Jesus famously said, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Today, some people use this to shut down conversations when the subject turns to sexual morality.
“Didn’t Jesus say not to judge others?” they ask. “Who are you to judge?”
Did Jesus mean his words to be used this way?
If not, what did he mean?
Here are 10 things to know and share . . .
1) Not a cover for immoral behavior in general
It’s clear that Jesus did not intend his words to be used as a cover for immoral behavior.
He did not mean them to be used as a conversation stopper to shut down attempts to admonish people engaged in immoral behavior.
In fact, Jesus himself did rather a lot of admonishing regarding proper moral conduct.
That is, in fact, the subject of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), in which the saying occurs.
2) Not even a cover for sexual misbehavior
Jesus had quite a bit to say about sexual immortality as well—noting, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount that even being mentally unfaithful was a sin:
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart [Matt. 5:27-28].
3) Not a prohibition on admonishing others
Jesus did also not intend his words to be used to stop others from admonishing others when they are committing sinful behavior.
Jesus himself told his ministers:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you [Matt. 28:19-20].
That would include teaching his commands regarding sexual morality.
Also, admonishing sinners is a spiritual work of mercy that we are to engage in:
My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins [Jas. 5:19-20].
4) Not an endorsement of moral relativism
Taking Jesus’ teaching out of context, one might try to use it as a pretext for moral relativism—the idea that all moral judgments regarding the conduct of others are to be suspended and each person is to be allowed to define what is morally good for himself.
This is clearly ruled out by what we’ve already seen regarding Jesus’ own teaching on morality and on the need to proclaim them to others.
We do not define moral truth for ourselves. Moral relativism is a false position that is incompatible with the Christian faith.
It is also incompatible with itself. Like all forms of relativism, it is self-contradictory.
If it is wrong to make moral judgments regarding the behavior of others then it would be wrong to judge others for judging!
So what did Jesus mean?
