Early Christian History

Extras / Judgement

Some Christians are quick to judge one another. A common claim is, “So-and-so isn’t a real Christian.” Aside from the problem of even establishing what a “real Christian” is in the first place, these people apparently don’t realize that Jesus himself enjoined his followers not to judge one another; that judging people is his job, not theirs. There are some scriptural defenses for judging others, but there are some problems with these and I’ll go over that later.

Gospels: Matthew

Easily the best-known anti-judging verse in the whole Bible is:

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. (7:1-2)

This verse is so famous that even non-Christians or those not well-schooled in scripture can cite it, in its common archaic form, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”

Gospels: Luke

Luke repeats this injunction though with different wording:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. (6:37)

There is also a story of when Jesus declined to get involved in a dispute:

Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” (12:13-14)

Epistles: Romans

Here, Paul addresses a problem with Christians condemning one another. He enjoins them not to do so:

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. (2:1-2)

Note that Paul’s statement about how those who judge are actually revealing their own faults, mirrors the famous Matthew verse above. Later in the epistle he provides a more specific example of judging which is not acceptable:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (14:1-4)

The example here deals with a doctrinal dispute over dietary restrictions. Many early Christian movements had such restrictions, many of them more severe than those found in Mosaic Law, such as vegetarianism. Other Christians found this a pompous and arrogant affectation and objected strenuously. Later in this same chapter, Paul explains the need not to judge one another:

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. (v. 13)

He wants the congregation to build itself into a community rather than a contentious rabble. Thus, the injunction against judging has practical reasons.

Epstles: Colossians

The author of Colossians addresses a similar matter, but uses more examples than just dietary codes:

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (2:16-17)

Epistles: James

James offers a somewhat more philosophical, rather than pragmatic, reason not to judge one another:

Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? (4:11-12)

He is saying here that, implied in the ability to judge others according to “the law,” that one presumes mastery of, and even over, “the law,” which is something mere mortals cannot do.

Why Judging Is Bad

Essentially what we see here is that the act of judging others implies elevation of oneself; elevation above others, above one’s status as a mortal, and it introduces contention that Christians should not have to endure. Christians are supposed to stick together, not drive wedges between each other, if Romans and Colossians is to be believed.

Supporting Judgement

As I said, there are a couple of verses which suggest judging other Christians is acceptable, and perhaps even expected:

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. (Jn 7:24)

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

The problem with these verses is that they don’t say what the “judging” Christians think they say. They do not grant permission for them to declare who is a “real Christian” and who is not. For one thing, to judge someone else as not being a “real Christian”requires — according to John — that one not do it “according to appearance”; this means going deeper, and judging “righteously.” The 2 Timothy verse concerns instruction of Christians. Now, instruction is a two-way street; there’s an instructor, and a student. The “reproof and correction” mentioned refers to in-person teaching or instruction. Note that this is rather similar to the verse in John, which requires deeper knowledge than mere “appearance.” It is possible that both verses allude to teaching and instruction.

Nevertheless, neither of these verses permits remote declaration of who is a “real Christian” and who isn’t.

Non-Scriptural Considerations

There are other reasons why judging others as “not real Christians” is that it’s fallacious. This is most commonly called the “No ‘True’ Scotsman” fallacy. It implies a generalization for which there may be no support. Here is an explanation of this fallacy. Outside of religion it is usually rash and illogical to assert that someone is “not a real”anything. No human being perfectly fits any conception of what people are; for example, in politics there is no such thing as a “real” or “perfect” conservative, or liberal; every person differs from the ideals of conservatism or liberalism in some way, even if it doesn’t appear significant.

Summary

If nothing else, Matthew 7:1-2 should make clear that judging others is not permitted, as this passage is a definitive, concise, and unambiguous declaration from the mouth of Jesus himself. I’m not sure that it need even be discussed any further than this.

References

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible.

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