The world, and many within the pews, have fashioned a convenient gospel that begins and ends with “Judge not.” In this popular rendering, the verse is interpreted as a total prohibition of making any moral assessment of another’s conduct. It is used to suggest that we must remain perpetually neutral, accepting every lifestyle and doctrine without a word of protest. To point out a transgression is, in their eyes, the only true transgression. They would have us believe that the Savior was preaching a message of absolute tolerance, where the only thing not tolerated is the “Defence of the Truth.”
But, does it truly mean we are to abandon our God-given faculty of discernment?
When we look to the Bible, we find the Lord Jesus Christ saying, “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” (Matthew 7:1-2). Christ is not forbidding the act of judgment, but rather the spirit of hypocritical judgment. He is warning the man who has a beam in his own eye while trying to pull a mote out of his brother’s.
The context of the entire chapter demands that we exercise judgment. Only a few verses later, the Lord commands us, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). How can a believer obey this command without first judging who is a “dog” or a “swine” in a spiritual sense? Furthermore, He warns us to “Beware of false prophets,” and tells us that “ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). To identify a false prophet by his fruit requires a firm, scriptural judgment.
The “real meaning” is found in righteous judgment. We are told in John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” The Lord requires us to be fruit-inspectors, not to condemn in a self-righteous spirit, but to protect the purity of the faith and the safety of the flock. To remain silent in the face of error is not “love”—it is a betrayal of the Truth. We must first ensure our own walk is right before the Lord, and then, with fear and trembling, we must use the Word of God to discern between the holy and the profane.