Should Christians Judge?

Whether you consider yourself a Christian, a skeptic or just human, it’s probably safe to say that you have formed an opinion on whether it’s right or wrong to judge people. At the very least, you have formed a preference on whether you personally like to be judged by others. If you are like me, most likely your answer is, “No.” Maybe you have even used the phrase, “Don’t judge me” or Tupac’s famous words, “Only God can judge me.” Maybe you have gone as far as to tattoo these famous words across the small of your back. Hopefully not. I wouldn’t. But who am I to judge?

The reality is, as humans, we judge people all of the time. I had a good friend ask me, “If you say, ‘You can’t judge people,’ are you judging people who judge people?” How does this whole judging thing work?

My gut wants to tell me that judging people is wrong and to never do it. But my mind starts to race with all sorts of questions. For example, I think about any number of recent terrorist attacks. Are we not supposed to judge terrorists who do such hurtful things? I think about our past election, are we not supposed to judge the two candidates? Isn’t that the point; to look at the options and weigh the evidence? If you have ever been on a date, isn’t the whole point to judge that person and see if you are a good fit? If you’ve ever hired a baby sitter, don’t you judge someone on whether or not they are responsible enough to watch your kids? Are we supposed to judge people; especially those who are given great responsibility?

Now let me pause for a sec, the big question I want to wrestle with is, should Christians judge? As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God. This means that it has authority over my life. If you don’t consider yourself a follower of Jesus, I don’t expect you to hold this same view. So what does the Bible say about judging others? Doesn’t the Bible tell us that we are not supposed to judge people? Was Tupac right in saying, “Only God can judge me?”

At first glance, when you read passages like Romans 2:1-4 (“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself…” (NIV)) and Matthew 7:1-5 (“Do not judge, or you too will be judged…” (NIV)) It seems, as if the answer is a straight forward “no,” Christians should not judge.

But then as you read passages such as, 1 Corinthians 5:3 (“…I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.” (NIV)) and Matthew ‪7:15 (“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (NIV)) It seems, the answer is “yes,” Christians should judge.

So, should Christians judge? Well, yes and no.

Bottom Line: We can judge someone’s values but not someone’s value.

We can judge values

We can judge someone’s values; their actions, behaviors, and the way they live their life. The Bible tells us to make these types of judgment calls. In other words, the Bible doesn’t teach us not to judge, the Bible teaches us how and what to judge. We can judge right and wrong, wise and unwise, helpful and hurtful, safe and unsafe, kind and unkind.

Let me give you a few examples of what judging someone’s’ values looks like. You go to work and your boss gives you a boring task and I see you punch them in the face. I am going to say that’s wrong. I wouldn’t hire you. I just judged your values. Here’s another one, your friend doesn’t go on Instagram to like your latest picture, so you throw their phone on the ground and stomp on it. I am going to say that’s wrong. You shouldn’t destroy someone else’s property. I just judged your values.

We can’t judge value

We can’t judge someone’s value; how much someone is worth and what they deserve. When you judge someone’s value, it means that you start treating or thinking about them as if they are less then you or that they are morally inferior to you. This is exactly what we see the Pharisees do throughout the New Testament. The Pharisees were the religious leaders during Jesus’ time and they were constantly judging the value of others. In Matthew ‪9:11, when Jesus was eating with those who many considered to be the scum of the earth, the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ followers asking, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The Pharisees thought they were morally superior and they looked down on those who didn’t live up to their standard. The issue with the Pharisees is that they would go from judging others values to using that as a license to judge others value. Jesus always challenged those who judged others value, and we should to. As Christians, even if we disagree with someone’s values, we are still called to treat them with love and respect.

When we read passages like Matthew 7 and 1 Corinthians 5, it’s important to read them in context. In Matthew 7, Jesus isn’t telling us not to judge but how to judge. He is simply warning us to stay away from hypocrisy. In other words, we can’t judge the actions of others when we ourselves are doing the same things.

One of the things that gets confusing is that we use this word “judge” in so many different ways. It seems that when most people say things like “don’t judge me” and “only God can judge me,” many times what they mean is, “don’t challenge my values,” or “you can’t hold me accountable for my actions.” Some people act as if you and I are not allowed to form an opinion on what’s right or wrong.

So, how do you judge whether or not something is right or wrong? You compare the actions or behaviors to a standard. Where do you get your standards? Is it something you made up? 
If you’re a Christian, you use God’s standards. Where are God’s standards found? The Bible. In other words, as Christians, we don’t get to make our own standard. When Christians judge other’s behaviors, they compare those behaviors to God’s standards. With that said, in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul makes it clear that we shouldn’t expect those who are not Christian to try and live up to God’s standards. Here’s the thing, none of us, including me, even come close to meeting that standard. All of us have missed the mark, all of us have made mistakes. Even if you’re not a Christian and you don’t appeal to biblical standards, chances are you recognize that you have done things that go against your own standard. We are all broken. The Bible teaches that, all of us are in the same boat. When we look at God’s standards, all of us have missed it. This is why God sent Jesus. He doesn’t condemn us. Instead, He took the pain for us. He is the only one to live a perfect life. A life that meets the standard. He gave his life so that we would be found not guilty. This is the Gospel. This is why Christians don’t have the right to judge anyone’s value. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

To sum it up, use your mind. It’s ok to make judgments on what’s right and wrong, who’s wise and unwise, what’s logical and not logical, who’s safe and unsafe. But, don’t take the leap from judging someone’s values to judging their value. If you are going to judge someone’s values, ask yourself, “what is my standard and how well have I done at keeping that standard?” The next time you feel yourself looking down on someone else, take an honest look at yourself.

I hope you found this hopeful and helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below. As always, thanks for reading.