“Judge Not”- Just What Did Jesus Mean?

By Dennis Edwards:

          I wanted to write a little on the subject of not judging which seems to be a phrase often used today against any who have religious convictions.

          Jesus is quoted in the famous Sermon on the Mount as saying, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1) People use this verse to justify the politically correct doctrines of the moment. We are told we need to have tolerance of behaviors that for hundreds of years were considered sins such as; homosexuality, swearing or cursing, abortion, devil and demon worship or witchcraft, euthanasia, bestiality, etc. Today we are admonished to accept the behavior of others and “judge not.”

          However, a simple reading of the rest of the paragraph (Matthew 7:2-5), we can see that Jesus was criticizing the hypocritical religious leaders for the manner in which they were passing out judgments. In John 7:24 Jesus says, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”  God told his prophet Samuel when seeking a replacement for the disobedient King Saul, “Look not on his countenance or his height of statue because I have refused him, for the Lord sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7)

          But how do we as modern day believers judge righteously and look on the heart? Are we to put on some special glasses which will give us help to look into the heart, soul and mind of others? The answer is simply, yes, we are. God has given us His glasses for He has told us to put on the mind of Christ. Jesus when questioned what the most important commandment was said, “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37, 39) Today, when we talk about God’s commandment, we usually mean doing unto others as we would want others to do unto us. But we forget the first part of Jesus’ answer which admonished us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Without first loving God, we will never be capable of doing the second part, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

          Paul admonished the Corinthians, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5) It’s interesting that in the Portuguese “casting down imaginations” is translated as “destroying arguments.” In other words we should defend the faith in a manner that we destroy the arguments lifted up against Christ. 

        Jude also expresses the importance of “earnestly defending the faith.” (Jude 3)  While Peter states, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15) Here we see the same principle of loving the Lord first and spending time with Him and His word in order to be able to give an answer to the unbeliever looking for answers. Paul goes on to say, “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves….” (2 Timothy 2:24, 25)

          Jesus said, “The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) ) The author of Hebrews says, “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Jesus told his disciples, “Now you are clean through the words which I have spoken unto you.” (John 15:3) Reading, studying, meditating, memorizing God’s word has a cleansing affect on our spirits and gives us discernment. 

        David said, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”  (Psalm 119: 11) God’s word is the standard by which we judge all things. But we need to “study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) Because as Jesus taught and showed, the word needs to be ministered in love and mercy. The letter kills, but the spirit makes alive.

          Too often God’s word has been ministered by the letter in self-righteousness which only causes others to fall away from the faith. This is why Jesus so harshly condemned the self-righteous religious leaders which ultimately led to his death on the cross.

          Please do not neglect the reading of God’s word, the Bible. It is food for your soul and will gives you strength for the everyday battles of life. Paul admonished, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ,” (2 Corinthians 11:3) “For we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) Don’t let the enemy of your soul keep you from God’s word. You desperately need the spirit food it contains. If you need help in understanding what you are reading search out a reliable Christian friend who you trust and whom you feel comfortable with and ask him/her to help you. There are waters to swim in and wondrous things to behold through reading and studying God’s word. Come on in. The waters are great. You won’t be disappointed.