What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, "judge Not, That You Be Not Judged"?
1) Direct Answer
Jesus forbade a harsh, condemning, hypocritical spirit that sets oneself up as the final judge. He called us to judge ourselves first, then help our brother in meekness by the Word. He did not forbid righteous judgment; He forbade self-righteous condemnation.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Matthew 7:1-5: “Judge not… for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” Then He says, “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Now notice, He didn’t say leave the mote there; He said get yourself right first, then you can see clearly to help.
- Luke 6:37-38: “Judge not… condemn not… forgive… for with the same measure… it shall be measured to you again.” The issue is the measure and the spirit.
- John 7:24: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” You see, Jesus Himself commands judgment—righteous judgment—according to truth, not appearances.
- Matthew 7:15-20: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Recognizing fruit requires discernment.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-13: Open sin in the church must be judged inside, not ignored. “Do not ye judge them that are within?” The Word is the standard, and the goal is purity and restoration.
- Galatians 6:1: “If a man be overtaken in a fault… restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself.” That’s judgment with mercy and humility.
- Romans 14:4,13: Don’t set yourself as judge over doubtful matters; don’t put stumbling blocks. God is the Master of His servant.
- James 4:11-12: There is one Lawgiver and Judge. We don’t usurp God’s throne.
- 1 Corinthians 11:31: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” Self-judgment comes first.
- Matthew 18:15-17: Private correction, then witnesses, then the church. That is righteous, ordered judgment for the purpose of winning a brother.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If “judge not” meant never make any judgment, you could not obey “by their fruits ye shall know them,” nor protect the flock, nor correct error. So Jesus is not banning discernment; He is banning hypocrisy and condemnation.
- The standard we use will be used on us. If we deal in mercy and truth, we will meet mercy and truth. If we deal in hard, fleshly criticism, we invite the same on ourselves.
- We never pronounce the final sentence on a soul—that belongs to God. But we do discern doctrine, conduct, and fruit by the Scripture for restoration and protection.
- Start at the mirror. Clean the beam out first. Then, with meekness, help remove the mote. The Word is the measure; love is the motive; restoration is the aim.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Judge yourself by the Word, walk in mercy and truth, and when judgment is required, let it be righteous—Scripture-based, Spirit-led, humble, and aimed at redemption, not destruction.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Sirs, we would see Jesus
64-0318 §12
Now, if God was going to judge the world (and He is), if we'd say... If I might say to the French Catholic, "What do you think He'll judge it by?" "The French Catholic church." The Roman Catholic believes He'll judge it by that church. The Orthodox, Greek Orthodox Catholic, believes He'll judge it by that. The Methodists will say, "Our church"; the Baptists, "Our church"; the Pentecostal... See, it would be so confusing a person wouldn't know what to do. But He said He would judge the world by Jesus Christ; and Jes...
Led by the Spirit of God
56-0723 §25
Oh, my! That'll make you forget the hot weather. Notice, and while you are in that body, you are just as free from condemnation as He is. You'll never have to stand any judgment. God calls judgment to be struck upon His body, and if you're in Him, God cannot judge you. He has already judged you when He judged Christ. Amen. And you can't be under judgment no more. Christ took your judgment, and when you're baptized into that body of Christ, you are free from God's judgment. The wrath of God will pass over you. That'...
Sir, we would see Jesus
63-1112 §57
That's the way the prophets come up. They didn't know where they come from. They knew nothing about Elijah, about the rest of them. They just come from nowhere, and went away. That's all they knowed. It's men that God can get a hold of. Men like you, that God can get a hold of and declare Himself, that He might righteously judge a generation, that He might judge a nation, judge a world. Because, the Word has to go forth somewhere, and He sees to it that the elected gets in to hear that.
Communion
63-0707E §5
Now, let us read the Scripture just as Saint Paul exhorts us here in the book of Saint John the... I beg your pardon, in book of I Corinthians, the a--the 11th chapter, beginning with the 23rd verse. For I have received of the Lord... which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night... which he was betrayed took bread: Wished I had time to--to speak that a little bit. The same night that He was betrayed (You see?), He took bread. And when he had give thanks, he brake it, ... said, Take and eat: t...
The Queen of Sheba
60-0710 §9
And then if you say that you're saved and still live for the things of the world, your fruits prove that you're not saved. Certainly. I've always said that I'm very strict. I believe holiness, exactly. And I said I... But if you just make yourself dress like a holy person or act like a holy person, that doesn't make you a holy person. See? You'd just be making out that. But if the Spirit within you makes you live that way, then you know you're all right. That's how you judge yourself; then you're not judged. You're...