Bible Verses About Judging Others Actions
What does the Bible say about judging others for their actions? As with everything else weve read so far, we cant judge others when we, ourselves, are not free of sin!
These Bible verses about judging others actions say:
- Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brothers 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, when there is the log 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 brothers eye. Matthew 7:1-5 ESV
- When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. John 8:7 NIV
Bible Verses About Judging Others
Weve already seen a glimpse of what the Bible says about judging others. But that isnt all there is to learn about judgment in the Bible!
While we may be tempted to pass judgment on others because of their individual sins, the Bible is very clear that we should not. Our only job is to share the Good news of Christ. We are not tasked with being the Bible-enforcers or anything like that. We are simply to show others what it means to be a Christian a follower of Christ through love and compassion.
Here are some additional scriptures about judging others for you to meditate on:
What Does Right Judgement Look Like
Right judgment looks like confronting explicit sin in another believer out of love and for the purpose of repentance and reconciliation. If we know we are not supposed to judge those outside the church, and we arent supposed to judge the outward appearance , intentions, or hidden purposes of the heart, then what and how are we supposed to judge?
Right judgement looks like restoring the person who is caught in sin .
Matthew 7:1-5, is one of the most widely quoted phrases, Judge not, that you be not judged. Jesus is not commanding us to never judge, but rather, He is challenging our heart as we walk through judgement. Before we seek to call out another sister or brothers sin, we must check the motives and intentions of our heart. Jesus sharp heed here is to keep us from putting our own foot in our mouth. If we are not repentant and humble as we walk through holding someone else accountable, the judgement will fall back on our own heads.
As we seek to judge rightly, we should do so slowly, and with unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind .
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God Is The Judge Of All Created Things
Before we jump into what judging others looks like, we must have a right view of God as judge.
Psalm 50:4 says: He summons the heavens above, and the earth to judge His people.
God is the judge of all things and all people. And He is not a judge of outward appearances but judges the heart.
1 Chronicles 28:9 says: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts If you seek Him, He will let you find Him but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
God, in His infinite wisdom searches the hearts of men, understands our intentions, and calls us to follow Him. He is not an angry, harsh judge, but rather a judge who looks at the sin within the human heart and calls us to repentance and salvation in Jesus .
We must see God as a just, merciful judge whose intentions and commands are for our good and the good of others . And we must acknowledge that our sinful hearts are prone to judge and in a need of a gracious Savior.
Many Godly Men In The Bible Judged Others
24. Acts 13:10 and said, You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
Everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
No one who is living in wickedness wants their sin exposed. Gods Word will convict the world. Many people dont want you judging others because they know they are not right with God and they dont want you judging them.
25. John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
Bonus
The last type of judging that I want to talk about is false judging. It is sinful to lie and falsely judge someone. Also, be careful that you dont judge someones situation by what you see. For example, you see someone going through hard times and you say, God what sin did he commit? Why doesnt he just do this and that? Sometimes we dont understand the great work that God is doing in someones life. Sometimes it is Gods will that we go through a storm and many people on the outside looking in wont understand it.
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Bible Verses About Condemning Others
Weve already covered a bit about what the Bible says about condemning others. But that was just the icing on the cake! The Bible is pretty clear in that we are not to condemn others for their thoughts or actions.
Here are just a few more verses about condemning others to meditate on:
- Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Romans 2:1 ESV
- Judge not, and you will not be judged condemn not, and you will not be condemned forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 ESV
- You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before Gods judgment seat. It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me every tongue will acknowledge God. So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. Romans 14:10-13
What Does The Bible Say About Judging
Question: The Bible Talk article, “Getting Ready For Judgment Day,” held that Jesus alone has the right and ability to judge on that great day. He alone has the last word on everyone and everything. Okay. Agreed. But, in the meantime, He delegated responsibility to the Church as the body of Christ on earth, which must include judging. So my question is, what, in fact, does Jesus and/or the Bible say about Christians judging themselves and other people? Since He entrusted the job to us, He must have given instructions on how to go about it, right?
Discussion: Yes, Jesus instructs us in what He asks us to do. And, yes, the Bible includes additional writings on the subject, as the Apostles and early Christians continued to work out the details. For instance, the Corinthian church consisted of many people from highly diverse backgrounds, sort of like our local parish in Florida. Paul’s letters helped them to know how to conduct themselves and make right judgments, not according to cultural upbringing or personal preferences, but in accordance with the unique oneness in Christ.
In John 7:24, Jesus said, “Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly” That same chapter goes on to record how some religious leaders debated among themselves about how they were to deal with Jesus until Nicodemus, a member of their group, pointedly asked, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” .
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What Does The Bible Say About Judging Those In The Church
However, these verses in 1 Corinthians 5 seem to be clear that we are to judge those in the church. We read that Paul is telling the church in Corinth to remove the person from among them who is practicing sin.
