“Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. And what do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “let me take the speck out of your eye”; here, in thine own eye a beam? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5).
“Judge not”. What did Jesus mean by saying those words? Does this mean that we have to be forgiving and tolerant to all, and you have to allow everyone to be who he wants to be? In other places Scripture says that a Christian must rebuke, admonish, and sometimes even be removed from someone who is warped and sinning defiantly.
What is the difference between fair criticism and a spirit of condemnation? The true critic, though, and points out the shortcomings, but its main goal is to achieve the best. Such criticism is constructive, not destructive. It stems from a desire to help another person. Jesus does not condemn constructive criticism. His “judge not” facing the people, carrying the spirit of condemnation, negative in nature. It has nothing to do with the love that is the center of Christ’s character. Condemnation is the habit of constantly seek out weaknesses in people, their words and deeds. It is a disease of the spirit, in which the critic arrogantly put himself above others and thinks he has the right to judge their errors.
It is important to remember that if we judge the motives of any man or condemn him, we arrogate to themselves a right that belongs only to God. We need to realize that we are weak people and without God we are completely lost. That awareness should humble us. Because God and only God we owe our life. If He paid us on merit, we would no longer be alive. But why in this case we want to give others what they, in our opinion, deserve? God grants unto us according to our merits. He gives us what we need. He gave us salvation from sin, He continues to save and support us daily.
When we realize the grandeur of His grace, we begin to understand how we should be grateful. And this understanding produces in us the desire, like God, to give our neighbors what they need, not what they deserve. It is also important to remember that in many cases we do not understand fully the situation surrounding the person and will never be able to know his motives. Therefore, Jesus warns us not to judge because we, unlike God, cannot see the heart.
Jesus also explains why we should not judge others: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you”. In other words, how we relate to others, in the end, will turn on our head.
Indeed, if some people are always picky and tends to judge others, he got himself in response to criticism. Similarly people are less critical of others, mostly more valued and less under attack. But the significance of Jesus ‘ words is not so limited. The Bible clearly teaches that at the last judgment God will render to us what we give to others. God sends us grace, and He desires that we pass it on to others. God gives us grace, and He desires that we share it with others. If we refuse to do it, if we will only come condemnation and rudeness, we are on the court expecting only condemnation. Everyone who will be in the eternal Kingdom, accept God’s character of love.
Please note that Christ said not to remove the speck from the eye to the middle until we successfully get out of your own eye beam. In other words, we must be good before doing good. The Christian writer Ellen white in the book “Rules for happy living”, wrote: “You cannot have a transformative effect on others while your own heart is not reconciled, cleared and will not become tender through the grace of Christ. When you committed this change, you will become as natural to carry your life a blessing to others as rose Bush fragrant, but the vine is to bring purple grapes”.
We, the people, from a birth typical of the spirit of condemnation. We have a tendency to evil. Jesus wants to come into our lives to teach us the principles of God’s Kingdom. He wishes that grace was the main quality of our nature. He wants to eradicate every spirit of condemnation from our hearts now and forever. And He will do it if we will open his heart to Him.