Help QuickNav Adv. Options
KJV

KJV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

The Blue Letter Bible
← Back to Don Stewart FAQ List

Don Stewart :: Are We Supposed to Judge One Another?

Choose a new font size and typeface
Don Stewart
Many question arise in the area of believers executing judgment. In one sense we are not to judge anyone for The Bible tells us not to judge lest we be judged.

Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1).

Yet in other situations the Scriptures command us to judge. How do we explain these distinctions?

The answer can be found in that the word judge has a variety of meanings.

Not Condemnation
Believers should not try to judge one another in the sense of damnation.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge (James 4:11).

Who are you to judge another's servant? To their own master they stand or fall. Indeed, they will be made to stand, for God is able to make them stand (Romans 14:4).

Litigation And Excommunication
The church does have the responsibility to judge in the case of litigation and in the case of excommunication. This type of judging is to be done within the church itself:

For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside (1 Corinthians 5:12).

Judge Righteously
The Bible commands us to judge righteously:

Do not judge according to appearance but judge righteous judgment (John 7:24).

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment (Philippians 1:9).

Summary
Judgment is something that believers are commanded to do in certain ways. We are not to judge people in the sense of condemning them. The church does have the responsibility to excommunicate people for sin. Any judgment that is done, is to be done righteously.

← Back to Don Stewart FAQ List
Return to Don Stewart FAQ List
BLB Searches
Search the Bible
KJV
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
KJV
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.