Many unsaved individuals are quick to reference Jesus’ words of “do not judge” when confronted about their sin or sinful lifestyles, asserting that the Bible prohibits judging others. Even some Christians believe that judging things like false doctrine or false teachers is sinful under all circumstances.
But does the Bible forbid all judgment?
Three portions of Scripture often used as evidence to prove that all judgment is wrong are found in Matthew and Romans. Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
Likewise, Paul wrote in Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” Paul also stated in Romans 14:10, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Paul reiterated his command in Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”
However, Jesus and Paul did not forbid judgment altogether, but rather unjust or unrighteous judgment. Consider what Jesus said to the Jews in John 7:24, who were seeking to kill Him for healing on the Sabbath. He said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Similarly, Paul told the Corinthian believers to expel those in the church who were living in sin, which required them to judge their actions rightly. He said in 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”
Other passages of Scripture that demand righteous judgment concern false teachers and false doctrine. Jesus told His listeners to identify false prophets by judging their works and their results. He said in Matthew 7:15-20, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
John also instructed believers to judge the spirit behind prophets by testing them to determine if they are true or false prophets. 1 John 4:1-3 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
Paul echoed John’s command by teaching believers to carefully judge prophecies to determine whether they are God-given utterances, and to accept only those that qualify. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
Additionally, Scripture also instructs believers to judge other things righteously, including themselves (see 1 Corinthians 11:31).
Therefore, although the Bible prohibits judging unjustly, self-righteously, harshly, arrogantly, or falsely (see Matthew 7:1-2 and Romans 2:1), it does not exclude judgment altogether, but mandates righteous judgment.
I hope this brief synopsis helped you understand the difference between judging unjustly (which Scripture prohibits) and judging righteously (which Scripture encourages and mandates).
