Jesus was warning against being judgmental

JESUS WAS WARNING AGAINST BEING JUDGEMENTAL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 7:1-2 1"Do not judge, or you too will be
judged. 2Forin the same way you judge others, you
will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Mote And The Beam
Matthew 7:1-5
W.F. Adeney
As we read the Gospelnarratives we cannot fail to be impressed with a
singular mingling of severityand kindness in the teachings of our Lord. His
standard is lofty and he admits of no compromise, yet he deals gently with the
erring, and he urges a similar line of conduct on his disciples. He came not to
judge the world, but to save it. He bids us not judge one another, while we are
to be severe in judging ourselves. Let us considerthe evil of censoriousness.
I. IT IS DANGEROUS. In judging others we court judgment ourselves.

1. From men. The critic becomes unpopular. By his irritating conduct he
excites animosity, and induces people to be on the look out for his offences.
They will be ready to use the tu quoque argument in sheerself-defence. None
of us is so perfect as to be able to stand the fire of adverse criticism without a
defectbeing revealed. The fierce light that beats upon a critic should quiet his
censoriousness.
2. From God. It is unpleasant for our faults to be exposedby men; it is far
worse, it is fatal, for them to bring down upon us the judgment of God. Yet it
is the repeatedteaching of Christ that Godwill deal with us as we deal with
our neighbours. If we do not forgive them, God will not forgive us. With the
unmerciful he will show himself unmerciful. So long as we make it our
business to point out the sins of other people there is no hope that our sins will
be blotted out (Matthew 6:15).
II. IT IS HYPOCRITICAL. The censorious personis the last to perceive his
own sin. It may be huge as a beam, yet he is quite unable to see it while he is
busy in hunting for the speck of dust in his brother's eye. There is nothing
which so hinders a personfrom heart-searching self-examination, nothing
which so hardens him in self-complacentpride, as the habit of finding fault
with other people. The prophet may be a greatersinner than the people whom
he is denouncing; yet the very actof denunciation blinds him to his own great
wickedness. The Englishbear a reputation of hypocrisy on the Continent, and
are not popular there as a nation, because they are constantly denouncing
"continentalvices," while dishonestyin trade, self-seeking in politics, and
immorality in life belie their exaltedpretensions. It is a common habit of
Churches to thunder againstthe heresies and wrong-doings of sister-
communions; they would do better to look at home first. Religious people are
horrified at the sight of publicans and sinners; but have they nothing to be
ashamedof? Comparing their advantages with the temptations of the
miserable drunkards and harlots whom they denounce, they might well ask

whether their pride, uncharitableness, and covetousness maynot be veritable
beams in the eyes of God.
III. IT IS FUTILE. While there is a beam in his own eye the critic cannot
remove the mote from his brother's eye. To do so is to perform a very delicate
operation. Any obscurity of vision will allow only of a bungling attempt, that
will give much pain and yet will not effect its purpose. The beam must go first.
While a man is blinded to his sin, he cannotsave his neighbour. Christ, the
Saviour of the world, was sinless. Christians must seek deliverance from their
own sins before they undertake a crusade for the saving of their brethren. The
humility that confesses personalunworthiness is the spirit best fitted for
seeking to save lost and degraded fellow-men and women. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
Judge not.
Matthew 7:1

Against censoriousness
J. E. Good.
I. THE PROHIBITION. It refers to the conduct of private individuals, not to
men in a public capacity;nor to hinder private persons from forming any
opinion upon the misconduct of others. It forbids the indulgence of a
censorious temper.
II. The METHODS BYWHICH HE REPROVES andcondemns it.
1. He refers to the common principle of retribution.
2. As another corrective we are reminded of our own imperfections.(1)Men of
this description have no right to sit in judgment on others, who are themselves
guilty of the same crimes.(2)They have no moral qualification for its
discharge.
3. Our Saviourdirects us to reform our own conduct before we undertake to
sit in judgment on that of others.
III. The CAUTION WHICH WE MUST OBSERVE IN ITS DISCHARGE —
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs," etc.
(J. E. Good.)
Judgments and retributive judgments
J. E. Rust, M. A.

I. JUDGMENTS.
1. We are warned againstjudgments that are prejudiced. Not to judge others
by a sort of hasty inspiration, by their manner, or by their class orlocality.
2. We are warned againstjudgments that are uncalled for. Sometimes our
duty; but often not required of us to judge our neighbour's character.
3. We are warned againstjudgments that are one-sided. Must hear both sides.
4. We are warned againstunmerciful judgments. Dangerarises from
attributing motives. We must beware lestwe ignore the possibilities of good
even in a bad man. Be as merciful as you can be to the sinner.
5. We are warned againstblind judgment — "Why beholdestthou," etc. Evil
men more suspicious of others.
II. RETRIBUTIVE judgments — who will inflict them (Luke 6:37, 38).
1. The first solution is that they are the judgments of men. This not practically
true.
2. Considerthe interpretation which attributes the retributive judgments to
angels. It is not our Lord's wont to attribute judgment, forgiveness, etc., to
angels.

3. God will inflict them. He judges men according to the state of mind in
which they live.
(J. E. Rust, M. A.)
The evil of judging rashly
H. Kollock, D. D.
I. THE DUTY — "Judge not."
1. From the contextit is evident that the Saviour here speaks only of those
judgments that we form concerning our neighbour. Favourable judgments are
not forbidden; unfavourable judgments allowed, when our station or clear
evidence require. Judges, parents, teachers,must condemn and publicly
censure. Our Lord condemns —
1. The inward disposition of the mind which inclines persons to judge the
actions of their neighbours with
(1)precipitance,
(2)malignity,
(3)rigour.
2. He condemns the habit of communicating to others the rash and severe
judgments we have formed, when no necessityrequires it. We multiply the

injury in proportion to the number of persons to whom we communicate our
unfavourable opinions.
II. THE MOTIVE. If we thus judge our brethren, there is more than one
tribunal at which we shall be condemned.
1. We shall find for ourselves in societyjudges without pity.
2. The rigour at the lastjudgment. Godwill punish those who have
encroachedupon His rights, and who have trampled down the rules of justice
and charity.
(H. Kollock, D. D.)
Reasonsagainsta censorious spirit
Sermons by Monday Climb.
1. Such judgment provokes retaliation.
2. Such judgment is not becoming in us. Such a sinner has no right to sit in the
judgment seat.
3. Such judgment shows incapacityfor true judgment.
(Sermons by Monday Climb.)

Against rash censuring and judging
Dr. Barrow.
There are divers sorts of judging which it is requisite to distinguish from the
judging prohibited: —
1. That exercising public judgment, or administering justice, is not here
prohibited.
2. The trial and censure, although out of court, which any kind of superiors do
exercise ontheir inferiors, committed to their care, such as masters and
servants.
3. Neitheris friendly reproofproceeding out of charitable design, on clear
ground, in fit season, within reasonable compass, concernedin this
prohibition.
4. All observing and reflecting on our neighbours' actions, all framing an
opinion about them, and expressing our minds concerning them, are not
forbidden.
5. We are not hence obliged to think so well of all men as without competent
knowledge always to rely on their pretences, orto entrust our interests in
their hands.
6. We are not obliged, in contradiction to plain sense, to judge all men well.We
observe:

1. No judge should intrude himself into the office, or assume a judicial power,
without competent authority, either by delegationfrom superior powers, or
by voluntary reference to the parties concerned.
2. A judge should be free from all prejudices and all partial affections.
3. A judge should never proceedin judgment without carefulexamination of
the cause, so as wellto understand it.
4. A judge should never pronounce final sentence, but after certain proof and
on full conviction.
5. Hence there are divers causes whollyexempt from our judgment, such as
the secretthoughts of men.
6. Hence we should not judge the state of our neighbour in regard to God.
7. A judge should not proceedagainstany man without warning, and
affording him opportunity to defend himself.
8. Moreovera judge is obligedto conform all his determinations to the settled
rules of judgment.
9. He must be a personof good knowledge andability.

10. It is proper for a judge not to make himself an accuser.
11. He should himself be innocent.
12. He should proceedwith greatmoderation.Again:
1. Censuring is an impious practice in regard to God.
2. In respectto our neighbour it is an unjust practice.
3. It is an uncharitable practice.
4. It is a foolish and vain practice.
5. It will produce many inconveniences and mischiefs.
(1)We provoke others to requite us in the same kind.
(2)We pass censure on ourselves, as we are seldom clear.
(3)We aggravate our ownfaults and deprive them of excuse.
(4)We forget to what a dreadful judgment we stand obnoxious to.

(5)It causes us to leave our own faults uncorrected.
(6)The bestmen are the most candid and gentle.
(7)It signifies bad conscience;a vulturous nature smelleth out carrion.
(Dr. Barrow.)
Socialself-echoes. -- A
little boy once went home to his mother and said, "Mother, sisterand I went
out into the garden, and we were calling about, and there was some boy
mocking us." "How do you mean, Johnny?" said his mother. "Why," said the
child, "I was calling out, 'He!' and this boy said, 'He!' So I said to him, 'Who
are you?' and he answered, 'Who are you?' I said, 'What is your name?' he
said, 'What is your name?' And I said to him, 'Why don't you show yourself?'
he said, ' Show yourself?' And I jumped over the ditch, and I went into the
woods, and I could not find him, and I came back, and said, 'If you don't come
out I will punch your head!' and he said, 'I will punch your head!' "So his
mother said, "Ah, Johnny I if you had said, 'I love you,' he would have said, 'I
love You.' If you had said, 'Your voice is sweet,'he would have said, 'Your
voice is sweet.'Whateveryou saidto him, he would have said back to you."
And the mother also said, "Now, Johnny, when you grow and getto be a man,
whateveryou say to others they will, by and by, sayback to you." And his
mother took him to that old text in the Scripture, "With what measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again."
Censoriousnessa compound of the worstpassions
E. L. Magoon.

