“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (Romans 2:1 ESV).
Do Scriptures such as Romans 2:1 and James 4:12 prohibit us from judging others? Do these passages forbid us from judging ideas and opinions that are evil, unfair, or unjust? Do they mean we should never speak the truth to others because doing so might involve “judging” them? We can answer such questions with an unqualified “no.”
We can start by observing that Jesus often judged between right and wrong. We can find one such example in Matthew 23:13-36 where He brought a scathing indictment against the religious leadership of His day. Nevertheless, some might object by referencing Jesus’ famous prohibition from Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” In considering that cautionary message, we would do well to read the portion of Scripture that follows…
“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?” You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:2-5).
In making these statements, Jesus did not condemn all forms of judgment. In fact, the directive to “Judge not…” is a judgment itself. Furthermore, anyone else who says, “do not judge,” makes a judgmental statement of their own. With these things in mind, we can gain a better understanding of these passages by identifying the type of judgment in view.
The “judgment” Jesus speaks of in these verses clearly refers to the self-righteous, hypocritical, and condemnatory type of judgment practiced by the spiritual elitists of His day. In Jesus’ view, that type of judgment was nothing more than hypocrisy in action. Jesus also encouraged us to make the right kinds of judgments in John 7:24 where He is quoted as saying, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
So, Jesus cautioned us to avoid a “do as I say, not as I do” judgmental standard. That admonishment aligns seamlessly with our text from Romans 2:1. As Jesus also reminded us, “… you must give account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak. Your words now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
Image Attribution: Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons