A recent article on alleged church leadership shows how "judge not" is wielded like a cudgel against any biblical criticism.

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"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. -- Matthew 7: 1-5 (ESV)

It seems that at least once per year I have to exegete the key verses because someone within Christian leadership misuses them completely. Outside of poor Malachi, perhaps there are no verses more misunderstood than these. If you asked Christians, I guess nine out of ten would say that Christians should never judge! Just read Matthew Seven, right? Wrong. What preacher? Are you saying Christians are supposed to judge? Within the church -- absolutely.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." -- 1Corinthians 5: 12-13 (ESV)

The modern church has it backwards. They spend the majority of their time judging people in the world. They claim some form of a moral high ground they do not possess and pretend that all the problems we have could be resolved if unbelievers would just behave better. These verses from Corinthians however make it abundantly clear that they are facing the judgment of God therefore we are not to judge them. It is those on the inside we are to judge but judgment has been smeared as a dirty word within Christian circles. That is probably rooted in confusing two different definitions of the word "judge." The first is what we all will face at the hand of our Creator. Final judgment is always the Lords beloved. No one is suggesting that person A is going to heaven and person B is going to hell other than militant Calvinists. The primary way the word judge is used however carries a different definition. According to dictionary.com it simply means to form and opinion or conclusion about something. There is no biblical admonition against doing such and in fact as Christians we are commanded to do such for each other. The answer to "am I my brother's keeper" is a resounding yes! People ask me often how I would feel if someone criticized my teachings and my answer is I would thank them! If I ever state something incorrectly or misuse a Scripture I would hope my brothers and sisters in Christ would hold me accountable for it because the truth is the only thing that matters. Not my delicate sensibilities. Wait a minute preacher! What about judge not lest ye be judged? As Paul Washer has said, "twist not Scripture lest ye be Satan." The "judge not" portion are seven words that start a brief teaching that lasts five verses. We cannot just look at the seven words and call it a day. Read the key verses very closely beloved and ask yourself what Jesus is really speaking against because it is NOT judgment. It is hypocrisy. The key is in verse five:

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. -- Matthew 7: 5 (ESV)

Does Jesus teach to leave the splinter in your brother's eye? In order for judge not to mean what people keep saying it means, that is what Jesus would need to say at the end but He does not. He says take the log out of your own eye and THEN help your brother with his splinter. A practical example is if you are in an unrepentant adulterous relationship then you should not be advising or judging your brother's adulterous relationship. If you have an unresolved anger issue or unforgiveness, you should not be judging your brother for the same. So it is not that you should not judge your brother but rather that you should not do so hypocritically. This squares with the aforementioned Corinthians verses as well as the countless admonishments against hypocrisy found throughout Scripture. Earlier this year, Carey Nieuwhof wrote an article entitled "Five Ways Judgmental Christians Are Killing Your Church." This can be found at the following link:

http://careynieuwhof.com/5-ways-judgmental-christians-are-killing-your-church/

Nieuwhof is one of the modern day "church growth and leadership" gurus. He is raised and trained on the purpose driven model that aspires to build churches and not the kingdom. From the title alone you can see that his premise is flawed and his focus is skewed. The only thing that matters to him is the growth of your church. Wait a minute preacher? Shouldn't that be what leaders should be focused on? Not according to the Bible. God provides the growth for a church, not man. Not all church growth is good. Do you think 55,000 people show up each week to hear Joel Osteen preach because he preaches the uncompromised Gospel of Jesus Christ? Hardly. Mega churches fill up because the people hear what their itching ears want to hear. That God wants them rich. That they can be promised eternal life and embrace their carnal selves. When your sole focus is on growth then you will find yourself compromising more and more in order to grow and the worst thing is that when that growth comes you will view it as God's approval instead of His judgment. So let us reason together and review this article to gain a better insight into what judgment is and is not according to the Bible and to reveal the flaws within the purpose driven church growth mind:

Judged anyone lately? Sadly, the answer for most of us (including me) is" yes. From the guy who cut you off in traffic, to the off-beat person who's not picking up the social cues you're sending, to your weed-smoking neighbour" it's so easy to judge. And judgment just gets worse from there. It's the basis of racism, sexism and almost every other 'ism' you can think of. -- Carey Nieuwhof

This is a form of the logical fallacy known as illegitimate totality transfer. This assumes that all the uses for a word that occur at a given time apply in any given instance. Can you make an argument that judging is at the root of racism and sexism? Sure although I can make an argument there are far more culpable villains. But conceding that fact does not mean that every time judgment is noted it must relate back to these two negative uses. If you have a friend who smokes and you advise him to quit for all of the known health reasons you have indeed judged but is that negative? Of course not! That really cuts to the heart of the issue of judging. What is the motivation for it and how is it delivered? Nieuwhof here wants to establish a foundation that all judging is bad. He continues:

It's also fundamentally incompatible with authentic Christian faith. Jesus said Christians should be known for how deeply we love. Yet studies show that in the eyes of many non-Christians, we're known for how deeply we judge, not for how deeply we love. The problem in many cases is not that unchurched people don't know any Christians. The problem is that they do. And they don't like us--for good reason. -- Carey Nieuwhof

Say what? Judging is fundamentally incompatible with authentic Christian faith? Yeah that is absolutely nowhere in the Bible. I guess Jesus was wrong when He called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs and a brood of vipers. He was just being judgmental. Or how about when Paul called out Peter for being a hypocrite, which I may add forced Peter to realize his error. What about the key verses when Jesus says to help your brother with the splinter in his eye? No Carey. Authentic Christian faith is rooted in the truth. Jesus even stressed to not judge by mere appearances but rather with right judgment. The rest of this quote shows a disconnect for Mr. Nieuwhof between Scripture and application. The verse he casually references states that we will be known by our love for each other and then he goes on to speak to how we treat the unsaved. That verse has nothing to do with the unsaved. Now, the rest of his point is correct but he is not connecting that this is because of the church judging the lost. By painting with a broad brush he has lumped all judgment into the same basket. Remember too that his entire premise is that judgmental Christians are killing churches. That is utter nonsense. The presumption underlying this thinking is that a small church is somehow stagnant. If God gives a pastor 100 people and they all go to heaven he will hear well done my good and faithful servant. God gives the increase beloved -- not Carey Nieuwhof and his human wisdom. He continues:

But when you see grace and truth fused, it takes your breath away. Why did people travel for days on foot in extreme conditions to meet Jesus? Grace fused to truth is what our hearts most deeply long for. But in the evangelical church today (and I'm an evangelical), the hard edge of truth has crushed many. And one of the most frequent expressions of loveless truth is found in judgment. -- Carey Nieuwhof

Yes. Grace fused with truth. He must be talking about when Jesus told the woman about her five husbands. No? Maybe it was when He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. No? Maybe it was when He told the masses that they only came to Him for a meal. This soft edged Christ that Nieuwhof worships does not exist. This sloppy agape nonsense is exactly what is killing the church. Truth sometimes has an edge to it. If they are crushed they are crushed for not wanting to give up their sin. Remember beloved that Jesus Himself said that He came to divide families against themselves. That is the true nature of the Gospel. Not that you deliver the message with meanness but that you recognize the message of heaven and hell will be viewed positively by those who are willing to repent and be seen as judging by those who refuse to. Nieuwhof however is not concerning himself with this because all he wants is for them to come back to the church the next week. He now lists the five things that he says are Christian virtues we will miss if we judge within the church:

1. Love. The presence of judgment almost always guarantees an absence of love. Think about it through the lens of your marriage, a friendship or even someone you work with: it is virtually impossible to love someone and judge someone at the same time. But wait, you ask: what if they're making a mistake and I need to correct them? First of all, look at your mistakes and the depth of your sin, and deal with your issues first. In the process, you'll encounter a loving God who forgives you despite your rather egregious sin. I try to remember this rule: If I'm judging someone, I'm not loving them. You can't judge someone and love them at the same time. -- Carey Nieuwhof

Says no biblical text anywhere. Remember judging is simply coming to a conclusion and Jesus said to make sure you are right. It is patently silly to suggest that you cannot love someone and judge them at the same time. If my wife started drinking heavily I can judge correctly that I need to speak to her about it and I do so because I love her. To not judge people who we claim to love is a shallow, meaningless love. The back story to the verses from Corinthians cited earlier is that the church was allowing a man in their congregation to openly be in a sexual relationship with his father's wife. I am sure the church didn't want to judge him so they allowed it. Paul writes to expel him from their congregation! Then in the second letter to the Corinthians we see that this man is restored. He never gets to the restoration unless those who loved him rightly judged him.

2. Help. Ever notice that people who judge almost never help and people who help almost never judge? That's because judgment creates a line. The line is labeled "better than" or "smarter than" or "more righteous than" the person who needs help. Help knows no such line. It just knows how to help. The Christian purpose of stepping into someone else's world is not to judge someone, but to help them. -- Carey Nieuwhof

Honestly, I never noticed that at all Carey. Once again, he is creating the line. He is creating this scenario where judgment is always wrong and this lovey-dovey state of mind is somehow the Christian standard. If you see your friend driving off a cliff it is not "helpful" to hold their hand on the way down and tell them everything is going to be ok. I knew someone once who was in an open relationship in the same church his wife went to. He would say he was "divorced in his heart." No one addressed it from leadership. He still served in ministries. I am sure that no one wanted to "judge him." I however told him the truth of what the Bible says and he eventually was able to do the right thing and end the adulterous relationship. That is how judging can help.