Censoriousnessis a compound of many of the worst passions;latent pride,
which discovers the mote in our brother's eye, but hides the beam in our own;
malignant envy, which, wounded at the noble talents and superior prosperity
of others, transforms them into the objects and food of its malice — if
possible, obscuring the splendour it is too base to emulate; disguised hatred,
which diffuses, in its perpetual mutterings, the irritable venom of the heart;
servile duplicity, which fulsomely praises to the face and blackens behind the
back;shameless levity, which sacrifices the peace and reputation of the
absent, merely to give barbarous stings to a jocular conversation;altogether
forming an aggregatethe most desolating on earth, and nearestin character
to the malice of hell.
(E. L. Magoon.)
Men self-reflectedin their judgment of others
C. H. Spurgeon.
Pedley, who was a well-knownnatural simpleton, was wont to say, "God help
the fool." None are more ready to pity the folly of others than those who have
a small share of wit themselves. "There is no love among Christians," cries the
man who is destitute of true charity. "Zealhas vanished," exclaims the idle
talker. "O for more consistency," groansoutthe hypocrite. "We want more
vital godliness," protests the false pretender. As in the old legend, the wolf
preachedagainstsheep-stealing, so very many hunt down those sins in others,
which they gladly shelterin themselves.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Judgment should combine moderation
Avoid forming refined and romantic notions of human perfectionin anything.
For these are much apter to heighten our expectations from others, and our
demands upon them, than to increase our watchfulness overourselves;and so
every failure provokes us more highly than it would have done else.

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
VII.
(1) The plan and sequence ofthe discourse is, as has been said, less apparent
in this last portion. Whether this be the result of omissionor of insertion, thus
much at leastseems clear, thatwhile Matthew 5 is mainly a protestagainstthe
teaching of the scribes, and Matthew 6 mainly a protest againsttheir
corruption of the three greatelements of the religious life—almsgiving,
prayer, and fasting—andthe worldliness out of which that corruption grew,
this deals chiefly with the temptations incident to the more advancedstages of
that life when lowerforms of evil have been overcome—withthe temper that
judges others, the self-deceitof unconscious hypocrisy, the danger of
unreality.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.—The words point to a tendency inherent in
human nature, and are therefore universally applicable; but they had, we
must remember, a specialbearing on the Jews. They, as really in the van of
the religious progress ofmankind, took on themselves to judge other nations.
All true teachers of Israel, even though they representeddifferent aspects of
the truth, felt the danger, and warned their countrymen againstit. St. Paul
(Romans 2:3; 1Corinthians 4:5) and St. James (James 4:11)alike, in this
matter, echo the teaching of their Master. And the temptation still continues.
In proportion as any nation, any church, any society, any individual man rises
above the common forms of evil that surround them, they are disposedto sit
in judgment on those who are still in the evil.

The question, how far we can obey the precept, is not without its difficulties.
Must we not, even as a matter of duty, be judging others every day of our
lives? The juryman giving his verdict, the master who discharges a dishonest
servant, the bishop who puts in force the discipline of the Church—are these
acting againstour Lord’s commands? And if not, where are we to draw the
line? The answerto these questions is not found in the distinctions of a formal
casuistry. We have rather to remember that our Lord here, as elsewhere,
gives principles rather than rules, and embodies the principle in a rule which,
because it cannot be kept in the letter, forces us back upon the spirit. What is
forbidden is the censorious judging temper, eagerto find faults and condemn
men for them, suspicious of motives, detecting, let us say, for example, in
controversy, and denouncing, the faintest shade of heresy. No mere rules can
guide us as to the limits of our judgments. What we need is to have “our
senses exercisedto discern betweengoodand evil,” to cultivate the
sensitiveness ofconscience andthe clearnessofself-knowledge. Briefly, we
may say:—(1.) Judge no man unless it be a duty to do so. (2.) As far as may
be, judge the offence, and not the offender. (3.) Confine your judgment to the
earthly side of faults, and leave their relation to God, to Him who sees the
heart. (4.) Neverjudge at all without remembering your own sinfulness, and
the ignorance and infirmities which may extenuate the sinfulness of others.
BensonCommentary
Matthew 7:1-2. Judge not — Our Lord now proceeds to warn us againstthe
chief hinderances of holiness. And how wiselydoes he begin with judging!
Wherein all young converts are so apt to spend that zeal which is given them
for better purposes. He must be understood as forbidding all rash and
unfavourable judgments, whether of the characters ofothers in general, or of
their actions in particular, glancing, probably, in these as also in some other
expressions in this chapter, on the characterof the Pharisees, who were very
culpable on this head, as appears from divers passagesin the gospels,suchas
Luke 18:9-14;Luke 16:14-15;John 7:47-49, (compare also Isaiah65:5,) and
their unjust censures ofChrist. Our Lord’s words imply, Judge not those
about you in a rigorous and severe manner; nor pass unnecessaryor

uncharitable censures upon them, as many of your countrymen are in the
habit of doing: nay, judge not any man, without full, clear, and certain
knowledge ofthe blameableness ofhis conduct, nor without absolute
necessity, and a spirit of tender love. That ye be not judged — Yourselves with
the like severity. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged — Of
God and man. “If you judge charitably, making proper allowances forthe
frailties of your brethren, and are ready to pity and pardon their faults, God
and man will deal with you in the same kind manner; but if you always put
the worstconstructionon every thing that it will bear, and are not touched
with the feeling of your brother’s infirmities, and show no mercy in the
opinions you form of his characterand actions, no mercy will be shown to you
from any quarter; God will treat you as you deserve, in the just judgment he
shall pass upon your actions, and the world will be sure to retaliate the
injury.” — Macknight. And with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again— Awful words! So we may, as it were, choose forourselves,
whether God shall be severe or merciful to us. God and man will favour the
candid and benevolent: but they must expect judgment without mercy, who
have showedno mercy.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
7:1-6 We must judge ourselves, and judge of our own acts, but not make our
word a law to everybody. We must not judge rashly, nor pass judgment upon
our brother without any ground. We must not make the worstof people. Here
is a just reproof to those who quarrel with their brethren for small faults,
while they allow themselves in greaterones. Some sins are as motes, while
others are as beams; some as a gnat, others as a camel. Not that there is any
sin little; if it be a mote, or splinter, it is in the eye; if a gnat, it is in the throat;
both are painful and dangerous, and we cannotbe easyor well till they are got
out. That which charity teaches us to callbut a splinter in our brother's eye,
true repentance and godly sorrow will teachus to call a beam in our own. It is
as strange that a man can be in a sinful, miserable condition, and not be aware
of it, as that a man should have a beam in his eye, and not considerit; but the
god of this world blinds their minds. Here is a goodrule for reprovers; first
reform thyself.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Judge not ... - This command refers to rash, censorious, andunjust judgment.
See Romans 2:1. Luke Luk 6:37 explains it in the sense of"condemning."
Christ does not condemn judging as a magistrate, forthat, when according to
justice, is lawful and necessary. Nordoes he condemn our "forming an
opinion" of the conduct of others, for it is impossible "not" to form an opinion
of conduct that we know to be evil. But what he refers to is a habit of forming
a judgment hastily, harshly, and without an allowance forevery palliating
circumstance, and a habit of "expressing" suchan opinion harshly and
unnecessarilywhen formed. It rather refers to private judgment than
"judicial," and perhaps primarily to the customs of the scribes and Pharisees.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
CHAPTER 7
Sermon on the Mount—concluded.
Mt 7:1-12. Miscellaneous SupplementaryCounsels.
That these verses are entirely supplementary is the simplest and most natural
view of them. All attempts to make out any evident connectionwith the
immediately preceding contextare, in our judgment, forced. But, though
supplementary, these counsels are far from being of subordinate importance.
On the contrary, they involve some of the most delicate and vital duties of the
Christian life. In the vivid form in which they are here presented, perhaps
they could not have been introduced with the same effectunder any of the
foregoing heads;but they spring out of the same greatprinciples, and are but
other forms and manifestations of the same evangelical"righteousness."
Censorious Judgment(Mt 7:1-5).

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged—To "judge" here does not exactly mean
to pronounce condemnatory judgment, nor does it refer to simple judging at
all, whether favorable or the reverse. The contextmakes it clearthat the thing
here condemned is that disposition to look unfavorably on the characterand
actions of others, which leads invariably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust,
and unlovely judgments upon them. No doubt it is the judgments so
pronounced which are here spokenof; but what our Lord aims at is the spirit
out of which they spring. Provided we eschew this unlovely spirit, we are not
only warranted to sit in judgment upon a brother's characterand actions, but
in the exercise ofa necessarydiscrimination are often constrainedto do so for
our own guidance. It is the violation of the law of love involved in the exercise
of a censorious dispositionwhich alone is here condemned. And the argument
againstit—"that ye be not judged"—confirms this: "that your own character
and actions be not pronounced upon with the like severity";that is, at the
greatday.Matthew 7:1-5 Christ proceedethin his sermon to condemn rash
judgment,
Matthew 7:6 forbiddeth the prostitution of holy things,
Matthew 7:7-12 recommends prayer,
Matthew 7:13-14 exhorteth to enter in at the strait gate,
Matthew 7:15-20 to beware of false prophets, who may be known by their
fruits,
Matthew 7:21-23 and not to be his disciples in professiononly, but in

practice.
Matthew 7:24-27 He compares doers ofthe word to houses built on a
rock, those that are hearers only to houses built on
the sand.
Matthew 7:28-29 Christ endeth his sermon; the people are astonishedat
his doctrine.
See Poole on"Matthew 7:2".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Judge not, that ye be not judged. This is not to be understood of any sort of
judgment; not of judgment in the civil courts of judicature, by proper
magistrates, whichought to be made and pass, according to the nature of the
case;nor of judgment in the churches of Christ, where offenders are to be
calledto an account, examined, tried, and dealt with according to the rules of
the Gospel;nor of every private judgment, which one man may make upon
another, without any detriment to him; but of rash judgment, interpreting
men's words and deeds to the worstsense, and censuring them in a very
severe manner; even passing sentence onthem, with respectto their eternal

state and condition. Goodis the advice given by the famous Hillell (u), who
lived a little before Christ's time;
"Do not judge thy neighbour, (says he,) until thou comestinto his place.''
It would be well, if persons subjectto a censorious spirit, would put
themselves in the case andcircumstances the persons are in they judge; and
then consider, what judgment they would choose others shouldpass on them.
The argument Christ uses to dissuade from this evil, which the Jews were very
prone to, is, "that ye be not judged"; meaning, either by men, for such
censorious persons rarelyhave the goodwill of their fellow creatures, but are
commonly repaid in the same way; or else by God, which will be the most
awful and tremendous: for such persons take upon them the place of God,
usurp his prerogative, as if they knew the hearts and states ofmen; and
therefore will have judgment without mercy at the hands of God.
(u) Pirke Abot, c. 2. sect. 4.
Geneva Study Bible
Judge {1} not, that ye be not judged.
(1) We ought to find fault with one another, but we must beware we do not do
it without cause, orto seemholier than others or because ofhatred of others.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 7:1. Without any intermediate connection, the discourse passesonto
a new subject. Comp. Matthew 5:17, Matthew 6:1.

