"Judge not, that you be not judged"

One of the most common but somehow considered "innocent" sins is to judge our fellow man. "That person is like that," we will hear or have said or thought ourselves, and this is usually followed by a list of that person's shortcomings. It doesn't matter if the list is short or long, right or wrong. To judge the other person, and that is what matters, is always wrong. As our Lord tells us:

Matthew 7:1-2
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. "

And in Luke 6:37
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. "

Let us give our Lord's words the attention they deserve. His words are not just a commandment! He doesn't just say, "Judge not." He says "judge not, that you be not judged." So dear brother, if we do not judge others we will NOT be judged by Him! And by whatever standard we measure others, He will use the same standard to measure us! Do we strictly judge others? He will also strictly judge us! Do we overlook the faults of others? He will overlook ours too! Once again, we see that we decide by our own behavior what will happen to ourselves. As the Lord says in the prayer He gave us: "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6: 12). Do you forgive those who sin against you? The Lord will forgive your sins too. Do you not forgive others? You will not be forgiven either. He Himself said it plainly: "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:26). And back to not judging: we see that there is a "pass", so to speak, and you give it to yourself when you do not judge others. Then, guaranteed, on the basis of our Lord's infallible words, He too will not judge yours, and you will pass with that "pass" easily by the judgment seat of Christ, before which we shall all stand to give an account:

Romans 14:10-12
"But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."

Hebrews 9:27
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment"

And 2 Corinthians 5:10
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Not some, but ALL of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account. We will stand before the infallible Judge who without partiality will judge our deeds. Those who think this will not happen are deceiving themselves by ignoring and twisting the scriptures. "We will all show up" says Paul and puts himself in. And the truth is that we ourselves will judge us according to how we have treated our fellow human beings. Heavy and severe judgment on the one who has judged others heavily and harshly. No judgment on him who kept his mouth and heart, following the words of the Lord and not judging his fellow man. So what kind of judgment would we like to receive? Severe judgment or instead the overlooking of our surely many mistakes? I think certainly the second. This will happen, as long as we do the same now to others, leaving the judgment to Him to whom it belongs!

Tassos Kioulachoglou

Bible Version: NKJV.