"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."
What does this verse mean? Does it mean not to judge at all or not to judge hypocritically?
Matt. 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
“Judge not” is the message in the context of verses 1-5. What other Scriptures support this thought or slant?
Romans 14:10-13 - “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”
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.”
Romans 2:1 - “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”
James 4:11 - “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 4:5 - “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”
These Scriptures seem to close the door with finality on the subject of judging—as if to say there is no other perspective. But we should consider Matthew 7:1-5 from a practical standpoint as a general rule. In other words, we should be very careful and very slow in speaking anything that would cast an aspersion on another because of the possibility of bringing disastrous results to ourselves as well as to the individual himself. Thus Matthew 7:1-5 is a general rule of conduct, but there are exceptions.
For example, the Law sometimes makes statements that must be considered in context. In the case of murder, the wrongdoer merits the death penalty, but the same Law allows for the extenuating circumstance of a nonpremeditated murder. Was the crime one of passion, was it due to an accident—or was it premeditated? If the latter, then the principle of an eye for an eye, a life for a life, applied. If the crime was an accident, compensatory value was required but not the full penalty that would apply to a deliberate crime.
We are living in an unusual age. Down through the centuries, one was put in a dungeon for stealing a loaf of bread. Today is a peculiar time; the pendulum has swung the other way to being extremely liberal, so that the criminal, not the victim, gets the benefit of the judgment. Other than perhaps the last 100 years, the rest of the Gospel Age (approximately 1,900 years) was strict and puritanical and/or cruel and inflexible. Those who were religious tended to exact “just” penalties, and the nonreligious element was cruel and implacable, with no allowances being made. Therefore, down through the Gospel Age, this “judge not” advice was helpful to counteract the harsh and cruel attitudes and practices. However, since we are currently living in an age of great liberality, bordering on license, there is a tendency to read Matthew 7:1-5 as if there are no exceptions.
In verse 1, it is not helpful to consider the root meaning of “judge” (Greek krino), for context is the determining factor. The problem with considering the word derivation is that, depending on the “prejudice” of the person, the meaning of the word can be slanted in different ways. Generally speaking, context is more important than the root meaning of a word. However, sometimes the immediate context is not sufficient to get a rounded-out understanding (as here in Matthew 7:1-5), for only one standpoint is treated. In such a case, in order to get the full meaning, the context of other pertinent Scriptures must be considered. Thus there are two ways to understand a Scripture: (1) contextual evidence of the Scripture actually being studied and (2) contextual evidence of all Scriptures bearing on the subject—comparing Scripture with Scripture. Dictionary definitions alone are not reliable. Only after analyzing the context can a root meaning be narrowed down, generally speaking. “Judge” in verse 1 means condemn or sentence in regard to one’s final destiny, one’s eternal destiny.