μὴ κρίνετε] κρίνειν means nothing more than to judge, and the context alone
will decide when it is used in the sense of a condemnatory judgment, as in
Romans 2:1; Romans 14:4; Galatians 5:10; Hebrews 10:30 (frequently in
John). In this respectit resembles the Heb. ‫ש‬ָׁ‫פ‬ ַ‫.ט‬ But in this instance it is
proved by Matthew 7:2 and Matthew 7:3-5 that κρίνειν is not to be explained
as synonymous with κατακρίνειν(in answerto Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus,
Kuinoel, and Olshausen). Nor is this required, but, on the contrary, plainly
forbidden, by Luke 6:37, for there the difference betweenκρίνειν and
καταδικάζεινis of the nature of a climax, the latter being the result of the
former. Accordingly, the correctinterpretation is this: Do not sit in judgment
upon others; do not setyourselves up as judges of their faults (Matthew 7:3),
meaning thereby an officious and self-righteous behaviour (the opposite of
that prescribed in Galatians 6:1-5), that ye may not become obnoxious to
judgment, i.e. that ye may not be subjectedto the divine, the Messianic,
judgment; that insteadof obtaining mercy and the forgiveness ofyour sins in
that judgment, you may not draw down upon yourselves that judicial sentence
(which, according to Matthew 5:7, Matthew 6:15, is averted by cherishing a
forgiving spirit). To refer κριθῆτε to our being judged by others (Erasmus,
Calvin, Kuinoel, Fritzsche), and not, with Chrysostom, to the future
judgment, is wrong; because Matthew 7:2, if referred to the Nemesis ofthe
existing order of things, would not be altogethertrue; and further, because,
throughout His address, Jesus treats the idea of retribution from the
Messianic point of view (Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 5:19-20;Matthew 5:22;
Matthew 5:25; Matthew 5:29 f., Matthew 6:1; Matthew 6:4; Matthew 6:6;
Matthew 6:14 f., 18, 20, 33, Matthew 7:13; Matthew 7:19; Matthew 7:21;
Matthew 7:23-24 ff.). Of course it is unnecessaryto say that, in forbidding
judging, Christ is not speaking “de ministeriis vel officiis divinitus ordinatis,
sed de judiciis, quae fiunt extra seupraeter vocationes etgubernationes
divinas,” Melanchthon. Nor does He forbid the moral judging of others in
general, which is inseparable from truth and love, and is at the same time a
necessaryelementin the duty of brotherly νουθετεῖν. “Canis pro cane et
porcus pro porco esthabendus,” Bengel.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 7:1-5. Against judging.

Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
1. Judge not, &c.] This is the form which the “lex talionis,” or law of
reciprocity, takes in the kingdom of heaven.
The censorious spirit is condemned, it is opposedto the ἐπιείκεια,
“forbearance,” “fairnessin judgment,” that allows for faults, a characteristic
ascribedto Jesus Christ Himself, 2 Corinthians 10:1; cp. also Romans 14:3
foll.
that ye be not judged] by Christ on the Last Day.
(a) Judgment on others, Matthew 7:1-6.
The passageoccurs inSt Luke’s report of the Sermon on the Mount (ch. Luke
6:37-38), with a different context, and a further illustration of “full measure.”
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 7:1. Μὴ κρίνετε, Judge not) i.e. without knowledge, charity, or
necessity. Yet a dog is to be accounteda dog, and a swine a swine; see
Matthew 7:6.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 1-12. -
(2) As anxiety about the things of this life hinders us Godwards (ch. 6:19-34),
so does censoriousnessmanwards (vers. 1-12), our Lord thus tacitly opposing
two typically Jewishfaults. Censoriousness-the personaldanger of having it
(vers. 1, 2), its seriousnessas a sign of ignorance and as a hindrance to
spiritual vision (vers. 3-5), even though there must be a recognitionof great

moral differences (ver. 6). Grace to overcome it and to exercise judgment
rightly canbe obtained by prayer (vers. 7-11), the secretofovercoming being
found in treating others as one would like to be treatedone's self(ver. 12).
Verse 1. - Parallelpassage:Luke 6:37. Judge not. Not merely "do not
condemn," for this would leave too much latitude; nor, on the other hand, "do
not everjudge," for this is sometimes our duty; but "do not be always
judging" (μὴ κρίνετε). Our Lord opposes the censorious spirit. "Let us
therefore be lowly minded, brethren, laying aside all arrogance, andconceit,
and folly, and anger, and let us do that which is written... most of all
remembering the words of the Lord Jesus which he spake, teaching
forbearance and brag-suffering; for thus he spake...'As ye judge, so shall ye
be judged,'" Clem. Romans, § 13 (where see BishopLightfoot's note; el. also
Resch, 'Agrapha,'pp. 96, 136 ft.); cf. 'Ab.,' 1:7 (Taylor), "Judge every man in
the scale ofmerit;" i.e. let the scale incline towards the side of merit or
acquittal. That ye be not judged; i.e. by God, with specialreference to the last
day (cf. James 2:12, 13;James 5:9; Romans 2:3). Hardly of judgment by men,
as Barrow (serm. 20.): "Mentake it for allowable to retaliate in this way to
the height, and stoutly to load the censorious manwith censure."
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge so that you will not be judged. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:Me krinete, (2PPAM)hina me krithete; (2PAPS)

Amplified: Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may
not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. (Amplified Bible -
Lockman)
KJV: Judge not, that ye be not judged.
NLT: "Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. (NLT - Tyndale
House)
Philips: "Don't criticise people, and you will not be criticised. (New Testament
in Modern English)
Wuest: Stop pronouncing censorious criticism, in order that you may not be
the objectof censorious criticism, (
Wuest: Expanded Translation: Eerdmans
)
Young's Literal: Judge not, that ye may not be judged,
Do not judge so that you will not be judged: Me krinete, (2PPAM)hina me
krithete; (2PAPS)
Isaiah66:5; Ezekiel16:52-56;Luke 6:37; Romans 2:1,2; 14:3,4,10, 11, 12, 13;
1Cor4:3, 4, 5; James 3:1; 4:11,12
Matthew 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Spurgeonencourages us...
While we .are reading, let us also be adoring at the same time, for the. words
of Christ have a gracious divinity about them; they are infinite; they are
omnipotent. There is a kind of life in them; a life which communicates itselfto
those who hear them. Our Saviordid not preach sermons:he preachedtexts;
all his sermons are full of golden sentences,not hammered gold leaf, like those
of men, but they are ingots of solid gold, and the goldof that land is good, the
most fine gold; there is none like it. Thus he preaches in the seventh chapter of
Matthew.
Here are some other translations...
Do not criticize, do not sit as a judge upon another man’s motives, do not
attempt to interpret the desires of his heart. (
Pentecost
)
Do not judge others until you are prepared to be judged by the same
standard. And then, when you exercise judgment toward others, do it with
humility. (Weber, Stuart, Max E. Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament
Commentary: Matthew)
John Lightfoot writes that...
This is a very common proverb among the Jews:In the measure that a man
measureth, others measure to him.

Spurgeonwrites...
Use your judgment, of course:the verse implies that you will judge in a right
sense. But do not indulge the criticizing faculty upon others in censorious
manner, or as if you were setin authority, and had a right to dispense
judgment among your fellows. If you impute motives, and pretend to read
hearts, others will do the same towards you. A hard and censorious behavior
is sure to provoke reprisals. Those around you will pick up the peck measure
you have been using, and measure your corn with it. You do not object to men
forming a fair opinion of your character, neither are you forbidden to do the
same towards them, but as you would objectto their sitting in judgment upon
you, do not sit in judgment upon them. This is not the day of judgment,
neither are we his Majesty’s judges, and therefore we may not anticipate the
time appointed for the final assize, norusurp the prerogatives of the Judge of
all the earth.
Surely, if I know myself aright, I need not send my judgment upon circuit to
try other men, for I cangive it full occupationin my ownCourt of Conscience
to try the traitors within my own bosom.
OswaldChambers writes...
Jesus says regarding judging - Don't.
This is not completelyaccurate howeverand in fairness to Chambers he does
speak to the "quality" of this judgment noting that Christians can be
exceedinglycritical individuals. God is the only One Who canbe justifiably
and perfectly (in turns of motive) critical, for He alone can tell us what is

wrong without destroying us. And so Chambers is not saying don't ever make
a judgement, but be careful about the spirit in which you pass a judgement. If
you are going to judge with a critical spirit - Don't. Citizens of the Kingdom of
heaven are challenged(and empoweredby the Spirit and grace)to cultivate
an uncritical temperament. They must ever be alert to the temptation to place
themselves in a position of superiority over others. Superiority belongs to
God's alone and He will not allow it to be usurped, subverted, supplanted or
superseded!Obedience to Jesus'command is goodfor your spiritual health!
To break this command is sin and to suffer disruption of fellowship with your
Father Who is in heaven. Do you need to confess andrepent of this sin (and/or
this sinful attitude) even as you read these notes? Why is this so important to
your spiritual health? John explains that...
If we saythat we have fellowshipwith Him and yet walk in the darkness, we
lie and do not practice the truth but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in
the light, we have fellowshipwith one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son
cleansesus from all sin... If we confess oursins (naming specific sins, agreeing
they are offensive to Him and destructive to us and exhibit a willingness to
genuinely repent from the sin - not just "confess"so we canget a "cleanslate"
and go out and immediately commit that sin again), He is faithful and
righteous to forgive ("send them awayfrom") us our sins and to cleanse
(katharizo - give us a spiritual "catharsis"so to speak)us from all
unrighteousness. (1John1:6,7, 9)
Spurgeonwrites...
You are not calledto judge; you are not qualified to judge: “&Godis the
Judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.&” There is much better
work to be done by us than that of setting up as judges of others.

