Is it a sin to judge others?
The most quoted verse in the Bible, and the most truncated
In short
Jesus says judge not, and four verses later tells the same audience how to help someone with a fault. The passage is about hypocrisy and about the standard you will be measured by, not a ban on moral assessment - which the New Testament requires elsewhere in plain terms.
What the text says
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.
Galatians 6:1 was the verse of the day on July 1, 2024. See that day
Often brought inJohn 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Jesus tells people to judge - righteous judgement rather than by appearance. The same speaker, so any reading that makes all assessment forbidden has a problem.
The counterweightGalatians 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.
Paul instructs the community to restore someone caught in a fault, gently, watching themselves. It assumes both that you notice, and that noticing is dangerous for you.
What Christians agree on
Hypocritical judgement is condemned without qualification, and contempt for another person is never permitted. Equally, no tradition reads this as forbidding all moral discernment; the New Testament could not function if it did.
Where they disagree
Those who stress the warning
The instinct to assess others is so strong and so self-serving that the safest reading is the strictest one. Most people invoking 'righteous judgement' are rationalising.
Those who stress the distinction
Jesus explicitly commands right judgement, and the church is repeatedly told to discern. Refusing to make any assessment abandons people who need honest words.
Those who distinguish person from action
Assessing behaviour is required; assessing a person's standing before God is not yours to do. The line falls between the deed and the verdict on the soul.
Questions worth asking
- Do I have the same standard for myself here?
- Am I saying this to them, or about them?
- If I am right, do I want them restored or exposed?
The verse is quoted most often by people who want a conversation to stop. Read to the end of the paragraph, it does not stop the conversation; it tells you what to do before you enter it.
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