Memorization of Bible verses is almost a thing of the past. While most people used to know John 3:16 by heart, more today seem to have memorized Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, that you be not judged." Ironically, answering the above question requires a judgment.

I have no good way of knowing whether most Christians are too quick to judge others. It might be more important that we determine exactly what Jesus was talking about and the kind of judgment he was condemning.

By carefully examining Matthew 7, we notice that Jesus was condemning a specific judgment type--hypocritical judgment. Hypocrisy involves saying one thing and doing another or, in this case, condemning someone for doing the same thing you are doing. In verse 2, Jesus said, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged..." He went on to illustrate His point with the example of a man who had a two-by-four in his eye attempting to remove a tiny splinter from his friend's eye. Jesus didn't say the man shouldn't try to remove the splinter from his friend's eye. Rather, he ought first to remove the board from his own eye. Only then would he be able to do a good job of removing the splinter.

Many folks use Matthew 7:1 to condemn (judge) anyone who makes a judgment regarding whether a behavior or person is right or wrong. This is a misapplication of the passage. It is also more than a little hypocritical. The real point, as is illustrated in Romans 2:1-3, is that if a person is to be a respected judge, he must be personally righteous. That doesn't mean sinless, but it certainly demands a generally righteous life.

Each of us must make judgments. Without doing so, we cannot ascertain right from wrong. The Bible is designed to reveal truth and make good judgments possible. Scripture illustrates that we are bound to make judgments.

• In 1 Corinthians 5:3, the apostle Paul spoke of having judged as immoral the fornication taking place in the Corinthian church. He instructed the church to discipline the fornicator. That also involved making a judgment.
  
  
• In verses 11-13 of the same chapter, Paul taught that the church is responsible for judging those within its number. He commanded the church to "put away from yourselves the evil person."
  
  
• In 1 Corinthians 6, the apostle continued to deal with judgments, criticizing the church for taking internal disputes to outsiders, and instructing them to judge such matters among themselves. He wrote that the saints would judge the world, and angels, so "are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?"

A study of these two chapters reveals not only that Christians may judge, but also that they are unrighteous if they tolerate and refuse to judge immoral conduct. The Corinthian church was guilty of what appears to be prevalent in our society. Its members were ignoring the duty to judge the morality of certain things. Rather, they looked to the public courts to settle small squabbles, letting unbelievers do the judging without benefit of God's word as a guide.

Christians cannot believe, practice, and teach the doctrines of Christ and the Bible without rendering direct or indirect judgments on those who violate and repudiate those doctrines. A Christian's refusal to participate in certain sins, even when he or she never speaks a word of rebuke, often judges the conscience of those who practice the sin. Several Bible passages (Luke 17:3; 1 Timothy 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:13,2:15) command that Christians "rebuke" (sharply criticize or judge) sin and sinners.

What Jesus found distasteful and intolerable was the hypocritical judgments of those who sinned, and then condemned others for the exact same, or similar, sin. Each of us should be slow to judge. We need to examine our own lives before we probe into the lives of others. But it can be an act of love to show another his error so he can repent and be redeemed.