Why Christians Should Not Judge Others?

INTRODUCTION

¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ²Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? (Rom. 2:1-3) 

Judging others will cause us falling into self-righteousness. You will be prone to self-righteousness to judge others for the same sins other committed. 

Judging others is practised commonly among non-believers, Christians should discard the lifestyle of judging fellow Christians for three reasons.

        I.            Judging Others is a Lifestyle of an Inexcusable Guilt

      II.            Judging Others will Boomerang Damage upon Oneself

    III.            Judging Others is Pot Calling the Kettle Black

 The title of the message: Why Christians Should Not Judge Others?

  

    I.   JUDGING OTHERS IS A LIFESTYLE OF AN INEXCUSABLE GUILT

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else…” (Rom. 2:1a) 

Who is the "you" described in Romans 2:1? In Romans 1:18-32. Paul uses the sinners in plural form, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people” (Rom. 1:18). However, Paul takes a turn of using a singular pronoun “you” in Romans 2:1. Who is the “you” that Paul referred to? Paul’s writing is the popular rhetoric of his time. He is pointing at the self-righteous moralists of the time.

Why does Paul switch from plural pronouns to singular pronouns in addressing? Paul assumes that there is a self-righteous Gentile or a pious Jew present. When he agrees with Paul's criticism of the "ungodly and unrighteous" Gentiles (1:21-31), Paul suddenly points to him and reminds him that he is no better than those fallen Gentiles. Therefore, the "you" in Romans 2:1 is anyone, ESV translates the verse as: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.” (Romans 2:1 ESV)

Why is judging people a behaviour that Christians should abandon? The word “judge” in Greek is “krinon, G2919). Strong defines it as “To judge, to form and express a judgment or opinion as to any person or thing, more commonly unfavourable.”[1] English Bible translates this Greek word with unison: NIV – pass judgement, ESV – judge, NKJV – judge, NASB – pass judgement.

The question we must ask, who has the right to judge people? In the Book of Romans, judging people should be the duty of God, not fellow Christian to judge fellow brother or sister. The Bible says, “This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.”  (Rom. 2:16)

We are mortals, we should not try to be like God and judge others, each of us will be judged before the judgment seat of Christ. “So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” (Rom. 14:10 NLT) Knowing that each of us will stand before the judgment seat of God (or the judgment seat of Christ), we are not able to judge the faults of others.

The pronoun “you” follows with “no excuse,” and the Greek word is “anapologetos G=379”. It is made up of two words G1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of G=626: indefensible; it means without excuse or inexcusable. In a plain language, we have no excuse to do this behaviour to judge our fellow man. As Christians, we have no legal authority to judge anyone. We understand this phrase as "cannot defend", we have lost the foundation of the truth to judge fellow man. As Christians, we cannot do the work of God. Does this mean that we ignore everything wrong that happens in the church? Of course not!

1.  Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)
2.  When you are praying, if you think of a grudge against someone, you should put down your offerings and make peace with them first. (Matt. 5:23-24)
3. The instruction of resolving people who sin against you. (Matt. 18:15-20)

 II.   JUDGING OTHERS WILL BOOMERANG DAMAGE UPON ONESELF

 “We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.” (Rom. 2:2 ESV)

Judging others is like a boomerang, it will bounce back. An unhealthy lifestyle of judging others will bounce back and hurt yourself. Matthew 7:2 explains the boomerang effect of judging others: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matt. 7:2) The principle of Matthew 7:2 is like the Chinese proverb “reap what you sow,” i.e. “自食其果 zishiqiguo.” The biblical counterpart will be: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap "You reap what you sow," (Gal. 6:7)

Let us look at the biblical examples of judging others and suffering the boomerang effect of judging others.

The classic example is the unforgiving servant who suffers loses due to his attitude of penny wise and pound foolish. He owed the king ten thousand bags of gold (Matt. 18:24 NIV), and another fellow servant only owed him a hundred silver coins (Matt. 18:28 NIV). The unforgiving servant put his fellow servant into the jail. The king was furious and put in the jail until he could clear all his debts. This is the classical example of strict with others will hurt yourself in the end.

We have seen the seriousness of judging others; the habit of judging others will bring harm to our own self. On the contrary, graciousness will bring positive boomerang of blessing upon our lives: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)

III. JUDGING OTHERS IS POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK

 " …You who pass judgment do the same things. " (Rom 2:1c)

" You…a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things." (Rom 2 3)

" Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not put out the beam that is in your own “(Matthew 7:3)

 

A.      Ask a blind doctor to conduct eye surgery on you

In Luke 6:39, Jesus spoke about the blind leading the blind in Luke 6:39, and both fell into a pit. Then he followed with the story a person with a beam in his eye wanting to help someone to remove a speck from his eye. The person with the beam is equivalent to the blind person. How can he perform surgery on others? (Luke 6:41-42)

 

B.      The story of rich man entertaining guests with the ewe lamb of a poor man. (2 Sam 12 5-7) 

Prophet Nathan used a story of a rich man to entertain guests, but he did not kill his own sheep but took the poor man's ewe lamb and killed them. How did David react?  He was terribly angry (2 Sam 12 5-7).

Before the prophet revealed who was the rich man, do you think David knew the rich man was himself? Of course not! David did not know. His eyes were blinded by the beam, and he did not recognize his blindness, and he did not realize his own problem. Nathan said, “You are the man”! So, if you are always quick to judge others, then you may be like David, you lack insight that you are the “rich man.” You have the beam in your eye, and you do not know it!

1.  Focus on our own sins. We should not focus on the mistakes of others, but on our own sins, seek to repent and grow in our faith. 
2. Practice  humility. We must remember that we are not better than anyone else and we need God’s mercy too. When we are humble, we are less likely to judge others.

3. Show compassion. When we show compassion to others, we are less likely to judge them. We should seek to understand others’ perspectives and show love and kindness, even when we disagree with them.

4. Hold ourselves accountable. We should be willing to accept correction from others and take responsibility for our own actions. When we take responsibility for our own sins, we are less likely to judge others.

CONCLUSION 

Judging others is a lifestyle of non-believers, and Christians should avoid exercising this damaging lifestyle among believers. Judging others will have serious repercussion, and it brings to oneself damaging boomerang effect on our lives.

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[1] Spiro Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study New Testament (AMG International, Inc, 1993), 888.