Set not up for critics, especiallyin the act of worship. Probably there. is no
greaterdestroyerof profit in the hearing of the word than is the spirit of
carping criticism.
Do not judge (2919)(krino related to English > critic, criticize) primarily
signifies to distinguish, choose,separateordiscriminate; then, to distinguish
betweengoodand evil, right and wrong, without necessarilypassing an
adverse sentence, thoughthis is usually involved. It means to sift out and
analyze evidence.
A judge observes the evidence, evaluates it, and arrives at a certain
conclusion. In sum, krino has a wide semantic range that canmean to: judge
(judicially), to condemn, or to discern. In context, Jesus clearlydoes not
forbid all judging of any kind, for the moral distinctions drawn in the Sermon
on the Mount require that decisive judgments be made and are even
mandated (eg "you will know them by their fruits" Mt 7:20-note).
What Jesus is addressing is the spirit and/or motivation of one's judgment.
The OT prophets were often very judgmental towardIsrael, but the
difference is that they were speaking God's words to His rebellious chosen
people!
Do not judge is in the present imperative with a negative particle (Greek =
"me" = negates)whichcalls for them to stop doing this implying that they
were judging. The truth is that fallen flesh is by nature critical and
condemning. And so in these first two verses of chapter 7 Jesus is telling His
audience (and us) to...

Stop hypercritically judging others, in order that you may not be the recipient
of similar judgment.
He is saying cease judging others with a spirit which is censorious, carping
(marked by or inclined to querulous and often perverse criticism), caviling
(raising annoying, petty, trivial and/or frivolous objections), condemnatory,
critical, disapproving, disparaging, fault-finding, hypercritical, scathing or
severe. Why? Forsuch judgment is harsh, self-righteous, lacking in mercy
and short on love. Unfortunately the church of Jesus Christ is far from
immune and as someone has quipped a few in the church even think their
critical spirit is their spiritual gift! They euphemistically call it a "spirit of
discernment"!
Even Shakespeare saw the light on this precept writing...
Forebearto judge, for we are sinners all.
James has a similar admonishment...
Do not speak against(presentimperative + negative particle = Stop speaking
ill of, in a degradingly, defaming or slandering manner) one another,
brethren. He who speaks againsta brother, or judges his brother, speaks
againstthe law (NLT "If you criticize eachother and condemn eachother,
then you are criticizing and condemning God's law"), and judges the law; but
if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is
only one Lawgiverand Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but
who are you who judge your neighbor? (James 4:11, 12) (The personwho
judges his brother disobeys the law, thus in effectplacing himself in a position
above the law and thus treating it with contempt.)

In a parallel passageLuke quotes Jesus'(four) commands including...
Be (present imperative) merciful, (How? What is our "standard"?)just as
your Father is merciful. And (note the connectionof mercy and inappropriate
judging - a judgmental attitude is not merciful) do not judge (present
imperative + negative particle = Stop passing unfavorable, critical, fault
finding, condemnatory judgment) and you will not be judged; and do not
condemn (this is God's right) (present imperative + negative particle = Stop
declaring or pronouncing others guilty [as if you were the Judge of men!]) ,
and you will not be condemned; pardon (present imperative), and you will be
pardoned. (Luke 6:36, 37)
So that (2443)(hina) introduces a purpose clause - in this case the reasonwe
should not judge others hypocritically and/or hypercritically is so that we "cut
off" a similar judgment upon ourselves. This purpose clause should serve to
motivate us to obey this command enabled by the Spirit and grace.
Be patient with the faults of others.
They have to be patient with yours!
D A Carsoncomments that...
Those who "judge" like this will in turn be "judged," not by men (which
would be of little consequence),but by God (which fits the solemn tone of the
discourse). The disciple who takes it on himself to be the judge of what
another does usurps the place of God ("Why do you judge your brother? Or
you again, why do you regardyour brother with contempt? Forwe will all

stand before the judgment seatof God" - see note Romans 14:10) and
therefore becomes answerable to Him. The hina me ("in order that...not";
NIV, "or")should therefore be given full telic (tending toward an end) force
Do not assume the place of God by deciding you have the right to stand in
judgment over all-do not do it, I say, in order to avoid being calledto account
by the God whose place you usurp (cf. b Shabbath 127b;M Sotah1:7; b Baba
Metzia 59b). (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume
New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)
Judge Not
Judge not: the work of his brain
And of his heart thou canstnot see;
What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,
In God's pure light may only be
A scar, brought from some well-fought field
Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.
The look, the air, that frets thy sight,
May be a token that below
The soul has closedin deadly fight
With some internal fiery foe,
Whose glance would scorchthy smiling grace,

And castthee shuddering on thy face.
--Selected
Guzik has an excellentexpositionof this command writing that...
This is the Bible verse that seems to be most popular in our presentday. But
most the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They
seemto think Jesus commandeda universal acceptanceofany lifestyle or
teaching. If we see what Jesus saidin Matthew 7:15-16, He commands us to
know people by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessmentis necessary
for that.. The Christian is calledto unconditionally love. But the Christian is
not calledto unconditional approval. We really canlove people who do things
that should not be approved of. Instead, Jesus is speaking againstbeing
judgmental, that is, judging motives and the inner man, which only Godcan
know. We canjudge the fruit of a man, but we can rarely judge their motives
with accuracy.
Jesus does not prohibit judgment of others. He only requires that our
judgment be completely fair, and that we only judge others by a standard we
would also like to be judged by. Mostof our judgment in regard to others is
wrong, not because we judge according to a standard, but because we are
hypocritical in the application of that standard - we ignore the standard in our
own life.
We judge others by one standard, and ourselves by another standard - being
far more generous to ourselves than others. With the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you:

According to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus'time, God had two
measures that He used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the
other was a measure of mercy. Which measure do you want God to use with
you? Then you should use that same measure with others. (Mt 7:2). (Matthew
7)
Be quick to judge yourself
But slow to judge others.
People Magazine was interviewing a well-knownactorwho was defending the
moral indiscretions of former PresidentClinton.
Why should we be upset over such a thing? We're all sinners, and it just
shows that President Clinton is just like the restof us. The Bible says, 'Judge
not, that ye be not judged.'
Whenever Christians warn againstor condemn our societyfor its loss of
moral moorings, it is not uncommon to have them misquote Matthew 7:1 to
counter our "judgmental attitude", but as discussedin this sectionsuch a use
represents a distortion of what Jesus actually meant in context (remember
context is "king" in [accurate]interpretation). Clearly Jesus was not
forbidding one from making moral evaluations which is the way this actor
and the unregenerate world interprets this verse. They say "Do not judge. Do
not make moral evaluations. Do not condemn anything." Wrong!That is not
what Jesus is commanding, for all through the Gospels He teaches we are to
continually make moral judgments about both issues and people (cp Jesus'
moral judgment regarding adultery - Mt 5:27, 28-notes)If we interpreted
Matthew 7:1 the way the world wants us to interpret it, we could not say there
was such a thing as adultery... it's just an "affair" (note the world's
euphemistic way of toning down evil.) Christians as salt and light are to make

sound moral judgments, but we must do so with a humble, loving attitude for
nothing is more harmful to the cause ofChrist than believers who cry out with
a shrill voice using harsh language which condemns others (there is only one
Judge) with an angry, unkind attitude. The point is that believers are not to
manifest a judgmental, critical, fault-finding attitude, always being negative,
always carping about things, always being aware ofminor problems in the
lives of others while oblivious to the faults they are demonstrating in there
negative, judgmental attitudes. Believers canand should make Spirit-led
moral judgments, but not in an unloving, unkind manner. We are never to
despise others or regard them with contempt. As we have often heard, God
hates the sin, but loves the sinner, which is why He sent His Son. We are to
"be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love." (Ep 5:1, 2-notes)
Dwight Pentecostaddressesthe problem of judging others by reminding us
that...
God’s standard of conduct for His children is His own unalterable, intrinsic
righteousness andholiness. Peterstated this so clearlyin 1 Peter 1:15, 16
(note)
As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation;because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
When a man asks himself, “How goodmust I be?” the biblical answeris, “As
goodas God.” While that standard is written into the hearts of all, they
acknowledge theycannot attain it. So men universally set aside God’s
standards and substitute their own. Every religion, no matter how depraved it
may be, has its own standards of conduct. But the standard of conduct is not
the standard of the characterofGod, nor of the Word of God...

When a man sets up his own standards of conduct in lieu of the standards of
God, he must become a judge of men’s conduct. When men make their own
rules, they then become judges to determine what is acceptable andwhat is
not acceptable,and to distinguish who conforms to their standards and who
does not. The peril of legalismis that it will not lead a man to holiness in his
conduct. Also, inevitably, it makes a man judge both the actions and the
motives of other men. (
Pentecost, J. D. Designfor living: Lessons in Holiness from the Sermon on the
Mount. Kregel Publications
)
OswaldChambers writes that Jesus is charging His disciples to "Stop having
a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every
man's case about which we know nothing. The first thing God does is to give
us a spiritual spring-cleaning; there is no possibility of pride left in a man
after that. I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what
lies in me apart from the grace of God.
The fault we see in another
may be the reflectionof our own.
The Holman NT Commentary writes that "It is one thing to exercise
judgment, and quite another to have a judgmental attitude. One is an action
that might be carriedout with right or wrong motives; the other is a negative
characterquality... This is the centralapplication of 7:1-5. Our habitual
response to Scripture must be to say, "Whatabout me?" rather than, "What
about others?" (Weber, Stuart, Max E. Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament
Commentary: Matthew)

An Appropriate
Time to Judge
As alluded to Jesus is not saying we are to condone or excuse sin, for the
Scriptures clearlydo not forbid men to distinguish betweengoodand evil.
Yes, we are to getrid of a critical spirit, but we are encouragedto cultivate a
discerning spirit as in the exhortation in Hebrews where we note that...
solid food is for the mature (see teleios), who because ofpractice have their
senses (see aistheterion)trained to discern (gumnazo - perfecttense = they
have been mentally and spiritually trained and are still in that condition) good
(see kalos)and evil (See note Hebrews 5:14)
And so contrary to popular opinion, Jesus is not forbidding all judgment but
He is condemning hypocritical judgment of those who held others to a higher
standard than they themselves were willing to live by. In fact, in the following
verses Jesus clearlyindicates that taking a speck out of your brother’s eye is
the correctthing to do, as long as you have been careful to first remove the log
out of your own eye. On the other hand, we are forbidden to judge the motives
or attitudes of others for unlike God, we are not able to discern“the thoughts
and intentions of the heart” (see note Hebrews 4:12). Only God can judge the
heart, because only God cansee the heart (1Sa 16:7). As the psalmist rightly
asks...
Would not God find this out? ForHe knows the secrets ofthe heart. (Ps
44:21)
As Spurgeon rhetorically asks...

