Bible Misquotes: The Effect of Misusing Matthew 7:1 "Judge Not, that You Be Not Judged."

"Judge not, that you be not judged." (Mat 7:1) gets thrown around in all sorts of settings. It is one of the most abused and misused verses in the Bible. It is often used by non-Christians during discussions/arguments with Christians in an attempt to humble the Christian into silence. It is almost always used out of context and incorrectly. Matthew chapter 7 does not say that Christians should not exercise good judgment. There are other passages in the New Testament where Christians are expressly required to judge their own and others actions (e.g. 1Cr 6).

The context of the passage
Matthew chapter 7 is part of what is commonly known as "the sermon on the mount." Beginning in chapter 5, Jesus sits down with a crowd of followers and begins explaining the core of his teachings. Whether this was a single event or a prosaic summary of his teachings is immaterial. What is important is the broader context to, "Judge not, that you be not judged." It doesn't mean what you probably think it means.

When people quote this out of context, it does nothing to strengthen their argument. It has just the opposite effect. As when all verses are quoted out of context, those who understand the broader concept simply shake their head and walk away. There is no sense in trying to have a conversation with someone who doesn't have a clue or hasn't taken the time to understand the other point of view. Let's look at the context so we can use this verse correctly and appropriately.

What was Jesus saying in Matthew chapter 7?
In a sentence, the first five verses of Matthew 7 can be paraphrased, "Don't be a hypocrite." In that regard, the type of judgment Jesus warns against is hypocritical judgment. This extends to judging a person's heart or motives which is left to God. He never said that we should abandon our common sense or disregard our other senses when evaluating the actions of ourselves or others. Jesus simply warns us to be concerned with our own house instead of constantly pronouncing hypocritical judgments on others.

Those words rang true with his audience because they were well aware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in first century Judea. The Pharisees viewed themselves as perfectly pious Jews who had the right to lord it over others and tell them how to live every minute detail of life. An alternate paraphrasing of this section might be, "You know how much the Pharisees irritate the snot out of you? Well, don't be like them. Get your own house in order. Help your brother when he needs help. And if you feel the need to correct him, do it by example and with love."

I like to think Jesus was drawing on his background as a carpenter here too. Though not expressly said, the imagery he uses of a speck and beam relate directly to the carpenter's trade. It's not a stretch to think that during some carpentry project, Jesus got some saw dust in his eyes and was having trouble locating the board he was working on. What a great twist of imagery he presents when he reverses the situation and tells us to remove the plank from our eye before we start looking for the speck of saw dust in our neighbor's eye. Jesus was a funny guy, sometimes using odd imagery to put his audience at ease and make a subtle point.

Why misquoting Matthew 7:1 has no real effect
As mentioned previously, when you use this verse to try to shut Christians up, it really has the opposite effect. Those who have read and understand the complete passage immediately mentally jump to verse 6. That's the "pearls before swine" verse. By misusing verse 1, you have basically set up your opponent to dismiss everything else you might say. The logic is: if you don't understand the real meaning of Matthew 7:1-5, there is no sense continuing this conversation. I would just be giving "what is holy to the dogs" and casting my "pearls before swine." If I continue in this conversation they will "turn and tear me in pieces."

Next time you find yourself in a conversation with a Christian, don't insult their intelligence by misusing Matthew 7:1. Educate yourself on the broader context. You may learn something new. You'll at least have a more worthwhile, respectful, and productive conversation.