ourselves, in others, and in the world. We must also be doing this judging in the same loving manner in which we ourselves would beg The Lord to judge us. Our judgement must come because we love the person we are speaking to, not because we want to attack, and certainly not because we wish to attempt to draw attention away from the planks in our own eyes (which, of course God can see anyway).
Clear as mud?
Peace in Christ
Hawkiz
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Soyeong
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It is not a flat out "do not judge" period, but rather it says, "or you too will be judged". We will be judged by the same measure that we judge others, so if we are guilty of doing what we are judging in others, then we should not judge, but rather when we judge we should judge righteously. We must take take the plank out of our own eye before we can see clearly to remove the speck from our brother's eye, but we can't take the speck out of our brothers eye without judging.
John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Ezekiel 33:8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Proverbs 31:9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
We can't follow any of these verses without judging, so we are actually supposed to judge others, but we must judge righteously. Only God can judge whether someone is going to heaven or hell, but we are to make judgements to expose sin.
John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Ezekiel 33:8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Proverbs 31:9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
We can't follow any of these verses without judging, so we are actually supposed to judge others, but we must judge righteously. Only God can judge whether someone is going to heaven or hell, but we are to make judgements to expose sin.
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John 3:16 is considered the central verse in the Bible by many Christians, but for our atheist/humanist friends (as well as some of our liberal Christian brothers and sisters), it's ALWAYS, Matthew 7:1 
Along with the verses that Soyeong just pointed out to you above, you might also want to remember that the passage that Matthew 7:1 begins by telling us 'not' to judge, is followed up just five verses later (Matthew 7:6) with a commandment from the Lord that we 'must' judge, whenever Christianity and God's word is involved. The Bible, and the God of both Christianity and the Bible, are to be "believed or not believed", but they are never supposed to be "mocked". So if you "judge/discern" that the latter is happening, the conversation you are having with a non-Believer needs to be stopped immediately.
Matthew 7:6 says:
“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."
Yours and His,
David
Along with the verses that Soyeong just pointed out to you above, you might also want to remember that the passage that Matthew 7:1 begins by telling us 'not' to judge, is followed up just five verses later (Matthew 7:6) with a commandment from the Lord that we 'must' judge, whenever Christianity and God's word is involved. The Bible, and the God of both Christianity and the Bible, are to be "believed or not believed", but they are never supposed to be "mocked". So if you "judge/discern" that the latter is happening, the conversation you are having with a non-Believer needs to be stopped immediately.
Matthew 7:6 says:
“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."
Yours and His,
David
"You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be
partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you
are to judge your neighbor fairly"
Leviticus 19:15
partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you
are to judge your neighbor fairly"
Leviticus 19:15
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Deadworm
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Tell the guy who quotes "Judge not" at you, "If you had only read the next verse! The point of Matthew 7:1 is that God grades on a curve; that is, God has no absolute standard of judgment; rather He judges us by the standard we apply to others: "For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you dish out will be the measure you get back (7:2)." Luke 17:3 is the best verse to quote to demonstrate Jesus' approval of judging sinners: "If your brother sins, rebuke him; if he then repents, forgive him."
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The other verse they just like to read is "Love one another, as I have loved you." As if that was the only thing Jesus ever said and as if everything else in the NT is irrelevant.
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OneChristianLight
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It's important to understand that it isn't always what you say, but how you say it. For example, it's good to politely warn people for their sins, but severely rebuking someone for sinning, especially in a way that sounds overly critical and harsh, can come across as judgemental.
Warning people of their sins is important, though. James 5:20 says, "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their ways will save them from death." We Christian do have an obligation to help sinners by highlighting their sins, but it's always important to do so in a way and tone that doesn't cause alienation. Our goal is ultimately to save sinners from perdition.
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JCFantasy23
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Wow, excellent answer.
In some cases this may be true, but in a lot of case it's someone trying to shut someone down from seeming holier-than-thou. It gives a bad impression of a person or Christian, especially if they have something in their life that is a sin, which is something we all do from time to time. If a person comes across as sounding like they are superior and wanting to condemn all the time, people are going to start ignoring their message anyway. It's not effective if done the wrong way. We all have our walks and our struggles and we should support each other through them as Christians, not just point/preach/hellfire condemnation and shunning/judging. That's actually the opposite point of Christian love IMO.
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Oh, I agree! The 'How' of communication is very important. We can not be hypocrites (at least not if we expect to spread the Gospel). A solid case could be made that Jesus despised hypocracy more than almost any other sin...so yes, ignoring the planks in our own eyes is detrimental to Christian life.
Peace in Christ
Hawkiz
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