What right do we have to ever be critical of anything anyone does? Wouldn't that be judging someone else?

It is very ironic how so many people who never spend any time studying the Bible think they have the correct understanding of the statement Jesus made, "Judge not lest you be judged."

Compare the following passages from Scripture;

Matthew 7:1-5 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. {2} "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. {3} "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? {4} "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? {5} "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned."

Luke 17:3-4 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. {4} "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."

John 8:7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Romans 2:1-4 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. {2} And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. {3} But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? {4} Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

James 4:11-12 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. {12} There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

Compared to;

Matthew 7:15-20 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. {16} "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? {17} "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. {18} "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. {19} "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. {20} "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Matthew 16:17-19 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. {18} "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. {19} "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

Matthew 18:15-20 "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. {16} "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. {17} "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. {18} "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. {19} "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. {20} "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

John 20:20-23 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. {21} So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." {22} And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said^ to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. {23} "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

1 Corinthians 5 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. {2} You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. {3} For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. {4} In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, {5} I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. {6} Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? {7} Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. {8} Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. {9} I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; {10} I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. {11} But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one. {12} For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? {13} But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

We are told in the first selection of passages that it is wrong to judge others and there is severe penalty if we persist in doing so.

We are told in the second selection of passages that we have a responsibility to judge each other and failure to do so would be wrong.

If this was all which there was to say we would be hopelessly deadlocked and Scripture would indeed contradict Scripture.

The Truth lies in the correct application of these passages without taking them out of the context in which they were originally given.

Matthew 7:1-5

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. {2} "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. {3} "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? {4} "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? {5} "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Matthew 7:15-20

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. {16} "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? {17} "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. {18} "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. {19} "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. {20} "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

In the midst of the sermon on the mount Jesus speak both of incorrect judgment and correct judgment.

In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus condemns hypocrisy. The Pharisees of the day viewed others as sinners and worthy of condemnation and themselves as better then others because they were Pharisees. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is a prime example of this sinful judgment of others (Luke 18:10-14).

A few short verses later (15-20) Jesus addresses proper judgment. Judgment not in since condemnation but in correct discernment of truth or error in a person's life.

The difference lies in personal judgment of a person vs. the application of God's Word to a person's life.

God is the only one who can judge in the since of condemning someone to hell.

It is the God given responsibility of every Christ to be "fruit inspectors."

I Corinthians 5 - Paul hears the facts of a situation from trustworthy sources. Without even being present, he determines the behavior is contrary to the Word of God and that the person should be removed from membership in the Church - excommunication.

What we are dealing with is the correct application of Law and Gospel.

The Law of God - His revealed will - is to be applied to every person.

People who are not Christian will be lead to Repentance or Rebellion (See Chart).

When rebellion is the response the speaker of God's truth will seek another opportunity to share the Word of God with the person.

When they are led to repentance the Gospel is preached to give the burdened conscience the comfort it needs.

People who are Christians will also be led to Repentance or Rebellion (See Chart).

When repentance is the response the Gospel is proclaimed to comfort the conscience.

When rebellion is the response the person is held accountable for his rebellion against God.

This accountability can be in various forms but ultimate end of a person who rebels is removal from the Body of Christ.

Matthew 18 outlines the proper steps for holding a rebellious person accountable.

Notice the goal of Matthew 18 is to win the brother, not condemn him.

True love is the motivation of preaching the Law, not to condemn but to lead to repentance.

In the lives of those Outside the Church we are able to examine and see the lack of faith through the actions of the life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, {10} nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Timothy 1:8-10 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, {9} realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers {10} and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.

While it is easy to identify a lack of faith through the sin present in the life, there is no avenue for holding a person accountable.

Thus we make the judgment (Spirit guided discernment) that the person needs to hear Law and Gospel and if this to no avail we remove ourselves from the realm of influence of the person.

James 2:17-19 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. {18} But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." {19} You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? {15} Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

The same is true when the situation involves a person who claims to be a Christian. The difference lies in the fact that the Church does have an avenue of accountability among those who name the Name of Christ.