Romans 2:1 – “judge” (Greek: krinw - krino) 

•        In a general sense, to “judge” means to “evaluate, to determine, to pronounce  an opinion concerning right and wrong ”.

–      Acts 4:19 - But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.”

–      1 Corinthians 11:13 - “Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?”

 

•        Often, as in Roman 2:1, it is used in connection with the act of passing judgment on the behavior of others .

–      Romans 2:1 - “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

–      Matthew 7:1-2 - "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

•        Many (Christians and non-Christians alike) have mistakenly concluded from passages such as these, that it is “unchristian” to ever pass moral judgement on the behavior of another human being

 

•        The Bible does not forbid all types of judging - in fact, the Bible often commands us to make judgements - even concerning the moral behavior of other people.

 

•        Jesus, for example, often demanded that people make a right judgement:

–      Luke 12:57 - "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?”

–      John 7:24 - “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment”

 

•        Even in the oft quoted passage (Matthew 7:1) where Jesus forbids wrongful judging, He goes on to command the people to make judgements concerning others:

–      Matthew 7:1 - "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

–      Matthew 7:6 - "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

–      Matthew 7:15 - "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

 

•        Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, commands that we judge the moral behavior of others in the church and take action (put them out of the church) if necessary.

–      1 Corinthians 5:12-13 - “. . .  Are you not to judge those inside [the church]? [Rhetorical answer: Yes!] . . .’Expel the wicked man from among you.’"

 

•        The kind of judging that the Bible forbids is:

–       Judging in such a way that you are “looking down your nose” at others as though you were somehow better than them - especially when you yourself are guilty of the same things to an even greater degree.

–       Judging others as though they answered to you, when, in fact, they answer to God

 

•        In Romans 2, we see that the Jew was guilty of both of these wrong kinds of judgement concerning the Gentiles:

–       They considered themselves to be better than the Gentiles, when, in fact, they were guilty of the same sins  - “. . . . you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

–       They were contemptuous of what they perceived to be God’s leniency towards the Gentiles - “. . . you show contempt for the riches of His [God’s] kindness, tolerance and patience” (Romans 2:4)

 

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