If you have been in Christian circles for any period. I would like to believe that this statement would have come up. Judge not lest ye be judged? It has, right? I have always viewed this as becoming a cop-out. People do not like to be corrected for their wrongdoing. So, instead of taking correction, they run down the route of “Judge not lest ye be judged!”

This is usually sufficient to deflect the conversation away from the issue that has been raised to one of judgement. We are going to break this down in more detail. Let’s start with ‘judge not lest ye be judged’ meaning.

Judge not lest ye be judged meaning

Matthew 7:1-3 King James Version (KJV)

7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

The meaning of this is quite simple. Whatever you do to others will be done to you. A great example of this in practice is the parable of the unforgiving servant. It is a little too long to be put on this page. The story has it that a ruler had imprisoned a servant for nonpayment of debt. His wife and children were also to be sold. The servant went to the master and pleaded with him for forgiveness.

The master was kind to the servant and wrote off the entire debt, a large sum. The servant did not extend the same grace to another who owed him money. Even though he had been forgiven of a large debt, he would not forgive someone else of a smaller debt.

He got his debtor locked away in prison until a time when he would be able to settle the debt. This, of course, is quite ludicrous. How would a man locked up in prison ever be able to come up with the money to settle the debt?

As you would have it, the other servants who had seen both cases took their grievances before the master. He had the unforgiving servant called before him. You can read the parable in its entirety here: Matthew 18:21-35

These were the master’s words in response to what his servant had done:

32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother [c]his trespasses.”

It’s that age-old lesson, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

What is judgement?

Judgement is the evaluation of someone or something. Judgement is based on what the person says and does, such as in a court of law, or on personal values and attitudes.

No matter what we say about this topic, it would not be complete if we do not cover what judgment is. You have likely heard it misused. You have probably been in a courtroom or at least seen it in a movie or television. Various conditions have to be met before we can say something is judgment. It is not that difficult to wrap our heads around.

1. Was there some perceived wrong done?

This condition is the easiest to meet. For the most part, where there is judgement or the accusation of judgement. There has been some wrongdoing. If there hasn’t been some wrongdoing, there is a case of grievance somewhere.

2. Evidence is weighed

Another key function of judgement is the weighing of evidence. Where this is absent, there is an injustice or no judgement.

3. Verdict

This is the one that most of the “judge not” cases will come without. For a judgement to be fulfilled, there must be a verdict. Without a verdict, there is no judgement at all. There may have been a debate, an argument, accusations and so on, but none of this adds to judgement.

When you tell someone they are not walking in the way of the father, you have not judged them. You have made an observation based on evidence that is before you. Judgement focuses on the wage of the wrong that has been done. Correction is not judgement. This is not to say that correction can never be done in the wrong way or that it can never be judgemental.

Plank in my eye

Another common one thrown around regarding judgement is one of the plank.

Matthew 7:3-5 New King James Version (NKJV)

3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 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? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

The key truth in this is that we ought to avoid hypocrisy. Our lives need to model that which we judge others as lacking. The keyword there is “judge.” This is not to say that you cannot remove the speck in your brother’s eye or that you should be concerned. The key thing about judgement is that it requires the judge to be righteous. Without righteousness on the part of the judge, how can they be trusted to be the one to administer justice.

Think about it. We would not accept criminals in our justice system (where they can be helped). The plank in your eye is the reason you should not look in judgement toward anyone else. It does not mean you cannot assist the one with the speck in love.

Brother’s Keeper

There is no greater hypocrisy than going out to evangelize while watching your own “Christian” brother/sister walking in a way that will lead them to death. I do not want brothers and sisters around me that will watch me lose my way and not say anything. This accounts for much of what is wrong with our ministries today. That lack of accountability leads to poor stewardship. It is more dangerous if you are in a leadership position.

Leaders will say, “Touch, not my anointed ones.” There is humility that comes from accepting correction. Paul corrected a season Peter. Peter was senior in his faith and had walked with Christ, yet he could be corrected. Who do we think we are?

A fool hates correction

Proverbs 12:1 New International Reader’s Version (NKJV)

12 Anyone who loves correction loves knowledge.

Anyone who hates to be corrected is stupid.