Matthew 7:1

Monday, 27 January 2025

 

“Judge not, that you be not judged. Matthew 7:1

 

“Not you judge, that not you may be judged” (CG).

 

The previous verse closed out Chapter 6. Now, Chapter 7 opens with one of the top misused verses of all time. Jesus says, “Not you judge.”

 

Those words alone are what are torn out of their context, shoved in the faces of others, and used as a pretext to claim nobody has the right to ever make a moral decision or render a judgment concerning pretty much any matter someone else doesn’t want to be judged over.

 

The Greek word is krinó. Essentially, it means to distinguish. From that, its meaning is based on the context of what is being said, such as to decide (whether mentally or judicially), to try, condemn, punish, decree, judge, sue, call into question, etc.

 

Taking these words out of context and applying them as people do essentially means that no person could ever make a decision on anything, ever. However, throughout Scripture judgments are both expected to be made and are openly promoted as necessary. In fact, in verse 7:6, Jesus will instruct His disciples to make necessary judgments.

 

This continues throughout the gospels, Acts, and the epistles. So what is Jesus saying? The verse continues with, “that not you may be judged.”

 

Jesus is not actually saying, “Not you judge” period. There is a second half to His words and a greater context in which they are spoken. He says, “Not you judge, that not you may be judged.”

 

There is a standard that is being conveyed to His disciples. It is a standard that is further explained in His coming words. For now, it is evident that He is telling them that when they judge, judgment will return to them. It almost mirrors Newton’s Third Law of Motion, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

 

When certain things happen in the moral world of judgment, certain other things of a like kind are to be expected. The more judgmental someone is, therefore, the more judgment he will bring on himself. A good word for a person with such an attitude is censoriousness.

 

The more censorious someone is, the more censored he can expect to be.

 

Life application: One of the most nauseating things on the planet is when people post the first words of Matthew 7:1 on social media or cite them in some forum or another. Doing this is an immediate attempt to shut others down about some particular issue or another.

 

More often than not, it is directed toward Christians by non-Christians. The very people who don’t even believe in the Lord, use His words against those who do, but who are unprepared for responding to such citations.

 

And far too often, Christians then cave in their stand against moral perversion and even outright wickedness. They are unwilling to learn what the Bible is saying, especially in its proper context. If a person is not a part of the solution, he is a part of the problem.

 

In the case of citing Matthew 7:1, it is a huge problem. Be prepared to respond to people whose agenda is to restrict, silence, or eliminate the moral standards expected of Christians.

 

Lord God, help us to make right judgments as we live in Your presence. When we judge, we can expect return judgment, so help us to not make decisions or judgments unwisely. Above all, help us to rightly understand Your word in the proper context for the situations in which we find ourselves. Amen.