Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
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? 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." Mat. 7:1-5



This passage of scripture is often used by those who want to call Christians hypocrites and more by those who are opposed to any kind of morale standard. The fact of the matter is that this teaching was by Jesus directly to his closest disciples during the famous Sermon on the Mount. In it Jesus went beyond what the teachings and law of the Old Testament, telling them more than their outward actions but the evil in their own hearts would dictate how
they would be judged by God.

Judgement was never something to be avoided when it came to discerning right from wrong in the eyes of God, rather it was the judgement of one believer of another about which Jesus cautioned his followers. Be careful, he warned, of criticizing another for the purposes of personal superiority. Rather Jesus tells us to make sure that our motives are for building up one another not tearing them down.

Judging right from wrong using an absolute vice relative approach to morality is exactly what God wants us to do. We are to look to the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ and the grace of God the Father as our hope for eternal life, rather than our ability to keep all the law both outwardly and in our hearts. However, we must be "judgemental" when it comes to determining our life choices. In fact the very sermon that tells us to be careful how we are to warn each other of the dangers of sin, is the very place we all should refer to gain knowledge of what is right or wrong in the eyes of God.

My prayer. Father, thank you that you would send your Son to earth to give us a picture of what you are really like and how much you love us. I pray father that we as believers can become more Christlike in the conduct of our lives so that others are drawn to you not driven away by hypocrisy and elitism. Help us Lord in our weakness and teach us the proper way to serve you and be good stewards of the truth that you have given us in your Word. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!