Did Jesus really say in the Bible “do not judge?” What did he mean, and how does it jive with the other things he said? Does it mean that there’s no right & wrong, and that he couldn’t care less about our moral values & choices? I’m probably the last person you’d accuse of being a judgmental finger-pointer – I endeavor to show love & respect to everyone I meet regardless of whether or not we agree about everything…. but I’m pretty sure there’s more to this often misquoted verse than meets the eye.
It has become very fashionable as of late for people to quote scriptures from the Bible that agree with their preconceived ideas. They take individual verses out of context and ignore what comes before and after in order to support views that are important to them. One of the most common examples is in Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” when he said the words “do not judge”. they will take this verse out of context and develop an entire theology around it that seems to indicate that God has no opinion about our opinions and values… And ultimately leads to the belief that there is no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil… which supports the common popular belief that truth is relative. This is a false belief, which happens all the time when people read their own views into the Bible rather than extracting principles from the Bible by which to form their views. Jesus did in fact say the words “do not judge”, but they were in the middle of a sentence, as well as a paragraph, that was not about judging but about hypocrisy…judging a speck in another’s eye when there’s a big plank of wood in our own (now there’s a funny word picture!). At the end of the section it clearly indicates that we are to judge each other as a means of helping each other stay on track, but that it must be done in compassion and humility.
It has become very fashionable as of late for people to quote scriptures from the Bible that agree with their preconceived ideas. They take individual verses out of context and ignore what comes before and after in order to support views that are important to them. One of the most common examples is in Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” when he said the words “do not judge”. they will take this verse out of context and develop an entire theology around it that seems to indicate that God has no opinion about our opinions and values… And ultimately leads to the belief that there is no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil… which supports the common popular belief that truth is relative. This is a false belief, which happens all the time when people read their own views into the Bible rather than extracting principles from the Bible by which to form their views. Jesus did in fact say the words “do not judge”, but they were in the middle of a sentence, as well as a paragraph, that was not about judging but about hypocrisy…judging a speck in another’s eye when there’s a big plank of wood in our own (now there’s a funny word picture!). At the end of the section it clearly indicates that we are to judge each other as a means of helping each other stay on track, but that it must be done in compassion and humility.
Following Jesus has to mean living life the way that he would live it if he were you or me. In order for me to follow Jesus truly, I must value what he valued, love what he loved, and stand up against what he stood against. If my mindset is anything different than that, then no matter what I call it I am creating my own religion and not really following Jesus at all. Of course people are free to believe and do whatever they want, but let us dispense with this nonsense that we can successfully follow Jesus on our own terms… and avoid trying to make the Bible say things that it does not say in order to justify our own beliefs. We need to become students of the word of God so that we can understand the truth, which Jesus promised will set us free.
I highly recommend you read the sermon on the mount, Jesus’ most famous collection of teachings, in the book of Matthew chapters 5 through 7.
