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.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭

(1) Do not JUDGE (krino related to English > critic, criticize) primarily signifies to distinguish, choose, separate or discriminate; then, to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, without necessarily passing an adverse sentence, though this is usually involved. It means to sift out and analyze evidence. A judge observes the evidence, evaluates it, and arrives at a certain conclusion. In sum, (KRINO) has a wide semantic range that can mean: Judge (judicially) to…

(2) …condemn, or to discern. In context, Jesus clearly does not forbid all judging of any kind, for the moral distinctions drawn in the Sermon on the Mount require that decisive judgments be made and are even mandated “in the insect world and it has four legs and wings to fly it just might be a…” “Vs:7 So then, you will know them by their fruits.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭20‬ ‭NASB. What Jesus is addressing is the spirit and/or motivation of one’s judgment. OT prophets: were…

(3) …often very judgmental toward Israel, but the difference is that they were speaking God’s words to His rebellious chosen people! Therefore; DO not JUDGE is in the present imperative with a negative particle (Greek = “me” = negates) which calls for them to stop doing this implying that they were judging. The truth is that the Adamic Race is a fallen flesh and is by nature critical and condemning. And so in these first two verses of chapter 7 Jesus is telling His…

(4) …audience (and us) also it would be in our best interest to stop hypercritically judging others, in order that we may not be the recipient of similar judgment. He is saying cease judging others with a spirit which is carping (marked by or inclined to complaining and often perverse criticism), (raising annoying, petty, trivial and/or frivolous objections), that could be critical, disapproving, fault-finding, scathing or severe. WHY? For such judgment is harsh and self-righteous…

(5) …lacking in MERCY and short on love. Unfortunately the church of Jesus Christ is far from immunization there will always be someone in the church who thinks their critical spirit is their spiritual gift! Carelessly they call it a “spirit of discernment”! Even Shakespeare saw the light on this precept writing forebear to judge, for we are sinners all. This is the Bible verse that seems to be most popular in our present day. But most of the people who quote this verse do not…

(6) …understand what Jesus said. They seem to think that our LORD JESUS commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching. If we understand what Jesus said in Matthew, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Vs:16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NASB. Therefore we need…

(7) …to (KNOW) that He commands us to (KNOW) people by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessment is necessary for that. We who call ourselves Christian are called to unconditionally love. But the Christian is not called to unconditional approval. We really can love people who do things that should not be approved of. Instead, Jesus is speaking against being judgmental, that is judging motives and the heart of the Adamic Race, which only God can know.

(8) We can judge the fruit of the Adamic Race, but we can rarely judge their motives with accuracy. Our Lord Jesus does not prohibit judgment of others. He only requires that our judgment be completely fair, and that (we only judge others by a standard we would also like to be judged by). Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, not because we judge according to a standard but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard – we ignore…

(9) …the standard in our own life. Have you ever noticed that we have a tendency to judge others by one standard, and ourselves by another standard – being far more generous to ourselves than others. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you: According to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus’ time, God had two measures that He used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. Which measure do we…

(10) …want Father God to use with us? Then you should use that same measure with others. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭2‬ ‭NASB. People Magazine was interviewing a well-known actor who was defending the moral indiscretions of former President Clinton. Their rhetoric went like this, why should we be upset over such a thing? We’re all sinners, and it just shows that President…

(11) …Clinton is just like the rest of us. The Bible says, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’ Whenever a Christian warns against or condemns our society for its loss of moral values, it is not uncommon to misquote Matthew 7:1 to counter our “judgmental attitude”. Clearly Jesus was not forbidding one from making moral evaluations which is the way this actor and the unregenerate world interprets this verse. They say “Do not judge. Do not make moral evaluations.

(12) Oh, also do not condemn anything.” WRONG! That is not what Jesus is commanding, for all through the Gospels He teaches that we are to continually make moral judgments about both issues and people regarding moral judgment of adultery. If we interpreted Matthew 7:1 the way the world wants us to interpret it, we could not say there was such a thing as adultery; it’s just an “affair”! Christians as salt and light are to make sound moral judgments, but we…

(13) …must do so with a humble, loving attitude for nothing is more harmful to the cause of Christ than believers who cry out with a shrill voice using harsh language which condemns others with an angry, unkind attitude, (there is only one Judge). The point is that believers are not to manifest a judgmental, fault-finding attitude, always negative, always complaining about things, always being aware of minor problems in the lives of others while oblivious…

(14) …to the faults they are demonstrating in their negative, judgmental attitudes. Believers can and should make Spirit-led moral judgments, but not in an unloving, unkind manner. We are never to despise others or regard them with contempt. As we have often heard, God hates the sin, but loves the sinner, which is why He sent His Son. “Vs:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; Vs:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Vs:3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; Vs:4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. Vs:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NASB