This is a very good and needful question.  Many people today think they should not be judged by others no matter what they do.  Some quotes Bible verses such as Matthew 7:1 which says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”  That seems to end the question for many, but then we read in John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”  We read in Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”  We then read in 1 Corinthians 5:12, “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?”

So, your question is very pertinent.  How do we know when to judge and when not to judge?  What is it that we can judge and what is it that we cannot judge?  The Greek word for each of the instances above is ‘krínō’ and means “to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.”  We can see that the act of judging is a serious matter.  It can be wrong to judge others, but at times, we MUST judge others.  Let’s try to understand the difference.

Let’s read Matthew 7:1-5, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, 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.”  In this portion, the Lord refers to rash, critical, and unjust judgment…finding fault in others when we are guilty of the same thing, or even worse.  We read in Romans 2:1, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”  It is so easy to excuse sin in our own lives but react harshly to the same sin in someone else’s life.  This is hypocrisy and is inexcusable!  We cannot judge motives because we cannot see the heart.  We cannot properly judge when we are living in sin. 

Now, let’s read 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”  Here is an occasion where we are called upon to judge.  Believers are told not to fellowship with other believers who are living in sin.  This is to show our displeasure in their behavior and seek to show them the seriousness of their sin by isolating them from fellow believers. To see a Christian living a life that dishonors the Lord and do nothing about it, brings harm to the person in sin.  He needs to be corrected so that he might repent and be restored to the Lord.  Consider what we read in Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”  If we see a brother in Christ that has fallen into sin, we judge that sin as wrong, as dishonoring to the Lord, and we seek to restore that person to the Lord.  We do not judge so that we might simply criticize or ridicule someone.  We judge that there is sin present and seek to help him get rid of that sin by repenting.  If we ignore that sin, he may never see his error.  I have often said that if you see me living in sin, please judge me.  Determine what I am doing wrong.  Talk to me about it so that I might see it as others see it and then repent.  I depend on my fellow believers to help me by judging any sin that I might have in my life.  (CC)  (627.6)