Don't Judge Others, Part 1

Rom 2:1-6

1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:(KJV)

We will be taking this chapter is pieces, but the whole chapter is devoted to the subject of not judging others. Let’s look at some other verses also.

The words of Jesus:

Matt 7:1-5

1 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?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.(KJV)

Luke 6:37

37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:(KJV)

Luke 12:57

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?(KJV)

John 5:30

30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.(KJV)

John 7:24

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.(KJV)

John 8:15

15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.(KJV)

John 8:16

16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.(KJV)

John 8:26

26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.(KJV)

John 12:47-48

47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.(KJV)

Nicodemus’ words:

John 7:51

51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?(KJV)

Stephen’ words:

Acts 7:6-7

6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.(KJV)

1 Cor 4:5

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.(KJV)

James 4:11

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.(KJV)

2 Tim 4:1

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;(KJV)

Now as you have read all these, you no doubt notice there seem to be some different meanings for the word judge so let us look at the Strongs definition.

2919 krino (kree'-no);

properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:

KJV-- avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

This is the word that is used as the verb–to judge-in virtually all the New Testament. Another word for "judge" the noun -means specifically someone who has the job of being a judge such as a judge in a court. That one is Strong’s number 2923

Now let’s look again at Romans 2:1

1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

How many of you realize that you are actually guilty of those same things you judge others to be guilty of? This verse makes it quite clear that is the case. If you really analyze yourself, you will see how true it is. Do you realize that the only reason you can see what the other person is doing is because you yourself have been guilty of it. It is only as you understand yourself that you can often see what others are doing and why. Now Jesus pointed out something to the people He was talking to: John 8:15

15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.(KJV)

He was speaking to the pharisees who did not want to recognize who Jesus was and so accused Him of falsely testifying about Himself. Jesus because He was not the only one testifying to Him had been stating the truth. He made it clear in one of the next verses: John 8:18

18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

(KJV)

Of course the pharisees were not willing to accept that God the Father had born witness to Jesus’ truthfulness and identity. And it is really true they were judging "after the flesh". Judging after the flesh is judging according to the flesh-judging according to the surface things one sees and according to human standards, rather than judging by the discernment of the Holy Spirit. Christians are notoriously guilty for judging others after the flesh and they often don’t even realize it. They think they are being discerning, but instead they are judging. They don’t like what they see or hear a person has done (and sometimes what they believe) and basically start condemning the person. They have no idea what is going on in the minds of these people-except on a surface level. It is this type of judging that the apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 2:1.

Now for verse 2: Rom 2:2 "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things." Notice whose judgment Paul is referring to. God’s. And as Paul states, God judges according to the truth. God judges by the facts. As a matter of fact only God knows everything (omniscient) and so only He can render the perfectly true judgment. And God will judge the folks who do those things contrary to His will.

Paul also tells us when the judging of the unrighteous people takes place-and this is the final judgment-not the temporary one that makes itself visible in consequences-1 Cor 4:5

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.(KJV)

2 Tim 4:1

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;(KJV)

Notice again when the judging of the living and the dead takes place. It will be when He appears again.

Now let’s go back and look at James: James 4:11

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.(KJV)

Do you remember what I shared regarding this verse? According to the Apostle Paul as well as the Apostle James, judging others is a breaking of God’s laws. Hence, in thinking the law does not apply to him, he is judging the law -judging it to be non applicable to him. Not only is the authority of the law ignored, but also it is treated as to be obeyed only when one feels it applies. Law is Law, whether it be from God’s Word directly or not. You don’t go pick and choose what is to obey and what not to obey any more than you pick and choose what is God’s Word and what isn’t in the Bible.

So do you grasp how judging (in James’s wording-speaking evil) makes you not only a law breaker but a judge of what laws ought to be obeyed and what laws ought to be ignored?

Roman 2: 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Paul is making another important point in verse 4. "the goodness of God leads one to repentance." Which is why Jesus won’t be judging the world until the time of His return. God is instead being good toward those unsaved, unrighteous, and even the saved folks. He is forbearing which means He is self-retrained, tolerating things, and His longsuffering-He is suffering long when it comes to waiting for people to repent-He is being good to people, sending the rain on the just and unjust, etc., because He wants to lead the folks to repentance. It’s His love and patience with us that draws us to Him. People are seldom truly brought to repentance because of God’s wrath. More often it is His love that draws us.

What are people doing who refuse to repent of not only judging but other things?

Rom 2:5,6 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:(KJV)

Brothers and Sisters, let us be careful of how we even look at our brothers and sisters in Christ. God alone really knows their hearts.

This whole subject has not even begun to be exhausted, because there are many verses that seem to speak differently regarding the subject of judging. I will get into a few more of them next week including continuation of discussion of Romans 2.

May God bless you as you try to digest the messages of all the verses cited.