There seem to be two specific reasons Paul instructs them in this way.
- Sin influences others. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. 1 Corinthians 5:6-7
- The goal of removal is repentance and restoration. Paul tells them to judge this person with the hope it will cause them to repent and be restored. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to turn such a person over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:3-5
When NOT to Judge Others in the Church
Let me be clear. We are all sinners. We all fail to miss the mark. That is why Gods grace is so beautiful.
These are not the sins we should be judging.
Its the continual and habitual sin that should raise our concern. Are there any patterns of sinful behavior in anothers life? It is this kind of continual sin that is discussed in 1 John 3:1-21
We all need these people.
Make Value Judgments About Other Christians
Romans 12:19 Updated American Standard Version
19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath for it is written: Vengeance is mine I will repay, says the Lord.
Dearly beloved This expression of tenderness was especially appropriate in an exhortation to peace. It reminded them of the affection and friendship which ought to subsist among them as brethren.
Avenge not yourselves To avenge is to take satisfaction for an injury by inflicting punishment on the offender. To take such satisfaction for injuries done to society, is lawful and proper for a magistrate Rom_13:4. And to take satisfaction for injuries done by sin to the universe, is the province of God. But the apostle here is addressing private individual Christians. And the command is, to avoid a spirit and purpose of revenge. But this command is not to be so understood that we may not seek for justice in a regular and proper way before civil tribunals. If our character is assaulted, if we are robbed and plundered, if we are oppressed contrary to the law of the land, religion does not require us to submit to such oppression and injury without seeking our rights in an orderly and regular manner. If it did, it would be to give a premium to iniquity, to countenance wickedness, and require a man, by becoming a Christian, to abandon his rights.
For it is written Deu_32:35.
1 Corinthians 5:13 Updated American Standard Version
1 Corinthians 15:33 Updated American Standard Version
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Bible Verses About Judging
Luke 6:37 – Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:John 7:24 – Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.Matthew 7:1-5 – Judge not, that ye be not judged. Romans 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?Matthew 7:1 – Judge not, that ye be not judged.James 4:11-12 – 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. 1 Corinthians 5:12 – For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?Matthew 7:5 – 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.1 Corinthians 6:1-20 – Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
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Search the King James Version for more references about Judging…
To Resolve Conflicts Stop Judging Others
That command is easy to state, but its a bit more complex to understand. So we need to carefully define this sin.
A. What judging others does not mean:
. It is not judging someone to be discerning with regard to his character or teaching.
Many people cite Matthew 7:1 about not judging others, but they never bother to read down to verse 6, where Jesus says, Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine. He was talking about people who are dogs and swine! To obey verse 6, you must make some judgmental decisions about the persons character! That guy is a dog! That guy is a swine!
Also, if you keep reading , Jesus says, Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. It takes a discerning sheep to recognize, Thats not a true sheep! Thats a wolf dressed like a sheep! It requires judging the mans teaching as false.
We live in times when tolerance, unity, and love are dominant themes in the evangelical church. If you dare to confront or expose sin, or if you label someones teaching as unbiblical, or the person as a false teacher, you get accused of being judgmental and unloving. But the Bible is clear that a pastor is being extremely unloving to allow wolves to prey on the flock or to allow sinning believers to infect the flock without confronting and exposing them.
. It is not judging someone to speak to him about sin or false teaching.
B. What judging others wrongly does mean:
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What About John : 7
Many people use this one verse John 8:7 to say we cant judge. You cant use this verse because it would contradict all the other verses and it has to be used in context. In context the Jewish leaders who brought the adulterous woman were probably in sin themselves and that is why Jesus was writing in the dirt. The law required that the guilty man be punished as well. It is also required that there be a witness. Not only did they have neither, but it is possible that they knew the woman was an adulterous because she committed adultery with one of them. How else would they know?
What Does The Bible Say About Judging Non
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindlernot even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 NASB
This passage makes it very clear that our only responsibility to non-believers is to love them.
God alone is their judge.
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Angels And The Church
We the church receive knowledge through the revelation of the Spirit Gods manifold wisdom is to be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Thus the church enriches these powers and principalities with wisdom. As Gods children we can through the knowledge of God grow up in our inner man to Him who is the head Christ. The angels cannot do that. But they can serve the saints with the understanding of the knowledge they receive through the church.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that we will judge angels. This does not necessarily mean that we will condemn them, but that we will judge that they have helped in this and in that instance. Many missionaries, and others, have been rescued through the help of angels sent from heaven, who removed dangers on their way and led them through difficulties. What a comfort it is to know that there is an angel of the Lord who leads us and accompanies us!
This article is mostly based on an article titled âAngels,â which in turn was based on a conversation with Aksel Smith. That article was first published in Norwegian in the paper Skjulte Skatter in June 1914. Read more Articles by Aksel Smith here.© Copyright Stiftelsen Skjulte Skatters Forlag | ActiveChristianity