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PART 1 - Jesus Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 7:1 - “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” NASB
Question: Here at Matthew 7:1 Jesus says, "Do not judge, so that you will not be judged." However, at John 7:24 Jesus says, "Stop judging from the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." John 7:24 1984 NWT. How are we to understand these seeming contradictions in Jesus' words?
More verses on the matter of judgement:
Deut. 1:16 "judge with righteousness."
Isaiah 11:3 , 4 "And he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth."
This post is based upon my recent research on this Biblical topic about Jesus words in Matthew chapter 7. Information was gathered from personal Bible study, and some articles, and is presented here to share what I found with interested persons. This is in an an effort to study and examine Scripture, in an effort to gain a clear and correct understanding of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:1 which are often misinterpreted and misunderstood.
The following s quoted from a very interesting non-Watchtower article that I came across recently on the topic of judging in the Bible:
"Probably one of the most frequently used, but misapplied, verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” If people would keep reading, they would see that in verse 6 Jesus tells us not to give what is holy to dogs or to cast our pearls before swine. He was not talking about literal dogs and swine, but rather about people who are dogs and swine. To obey that verse, you have to judge whether a person is a dog or a swine. Then, in verse 15, Jesus warns about false prophets who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. You have to judge carefully to conclude, “This isn’t a sheep—this is a wolf masquerading as a sheep!” The point is clear: if you don’t make correct judgments about others, you’ll be eaten by wolves! Also, Paul tells us that we are responsible to judge those in the Church who profess to be believers, but who are living in sin. (1 Cor. 5:9-13)"
Quoting from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he says, "In my letter I wrote YOU to quit mixing in company with fornicators, not [meaning] entirely with the fornicators of this world or the greedy persons and extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, YOU would actually have to get out of the world. But now I am writing YOU to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do YOU not judge those inside, while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked [man] from among yourselves.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-19
From the verses above, it becomes clear that it is necessary for some judgements to be made by the "congregation" and for it to be determined by Christ's congregation if an indivdual has sinned because he/she is just weak in their faith, and sins due to spiritual weakness, or if the person's sin or sins are because they are "wicked", requiring their removal from the congregation, in order to protect the congregation from morally unclean and bad influences: "remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
So, then, Jesus, through Scripture, is telling us not to judge persons harshly, based upon our own opinions, our own standards, or about things that we have not corrected in ourselves. At John 7:24, Jesus further tells us that we should not judge by outward appearances, but judge with righteous judgement. We first need to recognize faults in ourselves, based on God's standards, found in his word the Bible, correct them, and only then can we properly help others. Not that we shouldn't try to help our brother to "remove the straw" from his eye, but first we must seek and apply correction from God's word to remove the rafter from our own eye. In other words, fix your life first, then you will be able to help others. The lesson is, don't be hypocritical and don't judge by our own imperfect standards or by outward appearances.
And, based on the context, Jesus is also showing that it is actually very necessary for Christians to use discernment, to make judgements at times; to make rational, logical, practical judgements, using discernment, about people, for the sake of our own self preservation, in a spiritual sense, and as a protection and defense in our spiritual warfare against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 We need to decide, for instance, if someone is bad association as per Paul's words in 1 Corinthians. "Bad associations spoil useful habits." 1 Corinthians 15:33. This requires the Christian to use discernment, based on God's word, to make a judgement about a person's character, and as to whether they are "good" or "bad" association, and then, to act accordingly, to either associate with them or not.
Also, Jesus told his followers to be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep's covering, and said that these could be recognized "by their fruits", not by the message that they preach, but by their "fruits". This requires judgeing people, using discernment, as to whether or not they are false prophets. In order for us to make this judgment, Jesus tell us how to identify false prophets, "by their fruits you will recognize them." Matthew 7:16
“Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to YOU in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits YOU will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognize those [men]."
Matthew 7:15-20
Paul also fortold that there would be wolves that would oppress the sheep of Christ's congregation, once the apostles were gone. Paul states, "I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among YOU and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among YOU yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." Acts 20:29, 30 So, if we see people acting like oppressive wolves, but claiming to be Christian's, it's very possible they are oppressive wolves in sheep's covering, again, "by their fruits you will recognize them."
