What did Christ want to teach us by saying "do not judge"? 

In Matthew 7: 1, Jesus Christ said, "Do not judge." Does this mean that we should never judge anyone? Is it wrong to think that someone else's behavior is wrong? 

What did Jesus want to teach us by saying, "Do not judge"? To find the answer, we must put into practice one of the basic rules of good Bible study: analyze the Scriptures in context. In this case, we should look for the context of Matthew 7: 1 in verses 3-5, where Christ stresses that we should not be wandering around trying to correct the mistakes of others. The whole message is that we must first work on our own shortcomings. This teaching was later reiterated in 2 Corinthians 13: 5, which clearly exhorts us: "Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith."

The Greek word translated "judge" in Matthew 7 is krino , which also means "to express an opinion on the probity of something", "condemn", "have an opinion", "estimate" or "consider". And this seems to confirm the idea that we should not have or express any opinion about other people.

More than it seems

However, the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7: 1 go beyond this, as we see in the next verse. Putting both verses together we read: “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. Because with the judgment with which you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured to you. ”

Here, Christ is assuming that people will judge others. But he cautions us to be very careful in doing so, for each of us will be judged by the standard by which we measure others.

Another of the basic rules of Bible study is to analyze the verses in an even broader context, considering other similar verses that deal with the same subject. In this way we will be able to better understand what God is trying to tell us through His Word and we will avoid misinterpreting it because we have only one perspective. In the case of Matthew 7: 1, we must take into account that other biblical passages urge us to use our judgment (a word that comes from the same Greek term used by Jesus in Matthew) in various situations in life.

In 1 Corinthians 6: 2, for example, Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers for resorting to the legal system instead of making their own decisions and reaching a conclusion without outside influence. Furthermore, he told them that avoiding conclusions about their own affairs was shameful (vv. 4-5).

A Christian must judge 

Furthermore, referring to spiritual discernment, the apostle Paul said that “the spiritual judge all things; but he is not judged by anyone ”(1 Corinthians 2:15).

In this passage, the Greek word translated “judge” is anakrino , which shares the root of the term used by Christ in Matthew 7. This word means: “examine or judge”, “investigate, verify, inquire, search, inquire, question” ”,“ Carry out an investigation, specifically in the field of forensic sciences ”,“ question, “observe the accused or witness”, “be a judge of something, estimate, determine (the excellence or deficiency of something or someone)” . 

So 1 Corinthians 2:15 gives us a new perspective on whether or not a Christian should judge! But how to reconcile these two positions that seem so different? A Christian must judge the honesty of an action according to the law of God, but must not "judge" a person to condemn it. That is, we must investigate, analyze, and come to a conclusion regarding works, but only God has the authority to judge those who do them.

Only God can judge the hearts of others. It is your prerogative and no one else's. God is the only one who can dictate our final sentence, be it eternal life or final death. In Romans 2: 1, 3, the apostle Paul warns us of the danger of passing this type of judgment, explaining that if we condemn others, we will not escape the judgment of God. In other words, if we judge and condemn someone else, we are in danger of being put in the lake of fire!

Therefore, the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7: 1 teach us that we should not condemn others. And this is even more clear in the parallel Scripture, where we read: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven ”(Luke 6:37).

Another Biblical passage that deals with the subject of judgment is Philippians 1: 9, where we read: "And I pray this, that your love may abound even more in science and in all knowledge." Here, the word translated "knowledge" also means "discernment."

Judging according to God's standards

The apostle Paul prayed that believers would have enough knowledge or discernment to approve the best.

The word "approve" is another very interesting one, since it comes from dokimazô , which means: "to prove, analyze, scrutinize (to verify the legitimacy of something) a metal", "to recognize the authenticity of something after examining it, approving, considering it as valuable". It is a term that comes from the name given to experts in recognizing the authenticity of coins. And, in the biblical sense, it implies that a Christian should always reflect and have a critical opinion on things. This does not mean that we must "criticize" everything and become negative, but that we must be careful and precise in our analysis.

In 1 Corinthians 10:15, Paul even told the Corinthians to judge his words! And we ask the same of you. Don't take what we say for granted; analyze the Scriptures we have quoted, check the Word of God, and put into practice the truths you have learned.

But by what standards should we judge and form an opinion on things? According to our own beliefs? Of course not! Jesus Christ teaches us: "Judge not according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24, emphasis added). And the only way to do it is to regularly study the Word of God — the only truly just standard — and live by its laws. As the Apostle Paul said, the Ten Commandments are our manual for differentiating between good and evil (Romans 7: 7).

Whoever lives according to the Word of God knows how to distinguish the good from the bad and should come to a conclusion about things based on this.