Would God not with holy indignation have detectedunfaithfulness to itself,
even had it been hidden in the heart and unrevealed in the life? For He knows
the secretsofthe heart. He is acquainted with the inner workings of the mind,
and therefore this could not have escapedHim. Not the heart only which is
secret, but the secrets ofthe heart, which are secrets ofthe most secretthing,
are as open to God as a book to a reader.
As God cannot be deceivedby our subtlety, so he cannotbe excluded by our
secrecy. Thomas Watson.
In Proverbs we read...
All the ways of a man are cleanin his own sight, but the LORD weighs the
motives. (Pr 16:2).
And in Romans Paul instructs us that there is coming a day when...
according to my gospel, Godwill judge the secrets ofmen through Christ
Jesus. (see note Romans 2:16)
And writing to the Corinthians Paul instructs his readers...to
not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes
who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the
motives of men's hearts; and then eachman's praise will come to him from
God. (1 Cor 4:5)

The upshot is that judgment of other's motives is not our job but God's job.
To reiterate, Scripture does urge us to judge betweentruth and error, right
and wrong, goodand evil. For example, Jesus said
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge (present imperative) with
righteous judgment. (John 7:24) ("Righteous judgment" implies we are in
communion with God, that our conscienceis clear, that we are filled with His
Spirit, and we are motivated by a desire to further His glory. Fulfill these
requirements [among others] and then you can "judge according to
appearance.")
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers
I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. (1 Cor 10:15) (In context Paul is
saying he is confident that the Corinthians had the wisdom to understand the
correctnessofwhat he was about to tell them and that they could make
correctjudgments about what they should do - read 1 Cor10 for the full
context)
Clearly, God requires us to be discriminating when it comes to matters of
sound doctrine.
We are also instructed to judge one another with regardto overt acts of sin.
Writing againto the Corinthians, he asked...

Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those
outside. ‘Remove (aoristimperative = do it effectively. This command even
conveys a sense ofurgency.) the evil person from among you’ (1 Cor 5:12-13)
Comment: Paul is referring to the ministry of other believers in judging sin
which took place within members of the body. In addition to rightly judging
sinful behavior, disciplining was calledfor as shown by the context. This type
of prescribed proper judgment within the body of Christ is often shied away
for fearof being too confrontationalwhen in fact it is the very process by
which the body is kept spiritually sound and vibrant.
This same process ofdiscipline ("judging") is outlined by Jesus Himself in
Matthew 18...
"And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you,
you have won your brother. 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or
two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE
WITNESSESEVERYFACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 "And if he refuses
to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. 18 "Truly I sayto
you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever
you loose onearth shall be loosedin heaven. 19 "Again I say to you, that if two
of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for
them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 "Forwhere two or three have
gatheredtogetherin My name, there I am in their midst. (Mt 18:15-20)
Comment: Note that the verse often quoted in the context of prayer or
fellowship is in fact usually taken out of contextfor it is clearly in the context
of disciplining a brother - compare the phrase "two or three" to the previous
verses!

Thomas Constable agreeswriting that "It should be obvious from the context
that this promise does not refer to whatever two or three disciples agree to ask
God for in prayer. The Bible contains many promises concerning prayer but
this is not one of them. In the context “anything” {v19} refers to any judicial
decisioninvolving an erring disciple that the other disciples may make
corporately. God has always stoodbehind His judicial representatives on
earth when they carry out His will (cf. Ps. 82:1). This is a wonderful promise.
God will back up with His powerand authority any decision involving the
corporate discipline of an erring brother or sisterthat His disciples may make
after determining His will. Here again Jesus takesGod’s place as “Godwith
us”. This statement implies a future time when Jesus would not be physically
present with His disciples, the inter-advent age, specificallythe period
following His ascensionand preceding His return. Jesus anticipatedHis
ascension. (See Constable'sExpositoryNotes onthe Bible)
Another kind of judgment which is required of every believer is to examine
and judge our own selves atthe Lord's Table for Paul states that...
if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. (1 Cor 11:31)
This self-judgment calls for an honest, transparent searching ofone's own
heart every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper. And Paul preceded this
admonition by giving us ample motivation to judge ourselves rightly...
For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does
not judge the body rightly. For this reasonmany among you are weak and
sick, and a number sleep(some even died). (1Cor 11:29,30)

THOUGHT When was the last time Paul's complete admonition was
emphasized in your church prior to communion? Could it be that some of
those in your church are weak and sick or have even died because theyhave
takenthe Lord's Supper in an unholy manner with unclean hands and
unconfessedhearts? Godhas not changed, and His strong words caution
through Paul are not meant to hurt us but to heal us. We must not back away
from speaking the whole counselof God's Word. The reasonI am so emphatic
is I have been in so many communion services where Paul's warning was not
read in its entirety. Only rarely has it been read in its entirety and then
without any significantexposition. Am I being judgmental? Perhaps!
In a similar way, all other righteous forms of judgment depend on this honest
self-examinationwhich is exactly what Jesus was alluding to when He said
Or how can you sayto your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is
in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly
to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. (Luke 6:42).
Hendriksen explains that...
To be discriminating and critical is necessary;to be hypercritical is wrong.
One should avoid saying what is untrue (Ex 23:1), unnecessary(Pr11:13), and
unkind (Pr 18:8)... the habitual self-righteous faultfinder must remember that
he himself can expect to be condemned, and this not only by men but also and
especiallyby God, as Mt 6:14, 15 has already indicated. Cf. Mt 18:23-35.
(Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. Exposition of the GospelAccording to
Matthew Grand Rapids: BakerBook House)

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul addressedthe issue of the church's lack of
actionand failure to mourn over and deal with the grievous immorality in
their body...
For I, on my part, though absentin body but present in spirit, have already
judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name
of our Lord Jesus, whenyou are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the
powerof our Lord Jesus, Ihave decided to deliver such a one to Satanfor the
destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be savedin the day of the Lord
Jesus...Forwhathave I to do with judging outsiders (unbelievers)? Do you not
judge those who are within the church (The NLT paraphrases it "but it
certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these
ways")? But those who are outside, God judges. (2Corinthians 5:3-5, 12-13)
Similarly believers must distinguish (judge) betweentrue and false doctrine.
And thus we read passageslike...
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whetherthey are
from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1John
4:1)
Now these (Bereans)were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,for
they receivedthe word with greateagerness,examining (a word used in Greek
to describe the questioning of someone in order to pass a judicial sentence!)
the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. (see note Acts 17:11)
But examine (present imperative = command to continually be testing in order
to draw a conclusionabout the worth of) everything carefully; hold fast to
that which is good(1Thes 5:21)

Beware (presentimperative = command to continually be watching out for or
guard for) of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly are ravenous wolves... So then, you will know them by their fruits."
(see notes Matthew 7:15; 7:20)
We are also at times called to judge whether others are true believers, for
otherwise we could never recognize the unequal yoke that Paul commands us
to avoid...
Do not be (present imperative + negative particle = Stop being unevenly yoked
or mismatched) bound togetherwith unbelievers; for what partnership have
righteousness andlawlessness,orwhat fellowship has light with darkness?(2
Cor. 6:14)
Jesus is telling His audience to avoid the hypocrisy and condemning spirit that
arises from self-righteousness. Believersare not in the condemning business
and are to leave any necessarycondemnationto God the only righteous Judge.
To reiterate, we are not to judge other peoples motives for as Scripture clearly
teaches...
God sees notas man sees,for man looks at the outward appearance, but the
LORD looks atthe heart. (1Samuel 16:7b)
"Speck ministers" tend to emphasize the faults of others rather than their
strengths and to focus on other's faults rather than their own faults. Criticism
of others is foolishbecause our knowledge ofthem is only partial at best. But
even if we had all the facts, we still might misinterpret them because our

judgment, unlike God's, is fallible. And such judgmentalism generallytears
down rather than building up.
Stated anotherway, we can judge what people do or say, but we cannot judge
why they do it or why they say it. How canwe know the heart motives of other
people when Jeremiahtells us that our...
heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperatelysick. Who can
understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
Solomonwarns us that...
Deathand life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its
fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)
Ray Pritchard elaborates on"faultfinders" ("spiritual vultures") concluding
that...
Faultfinding is the “venom of the soul.” It destroys our joy, drains our
happiness, and prevents us from having close friendships. No one likes a
faultfinder because no one likes being around a nit-picking critic. This sin
comes partly from spiritual pride and partly from disguisedenvy. We criticize
others in order to bring them down to our level. Or worse, we tearthem down
to prove they are really beneath us. Faultfinding is a deadly disease becauseif
not kept in check, it turns us into cynics (people who believe the worst about
other people or the outcome of events) who expect the worstfrom others. The
faultfinder expects failure and secretlygloats whenhe finds it. Is it any
wonder that the faultfinder almost always is a gossipand a talebearer? First