The following is another quote from another related article that discusses Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." KJV & ASV
"In the immediately following verse, Jesus requires good judgment: “Don’t give what is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine.” Wouldn’t this require identifying who the “dogs” and “swine” are? What about identifying the “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” whom we “will know from their fruits” in 7:15–20? Elsewhere in Matthew (chapter 18), Jesus lays out guidelines for dealing with a “brother who sins,” involving a progression from showing him his error in private to taking the matter before the whole community. In the same vein, Paul repeatedly emphasizes the church’s responsibility to judge its members (though, interestingly, not the world; cf. 1 Cor 5–6, et al.).
If we are in a spiritual warfare, which all true Christian's are, as per Scripture, we'd better be able to judge who the enemy is, who is warring against us and our faith, as well as who is trying to devour, destroy, undermine and ruin our faith in the truth and in Jehovah, Christ Jesus, and in our being able to identify who, or at least what group of "Christians" comprises Christ's congregation, the body of Christ, and who do not. Otherwise, we will be completely vulnerable to our spiritual enemies.
Of course, with regard to the final judgement, Jehovah states that there is a day that He has set for judgeing mankind, and He has appointed Jesus as the ultimate and final Judge of the future prospects of individuals and whether they will receive eternal life, or not. Acts 17:31. The final judgement of mankind and of individuals is not for any human or other creature to determine or to judge.
Important Note to reader:
This is PART 1 * of a discussion of Matthew Chapter 7 of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, focusing on Matt 7:1 and Jesus words about judgeing.
*There is a PART 2 and a continuing discussion focusing on Matthew 7:6 and what Jesus meant when he said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs nor throw your pearls before swine."
NOTE: Contrary to posts made by a couple of posters, (who must not have bothered to read the post prior to criticizing it) PART 2, focuses on verse 6, and contains entirely different commentary, and an entirely different video.
The link for that is here: Part 2 Matthew 7 Sermon on the Mount
"So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people's minds. And then all will receive from God the praise they deserve." 1 Corinthians
"Stop judging from the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." John 7:24
Question: Here at Matthew 7:1 Jesus says, "Do not judge, so that you will not be judged." However, at John 7:24 Jesus says, "Stop judging from the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." John 7:24 1984 NWT. How are we to understand these seeming contradictions in Jesus' words?
More verses on the matter of judgement:
Deut. 1:16 "judge with righteousness."
Isaiah 11:3 , 4 "And he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth."
This post is based upon my recent research on this Biblical topic about Jesus words in Matthew chapter 7. Information was gathered from personal Bible study, and some articles, and is presented here to share what I found with interested persons. This is in an an effort to study and examine Scripture, in an effort to gain a clear and correct understanding of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:1 which are often misinterpreted and misunderstood.
The following s quoted from a very interesting non-Watchtower article that I came across recently on the topic of judging in the Bible:
"Probably one of the most frequently used, but misapplied, verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” If people would keep reading, they would see that in verse 6 Jesus tells us not to give what is holy to dogs or to cast our pearls before swine. He was not talking about literal dogs and swine, but rather about people who are dogs and swine. To obey that verse, you have to judge whether a person is a dog or a swine. Then, in verse 15, Jesus warns about false prophets who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. You have to judge carefully to conclude, “This isn’t a sheep—this is a wolf masquerading as a sheep!” The point is clear: if you don’t make correct judgments about others, you’ll be eaten by wolves! Also, Paul tells us that we are responsible to judge those in the Church who profess to be believers, but who are living in sin. (1 Cor. 5:9-13)"
Quoting from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he says, "In my letter I wrote YOU to quit mixing in company with fornicators, not [meaning] entirely with the fornicators of this world or the greedy persons and extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, YOU would actually have to get out of the world. But now I am writing YOU to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do YOU not judge those inside, while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked [man] from among yourselves.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-19
From the verses above, it becomes clear that it is necessary for some judgements to be made by the "congregation" and for it to be determined by Christ's congregation if an indivdual has sinned because he/she is just weak in their faith, and sins due to spiritual weakness, or if the person's sin or sins are because they are "wicked", requiring their removal from the congregation, in order to protect the congregation from morally unclean and bad influences: "remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
So, then, Jesus, through Scripture, is telling us not to judge persons harshly, based upon our own opinions, our own standards, or about things that we have not corrected in ourselves. At John 7:24, Jesus further tells us that we should not judge by outward appearances, but judge with righteous judgement. We first need to recognize faults in ourselves, based on God's standards, found in his word the Bible, correct them, and only then can we properly help others. Not that we shouldn't try to help our brother to "remove the straw" from his eye, but first we must seek and apply correction from God's word to remove the rafter from our own eye. In other words, fix your life first, then you will be able to help others. The lesson is, don't be hypocritical and don't judge by our own imperfect standards or by outward appearances.
