Expert: Tom Smith - 4/28/2006

Question
Aren’t judgmental people offensive? Wasn’t Jesus angry with judgmental people?  Isn’t this the meaning of the scriptures:  "Judge not, lest you be judged?" and "take the mote out of your own eye?"

Thank you for your assistance.  

Answer
First let's look at what "judgmental" means.

judg·men·tal    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (jj-mntl)
adj.
Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error.
Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: a marriage counselor who tries not to be judgmental
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Judgemental therefore simply means that to make or be dependent upon judgments. I think that we would be hard pressed to find anything in scripture speaking against judgments, including that passage that you gave. let's have a look at what scripture says on this matter.

Most people who address this topic initially think of, and tend to quote from Matthew 7:1, which says Judge not, that ye be not judged to suggest that we should not judge.

Let's have a closer look at what Matthew 7 says about judging, in the wider context.

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of
thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then
shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls
before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn
and rend you.

Note that the verse goes on after the first verse to tell us how we should judge and the clear message is that we should judge fairly. Matt 7:1 has to be interpreted both in light of the context of the surrounding text as well as the whole of scripture. If indeed God tells us to judge, and gives us the gift of discernment (judging), and then tells us to be careful to judge fairly, then the message is to judge, but judge properly. Jesus further shows this to be consistent with his message in John 7:24, where he says:

John 7:24 Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

If we were not to judge at all, then why would he tell us to judge righteously? Scripture clearly states that some form of judgement is not just acceptable, but necessary because Jesus says that we are to judge righteously. That being the case, it seem important for us to study scripture further to better understand under what conditions we are to judge and what if any situations exist where we are not judge.

Moving forward in scripture, we see further examples where we are told to make judgements:

•Be not deceived (requires judgment (Matt 24:4, Luke 21:8, 2 Thess.2:3; Eph.5:6; Colossians 2:8).
•Test spirits (to test requires a pass/fail judgement) (John 4:1)
•Apostle Paul accused the believers at Galatia of being "foolish" and "bewitched" (Gal.2:1), and which caused him to wish that the false teachers would castrate themselves because of their deceptive teaching about circumcision (Gal.5:12).
•Jesus congratulated the church at Ephesus for rooting out false apostles (Rev.2:1-3).
•The Apostle Paul says that he "did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears" about the false teachers who troubled the church at Ephesus both from within and without (Acts 20:28-31).
•John 7:24 Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

If God wants us to judge so much that he gives us the gifts to do so and commands us to judge/discern so that we will not be misled into wrong doctrine, then following the doctrine that says we are not to judge would, by comparison leave us at risk of walking in darkness and unsound doctrine, being led into ignorance of God's truth.

We are told in scripture that discernment comes from sound doctrine:

Titus 1
9 holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers.
10 For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,
11 whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.
13 This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14 not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
15 To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine:
2 that aged men be temperate, grave, sober-minded, sound in faith, in love, in patience:

And as we see in 1 Cor 12:10, from sound doctrine comes discernment.

1 Cor 12:10 - One of the gifts of the spirit is the gift of discernment, which comes from the Greek diakrisis which comes from the Greek works meaning to "judge" and "between". God thus gives us, as Christians, gifts of judgement. If it is gift of God, can it be contrrary to his will for us tojudge? If you say we are not to judge, you are denying one of the gifts of the Spirit.

Why does he gives us discernment (judgement)? Lets look at Eph 4:11-18:

11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;
16 from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself
in love.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;

He gave these gifts and leaders who would exercise the gifts to keep us in sound doctrine and not be tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrine; and so that we would not longer walk in the darkness of our own understanding and walk in ignorance. Note that those who chose not to discern and chose not to hold to sound doctrine were led away from the truth, though professing to know God, they in truth deny Him.

I could go on with much more, but I think that that is enough to show that scripture clearly and very specifically says that we are to judge.

So that being the case, are there circumstances where we are indeed told not to judge. For one, we could go back to Matthew 7, which we quote at the start of this article, and we can see that it specifically says to judge righteously; thus we can read from that the reference to judge not means that we are not judge wrongly. that is the first circumstance in which we are not to judge.

We can also see that every circumstance given above where we are told to judge deals with matters of truth in doctrinal matters, or action/teachings of others or ourselves. Lets look at some other verse on judging and see if they give us a different perspective:

James 4:11-12 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?

James 5:9 Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.

Hebrews 10:30 For we know him that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

Romans 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling.

Romans 14:10 But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.

All of these speak of judging the hearts of men, which, as the following verse say, is the sole responsibility of Jesus.

Psalm 7:8-9 Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous: For the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts.

Psalm 50:4-6 He calleth to the heavens above, And to the earth, that he may judge his people: Gather my saints together unto me, Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; For God is judge himself. Selah

John 5:22 For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;Acts 10:42 And he charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

We cannot discern the hearts of men, and therefore, though we can discern and judge what men do, and discern and judge what men say, we are in no position to judge their hearts.

Jesus is opposed to false judgment or wrong judgment, not with judgment in general.