“Do not judge,” said Jesus, “or you too will be judged” (Matt 7:1). For many American Christians, this saying of Jesus encompasses all that needs to be said about judging others in a nutshell. Instead of ever judging others, we should instead always show them tolerance, understanding, and grace. Instead of rebuking others for their sins, we should just accept them doing whatever makes them happy, leaving it up to God to judge or forgive them. Such an attitude, however, is extremely problematic. From a purely logical standpoint, it makes no sense to say that it is wrong to judge others; if we are going to make ethical claims and seek to live ethically, it is necessary and inevitable that we pass moral judgment on the actions and characters of others. For Christians, a careful reading of Scripture shows that not only is it sometimes acceptable to judge others, but also that Christians sometimes have a moral responsibility to do so.
Jesus and Judging
For Christians, Jesus is our ultimate example of what it means to be genuinely human and to live ethically. And it is unquestionable that Jesus himself frequently judged others. Most frequently, Jesus judged the Pharisees, calling them “hypocrites” (Matt 15:1-13; 23: 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), “fools” (Luke 11:40), “blind” (Matt 23:16, 26), “full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matt 23:25), children of hell (Matt 23:15), “snakes” who will be condemned to hell (Matt 23: 33). But Jesus also judged other people; for example, Jesus once told a crowd of people that they were children of their father the devil: murderers and liars at heart (John 8:44). The example of Jesus shows that sometimes it can be good to judge other people.
What about Jesus’s command, “Do not judge,” though? Doesn’t this show that, while perhaps it was okay for Jesus to judge others, He does not want us to judge others? When read in context, Jesus’s command not to judge cannot be understood as an absolute prohibition. The full passage reads as follows: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:1-5). Jesus’s point in this passage is not to prohibit judging others per se, but to condemn hypocrisy. His point is that we should not be too quick to judge others, that we should first examine ourselves before scrutinizing others, and that we should not underemphasize our own faults or overemphasize the faults of others. It is not to rule out the possibility of judging others in any situation.
It is wrong to read Jesus’s “Do not judge” as an abstract, absolute prohibition. We know this because Jesus sometimes explicitly commands His followers to judge others. Jesus commanded, “If your brother or sister sins, rebuke them” (Luke 17:3). On another occasion, Jesus commanded, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault” (Matt 18:15). He goes on to say that, if that brother or sister refuses to listen, even after the whole church points out their fault, “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (Matt 18:17). In other words, we are to pass judgment on them that they can no longer be considered a Christian. So we see that both the example and the teaching of Jesus make clear that sometimes the right thing to do is to judge others.
Wisdom and Judging
The book of Proverbs contains a number of proverbs about rebuking others for their wrongdoing. For example, “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear” (Prov 25:12). Here we see how sharp disapproval of a person’s actions, far from being something negative and harmful, is, for a wise person, something good and positive. For it is only when our actions are scrutinized and criticized by a wise person that we are able to grow in wisdom and righteousness and to become better people. For this reason, “Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue” (Prov 28:23).
However, we do need to be discerning about whom we rebuke. “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you” (Prov 9:7-8). Here we see how, while the wise appreciate being rebuked for their wrongdoing and will learn and grow from it, rebuking the foolish and the wicked will usually be ineffective, or even do more harm than good. A wise, mature person is open to constructive criticism, even when it is difficult to hear, and will seek to learn and grow from it. A foolish, immature person, on the other hand, becomes offended and defensive when someone rebukes them for their wrongdoing. Christians are called to always be people of wisdom and righteousness. This means they must be open and willing to be judged by other Christians for their faults, and, when necessary, to judge other Christians for their faults.
How and When to Judge Others
Turning back to the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes numerous times about the need to judge others. He commanded Timothy and Titus to rebuke Christians who go astray in doctrine or ethics (2 Tim 4:2; Titus 1:13, 2:5). He commanded churches to expel Christians who live immoral lives from the church, and even refuse to associate with them as long as they refuse to repent (I Cor 5:11; 2 Thess 3:6).
A crucial verse from Paul regarding judging others is I Corinthians 5:12: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?” Here Paul explicitly commands Christians to judge others. However, he makes an important sharp distinction between those inside and outside the church. Christians have a duty and a responsibility to judge their fellow Christians inside the church. However, Christians should never judge those outside the church. Why? Because it makes no sense to expect non-Christians to live like Christians. Those who are outside the church are under the control of Satan’s power (I John 5:19). They are dead in their sins (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). They are slaves to sin (Rom 6:17). They are still in need of being saved from their sin. Therefore, it makes no sense to expect them not to live a life of sin. We should judge our fellow Christians, who are part of a community committed to living lives of wisdom and righteousness. But we should not judge those outside the church. The most we might do is to point out to a nonChristian their inconsistency if they do something we know they themselves believe is wrong.
So far, I have been emphasizing the importance of judging others. However, it is also important to consider how we should judge others. As Christians, we should of course do so with kindness, gentleness, understanding, and, above all, love. If we neglect to do this, we fall under the judgment of Jesus’s warning, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” If done correctly, though, judging others for their sin is in no way contrary to love. In fact, if we do not judge and rebuke our brother or sister when necessary, this expresses a lack of love. Although it is counter-cultural and counter-intuitive to many people, sometimes judging others is the most loving thing that we can do for them.