Suggested Reading: Matthew 7:1-5
Don’t judge others, unless of course, you don’t mind receiving the same treatment. With the measure we judge others, we too will be judged. Paul takes up this issue when he writes to the church in Rome. He addresses the self-righteous church type who were inclined to look down their noses at sinners. He points out the many things deserving of death and then says:
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself.” Romans 2:1.
It looks like judging others is a rather stupid thing to do. It is like kicking yourself and expecting someone else to feel the pain. The truth is, when you judge another, you are hurting yourself much more than you are hurting them.
“At whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself.”
He is saying in effect that the one who judges will receive the same measure of judgment that he so generously gave out to others. What goes around, comes around.
“We must not sit in the judgment-seat, to make our word a law to every body.” Matthew Henry
Jesus points out other reasons that renders judging so ridiculous. We all have our share of weaknesses that we are striving to overcome. When I have a certain weakness, but I attempt to point out the weakness of another and judge him for it, I am like one who walks around with blind eyes, trying to act as a guide to others who perhaps have a much smaller weakness than myself. I am, therefore, a hypocrite. Pretending to see, I am blind.
Hypocrites are very forgetful of their own failures and very interested in the failures of others. A hypocrite is no enemy to sin. If he was an enemy to sin, he would be an enemy first to his own sin. They do the same things, says Paul. Perhaps they don’t do exactly the same deeds, but they are also guilty of deeds which declare them deserving of death. Paul shares the list of things that are deserving of death in Romans 1. He starts with homosexuality. Many people get stuck there and focus on homosexuality as the unpardonable sin. They don’t continue reading towards the end of the chapter. If they did, they would realize that they are just as deserving of death and therefore in no way superior.
Paul’s list of deeds deserving of death:
- Wickedness
- Evil
- Greed
- Depravity
- Envy
- Murder
- Strife (causing trouble between people)
- Deceit
- Malice (doing subversive things to get back at others)
- Pride (looking down on others)
- Gossiping
- Slandering
- God-hating
- Insolence
- Arrogance
- Boastfulness
- Inventing ways of doing evil
- Disobedience to parents
- Senselessness
- Faithlessness (not keeping promises)
- Heartlessness
- Ruthlessness (showing no mercy)
Is there anyone who can claim they are innocent of all of the above? We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. The wages of sin is death. Therefore, each and every sinner deserves death. Yet, some are quick to condemn others while deluding themselves into thinking they are somehow superior and they are in a better position and can therefore point out the weaknesses of others. The fact is, that the hypocritical type who believe they are better than others, are the most visually impaired of the lot (see John 9).
Those who admit their weaknesses have but a speck of sawdust in their eye. They are in a better position to point out the weaknesses of others, if only to offer advice and encouragement. The hypocrites, however, have a plank in their eye. Their vision is severely impaired. They are blinded by their overinflated sense of self-importance. David wrote that they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their own sin. They are too busy detecting and sneering at the sin of others.
”We must not judge the hearts of others, nor their intentions, for it is God’s prerogative to try the heart, and we must not step into his throne.” Matthew Henry
So, says Jesus, first work on your own weaknesses before you attempt to condemn others for their weaknesses. Does this mean that we are never to offer advice to anyone? No. There is a wide distinction between humbly correcting someone while remaining aware of your own weak condition and condemning someone because they have a weakness, while acting as if you don’t have any. We are encouraged to offer advice and correction to each other. But we are warned to do so with humility, knowing that we are ourselves inclined to failures. When we offer correction we don’t do it from a platform of perfection. We do it from a platform of love for one another.
“Because we must not judge others, which is a great sin, it does not therefore follow that we must not reprove others, which is a great duty, and may be a means of saving a soul from death.” (Matthew Henry)
Related articles
- “Judge Not” ( Matthew 7: 1, KJV ) by Carley Evans (lambskinny.wordpress.com)
So true! Many years ago I thought this verse meant that if we judge people on earth the Lord would judge us the same way (on judgement day only and since he was a forgiving God, well, surely he’d forgive so I really didn’t need to worry about it) and maybe so, but then I I found myself being judged by others when I judged other people-here on earth- yuck! not a good feeling. Yes, when I judged others, it wasn’t much after that I found myself being judged….and even more awful…the things I judged others for I , in fact, did them as well. A lesson I needed to learn. You’e post is awesome! I need to print this up and hang it somewhere as a reminder. Thanks Ula,
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa. Much appreciated. It’s not so nice when we are on the receiving end of judgmental attitudes and thank God He is teaching us this daily.
So true! Many years ago I thought this verse meant that if we judge people on earth the Lord would judge us the same way (on judgement day only and since he was a forgiving God, well, surely he’d forgive so I really didn’t need to worry about it) and maybe so, but then I I found myself being judged by others when I judged other people-here on earth- yuck! not a good feeling. Yes, when I judged others, it wasn’t much after that I found myself being judged….and even more awful…the things I judged others for I , in fact, did them as well. A lesson I needed to learn. You’e post is awesome! I need to print this up and hang it somewhere as a reminder. Thanks Ula,
Actually, Jesus says calling your neighbor or a stranger a “fool” is worthy of the fires of Hell. So, I’d be on my way there if it weren’t for Jesus’ sacrifice for me! Praise Him always! Thanks, Carley
I can think of a million reasons why I would be on my way “there” too, Carley
There are so many ways to go wrong and only one Way to go right –Jesus is the Way! Yes, let’s praise Him always. Thanks for your comment. Hugs from Cape Town 
Indeed…I too love this message/lesson…and am anxious to share it! Sincere thanks and Bless you!!
You’re welcome, Jerry and thanks for always encouraging me. Bless you too!
Tooooooo true!
I only want to differ with you on one point: “Hypocrites are very forgetful of their own failures and very interested in the failures of others.”
Not as a point of correction, Ula, but to reinforce the point you’re making.
Hypocrites are actors (the word is Greek for “actor on a stage or in a play”), which means they are hyper aware of their sin(s) and are taking careful steps to hide or disguise them from others. Their reasons vary, of course, from sinister to fear of being found out. Whatever the reasons, they judge others usually as a way of smoke-screening their own sin—deflecting attention from themselves so others have to sit in the hot-seat.
This idea of not judging I think is also about allowing God to be final word on anyone’s state of relationship with Him instead of us. We can’t conclude much about another person’s journey or state of being because we don’t usually know where they started it nor can we tell just by looking what they’re wrestling with at the moment. Since we can’t see the heart connections, our only recourse is to judge their fruit. This accurate only in so far as it pertains to whether we can trust them or not with spiritual things rightly, but it is not supposed to be a final word on their eternal destiny.
That’s an excellent summary of why not to judge the heart of another, Jonny. Thanks for the correction too and I agree with the play actor part -I’ve written some previous posts about how well they play their part. I was perhaps not clear on that in this post, but from my own experience before I knew the Lord, I sometimes wonder if they really are aware of their faults. Their hearts are hardened and they hide their sinfulness so deep and revert to surface living instead. Always enjoy reading your comments. Thanks a bunch
Sometimes there is a tendency to quantify sin. For Example, a big lie, and a little white lie. The Word of God tells us All unrighteousness is sin. One cannot judge themselves as “less sinful” than anyone else, because their sin is not as obvious as others. The wage will be the same! Thank you for sharing this necessary and very timely message with us!
God bless you,
Paulette
Very true Paulette. All have sinned. All are deserving of death. Only by grace through faith do we escape that judgment. Hypocrites do have a tendency to downplay their own faults while inflating the sins of others. I suppose it makes them feel a little better about themselves –temporarily easing those guilty consciences. Thanks for reading. God bless you too