we spot the flaws of others and then we can’t wait to spread the news. There is
such a thing as a spiritual vulture. Like the vultures of the air that live off
dead, rotting flesh, these sad individuals thrive on the mistakes and sins of
others. They fly acrossthe landscape, keeping a close eye out for the failures
of others. Then they swoopin for their daily feast. (Matthew 7:1-5 Judge Not!)
(Bolding added)
H W Beecheronce saidthat...
The cynic is one who never sees a goodquality in a man, and never fails to see
a bad one
Richard Strauss adds that...
Negative criticismis a poison that kills the enthusiasm of Christian leaders
and hinders the progress of God’s work. It is a contagious diseasethatspreads
among God’s people, and can turn a loving community of believers into a
battleground. It is a sledgehammerthat breaks marriages, homes and lives
into little pieces. Thatis why Jesus said, “Don’tjudge.” Stop dwelling on the
flaws in others, realor perceived. (Matthew 7:1-5 Bits and Beams)
In Romans Paul addresses the religious person(including unsaved, orthodox
Jews)who were judging the pagans for their horrible sins in Romans 1...
You (you selfrighteous religious people), therefore, have no excuse, you who
pass judgment on someone else, forat whateverpoint you judge the other, you
are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Now we know that God's judgment againstthose who do such things is based

on truth. (see notes on Romans 2:1-2) (NIV) (The principle in this verse is that
the things we criticize most in others are usually the very things of which we
ourselves are guilty. We don’t like those things in ourselves, but we have a
tendency to overlook them. Seeing them in others reminds us of these ugly
faults, but insteadof dealing with them in our own lives, we focus attention on
the same faults in other people's lives. As long as we are occupiedwith the
"speck"in the eye of others, we can avoid dealing with the "log" in our eye.
And if we can keepthe attention on them, they will not be putting pressure on
us to change.)
In Romans 14-15 Paul addressesthe issue of judging other believers in the
body of Christ writing...
1 Now acceptthe one who is weak in faith (one who does not yet have full
knowledge ofhow to live as a Christian. In this case it is one who eats only
"vegetables" andnot meat.), but not for the purpose of passing judgment on
his opinions.
2 One man has faith that he may eatall things, but he who is weak eats
vegetables only.
3 Let not him who eats regardwith contempt him who does not eat, and let
not him who does not eatjudge him who eats, for God has acceptedhim.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own masterhe stands
or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.
Let eachman be fully convincedin his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so
for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he
does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord;
therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of
the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard
your brother with contempt? Forwe shall all stand before the judgment seat
of God.
11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL
BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
12 So then eachone of us shall give accountof himself to God. (so be careful
how you judge others!)

13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-
- not to put an obstacle ora stumbling block in a brother's way.
(Comment: In this sectionPaul is referring to making critical judgments
regarding the inward reasonings ofothers and says don't argue with them
about what they think is right or wrong. We dare not be judgmental in
disputable or "gray" areas. Unless a practice is specificallyrevealedin
Scripture to be right or wrong, eachbelievershould be free to formulate his
own personalconvictions about it. New Christians may still feel constrained
by certain criteria they had followedearlier, and thus may be reluctant to
change when they become saved. Unless the practices are specifically
prohibited in the Word of God, older believers should receive them into
fellowship without arguing or critically judging them. Paul emphasizes that
believers are not to judge one another in the matters such as food, etc, because
God has receivedboth the weakerand strongerbeliever, because we can
differ in goodconscience (as discussedin verses 4-6) and because we shall all
be judged by the Lord (verses 7-12). (See notes on Romans 14:1-6, Romans
14:7-9, Romans 14:10-12, Romans 14:13-15, Romans 14:16-22, Romans 15:1-
3, Romans 15:4-6, Romans 15:7-10)
Ryrie adds that Jesus...
does not mean that one is never, in any sense or to any extent, to judge
another, for verse 5 indicates that when one's own life is pure he should take
the speck outof the brother's eye. It does mean, however, that a followerof
Christ is not to be censorious. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American
Standard Translation: 1995. MoodyPublishers)
Morris adds that...

Here Jesus warns againstcondemning the actions or motives of others. Only
the Lord has the right to condemn since only He has full knowledge ofa
person's actions and motives (John 5:22; Romans 14:4,10). On the other hand,
He has commanded us to "judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). We should
be able to recognize false teachers and "from such turn away" (2 Timothy
3:5; see also Matthew 7:15-20). Also, we should discernand rebuke these false
brethren who are encouraging others to sin (Ephesians 5:7,11). In other
words, we should be able to judge that which is wrong, in either doctrine or
practice, and avoid (or correct)those who are involved, but we must not
condemn them--God will do that. (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible.
World Publishing)
Alexander Maclarenhas a rather graphic explanation of "do not judge"
writing that...
The ‘judging’ of which He speaks seesmotes in a brother’s eye. That is to say,
it is one-sided, and fixes on faults, which it magnifies, passing by virtues.
Carrion flies that buzz with a sickening hum of satisfactionoversores, and
prefer corruption to soundness, are as goodjudges of meat as such critics are
of character. ThatMephistopheleanspirit of detraction has wide scope in this
day. Literature and politics, as well as sociallife with its rivalries, are infested
by it, and it finds its way into the church and threatens us all. The race of
fault-finders we have always with us, blind as moles to beauties and goodness,
but lynx-eyed for failings, and finding meat and drink in proclaiming them in
tones of affectedsorrow. How flagrant a breachof the laws of the kingdom
this temper implies, and how grave an evil it is, though thought little of, or
even admired as cleverness and a mark of a very superior person, Christ
shows us by this earnestwarning, embedded among His fundamental moral
teachings.

He points out first how certainly that disposition provokes retaliation. Who is
the Judge that judges us as we do others? Perhaps it is best to saythat both
the divine and the human estimates are included in the purposely undefined
expression. Certainly both are included in fact. For a carping spirit of eager
fault-finding necessarilytinges people’s feelings towards its possessor, and he
cannot complain if the severe tests whichhe applied to others are used on his
own conduct. A cynicalcritic cannot expect his victims to be profoundly
attachedto him, or ready to be lenient to his failings. If he choosesto fight
with a tomahawk, he will be scalpedsome day, and the bystanders will not
lament profusely. But a more righteous tribunal than that of his victims
condemns him. For in God’s eyes the man who covers not his neighbor's faults
with the mantle of charity has not his own blotted out by divine forgiveness.
(Sermon: Judging, Asking and Giving)
As the context reveals, Jesus clearlydoes not prohibit all types of judging (see
Mt 7:5, 16). There is a righteous kind of judgment we are supposedto exercise
with careful discernment...
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
(Jn 7:24) (Jesus commands us to judge, but to do so fairly and on the basis of
truth and fact rather than by outward appearances)
Censorious, hypocritical, self-righteous, orother kinds of unfair judgments
are forbidden. On the other hand the church is in a desperate needfor sound
Biblical correction. Some actuallymisapply Mt 7:1 to avoid correction. As
alluded to in Mt 7:2-4, Jesus is warning us not to judge someone's motives, for
we cannot see into their heart.
Ray Pritchard explains what our Lord does not mean by the command "Do
not judge" writing that...

Jesus is not saying we should never pass any sort of judgment. Every day we
make hundreds of judgments about things around us. It is not wrong, for
instance, to sit on a jury and render a verdict. Nor it is wrong for an
admissions committee to decide which students to acceptand which to reject.
Nor it is wrong for an employer to decide who gets a promotion and who
doesn’t. Nor is it wrong for schools to judge certainstudents worthy of high
honor at graduation. Nor is it wrong for Glenbrook North High Schoolto
expel the students who participated in that ugly hazing incident and to ban
them from attending graduationceremonies. We all have to make decisions
every day that involve other people. We pass judgment on appearance,
behavior, speech, deportment, attitude, work ethic, productivity, keeping or
breaking a promise, guilt or innocence, which personwe believe and which
person we do not believe. Whatever the words of Jesus mean, they can’t mean
that we never pass judgment in any sense atany time. (Matthew 7:1-5 Judge
Not!)
John Stott adds that here
the command to judge not is not a requirement to be blind, but rather a plea
to be generous. Jesus does nottell us to cease to be men (by suspending our
critical powers which help to distinguish us from animals) but to renounce the
presumptuous ambition to be God (by setting our selves up as judges) (Stott,
John: The Message ofthe Sermon on the Mount: 1985, Intervarsity Press)
John Wesleytold of a man he had little respectfor because he consideredhim
to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a
small gift to a worthy charity, Wesleyopenly criticized him. After the
incident, the man went to Wesleyprivately and told him he had been living on
parsnips and waterfor severalweeks. He explained that before his conversion,

he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying
nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one.
Christ has made me an honest man and so with all these debts to pay, I can
give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly
neighbors and show them what the grace of God cando in the heart of a man
who was once dishonest.
Needlessto say, Wesleyapologizedto the man for judging him unrighteously
and askedhis forgiveness.
Reminiscentof this is another story of the rural church member who used
tobacco by dipping snuff. When the preacherthundered out in his sermon,
“And God is going to judge the idolaters,” the brother shouted, “Amen!”
When the preacher, waxing more vigorous, shouting “And God is going to
judge the adulterers,” the brother followedwith “Amen!” But when the
preacherthen bellowed, “And God is going to judge the snuff dippers,” the
unhappy brother in a barely audible voice responded, “Now he’s done
stopped preachin’ and gone to meddlin.’“ Sinning Davids are always unhappy
with Nathan's proclamation that "Thouart the man!" (Ed comment: I do not
considersnuff dipping a sin. As a physician, I think it is very harmful and
deleterious to the health of one's oral mucosa, but in and of itself is not a
sin...in my opinion.)
PastorRayPritchard presents a practicalchecklistto assesswhetherone is
prone to judging with a critical or condemnatory spirit...
Blowing small things all out of proportion.

Maximizing the sins of others—theirfaults, foibles and their petty ways.
Coming to quick, hasty, negative conclusions.
Making mountains out of molehills.
Getting involved in situations where you should not be involved.
Passing along criticalstories to others.
Having a strong bias to find others guilty.
Being too harsh even when speaking the truth.
Adding aggravating remarks whentelling a story.
Dismissing an unkind remark by saying, “I was only joking.”
Saying something critical and then trying to cover it up.
Being unkind and then quickly changing the subject.
Telling too many people about what others have done to us.

