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It is written:
John 7:24-Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
A common refrain in our day and age is that it is never right to judge someone. Often, the statement of Jesus in Matthew 7 is invoked:
Matthew 7:1-6-Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Even a casual reading of this passage will demonstrate the “judging” that Jesus here condemns. He is speaking specifically of the type of judgment that is done with a spirit of maliciousness and self-righteousness, which was commonplace with the Pharisees of His day and age. Indeed, we are told this specifically about them:
Matthew 5:20-For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 18:9-Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
In Matthew 7:6, Jesus references “dogs” and “swine” as an example of the character of wicked people in this context of condemning certain types of judging. Dogs and swine were often seen as very vicious and wicked animals that would charge and attack a person regardless of anything of value which their victims possessed. Jesus is not condemning all judging in this passage: He is condemning judgment in a self-righteous way.
In contrast, we are specifically commanded in John 7:24 that we are to make judgments.
Yes, there are things that are right and that are wrong!
Yes, there are some things that we are to judge as right or wrong!
Yes, there are some persons that we are to judge who have done right or wrong!
Let’s notice some specifics.
First, the Bible teaches that we are to to judge actions of morality. There are certain things that are right, and there are certain things that are wrong. Here are some examples of this:
Romans 1:24-32-People wanted only to do evil. So God left them and let them go their sinful way. And so they became completely immoral and used their bodies in shameful ways with each other. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down and worshiped the things God made instead of worshiping the God who made those things. He is the one who should be praised forever. Amen. 26 Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do. Women stopped having natural sex with men and started having sex with other women. 27 In the same way, men stopped having natural sex with women and began wanting each other all the time. Men did shameful things with other men, and in their bodies they received the punishment for those wrongs. 28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do. 29 They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip. 30 and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don’t obey their parents, 31 they are foolish, they don’t keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to others. 32 They know God’s law says that anyone who lives like that should die. But they not only continue to do these things themselves, but they also encourage others who do them.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ERV)-Surely you know that people who do wrong will not get to enjoy God’s kingdom. Don’t be fooled. These are the people who will not get to enjoy his kingdom: those who sin sexually, those who worship idols, those who commit adultery, men who let other men use them for sex or who have sex with other men, those who steal, those who are greedy, those who drink too much, those who abuse others with insults, and those who cheat. 11 In the past some of you were like that. But you were washed clean, you were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ERV)-The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things, 20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups, 21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom.
Colossians 3:5-9-So put everything evil out of your life: sexual sin, doing anything immoral, letting sinful thoughts control you, and wanting things that are wrong. And don’t keep wanting more and more for yourself, which is the same as worshiping a false god. 6 God will show his anger against those who don’t obey him, because they do these evil things. 7 You also did these things in the past, when you lived like them. 8 But now put these things out of your life: anger, losing your temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and saying shameful things. 9 Don’t lie to each other. You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad things you did then.
Looking at these lists of sins that God has judged, I am ashamed because I see several that I have been guilty of throughout my life. However, that judgment from God is a good thing because it has given me knowledge of what I need to repent of and where I need to make corrections. Furthermore, nearly all of these are addressed to Christians who are exhorted to repent of these things. Think about that for a moment: Christians in the first century who were saved still continued to have sin in their lives that they needed to repent of. That gives me hope, since I am a work in progress myself in many ways!
When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 5, there was a man in the church who was living in public unrepentant sexual sin. The church was ignoring this, turning a “blind eye” to it. Look what Paul says:
1 Corinthians 5:11-But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
Please notice that Paul was directing this statement to Christians, regarding how Christians were living and how their lifestyles were reflecting on the holiness of God and the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. He was adamant that this behavior by the sinning brother needed to be “judged” and appropriate action taken. This was both in hopes that this would lead the sinning brother to repentance, and also to protect the church as a whole (1 Corinthians 5:1-9).
Second, we need to do some judging regarding appearance. How I live as a Christian does not only affect myself: it affects the church of Christ. So, the New Testament encourages us to consider how my individual actions will reflect on the church of Christ as a whole. Paul wrote:
Romans 12:17 (Amplified)-Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone.
Romans 12:17 (WEB)-Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
2 Corinthians 8:20-21-We are being transparent with the use of these donated funds in order to avoid any false allegation or criticism. 21 We are very careful to do what is right—not just before God, but so that others will know the principles by which we live.
In the passage in Romans, Paul is emphasizing the need to consider how our actions will reflect on the Gospel. When we are wronged, it is good and right to seek justice. After all, Paul argues in chapter 13, that is one reason why God has put law enforcement in place: to punish evildoers. However, personal vengeance is inappropriate. Indeed, we must strive to be willing even to do good to our enemies, in the hopes that they will repent and be converted.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul is discussing the financial gift that the Corinthians and others had made in order to help those in need during times of famine and distress. Paul points out that there is a desire to do everything in such a way that people will be able to see that Christians are not trying to be dishonest.
In all of these examples, we see that Christians need to take thought and “judge” how their actions will reflect on Jesus, the Gospel, and the church. While many in our society (and the church) tell us that it is wrong to ever “judge,” please consider what happens when we take up such a mantra: we are withholding the message of salvation from those whose are lost. God was angry with the false prophets and prophetesses in Ezekiel’s time because they were not telling people of their sins so that they would see their need to repent and be saved:
Ezekiel 13:22-Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.
While standing against sin, we must also rely on the grace of God. Yes, let us be known as a people who believe in allowing mercy to triumph over judgment: but never let it be said that we use the grace of God as an excuse for what God says is sinful.
1 Peter 2:15-16-When you do good, you stop ignorant people from saying foolish things about you. This is what God wants. 16 Live like free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as those who are serving God.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.