Righteous Judgment
Ponder: Is there a blanket prohibition against judging in the Bible?
Scripture: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24 NKJV).
I grew up knowing almost nothing about the Bible, but I knew that somewhere it said “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Partially quoting (and misapplying) Matthew 7:1 became my standard defense against anyone trying to teach me anything about salvation.
Jesus did, indeed, forbid hypocritical judging. His illustration of a man with a plank in his eye trying to remove a speck from his brother’s eye reminds us to correct our own faults rather than nit-pick others.
Additionally, let us avoid jumping to conclusions – making hasty judgments without knowing the facts and thinking through them. Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Note that while forbidding one type of judging, Jesus actually commanded us to judge – but righteously! His enemies had sought to kill Him for healing a man on the Sabbath, which they mistook for unlawful “work.” Jesus exposed the flaws in their understanding, as well as the inconsistency in their own application of the law. Then He challenged them to judge righteously.
Like first-century Jews, many twenty-first-century Gentiles make snap judgments based on first impressions. Before we conclude that someone is in sin, let’s be certain we know all the facts. The person might deserve a commendation rather than a rebuke! Even when the facts show a person to be in sin, let’s handle the situation like Jesus taught in Matthew 18 – as gently and privately as possible, with the goal of bringing about repentance and restoration.
Jesus forbade nit-picky, hypocritical judgments and snap judgments based on first impressions; but He commanded righteous judgment. By obeying these commands, we will please our Lord and promote peace and harmony within His body.
Song: “Blessed be the Tie that Binds”
Prayer: Father, we thank you for being righteous in judgment, and we pray that you will help us to be righteous in our judgment too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)