Judge Not - Trinity 4 2026

Few passages of Scripture are quoted more often by unbelievers, and even by many Christians, than the simple phrase, “Judge not.” It is held up as though Jesus had forbidden every moral evaluation, every criticism, every act of discernment. The prevailing wisdom of our age says that the highest virtue is to approve of everyone’s choices and to leave all matters of truth and error to personal preference.

But that is not what Jesus is teaching. If Christ truly meant that no one should ever judge another person, then He Himself would be contradicting the rest of Scripture. He commands the Church to rebuke false doctrine. Parents are to discipline their children. Pastors are to exercise the Office of the Keys. Civil authorities are to punish evildoers and praise those who do good. Christians are repeatedly told to test the spirits, to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to admonish brothers caught in sin. Jesus does not end our reading by saying, “Leave the speck in your brother’s eye.” Instead He says, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck.” The goal is still helping your brother. The problem is not judgment itself. The problem is hypocritical judgment.