In our day to day we use certain biblical verses incorrectly, since we take them in isolation, without reading the entire chapter, thus forgetting its context. This is our fourth article in our series of articles explaining Bible verses that are taken too much out of context. We hope it is a great blessing.
This is the verse in which those people who are walking in bad steps and do not want to be singled out hide. But the reality is that the passage where this verse is found speaks of the fact that before judging, one must first be well before God:
19 Did not Moses give you the law, and none of you keep the law? Why do you try to kill me?
20 The multitude answered and said: Demon you have; who tries to kill you?
21 Jesus answered and said to them: I have done a work, and you all marvel.
22 By the way, Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers; and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I completely healed a man?
24 Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment.
John 7:19-24
Here a situation similar to the advice in Matthew 7 occurred. A crowd that did not keep the law tried to accuse Jesus. And Jesus does not forbid them to judge, on the contrary, he asks them judge fairly, that is, he first calls them to fulfill the law before condemning him for “not fulfilling it.” Here we can go thinking that what the Bible teaches us is not not to judge, but to judge fairly and without hypocrisy.
All apparently fine so far, but there is one verse that seems to conflict:
So, let us no longer judge each other, but rather decide not to put a stumbling block or occasion to fall to the brother.
Romans 14:13
If we look at the verse in isolation, it can come into an apparent contradiction with what we have explained in the previous paragraphs. But as we have done in this series, let’s take the full text to find out the context of that verse. Please read the following text carefully and slowly so that you assimilate what the author is referring to:
1 Receive the weak in faith, but not to contend over opinions.
two Because one believes that one has to eat everything; another, who is weak, eats vegetables.
3 The one who does not eat should not despise the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat should not judge the one who eats; because God has received him.
4 Who are you, that you judge someone else’s servant? For his own lord he stands, or he falls; but he will stand firm, because the Lord is powerful to make him stand firm.
5 One makes a difference between day and day; another judges the same every day. Each one is fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who pays attention to the day, does it for the Lord; and he who pays no mind to the day, to the Lord he does not. He who eats eats for the Lord, because he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God.
7 Because none of us lives for himself, and none of us dies for himself.
8 Well, if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, to the Lord we die. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9 Because Christ died for this and rose again, and came back to life, to be Lord both of the dead and of those who live.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you too, why do you look down on your brother? Because we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
eleven Because it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
And every tongue will confess to God.
12 So each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 So, let us no longer judge each other, but rather decide not to put a stumbling block or occasion to fall to the brother.
14 I know, and I trust in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but for the one who thinks that something is unclean, for him it is.
fifteen But if your brother is grieved because of food, you no longer walk according to love. Don’t make the one for whom Christ died for your food perish.
What he talks about in this text is not to dispute personal opinions on non-fundamental biblical issues. In this text he gives the example of meals and holy days. He says that he who eats something does it for God and he who refrains from eating it for God does it. He who distinguishes between one day and another for God does, and he who does not, for God he does not. So we cannot judge a brother for a biblical conviction that is not essential to be at peace with him. That is the context of this passage. It is not at all a prohibition to judge major cases that do deserve attention.
And what do we do with James 4:12?
12 Only one is the giver of the law, who can save and lose; but you, who are you to judge another?
James 4:12
Let’s place that verse below its previous verse to get its context:
11 Brothers, do not murmur against each other. He who murmurs against his brother and judges his brother, murmurs against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 Only one is the giver of the law, who can save and lose; but you, who are you to judge another?
If you read carefully, you will realize that in this text it is about gossip. Gossiping against someone is a way of judging them behind their back. This is the problem that is being addressed in this passage. When you talk behind someone’s back, you are not giving that person a chance to defend themselves. Once again, “let us judge fairly.”
In what cases can it be judged?
As we said before, it is better not to judge in cases that are not of great importance, but there will be times when we have to face someone face to face. Let’s see the example of the Apostle Paul when he publicly condemned Peter:
Paul rebukes Peter in Antioch
eleven But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him face to face, because he was to be condemned.
12 For before some came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but after they came, he withdrew and withdrew, because he was afraid of those of the circumcision.
13 And in his pretense the other Jews also participated, in such a way that even Barnabas was also carried away by their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of everyone: If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not as a Jew, why do you force the Gentiles to Judaize?
Galatians 2:11-14
And this was between Apostles. The Apostle Paul saw the hypocritical way in which the Apostle Peter acted, who was among the Gentiles and acted like the Gentiles, but when he was in front of the Jews he did not want to associate with the Gentiles for fear of the Jews. On top of all that Peter wanted to force the Gentiles to be like the Jews. Such an attitude was found by Paul as worthy of reproving and condemning. And that is why Pablo rebuked him in public, without passing a lukewarm cloth. Paul had nothing to do with the fact that Peter was a great leader of the Church.
What is wrong is wrong and must be corrected. Something that today’s “apostles” do not understand, when you immediately try to point out something they say: “Do not touch the anointed”
conclusion
I could go on giving more examples and delving deeper into the subject, but this article would be much longer than it already is, but to make everything clear, we are going to cite a very interesting comment that we found while researching on this topic:
acts can be judged, but (what) cannot be judged is the heart, only God has the authority to judge hearts because only he knows them.
Previous article in the series:
What the Bible says about clothes and hairstyles
Next article in the series:
Will you and your house be saved?
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