Taking pleasure in condemning others.
Telling the truth in order to hurt, not to help.
Putting others down in order to make yourselflook better.
Minimizing your sins while magnifying the sins of others.
Note that it is quite possible to have a judgmental spirit even while telling the
truth. Some people use the truth as a club to beat others over the head. Simply
saying, “Well, it was the truth, you know,” does not get you off the hook.
Our judgment is wrong when it is—Needless, Unfounded, Hasty, Severe.
Here is a simple guide to help guide our speech. It’s an acrostic basedon the
word NEED.
N—Is it necessary?
E—Will it encourage?
E—Will it edify?

D—Will it dignify the other person?
When I shared that in the first service on Sunday, a friend told me that when
his family eats dinner, they have a similar rule: The TKN rule.
T—It is true?
K—Is it kind?
N—Is it necessary?
If the statementdoesn’t meet the rule, it doesn’t getsaid. It might be a good
idea if every family in our church adopted that rule for mealtime
conversation, althoughit might mean most of our meals would be eatenin
total silence. But silence would be preferable to breaking the Lord’s
command. And that brings me back to the speck and the log. It’s easyto see
the speck in your brother’s eye, much harder to see the log in your own. In
dealing with the faults of others, our greatestneedis clearvision. (Matthew
7:1-5 Judge Not!)
Hughes gives an illustration of this critical spirit in the experience of a young
bachelor...
Every time he brought a prospective wife home, his mother criticized her
unmercifully. The young man was at his wit's end when a friend offered this
advice: "Find someone like your mother." So he lookedand lookeduntil he
found a clone. She lookedlike his mother, her gait was like his mother's, she

talkedlike his mother, and she eventhought like his mother. It was amazing!
So he took her home. The next time he saw the friend who had given the
advice and was askedhow his mother liked the girl, the bacheloranswered,
"It went great. My mother loved her, but my father couldn't stand her."
(Hughes, R. K. Sermon on the Mount: The Messageofthe Kingdom.
CrosswayBooks)
Judge Not
Matthew 7:1
Let us believe the best; there are enough, you know,
Judging by what they see–wronging eachotherso.
Let us believe the best; there are enough to blame,
Numbers to think the worst–numbers to brand a name.
Many a man would rise out of his dark despair,
If there were only one, just to believe and care–
Out on the losing side, daring to take his stand–
Heedless ofwhat men say, holding a brother’s hand.
E. H. Divall (By Permissionof the Sunday SchoolUnion)
D L Moody - You may find hundreds of faultfinders among professed
Christians; but all their criticism will not lead one solitary soul to Christ. I
never preached a sermonyet that I could not pick to pieces, and find fault

with. I feelthat Jesus Christ ought to have a far better representative than I
am. But I have lived long enough to discoverthat there is nothing perfect in
this world. If you are to wait till you find a perfect preacher, or perfect
meetings, I am afraid you will have to waittill the millennium arrives. What
we want is to be looking up to Christ. Let us be done with faultfinding.
Our societydetests moralabsolutes - A recentpoll estimatedthat 72% of
Americans betweenthe ages of18-25 do not believe in absolute truth or in
moral absolutes. DanielTaylor, a professorat BethelCollege in St. Paul,
Minnesota, put it this way: "(Relativism)takes the clearly observable factthat
we have a multitude of views and values and practices in the world--
pluralism--and draws the illegitimate conclusionthat there is no justifiable
way of choosing among them. Truth is merely opinion, goodness only what the
majority says it is." In one public high school, the sociologytextbook being
used says "Everything is right somewhere, and nothing is right everywhere."
Translation- There are no absolute moral standards in the universe.
Everything is relative.
The mantra of "No Absolutes" causesmany to shy awayfrom the exclusivity
of the Christian message for fear of backlash. The Wall StreetJournal had a
story on ReverendBruce Robbins the ecumenicalstaff leaderfor the United
Methodist Church, who was explaining that Methodists are encouragedto
share their faith but qualified this statementwith the caution to be very
careful about trying to targetother groups for evangelism, explaining "We
have to honor diversity. We believe that God's call through Jesus is universal
and that other people know God through their religious traditions."!
HASTY CONCLUSIONS - The folly of snap judgments of others is well
illustrated by a story the lastBishop Potter of New York used to tell on
himself.

He was sailing for Europe in one of the greattrans-Atlantic liners. When he
went on board, he found another passengerwas to share the cabin with him.
After going to see his accommodations,he came up to the purser's desk and
inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe.
He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he
had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth
and, judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very
trustworthy person.
The purser acceptedthe responsibility of caring for the valuables, and
remarked, "It's all right, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you.
The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason."
One is reminded of the lines of Robbie Burns,
"Oh, wadsome powerthe giftie gie us,
To see oursel's as others see us."
It is very easyto form snap judgments, only to find out afterwards that they
are utterly unfounded. Love "believethall things, hopeth all things." (Harry
A. Ironside)
It is much easierto be critical than to be correct.
—Disraeli
F B Meyer has a chapter entitled "TO THEM THAT ARE WITHOUT"
(Matt. 7:1-6.)

Along as we are in this mortal life we shall necessarilycome into contactwith
those whose lives are godless and evil. Evil men and seducers willwax worse
and worse. People willalways abound who will not consentto wholesome
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which is
according to godliness. There will always be perverse disputings of men of
corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, and enemies to whateveris pure, lovely,
holy, and of goodreport. In this paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount our
Lord sets Himself to show us how to acttowards such. It is clearthat the
Masterhad no desire that His servants should retire from human society, but
should live amongstmen as saltand light arresting the progress ofcorruption,
and abashing the evil deeds that hide under the cover of darkness;but, in
addition to the quiet influence of our character, there will always be scope for
a further exercise ofChristian principle. In what direction, and to what
extent, is this to take effect, and by what laws is it to be governed? In answer
to these questions our Lord lays down a generalprinciple, which is removed
as far as possible from that which obtains among men. He says:Whateveryou
do, think, or say about others must be in precise accordancewith what you
would like them to do, think, or sayabout yourself. Judge not, for with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. With what measure ye mete, it shall be
measuredto you again. All things whatsoeverye would that men should do
unto you, do ye even so to them; and all things whatsoeverye would not that
men should do unto you, do ye not so to them.
It is clearthat there are three circles in this paragraph of men with whom we
are constantlythrown into contact. First, our Associates andNeighbours,
whose charactersand conduct are constantly passing in review before us;
secondly, the Erring Ones, whose motes trouble us; and, thirdly, the Dogs and
Swine, which stand for the notoriously vicious and profane.
As to our Associatesand Neighbours, Our Lord says:

(1) "Judge not." We need hardly say that there is a sense in which we are
bound to form careful judgments on those around us. The judgment is one of
the noblestfaculties of our moral life, and our surest safeguardfrom the
sharks that infest the seas. The young girl must use it of the man who is
seeking to engage heraffections;the young man must use it of the man who
offers him a partnership; the seekeraftertruth must use it of the teacherwho
professes to be able to lead him. There is no prayer that we need more often or
more fervently to make than that God would give us right judgment in all
things. "He that is spiritual judgeth all things."
But the judgment prohibited by our Lord is altogetherdifferent from this,
and is that spirit of censoriousnessand unkindness which is always lying in
wait for others, and making strong and uncharitable statements on the most
superficial view of their words and actions, without trying to understand the
motives by which they have been actuatedor the difficulties of their position.
The natural man is proud, haughty, and self-opinionated. He has a great
contempt of and a great prejudice towards those who do not belong to his own
sector party. He is, therefore, very censorious ofthem, making faults where
there are none, and aggravating them where they are. When he has formed,
howeverhastily, his judgment, he is not content with contemplating it for
himself, but takes everyopportunity of venting it in word and act. If such men
can win another to their party, they are perfectly willing to condone his faults;
otherwise they will not scruple to extinguish him and his influence by
poisoning the minds of his neighbours and contemporaries. This sin of
censorious judgment is a constantperil to us all, and one againstwhich we
need to watch and pray.
Beware lestyou have a secretjoy in seeing that another who had borne an
irreproachable characterhas failed! Beware lestyou form your estimate of

another on idle stories, suspicions, suggestions,and surmises, and without
sufficient evidence! Beware ofseeking aftera reputation for quickness in
estimating the true worth of others, since the desire to maintain such a
reputation is fraught with temptation! Beware ofspeaking ofthe faults of
others, except you have prayed about them first! Beware ofuttering your
criticisms unless there is some end to be gainedin warning others! Beware of
speaking ofothers till you have lookedat home! Remember the proverb about
glass houses!
There are some who seemunable of forming a generous estimate ofany.
According to them there is always some evil motive behind apparent
goodness,which'detracts from all merit or virtue. "Yes, he does seem
religious and humane, but then, you know, there is a rich old relative in the
background, and it is all-important to keepin touch with him, and that sort of
thing goes downwell in that quarter." Or, "Yes, he is religious enoughjust
now, but, you know, there is a lady in the question, and he is perfectly right in
the wayhe is taking to win her." Ah, it is a sad and miserable state of mind to
have no eyes but for wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores, andto find
these beneath the surface when they do not appearto the eyes of others. There
are many young men and women amongstus in societywho can hardly
indulge in any language but that of depreciation.
(2) Our ignorance of most of the facts should give us pause before passing
harsh and censorious judgments. Take this, for instance: A merchant was
thought to be very selfish with his money. He was known to be very rich, and
yet when askedfor subscriptions he gave always a small sum (5 Pounds)
where his neighbours thought he ought to give 20 Pounds. He was therefore in
ill odour for miserliness and greed. This went on for years, and many closed
their hearts against him. One of his friends, however, who felt that there
might be some other explanation, sethimself, with carefulinquiry, to
ascertainthe facts. It was with some difficulty that he finally discoveredthat
this much-abused man was supporting handsomely a large family of poor

