Should Christians Judge People?

I often get the don't judge verses thrown at me. The Bible is clear that we should judge others in their sinning but we must do it according to God's standard and not inject our own beliefs.

2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

What does for reproof, for correction, mean to you?

Do you believe that "Christian love" is to coddle people in their wickedness? Should we "not" judge others if they're a Pedophile? Should we not judge people if they speed in a school zone? Laws are judging right over wrong. Should judges not judge?

Do you remember what it says in Matthew 22:39 "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"

But what does this truly mean? Does that mean we are to love them no matter what they do because we are sinners also? Do we coddle them in their sins, tell them God loves them no matter what? Nope Jesus was clear when he said this. He was telling us what the standard was. The way to show your love to your neighbor is to warn them and their sins will take them to hell.

The only way you can show your love to your neighbor was outlined in Leviticus 19:17-18 "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." (emphasis added)

If you believe coddling is love then you are delusional. You must confront to show love to someone. Would you let a friend go and drink and drive? We will take the keys and get into your face, if necessary, to show that you are wrong. Get offended if you wish, but I will not accept the evil wickedness of unrepentant sinning.

I have no clue if you have children but we correct out of love, not hate. We guide. Hebrews 12 makes that point clear. I love you, but love is not coddling.

I am merely commanded to speak the truth, defend it, and expose falsehoods. I do not condone sin and if you shall perish because of your wickedness then so be it, without any grudge, Hell's Gates will be locked from the inside as CS Lewis said.

Do we listen to part or the whole Bible?

Ephesians 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." HOW do we do this, without judging?

Psalm 37:30 "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment."

Amos 5:15 "Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph." How can you hate the evil and love the good if you refuse to judge? You can't. You are SINNING when you refuse to judge.

Our generation is well described in Isaiah 59:8: "The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace." People have refused to judge, so there is no peace.

Paul said in I Corinthians 1:10 to ". . . be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Why would Paul make such a statement if judging is wrong?

In I Corinthians 2:15 Paul says, "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." Judging is not a sin; judging is a characteristic of being a spiritual person! Satan has been lying to us, hoping that we will NOT judge, because he knows that the right kind of judgment PLEASES God and betters our lives and Christian service.

If judging is wrong, then Paul needs to confess and repent for misleading these Christians! He clearly told them to JUDGE PEOPLE. 1 Corinthians 6:1-5

If judging people is wrong, how can we obey Romans 16:17-18? II Corinthians 6:17? II Timothy 3:5-6? I John 4:1? If judging is wrong, then God has contradicted Himself and His words cannot be trusted!

Notice Malachi 3:18: "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." WOW! Does that sound like it is wrong to judge?

What about Revelation 2:2? " I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:" Why would the Lord be pleased with these Christians if judging was wrong? Is it not impossible to find someone a "liar" without judging them?

John 7:24 "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

Sometimes people judge when they have no business doing so. This can only be done by following the rules that God has established in His word. Here follow seven good rules from Scripture: (taken from Is It Right to Judge?)

Judge Scripturally (Isaiah 8:20), Don't Judge When God's Word Is Silent. Don't rush to judgment on an issue when the Bible says very little or is silent about it. Don't make more of a matter than God makes of it. A good example of this is found in Colossians 2:16, Pray for Good Judgement Ability (I Kings 3:9, James 1:5),Don't Respect Persons truly fair judge is blind and deaf to any outer influence. (Isa. 42:1,19-21,Proverbs 24:23),Judge in Truth A true judge is one who seeks the truth. Do not judge another when you do not have all the relevant facts. (Jeremiah 5:1),Judge Mercifully (Matthew 7:2,Gal. 6:7-8) You'll reap what you sow.If you are swift and harsh in judging others, then God will see to it that you receive the same from others. Has God not been very merciful to you, even though you don't deserve it? Likewise, you should exercise mercy toward others. Don't Forget to Judge Yourself (I Corinthians 11:30-31) If you refuse to judge and improve yourself as a child of God, then God will take it upon Himself to judge you.A good judge will not fail to judge himself.

Should we Judge others? Yes, but do it that is pleasing to God.

Matthew 7:6-15 is clear that we can judge the message and fruit of false apostles. Obedience to such commandments obviously requires one to make a judgment as to whether certain unbelievers should be regarded as "dogs" or "swine," to whom it would be counterproductive to try to speak of spiritual matters; or whether certain professing Christian leaders are actually false prophets who should be repudiated. However, Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:1 that we should be careful in nitpicking and judging people’s motives or eternal destiny. Ultimately only God is the judge of those things. We can, after all, be too hard on people in minor matters.

We can judge qualifications, however we cannot judge qualities. Qualities are internal motivations known only by God Himself.

In John 21:16-17, Jesus said, “Peter, feed my sheep.” The feeding of sheep has to do with external qualifications. We can evaluate a man’s sermons, appraise if he has studied and researched. Lack of preparation will become obvious in time. Poor doctrine or overtly false doctrine is obvious.

But Jesus also said in John 21:15-17, “Peter, do you love me?” This has to do with qualities and internal motivation. Does a man feed the sheep for power? For prestige? For money? Only God knows the motivation. Or is he doing it out of love for Christ? Again, only God knows. If the person is living an ostentatious and lavish lifestyle, those externals all say something and may be an obvious outworking of the inner motivation.

1 Corinthians 6:2 "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?"

A great explanation on how to judge properly is in 1 Corinthians 6:3-6

After all we are judging for Him:

2 Chronicles 19:6 "And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment."

On that Day of Judgment God will judge the world for their iniquities, why not let us warn you with love before that happens? 1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Prove (Examine) all things; hold fast that which is good."

Perfect love is a constant confronter, it takes far more love to confront than to ignore the situation.



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