“Only GOD Can Judge Me”

Many of us as Christians believe that GOD commands us to be nice: to be kind (which we should be), approved by everyone and non-confrontational in every circumstance. We presume that if we are approved by men, even godly men, then surely, we must be approved by GOD.

We’re told that it is hypocritical to speak about someone else’s sin when we have sin ourselves. We commonly hear phrases like ‘only GOD can judge me’ or ‘judge not lest ye be judged.’ (Matthew 7:1) For a lot of us, the sting of those phrases has bought our silence, the question is: should it? What does the Bible really say about judging other people?

What Is Hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy is simply claiming to believe something that you don’t truly believe i.e., claiming to be a Bible-believing Christian (even having good theology) but your lifestyle and views are in blatant contradiction to Biblical commands.
One of the most central passages on hypocrisy comes from Jesus himself:

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe what they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
(Matthew 23:1-4)

Looking at this passage there are few qualities I want to stress: hypocrisy is habitual disregard for the commands of Scripture in personal piety and using Scripture to enforce the very commands they discarded onto others (James 4:11, Matt 7:1-5). When people reference Matthew 7:1 they overlook the fact that Christ condemns hypocritical judgement for they either ignore the very same sins practised in their own lives or the malicious intent in which they pronounce their judgements (Matt 7:2-5).

Other qualities of Hypocrites:

• Malice (or spitefulness) (Matt 22:18)
• Legalistic liars with seared consciences (1 Tim 4:2-3)
• Concealing hatred in their hearts (Prov 26:26-28, Ps 26:4)
• Moved by flattery (Dan 11:32, 34; Matt 6:1-2)
• Envious of others and greedy (1 Pet 2:1, Luke 11:39, Matt 23:25)
• Motivated by the approval men than the approval of GOD (Matt 23:5-12, 28; John5:44)

So, Is There No Place For Judgement in The Christian Life?

Scripture must be balanced with Scripture in order to be properly understood and see GOD more clearly as there are instances where judgement is used in a positive sense for the people of GOD (Luke 7:43, Ex 18:22, Lev 19:15). For in another place Christ commands His disciples not to judge ‘by appearances but judge with right judgement’ (John 7:24).

So, what does Christ mean by right judgement? I think the best place to start is to look at the definition of judge in this verse; originating from the Greek κρίνω or krinó which means to properly separate or distinguish one thing from another. Christians are to distinguish correctly things that are right from wrong and the like, and therefore, in essence, righteous judgement is spiritual discernment. We grow in spiritual discernment by ‘examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.’ To know GOD is to know doctrine and GOD wills us to grow in discernment.

The need as to why we grow in spiritual discernment is clear: to free ourselves from hypocrisy and grow in sanctification and to rightly discern the will of GOD (1 Cor 2:15). This idea is expressly felt by the apostle Paul:

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of GOD, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to GOD, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of GOD, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:1-2)

Paul, writing to the Corinthian church says, ‘Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Christ is in you? – unless you indeed fail to meet the test.’ (2 Cor 13:5). Examination of our own lives gives us the assurance that we are in Christ and Christ in us if we pass the test of Scripture.

What About Judging Others?

This line of biblical examination is not limited to judging ourselves – some of us are keenly aware of the need to judge ourselves – but we often neglect the exhortations and the need to examine others. We are to hold both ourselves and our brethren to account, Scripture speaks of its blessings.

Jeremiah writes ‘Let us examine and test our ways and turn back to The LORD’ (Lam 3:20) a corporate call to examine the spirituality of our lives; in James, he stresses the need for communal accountability ‘Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed’ (James 5:16); and in Ecclesiastes judgement is shown it benefits the hearer (Eccl 7:5).

Biblical love and kindness involve correction and rebuke (Psa 141:5) because it guards us against apostasy and condemnation (Prov 13:14).

Isn’t Judgement Limited To Elders?

Another issue in our Christianity is that our general distaste for confrontation has placed undue burden on pastors and elders. We rightly assume that church leaders are responsible for addressing sin in the congregation and the eldership, but we wrongly assume that such responsibility lies at their feet alone. This is not the case. We introduce moral laxness into the church when we pass the buck of discipline to others. It is through our rebuke that we reflect the glory of GOD: ‘Do not despise THE LORD’s discipline or be weary of His reproof, for THE LORD reproves him He loves, as a father the son in whom He delights.’ (Prov 3:11) This is part of speaking ‘the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15) and sharing in the Love of Christ.

Unfortunately, at times correction needs to even be applied to our elders. We are to honour our elders and part of their responsibility is to give an account for our souls to GOD (Hebrews 13:17), but part of honouring them is also by judging the moral qualities of their lives and ensure they uphold the moral standard that qualified them for leadership in the first place (1 Tim 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9).

GOD has established two institutions: family and the church. The church is to be an extension of the home that is why the qualifications of an elder include how they are to govern their homes. When we overlook sin in the home it will inevitably lead into the church. By our silence we create unhealthy church environments with abuse and immorality, leaving people wounded and afflicted. All sin begins in private, but the consequences are always public. If sin can corrupt nature itself, shouldn’t we soberly recoil over the reach of it?

How Do We Judge?

Now onto how to address sin in the church. GOD in His infinite and gracious wisdom has laid out the attitudes and the procedure in which we are to judge our fellow believers. I first want to layout in what posture or attitude in which we address someone else’s sin because we can be correct in our discernment, correct in following proper procedure but altogether wrong because we did not address in the spirit in which Christ intended.

Galatians 6:1-2 plainly lays out how we should address someone persisting in sin:

I feel it’s important here to explain what ‘gentleness’ means. It is not the soft-toned voice of false humility that is so rampant in Christendom, but gentleness here is meekness or power with restraint. We are to speak clearly but, in a way, where we recognise our own susceptibility to sin and in the aim of restoring them. Bearing one another’s burdens is to share in responsibility in dealing with that sin. This may take the form of practical advice, prayer. The aim of all church discipline is to call them to repentance.

The format of church discipline is clear in Matthew 18:15-18. This is the prescribed methods on how to address sin whether in the congregation or in leadership (I would caveat that bringing in two witnesses should be done by another elder and the eldership should make the sin public before the congregation if the sinning elder is not repentant.)

I hope now there is clarity and order in navigating this very difficult topic of hypocrisy and church discipline. Fear GOD only (Eccl. 12:13)

All scripture quotations are from English Standard Version (ESV) translation.