relatives. He educatedthem well, and put them out in life with no niggard
hand. They lived in another town, and no one knew of the source of their
income. Their benefactornever allowedhis left hand to know what his right
hand did. Here was a man whom all were misjudging because they did not
know all the facts. Is it a solitary instance?
(3) The fact that we cannot judge others adverselywithout revealing ourselves
may also make us pause.
The man who imputes low motives to the conduct of another is probably
conscious oftheir presence within himself. He is already actuatedby them, or
would be if he were in the place of the man he criticises. He has no higher
standard for another than that which rules in his own breast, and almost
unconsciouslyin his criticisms he is revealing his own soul.
(4) It is inevitable that our harsh judgments of others will come back on
ourselves.
A man receives back whathe gives. There is an automatic law of
compensationin society. Kindness begets kindness, censoriousnessbegets
censoriousness. Ishmael's hands were againsteveryone, and every man's hand
was againsthim. Adonibezek cut off the thumbs and greattoes of seventy
kings;and as it was done by him it was done to him. Haman was hanged on
the gallows whichhe had erectedfor Mordecai. The Jew, who banned all men
as heathen dogs, is himself banned. The world may fitly be comparedto a vast
field in which eachman drops his seed, and it comes back to him, not just the
same that it was when he dropped it in, any more than in the autumn you reap
from the earth the black berry which you hid in its broad bosomin the spring,
hut something which has its true correspondenceand proportion to it. Every
gift has its return, every act its rebound, every voice its echo. The Lord states

the alternative in anotherdiscourse, closelycorresponding to this, when He
says:
"Give and it shall be given unto you' goodmeasure, presseddown, and shaken
together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the
same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
"Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both
bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the
counsels ofthe hearts, and then shall eachman have his praise from God" (1
Cor. 4:5, R.V.). Especiallyguard againstprejudice, that is, pre-judgment.
Remember that there are dogs and swine in the makeup of your ownheart,
and you must see to it that their presence does not trample under feet what is
purest, noblest, and best, and rend men and women who, if you did but know
and understand them more fully, would attract your loving veneration.
Remember the words with which our Lord prefacedHis warning against
censorious judgment: "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Fatheralso is
merciful."
As to the Erring,
(1) Consider the beam that is in your own eye.
The beam is, of course, a log, rafter, or joist, and is the extreme contrastto the
chip or splint of woodwhich is light enough to floatin the air; and a child can
understand what our Lord means when He employs a well-knownJewish
proverb to give the flavour of homeliness to His speech.

(2) By nature we are extremely prone to put other people right.
We behold the mote that is in our brother's eye till we canthink of nothing
else. All the good qualities he possesses weighlighterthan swansdownagainst
that one inconsistencythat presents itself to us at eachmention of his name.
Finally, we go to him with the fixed resolve of ridding him of his mote, saying,
"Let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye." Now in all this there would be
nothing to condemn, indeed, there would be much to commend, if it were done
lovingly, humbly, and after the due confessionand putting awayfrom our
own life of all inconsistencyand sin; but it is the height of absurdity to attempt
to extract the mote when your own vision is distorted by the presence of the
unextracted beam. How dare you presume to deal with the faultiness of others
when your own faults have not been corrected!It is like Satanrebuking sin.
Well may men cry, "Physician, healthyself."
(3) It is evidently a very delicate operationto correctthe faults of others.
Our Lord compares it to the extraction of a little piece of grit, or dust, or a
minute insect, from an inflamed eye. A clumsy hand may wellmake the
matter worse. Only the tenderest, strongesthand canbe trusted for the
operation; and, if I might choose, letme have one who has himself suffered,
being tempted. It is only He, who has been tempted in all points like as we are,
though without sin, who canbe trusted to deal with our inner temptations,
inconsistencies, andfailures. It is the man whose owntransgressions have
been forgiven according to the multitude of God's tender mercies who can
teachtransgressors His ways.
(4) First castout the beam out of thine own eye.

There is a beam there, if you only knew it. We look, it has been said, at our
neighbor's errors with a microscope, but at our own through the wrong end of
a telescope.We have two sets of weights and measures, one for home use and
the other for foreign. Every vice has two names; and we call it by the
flattering and minimizing one when we commit it, and by the ugly one when
our neighbour does. Everybody cansee the hump on his friend's shoulders,
but it takes some effortto see our own. A blind guide is bad enough, but a
blind oculist is a still more ridiculous anomaly. The more we know of
ourselves the more pitiful we shall be of others;the less likely to form rash
and harsh judgments; the more sweetand tender we shall be in trying to
make men better.
(5) Then thou shalt see clearly.
Only the pure heart sees;and when once some heart-sin is put awaya flood of
light pours on all things in heaven and on earth. We see sin as we never saw it,
and the love of God and the grace ofour Lord Jesus Christ.
"Heavenabove is softerblue,
Earth around is sweetergreen;
Something shines in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen.
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow,
Flowers with brighter beauties shine,
While Christ whispers in my ear,
I am His and He is mine."

"To Them that are without."
As to Dogs and Swine, Use a wise discrimination Suppose a priest, on coming
out of the Temple, encounters a hungry dog, one of those yelping, voracious,
unclean animals, which are the scavengersand pests of Oriental cities, would
it be seemly for him to return to the Temple and take a piece of the flesh
which was reservedfrom the sacrifices forthe use of priests, and therefore
holy, and give it to the dog for food? He might relieve the creature's hunger,
but not with such food as that. Or suppose a man, carrying a bag of pearls
through a forest, were to encounter a hog, would it be wise or seemly for him
to place the pearls before it, when it needed acorns?
Similarly, it is unseemly to offer the sacraments of our holy religion or the
forgiveness ofChrist's Gospelto the notoriouslyunclean and untrue, or to
discuss the sacredmysteries of the Epistle to the Ephesians with those who are
seton coarse andcarnal pleasures. First, their natures must be changed. They
must be born from above. Old things must pass away, and all things become
new. Then, when the heart of stone has been removed and the heart of flesh
substituted, the soul will hunger after the Divine mysteries, and will be able to
appreciate them in such a way as to justify us in presenting them. The raven
may feed on carrion, but the dove will return to Noah's Ark until she can find
her natural food.
For all this we need something which was not fully revealedwhen our Lord
was speaking, but has been revealedsince. The soul which stands before this
high ideal is filled with despair until it remembers, first, that the precious
Bloodcleanses fromall sin and shortcoming; and, secondly, that the Holy
Spirit longs to make possible and real these heavenly ideals. May that Blood
cleanse andthat Spirit renew and perfectthee and me! (F. B. Meyer. The
Directoryof the Devout Life)

Matthew 7:2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your
standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (NASB:Lockman)
Greek:en o gar krimati krinete (2PPAI) krithesesthe, (2PFPI)kaien ho
metro metreite (2PPAI) metrethesetai(3SFPI)humin.
Amplified: Forjust as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be
judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordancewith the measure
you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out againto you. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
KJV: For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measuredto you again.
NLT: For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatevermeasure you use
in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. (NLT -
Tyndale House)
Philips: and the measure you give will be the measure you receive (New
Testamentin Modern English)
Wuest: and with that standard of judgment with which you are judging, by
that standard will judgment be passedon you. (
Wuest: Expanded Translation: Eerdmans
)

Young's Literal: for in what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and in
what measure ye measure, it shall be measuredto you.
For in the wayyou judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of
measure, it will be measuredto you: en o gar krimati krinete (2PPAI)
krithesesthe, (2PFPI)kai en ho metro metreite (2PPAI) metrethesetai(3SFPI)
humin
Judges 1:7; Ps 18:25,26;137:7,8;Jeremiah51:24; Obadiah 1:15; Mark 4:24;
Luke 6:38; 2Cor9:6; 2Th 1:6,7; James 2:13;Revelation18:6
Matthew 7 Resources
"the same measuring stick that you use to measure others will be applied to
you, and you will be measuredby it" (
Pentecost
)
Spurgeonwrites...
Do not judge the whole characterof a man by one single action; do not
attempt to judge his motives; you cannotread his heart; you are not
omniscient; you are not infallible. You will very soonfind other people
judging you; and when, one of these days, you shall be falsely judged and
condemned, you will not need to have any surprise if you have done the same
thing yourself; it will be only your corn measured back to you with the bushel
you used in measuring other people’s.
***

Some people are of a censorious disposition;they see nothing in others to
praise, but everything to blame, and such people generallyfind that they are
condemned according to their own wickedrule. Other people begin to judge
those who are so fond of judging. If they are so wise, and so discriminating,
others expect more from them; and not finding it, they are not slow to
condemn them. It is an old proverb that chickens come home to roost, and so
they do. If you judge ill of others, that judgment will, sooneror later, come
home to yourself.
***
When the Lord comes in judgment, he might almostdecline to mount the
throne, for he might say, “&Thesemen have already tried and condemned
eachother; let their sentencesabide.&” If he were to judge us as we have
judged others, who amongstus would stand? But we may zest assuredthat
our fellow-men will usually exercise towards us:much the same judgment that
we exercise towards them.
For (1063)(gar)introduces the explanation of and gives the grounds for the
danger of wrong judging.
Jesus explains that a judgmental critical spirit is like a boomerang in that
whatevermeasure or standard you use to measure others with, that same
standard will be used to measure you. The idea is that when we criticize
someone, we are usually insisting on a high standard for that person, who will
use the same standard to judge us. And worstof all God will use the same
standard. That is the measuring rod we use for others may become God's
measuring rod for us. Why? Because we usually do the same things we accuse
others of doing (see discussionof Romans 2:1-2 in previous verse, Mt 7:1).

Be aware that every judgment that a person makes becomes a basis for his or
her own judgment. (Now believers won't be judged for sins for they are
forgiven but they will be judged for "rewards", cf2Cor5:10). It is interesting
that Jesus did not say here who would judge us with this "judgment in kind",
which leaves open the two possibilities of judgment by other men in this life
and of course judgment by God (which could be in this presentlife if it took
the form of His loving discipline or chastisementorit could be at the
Judgment Seatof Christ, 2Cor5:10)
James has a similar stern warning for teachers writing...
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we
shall incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1)
James also writes that...
judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs
over judgment. (James 2:13)
The phrase "measure...measure"may have been a proverbial saying for Jesus
makes a similar statement in Mark declaring...
And He was saying to them, "Take carewhatyou listen to. By your standard
of measure it shall be measuredto you; and more shall be given you besides.
(Mark 4:24)

Jesus was warning against being judgmental

Jesus was warning against being judgmental

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Jesus was warning against being judgmental