From time to time we will examine challenging Bible verses, verses that can challenge our trust in the Bible. The first one in this series will be Matthew 7:1, "Do not judge," which is almost certainly the most well known verse in all of the Bible in our nation today.
How does this verse challenge trusting the Bible? Their are two reasons. First, it is not understood correctly. Second, it is applied inconsistently. Here is an example of what I mean. If a Christian and a liberal atheist are talking about politics, and the Christian says that he sees global warming as a real threat to the well being of our children, and that the government should take much stronger action to force people and companies to make changes to their lifestyle in order to fix the problem, the liberal atheist is likely to nod his head and agree. But if the same Christian then says that he believes abortion is the killing of a human being, is wrong, and should be stopped, suddenly the atheist may stop him by saying, "Doesn't the Bible say, 'Do not judge?'"
This type of argument, which is repeated over and over again, illustrates the two problems with how this verse is used. First, it is not using it the way Jesus intended at all, as we shall soon see. Second, it is used selectively, only when it is helpful in silencing a biblical position that someone disagrees with. It puts different biblical statements against each other. It suggests that, while the Bible may teach that all human life is valuable and worth protecting, the Bible also says, "Do not judge," and everyone has to pick which biblical principle to follow, and which to ignore. It is really an argument that the Bible cannot be trusted, that our own judgement must be used to evaluate which parts of the Bible to keep, and which ones to throw out.
Jesus gave this command in the context of a culture that was very different from our own. Our culture views judging as expressing a different belief on a moral issue, or that you think someone was wrong to do something, even if they disagree. In our culture this is one of the only things that it is acceptable to condemn someone for doing. It is not okay to judge, but it is okay to judge someone for judging. Therefore, many people assume Jesus is agreeing with them when Jesus says, "Do not judge."
However, in Jesus day, judging did not have anything to do with differences of moral beliefs. There were different interpretations of the Bible, but Jewish leaders agreed that morality was based on the Bible and there really was a right and a wrong. They enjoyed debating these things! Jesus himself taught all sorts of moral principles. He taught that adultery was wrong, because the Law of Moses said so. But not only that, he taught that looking at a woman with lust was adultery of the heart. A sin because of the wrong thoughts, even if the act was not committed. He did this in part to prove to everyone that we have all sinned and need a Savior.
In fact, in Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns people to "Watch out for false prophets!" That comes just after his command not to judge earlier in the chapter. Here he calls on people to listen carefully to what teachers say and determine that some are false teachers because they differ from the Scriptures. Was Jesus breaking his own rule to not judge, certainly not!
No, when Jesus talks about judging, he is talking about hypocrisy. He is teaching against having an attitude of superiority over others, when you yourself sin in the same or similar ways. Here is the whole verse:
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "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? 4 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? 5 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. (Matthew 7:1-5, NIV)
Notice verse five. The offender of his command is a "hypocrite." He does not say that someone should not seek to remove a speck from a brother's eye, he says that he should not do so while there is a plank in his own eye! In fact, Jesus is the one who encourages us to point out faults in others, it is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, just before Jesus leaves his disciples to go to heaven, he commands them (and therefore all who claim to be followers of Jesus) to go to all nations and "teach them to obey everything I have commanded you." A Christian is supposed to help people see and understand the commands of Jesus.
What Christians are not supposed to do, according to Matthew 7:1, is to think that we are better than others, or that everyone else should be held to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to. Anytime we express a moral view, it should be done with a motive of love and concern for others, not to try to make ourselves look more righteous.
In the atheist example above, it is actually the atheist, not the Christian, who violated Jesus' command! The atheist is expressing his moral superiority, essentially saying, "I do not judge others like you do," when in fact, he is judging the Christian...for judging. He is holding the Christian to a higher standard than himself. "I am allowed to judge you for judging," he is essentially saying, "but you can't express your views that differ from mine." As long as the Christian was simply expressing his belief in a biblical command, and not trying to impress someone else with his own righteousness, not judging hypocritically, and not holding others to a higher standard than himself, he is not judging.
The Bible does not have contradictory commands, rather, it has statements that must be interpreted the way they were intended to be taken. Simply explaining one of the Bible's teachings on a moral issue is not a violation of "Do not judge."
Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. You can listen to previous programs online here: http://www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html
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