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“Don’t judge me” – one of the most quoted, if not the most quoted, passage of scripture. We have all heard it and we probably have all said it. Personally, I say it every time I do something weird or crazy. The first words I usually say are, “Don’t judge me.” It is something that makes me laugh. For me, it may be a quote I say as joke but for most people it is a quote they say and mean with all sincer
ity.
If I have heard someone say it once, I have heard someone say it a hundred times. Our culture, especially those who are younger in age, have taken this statement and almost made it into our motto. How many selfies have we seen with the caption “Don’t judge me”? How many statuses have we seen where this has been quoted. In all transparency and honesty, I am really quite tired of seeing this verse completely taken out of context, especially by Christians. I hope that this will open up many Christian eyes and help others understand how we as the church are to correctly “judge.”
First of all, to address the Matthew 7:1 scripture, let us get theological here for a few minute. When you study the original Greek and the translation of the Greek, you will find that the word “judge” in this passage actually refers to a legal term. Whenever Jesus says “Do not judge or you too will be judged,” He is not telling us to never call sin “sin” or to never confront the sin in the life of other’s. He is simply telling us to not pass final judgement on someone and condemn them for all of eternity. That is what we are never to do. That job is reserved for God alone.
Secondly, there are many scriptures that tell us that it is, in fact, our responsibility as Christians to to deal with sin:
“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all…” - 1 Timothy 5:20
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him…” – Luke 17:3
“It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.” – 1 Corinthians 5:12
Lastly, do not let others convince you that because none of us are perfect and we all sin daily that we cannot ever say anything about another person’s sins. If that was true than the Apostle Paul could have never wrote to the churches and corrected them and no one, no one, except for Jesus, could have ever written against sin and could have never corrected others.
No matter what others say and no matter how many times it may be quoted, it is our job to judge the fruit of a fellow believer’s life in order to help him see his faults so that he can change and turn from a destructive path. We are to correct and we are to restore. When the woman caught in the act of adultery was thrown at Jesus’ feet, He was gentle and filled with compassionate love but He also told her, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus was the most loving person in the history of mankind but He also spoke truth and called sin what it is. The most important thing we must remember is that we are not to rebuke with a judgmental and haughty attitude. Ephesians says:
“Rather, speaking the truth in love…” – Ephesians 4:15
Friends, do not let others tell you that you do not have the right to point out the sin in their life. Follow the example of Christ. Confront and correct in love.
Forver Yours,
Kristen