Do Not Judge
March 17, 2021•407 words
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:1–5 LSB)
The first portion of these verses is one of those passages of Scripture which we must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning. It is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion. It is possible to press the words of the Bible so far that they yield not medicine but poison.
Our Lord does not mean that it is wrong, under any circumstances, to pass an unfavorable judgment on the conduct and opinions of others. We ought to have decided opinions. We are to examine everything carefully. We are to test the spirits. Nor yet does He mean that it is wrong to reprove the sins and faults of others until we are perfect and faultless ourselves. Such an interpretation would contradict other parts of Scripture. It would make it impossible to condemn error and false doctrine. It would bar anyone from attempting the office of a minister or a judge. The earth would be given into the hand of the wicked (Job 9:24). Heresy would flourish, and wrongdoing would abound.
Verses 1-5. What our Lord means to condemn is a censorious and fault-finding spirit. A readiness to blame others for trifling offenses or matters of indifference – a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments – a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors and make the worst of them – this is what our Lord forbids. This was common among the Pharisees, and it has always been common from their day down to the present time. We must all watch against it. We should believe all things, and hope all things about others – and be very slow to find fault. This is Christian charity (1 Corinthians 13:7).
—J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Matthew’