Are you being silenced by people telling you "Judge Not"?

[bdavidc]

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; ~ Luke 6:37 ESV

Isn't it exhausting to hear someone say, "Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged!" just to discourage you from sharing your thoughts or expressing what the Bible truly conveys?

When Jesus says, "Judge not, and you will not be judged" in Luke 6:37, He is not forbidding all forms of judgment, but warning against hypocritical, harsh, or self-righteous judgment. The broader context—especially when considered alongside Matthew 7—makes it clear that Jesus is not telling His followers to abandon discernment. In fact, just a few verses later He says, "By their fruits you shall know them," referring to false prophets. This means believers must be able to recognize and evaluate the character and conduct of those who claim spiritual authority. When someone is leading others astray, Christians are called to make a judgment, based on the fruit of that person’s life, and conclude, “This is a false shepherd.” Such a judgment is not condemned but expected, as Scripture elsewhere calls believers to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21), to confront sin in the church (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), and to beware of afalse teachers (Matthew 7:15-20). What Jesus is truly warning against is the presumption of ultimate authority—the kind of judgment that seeks to condemn others as if sitting in God's place. He was speaking to religious leaders who believed it was their role to make final declarations about people's standing before God. Jesus firmly corrects this, asserting that only He holds the authority to make such final judgments. Therefore, the command to "judge not" is not a blanket prohibition on all judgment, but a reminder to judge rightly—humbly, carefully, and always with awareness of our own need for grace.

 

[Rxlx]

More succintly we can rebuke and reprove and thereby judge someone!
: 2 Timothy 4:1-2: I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

 

[Dylan569]

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; ~ Luke 6:37 ESV

Isn't it exhausting to hear someone say, "Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged!" just to discourage you from sharing your thoughts or expressing what the Bible truly conveys?

When Jesus says, "Judge not, and you will not be judged" in Luke 6:37, He is not forbidding all forms of judgment, but warning against hypocritical, harsh, or self-righteous judgment. The broader context—especially when considered alongside Matthew 7—makes it clear that Jesus is not telling His followers to abandon discernment. In fact, just a few verses later He says, "By their fruits you shall know them," referring to false prophets. This means believers must be able to recognize and evaluate the character and conduct of those who claim spiritual authority. When someone is leading others astray, Christians are called to make a judgment, based on the fruit of that person’s life, and conclude, “This is a false shepherd.” Such a judgment is not condemned but expected, as Scripture elsewhere calls believers to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21), to confront sin in the church (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), and to beware of afalse teachers (Matthew 7:15-20). What Jesus is truly warning against is the presumption of ultimate authority—the kind of judgment that seeks to condemn others as if sitting in God's place. He was speaking to religious leaders who believed it was their role to make final declarations about people's standing before God. Jesus firmly corrects this, asserting that only He holds the authority to make such final judgments. Therefore, the command to "judge not" is not a blanket prohibition on all judgment, but a reminder to judge rightly—humbly, carefully, and always with awareness of our own need for grace.

As you indicate, the "judge not" does not do away with our being discerning as children of God:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2 NRSV)

Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. (1Cor 2:14-15 NRSV)