Do Not Judge According To Appearance, But Judge With Righteous Judgement
Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged
JOHN 7:24
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
”John 7:24 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.7.24.NKJ
Most say we Christians must not judge, but here John tells us we must stop making quick, unfair guesses based on the outside. Instead, Jesus tells us to use deep truth and fairness to see things the way God does.
Jesus was talking to religious leaders in Jerusalem who were angry because He healed a man on a holy rest day.
The leaders thought Jesus broke God's law, but they were breaking it themselves by planning to kill Him.
They judged Jesus by a fast, surface look at a rule rather than looking at the loving, healing miracle He actually performed.
Looking deeper, we believers are not to judge a person or event by wealth, status, race, or first impressions.
Real discernment looks at truth, mercy, and God's actual intent, not man-made rules.
The Bible does not ban all thinking or evaluation; it tells us to separate right from wrong with a humble and honest heart.
Matthew 7:1 ("Judge not, that you be not judged") is a famous teaching from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount warning against hypocrisy, condemning others, and self-righteous pride. It does not ban all discernment, but forbids a harsh, fault-finding attitude. In other words, Jesus will treat us with the same level of mercy or harshness that we treat others.
Jesus expects people to use good judgment and common sense (as seen later in Matthew 7:6 regarding "dogs and pigs").
The Greek word for judge (krino) can mean to condemn. Jesus is saying we should not act as a person's final moral judge, only He has the authority to do that.
Jesus uses a funny picture of a person trying to pull a tiny speck of dust out of a friend's eye while a giant wooden log is stuck in their own eye.
He calls this person a hypocrite, telling them to fix their own major faults first so they can see clearly to help a friend later.
The truth is, before we look at what we see as immoral behaviour in others, we need to take a good look of the immoral behaviours in ourselves.
Having said all that, we Christians and unbelievers alike, must make judgments, but those judgments must be made in truth.
There has to be accountability, but make ourselves accountable for our own actions first, so that we become qualified to hold others accountable later.
Accountability is not final judgment, it is bringing discipline-only Jesus has the authority to bring final judgment, and He is soon to return to do just that.
All glory be to God forever and ever! Amen.
Please share to our brothers and sisters all around the world.
