Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3. 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? 4. 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? 5. 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
We learn from Jesus it is the log in our own eye which prevents us from seeing clearly. Logs skew our perceptions. Jesus also said in Matthew 13:14, “ever seeing never perceiving” was due to hardened hearts, We are blinded by our own perceptions. The danger of levelling judgment is that we can never know another’s heart. The best we have is what we see, appearance, and appearances can be deceptive.
John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
1 Samuel 16:7. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance…..For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Isaiah 11:3 highlights the servant of the Lord, whom we understand to be Jesus as the one walking in the fear of the Lord, “does not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.…”
Righteous judgment is required. While we may think our judgments are right and pure, they can only be found right IN GOD. He alone is the one who is righteous and just in all His decrees.
John 8:15 ‘You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.’
ALL righteous judgment revolves around government and rule. While we understand all authority has been given to Jesus and we have been given the right to use His authority; we must know how far that takes us and to whom and what that authority governs.
Judgment works hand in hand with authority. Where we have been given responsibility, we have been given authority. Where we have been given authority we must recognize how far that authority extends in our government. Again we rule under the headship of Jesus. All authority has been given to Him. We have nothing that has not been given to us.
Biblically, we find authority and responsibility given to husbands within the marriage covenant, Gen 3:16; parents over children Eph. 6:1; pastors over flocks; five fold ministry over His church Ephesians.4, Heb 13:17. All these areas govern under His authority understanding they are accountable and responsible to Him for their rule and judgments. Each role has their own set of biblical instructions and boundaries to operate within, clearly established in scripture.
The Apostle Paul gave strong instruction to the church in Corinth as the one who was both responsible and accountable for governing the body he had birthed. Exercising His authority, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ or under the authority of Christ or if Jesus was here this is what he would do and say, he writes -
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. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 5:3-5 NLT
From 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, again Paul sets this standard. ~
Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbour, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
In summation, we can understand from scripture that there is a time and place for righteous judgment, for oneself, in marriage, in family, and within the church. There is always order in God. Within the use of the authority we have been given, it must be flowing from the head, always given in the tension of knowing what we give out is measured back to us.
A PS ~ let’s not fail to remember James 2:13 as we navigate this topic.