Did you know that the Bible says "there is no God", in those exact words? It does. I promise you, it's in there. 11 times, in fact. If you want a list of verses, here it is:
- Deuteronomy 32:39
- 1 Kings 8:23
- 2 Kings 1:3, 6, 16
- 2 Kings 5:15
- 2 Chronicles 6:14
- Psalm 14:1
- Psalm 53:1
- Isaiah 44:6
- Isaiah 45:5
Every single one of those verses, word for word, says "there is no God". Now, is the Bible an atheist document? Does the Bible really mean for us to believe "there is no God"? Obviously, no. There are words surrounding the exact words I have quoted. Psalm 14:1, for example, does not just say "there is no God", it says "The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”" The words of the verse, not to mention other places in the Bible, determine the context of the words we highlight.
The same is true of Matthew 7:1, a commonly misquoted verse in just about any debate concerning Christian morality. Does Matthew 7:1 say "Judge not, that you be not judged"? Yes. But what does verse 2 say? "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Ok, so here we have the reason for not judging. The measure you use to judge will be measured back to you. Let's read on:
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Ok, so now we have the full context. It's not about judging full stop, it's about hypocritical judgement. In fact, verse 5 gives us a "first, then" command. First, ensure you are not guilty of the same sin, then you can judge your brother. Well that rather puts a damper on the whole "judge not, full stop" argument, doesn't it? In fact, the irony is those who use Matthew 7:1 to uh... judge other Christians are condemned by this very verse. Judge not, lest ye be judged, for with what judgement you judge, you will be judged.
Now, if I, as a Christian, call sin "sin", and preach a message of repentance, would I be happy for my judgement to be measured against me? To answer this, let me give a personal anecdote. I was attacked in 2014. A repeat offender found me walking along the canal and demanded my money. I had no money to give, so he demanded my camera. I refused to give him my camera, so he punched me twice in the head, pushed me to the floor, kicked me several times in the stomach and cycled off into the distance (thankfully, without my property). Now, was this wrong? Yes! I don't think anyone who has ever misquoted Matthew 7 would refuse to call this evil. If they do, steal their wallet. They will either concede your point, or you profit from their stupidity.
Now, initially, I was hesitant to press charges against my attacker. I'm a Christian, I believe in forgiveness. But my mother and the attending police officer convinced me not to let him go. After all, even the Bible says "A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again." (Proverbs 19:19). So I pressed charges, he stood trial, he was convicted, he served what was quite frankly a pathetically short prison sentence for a violent repeat offender, and after that, he was released. And he found me.
Initially, I was prepared for a fight. I walked ahead, I loosened my grip on my dog's lead, and I kept my (completely legal) weapon close to my hand. And he pursued, as expected. But he did not demand anything this time. He actually apologised. He did wrong, and he knew it, and so he asked my forgiveness. We shook hands, and we parted ways.
So, what is my measure of judgement? At minimum, my measure is discipline with the possibility of forgiveness. I will call sin sin, I will support the appropriate punishment for that sin, but at the very least forgiveness is on the table. At best, I hope for grace; Not only the suspension of justice one does deserve, but also a reward they do not. Yes, I am quite happy for that measure to be measured against me, because that means my sins are already nailed to the cross. If I get what I deserve, I'm going to Hell. Jesus got what I deserve instead, so praise be to God, by His grace, through my faith, I am forgiven and restored. This does not mean God will not discipline me, but that discipline is with a view of correction. Why, if I am even slightly wise, would I be unhappy with this measure?
But what of those who misquote Matthew 7? These people will never maintain their own standard. They preach "judge not", but in practice, they judge all the time. In fact, to even begin to tell someone "judge not", you must judge them. The irony is that they usually judge the individual for judging a concept. If I say "the Bible says X is a sin", I am judging X (by the same Bible they will misquote to judge me for judging X), I am not judging people who do X. But those who misquote Matthew 7 will then proceed to judge me, as an individual, for judging X.
But what happens when X is hypocritical judgement? Well now, those who misquote Matthew 7 have forced themselves into a corner. They either hypocritically judge even those whom they are telling not to judge, or they must sit back and literally never judge anyone for anything, even if it is genuinely evil.
The obvious solution to this is to take Matthew 7:1 in the context of verses 2-5. On top of that, there are other verses that tell us to judge righteous judgement (e.g. John 7:24). Call sin sin, and preach the Gospel to those who need those very sins forgiven. Stop using Matthew 7:1 as an excuse to sin, and a method of bullying real Christians into silence. Be warned: It is infinitely better to be judged by a Christian, who wants you to receive the grace of Christ, than to be judged by God when that offer expires. Those who do not judge you do not love you.