And, based on the context, Jesus is also showing that it is actually very necessary for Christians to use discernment, to make judgements at times; to make rational, logical, practical judgements, using discernment, about people, for the sake of our own self preservation, in a spiritual sense, and as a protection and defense in our spiritual warfare against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 We need to decide, for instance, if someone is bad association as per Paul's words in 1 Corinthians. "Bad associations spoil useful habits." 1 Corinthians 15:33. This requires the Christian to use discernment, based on God's word, to make a judgement about a person's character, and as to whether they are "good" or "bad" association, and then, to act accordingly, to either associate with them or not.
Also, Jesus told his followers to be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep's covering, and said that these could be recognized "by their fruits", not by the message that they preach, but by their "fruits". This requires judgeing people, using discernment, as to whether or not they are false prophets. In order for us to make this judgment, Jesus tell us how to identify false prophets, "by their fruits you will recognize them." Matthew 7:16
“Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to YOU in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits YOU will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognize those [men]."
Matthew 7:15-20
Paul also fortold that there would be wolves that would oppress the sheep of Christ's congregation, once the apostles were gone. Paul states, "I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among YOU and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among YOU yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." Acts 20:29, 30 So, if we see people acting like oppressive wolves, but claiming to be Christian's, it's very possible they are oppressive wolves in sheep's covering, again, "by their fruits you will recognize them."
The following is another quote from another related article that discusses Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." KJV & ASV
"In the immediately following verse, Jesus requires good judgment: “Don’t give what is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine.” Wouldn’t this require identifying who the “dogs” and “swine” are? What about identifying the “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” whom we “will know from their fruits” in 7:15–20? Elsewhere in Matthew (chapter 18), Jesus lays out guidelines for dealing with a “brother who sins,” involving a progression from showing him his error in private to taking the matter before the whole community. In the same vein, Paul repeatedly emphasizes the church’s responsibility to judge its members (though, interestingly, not the world; cf. 1 Cor 5–6, et al.).
If we are in a spiritual warfare, which all true Christian's are, as per Scripture, we'd better be able to judge who the enemy is, who is warring against us and our faith, as well as who is trying to devour, destroy, undermine and ruin our faith in the truth and in Jehovah, Christ Jesus, and in our being able to identify who, or at least what group of "Christians" comprises Christ's congregation, the body of Christ, and who do not. Otherwise, we will be completely vulnerable to our spiritual enemies.
Of course, with regard to the final judgement, Jehovah states that there is a day that He has set for judgeing mankind, and He has appointed Jesus as the ultimate and final Judge of the future prospects of individuals and whether they will receive eternal life, or not. Acts 17:31. The final judgement of mankind and of individuals is not for any human or other creature to determine or to judge.
Important Note to reader:
This is PART 1 * of a discussion of Matthew Chapter 7 of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, focusing on Matt 7:1 and Jesus words about judgeing.
*There is a PART 2 and a continuing discussion focusing on Matthew 7:6 and what Jesus meant when he said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs nor throw your pearls before swine."
NOTE: Contrary to posts made by a couple of posters, (who must not have bothered to read the post prior to criticizing it) PART 2, focuses on verse 6, and contains entirely different commentary, and an entirely different video.
The link for that is here: Part 2 Matthew 7 Sermon on the Mount
"So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people's minds. And then all will receive from God the praise they deserve." 1 Corinthians
Edited for typos, to clarify meaning, and additional commentary about Jesus seemingly contradictory words at John 7:24."Stop judging from the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." John 7:24
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