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. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Matthew 7:1-4

One of the often debates in Christianity is whether we should judge people. Often people will quote the first verse “Judge Not” but they don’t read the rest of the entire Chapter in context. The first thing we need to realize is that judgment is a part of life. Whether you are a Christian or not, everyone is judging each other. You heard the term “first impressions” the moment you walk into a room, people are judging you based on your looks, your words, and your actions.

Secondly when you die your going to be judged whether you like it or not. The Bible tells us “It’s appointed to us to die once and then to judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) So telling people not to judge you based on your lifestyle is not going to prevent God from judging you on your appointed time. We all are going to be accountable for our actions, we shouldn’t have the mentality don’t judge me then I can do whatever I want. However on the flip side, we as Christians don’t need to go around condemning everyone of their sin. As the Bible tells us “We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23) 

Jesus is teaching us righteous judgment, Christ isn’t saying never judge anyone , he’s saying if you’re going to judge someone expect to be judged by the same measure. Jesus said “What do you look at the speck in someone else eye and ignore the beam in your own eye” What Jesus is saying is don’t be a hypocrite. If you are calling out sin in someone else’s life , your life better be free from sin. For example, if a Christian is calling out someone for being a homosexual, yet they themselves watch pornography and have premarital sex, they are being hypocritical because it’s all immoral in Gods eyes

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. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:5-6

So what is our best response? The best response is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone. Jesus tells us “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin” (John 16:8) If we lead people to Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God should and will convict them of their sin. While many Christians believe it’s their position to judge people on their sins, I believe they mostly end up being made hypocrites because they are typically in sin themselves. Sharing the gospel is our best approach to be leading people to Christ

Jesus said “Don’t give which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls to the swine” Dogs and Pigs in the first century are considered unclean or impure. What I believe Jesus is saying , there are going to be many people who reject the gospel of Christ or have been depraved in sin. Meaning they are never going to turn from their sin, the best option is to dust off your feet and move on.

Ultimately Judgment belongs to God, and one day everyone is going to stand face to face with The Lord and give an account of their life and actions. Make sure you are Born Again in Christ unless you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven , (John 3:3) Amen