Just curious, what does does this scripture mean to you.?

Question

Matthew 7: 1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2For with what judgment
ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again.



Does it mean that you should only judge others if they are gay?

Isn't that up to God?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylc=X3oDMTI1OWVzOTBlBFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDNjY4ZWNmNTIwMmQ1ZjFlMGE0M2Q3YWNkMGFhMzYxNmMEUl9sdHADMQ--?qid=20070719101048AAqMoxp

If you even thik that someone is an "abomination" does that make you one too?

According to that scripture it does.

OR

Will I see "out of context" in these answers?

The bible is the WORD of many many men, NOT GOD!

Answer 1

We are the tolerant society. Nothing much angers us any more. Nothing, that is, except someone who is not as tolerant as we are! We can tolerate anything except the person who won't tolerate anything! No wonder our favorite Bible verse is Matthew 7:1, "Judge not that ye be not judged."

The new "unpardonable sin" is "judging." What a blessing this "new commandment" is to "Easy Christianity." Hypocrites can flaunt their violations of the Word of God and yet parade unchallenged as Christians. No one dares call them hypocrites for ("Oh, Horrors!") that would be "judging them."

Tell anyone nowadays that he or someone else is doing wrong and you will be immediately rebuked, "Don't Judge!" Is such a use of this verse proper? It clearly is not.

It can't mean that we must give up all spiritual discernment in order to be "loving Christians." Five verses later Jesus says, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6). This command assumes the exercise of spiritual discernment. A few verses later Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets...You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:15,16,20). Again Jesus demands spiritual discernment. In Jesus' view it is not "judging" to conclude that someone is a false prophet.

Is it, perhaps, our duty to keep such discerning conclusions to ourselves in order to avoid "judging"? Emphatically not! Matthew 7:1 does not teach that it is sinful to confront and, if necessary, publicly expose evil. If this were so, how could Jesus say, "And if you brother sins, go and reprove him...?" How could Jesus go on to say, "And if he refuses to listen...tell it to the church"? (Matthew 18:15,17). How could Jesus' apostle, Paul, say, "Do you not judge those who are within the church?...Remove the wicked man from among yourselves" (1 Corinthians 5:12,13).

Matthew 7:1 does not forbid us either to form or express our opinions about such hypocrites. Jesus expressed such an opinion in this very passage. In Matthew 7:5 He said, "You hypocrite." John the Baptist expressed his opinion of the Pharisees publicly to their faces, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). We must do the same. Jesus in this very chapter (Matthew 7:15,16,20) commanded, "Beware of false prophets...you will know them by their fruits."

It's time for Christians to stop being bound by such false interpretation and to start dealing with sin. "Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them" (Proverbs 28:4)

So what does Matthew 7:1 mean? In this context, Jesus is forbidding forming or expressing conclusions about others by those who won't see or deal with their own sins. Matthew 7:3-5 says, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

If, on the basis of Matthew 7:1, you refuse to form and express (when necessary) moral opinions, you are confessing your refusal to see and deal with your own sins. The refusal to exercise moral discernment is a confession of moral bankruptcy!

May God embolden you to stop tolerating sin in yourself and others, to your hurt and to theirs!

Answer 2

I think there are several answer that agree with my opinion here. I think it has to do with hypocrisy.

I'm writing to address the comment, "The bible is the WORD of many many men, NOT GOD!'

The Bible claims that God is definitely involved. Please consider:

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Peter 1:21 because no prophecy ever originated through a human decision. Instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

It could be argued that this is circular reasoning since the Bible says it about itself. As you pointed out though, the Bible is not just one book but many and written by many.

Have a good day!

Answer 3

This is one of the most often misunderstood and misquoted passages in all the Bible. It is important to understand that Jesus was not making a blanket prohibition against all judgment and discernment, but only against that which is done in self-centered pride. A good summary of his meaning is, "Do not judge others until you are prepared to be judged by the same standard. And then, when you exercise judgment toward others, do it with humility."

A primary evidence for this interpretation is in 7:5. Jesus did command his listeners to help their brothers and sisters with the speck in their eye (exercise judgment concerning another person), but only after we have taken the log out of our own eyes. This presumes that we have acknowledged that we have at least as great an offending capacity as our brother or sister, and so have no cause to think of ourselves as better. Matthew 7:6 also denies a sweeping "no judgment whatsoever" interpretation in that it assumes we should have the good judgment to discern a "swine" when we see one. It is impossible to carry out many of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount without exercising humble judgment concerning others (e.g., 5:6,7,9-11,20,39,44; 6:14-15; 7:6,15-20).

It is one thing to exercise judgment, and quite another to have a judgmental attitude. One is an action that might be carried out with right or wrong motives; the other is a negative character quality.

The theme of prideful judgment seems at first glance to be a radical departure from the flow of the sermon. However, when we consider some of the teaching Jesus had been giving his followers, we begin to understand why this warning is important. He had been challenging the people to rise above what had been wrongly considered the ultimate height of righteousness (5:20)—pharisaical self-righteousness. In fact, Jesus challenged them to perfection (5:48).

But Jesus also knew well our human tendency to take truth and use it to feed a new kind of hypocritical supremacy. He did not want the hypocritical followers of the Pharisees to become the hypocritical followers of Jesus. So he stopped and warned them to apply his teaching first to themselves, then to others.

This is the central application of 7:1-5. Our habitual response to Scripture must be to say, "What about me?" rather than, "What about others?"

The Greek word translated judge, condemn, discern is related to the English "critic" and "criticize."

The command at the beginning of 7:1 is present tense and, therefore, is best rendered as "stop judging." We are to get rid of a critical spirit, but seek to be a discerning person. (Passages that reinforce Jesus' teaching here are Rom. 2:1; 14:4,10-13; 1 Cor. 4:5; 5:12; James 4:11-12.)

Answer 4

It simply means that we are not to judge by a double standard. If we judge by a standard higher than otherwise established, then God will hold US accountable to that higher standard.

Judging implies the ability to condemn, and only God can do that. But Christians are encouraged to discern the fruit of a person's life later on in Matthew 7:15-20. The purpose for this is to know who to hang with, and who to avoid. (And, yes, that's a form of judging too, but by God's standard.)

Answer 5

It mean: the way in which you 'judge" is the way others will "judge" you. So be careful what you use as your rules for "judging".
Thank God for those that rely on the perfect judgment of God, His Holy Word.
By the Grace of God He has provided us His Word by the inspired hand of many men.

Answer 6

Don't judge or accuse someone fasely contrary to God's Holy word. Righteous judgements are acceptable in God's sight if the judgement is in defense of Bible truth.

Answer 7

It means that you should not be a hypocrite. It does not prohibit judgement.

If Jesus ever taught an end to judgement, he would have been teaching anarchy, but to observe his teachings you would see very quickly that he taught communism (everyone contribute what they had and taking as they need -- core principle of communism).

Answer 8

Tex, either you've lost it, or I'm particularly obtuse. - Why should this text refer to gays? Why shouldn't it refer to people with (say) big noses, smelly feet, or small attributes?

Answer 9

I believe it is solely up to god.

Answer 10

amazing how so many self proclaimed christians forget this...