We continue this week with our look at some of the objections offered by individuals involved in religious discussions, but who do not seem to want to go any further. It is our hope that if we can expose these excuses as unjustified and unreasonable, honest hearts will respond positively to the will of God. This week, we consider the following excuse and how we should answer: ''Judge not!''

    Usually, this is a response to hearing someone condemn a belief or practice not in accordance with God's Word, but often because the one who uses this excuse does not accept or understand the fact that it is God's Word that is doing the condemning, not the individual who just said those unpleasant words. Most always, this excuse is offered because the belief or practice that has been condemned is one the individual wants to believe or practice, and not a matter of misunderstanding the pure and simple word of God. Offering one of the few Bible verses they know, they use it completely out of context as a supposed "end-all" to the discussion and a conscience soothing response that, for them, deflects the condemnation without having to consider the fact that it is something God has explicitly condemned or just not approved.

    Before we get to the answer, let us consider the context of this selectively popular passage. If we understand the context, maybe we will be less likely to use it as an excuse for our disobedience and more likely to be able to answer those who do use it as an excuse. A general rule of thumb is that Scripture will not contradict itself. So if we are using Scripture to justify our disobedience, then we either misunderstand the meaning of one or both. Truth does not contradict truth, and God's Word is truth (John 17:17). Instead of looking for a way out of obeying one portion, shouldn't we be striving to obey all of it?

    In context, Jesus is speaking about hypocritical judgment. The full context says, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:1-5). Please note that Jesus did not say, "Do not judge at all," but did instruct us to not judge others in a way that we ourselves would not want to be judged. In other words, if we would not want to be judged without mercy, then we should be willing to show mercy to others. Jesus concludes the point of this text later when He said, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them" (v. 12). The conclusion we must draw from this is not a total ban on judgment, but that we should judge others like we would want to be judged!

    Notice also in the text that Jesus gave an illustration to make the point. In that illustration, one man had a mote [speck of dust] in his eye while the other had a beam [something like a 2 x 4 piece of lumber] in his eye. The man with the 2 x 4 in his eye was told to "First remove the plank from your own eye" and then it would be possible to "see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (v. 5). As this illustration applies to the context, what Jesus was saying was this: "If you are going to judge someone, make sure that you have judged yourself by the same standard first, then you may judge others." That is not what people want it to say or mean, but that is how it applies to the direct context.

    Jesus, in fact, would say in another place, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24). Did Jesus contradict Himself, or is the passage in Matthew 7 misunderstood and/or misapplied? Could the usage of Jesus' words in Matthew 7 be incorrectly applied and interpreted to say that we cannot ever judge anyone? Friends and brethren, that is exactly what is being done should it be used as an excuse for disobedience! It is a shameless ploy to try to escape our Lord's words, but we cannot escape.Answer: Now, to directly answer the excuse, we should first point them to the Scripture that teaches what we are saying and let them see that this is not we who are doing the 'judging,' but God. [Note: If we cannot find Scripture to justify what we are teaching, then they would be right to ignore what we say! Make sure Scripture teaches what you claim it is teaching, or you are no better than the one who used Scripture as an excuse for disobedience.] But the main point should be that the words we teach are not our own opinion or even our own judgment, but the words of God! If we were to draw a parallel in the physical world, we might say we are the police officer while Jesus is the Judge. Christians may certainly 'cite' others for disobedience, but we cannot do the judging. We can certainly point out where others have erred [and we should, if we are genuinely interested in their souls], but no man will have to answer to any of us, in the end. That position has been given to Jesus (cf. Acts 17:30, 31) and no mere man can stand in His place. Before we point out those errors, though, we should make a serious self-examination before opening our mouths or pointing our fingers!

    But let us see that even the words of Jesus are not 'judgments', properly understood. Jesus Himself said, "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:47, 48). These words speak directly to those who reject the words of Jesus by using His own words [in Matthew 7]. Since it is merely an attempt to continue in disobedience to His will, Jesus reminds us that those same words will judge us in the last day!

    Those words, for now, are not judging anyone, and to say that anyone who reads or writes them to you is 'judging' you is incorrect. If you were a local housing contractor and I sent you a copy of Maricopa County's housing code, would I be 'judging' you by sending those codes to you, or would I be helping you to know what is acceptable? Would I be 'judging' you or would I be contributing to your success as a builder?

    When we put it that way, maybe someone speaking or writing God's Word to you isn't so bad, after all. Instead of considering it 'judgment' [which it is not], why not consider it for what it really is? Why not see it as someone who is trying to help you to be pleasing to God? Why not see it as someone trying to help you be spiritually successful, and that you might stand 'approved' before God? For those who speak and write and teach the pure words of God, it is not for 'judgment' sake, but so that when you do stand before Jesus Christ in Judgment and have to "give account" (Rom. 14:10, 12), He will judge you with mercy and can confess your name to the Father as one of His own (Matt. 10:32, 33).

    Hypocritical judgment is rightly condemned, and is done so by the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1. But please do not use those words as an excuse for continued disobedience. One day, you will have to give an answer for yourself, and what will you say then? Will you tell Jesus, "Judge not"? No, my friend, you will not. And if you wouldn't say it to Him then, you should not be saying it to Him now. Respond with obedience. No excuses!