3. Humility. Judgment is never grounded in humility (As in oh my, I'm also a mess. Let's figure this out together.) Judgment is grounded in arrogance. That's because a judgmental person almost always carries with them a sense of condescension (I never get into this kind of situation myself"you should be as good as I am) or a sense of pity (poor, stupid you). Judgment always says I'm better than you, I know more than you and I'm also superior to you. Very few people get judged into life change. Many people get loved into it. Humility, by contrast, fosters empathy. It says "I'm like you. I get that. Maybe we can help each other." Many people would run to that. -- Carey Nieuwhof

No, no, a thousand times no. I am like you? I get that? Then by definition you are advising on something you have not resolved! That is when you are not supposed to judge! Maybe we can help each other? Do both people need help? I am confused. This is a common carnal solution in the workplace I refer to as "splitting the bill." There is a disagreement and it is clear that one person is wrong and the other is correct. Not arrogantly, just truthfully. To avoid conflict however, the mediator splits the bill. A little blame here and a little blame there and everyone walks away feeling better. Except truth is not served and the incorrect behavior is empowered. We ought to do better within the church. Right is right and wrong is wrong. That is one of the benefits of being saved -- absolute truth. I feel badly for Carey Nieuwhof because it sounds like he associates with a lot of unchristian behaving people. Judgment can be grounded in arrogance or it can be grounded in love and truth. There is a difference. Yes it can carry with it a spirit of condescension or it could carry with it a desire to really want to help a brother or sister. It could have a sense of pity or it could have a sense of grace. If you approach someone with a spirit of superiority, condescension, and arrogance then judging is not your problem. Who you claim to be in Christ is and yes that was a right judgment.

4. Prayer. There's also a connection between judgment and prayer. Judging someone and praying for someone are pretty much mutually exclusive. You can't pray for someone you judge because you're actually not for them. Sure, you can pray about them, but again, your prayer won't be grounded in humility. It might be grounded in anger, or in arrogance, or superiority, but it won't be grounded in love. You never truly pray for someone you judge. It's impossible to judge someone and truly pray for them at the same time. -- Carey Nieuwhof

How absurd. The pattern however is now clear. Judging is everything bad in the world. It is evil, mean, and wears a black hat. The opposite however is always love and rainbows and unicorns. You can ground your summation of a situation in love and concern for others and thus pray appropriately. You never pray for someone you judge? What church is he in? I would wager that the vast majority of intercessory prayer is rooted in some judgment that we have made, no? Otherwise wouldn't the prayer be empty and vacuous? Now the final point:

5. Evangelism. If you want to kill evangelism at your church, fill your church with judgmental Christians. People run from people who judge them. They run to people who love them. Think about it; that's what you do: you run from people who judge you. When grace and truth are fused, people usually run toward it because the combination of truth and grace describes a reality they're facing and brings actual hope that things can get better. God never asked you to judge the world. He did ask you to love it. Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy. -- Carey Nieuwhof

What is Nieuwhof suggestion that we do then with these "judgmental Christians" because the inference is to get rid of them? I do not recall the parable of the 99 and 1 ending with Jesus not pursuing the lost sheep because after all, that sheep was judgmental. He is right that God did not instruct us to judge the world but this article was premised on the church being killed by judgmental Christians. We have already displayed that the Bible actually commands us to judge within the walls of the church. I agree that judgment is not a good evangelism strategy but then again we do not need one. We just need to preach the Gospel. What is the Gospel? That we are wretched sinners apart from our Creator but He loved us enough to send His only Son to die for our sins so that we might have eternal life. Jesus did not come and say "hey I understand, I've been there, how can we help each other." He said repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Pretty judgmental stuff if you follow Carey Nieuwhof's thinking. I think I will follow what Jesus said. Nieuwhof finishes by trying to parse out how wrong he has been:

But when it comes to judgment, Paul makes it clear we are NOT to judge the world, but we are to practice discernment in the church. There is also a distinction (at least in my mind) between judgment and discernment. The reality is that people's lives are plagued by problems. There is an epic battle raging in this life, and people get taken down every day over addictions, failed relationships, misguided beliefs and things that we think will give life, but, in the end, only destroy. We need to help outsiders because we have been helped. We need to help each other on the inside and thereby better realize our mission. True judgment is reserved for God. Discernment seeks to help. And if this article still strikes you as harsh, remember that Jesus' harshest words were reserved for arrogant, judgemental leaders inside the faith. Conversely, Jesus was pretty much never harsh to people outside the faith. -- Carey Nieuwhof

Bzzt! Thank for playing Carey. Remember when we started by saying that when your goal is church growth you will eventually compromise more and more? That is what we see now. We have already cited the verse Carey references and it does not say that we are to "discern" within the church and not judge outside of it. The same exact word is used -- judge. The world? No. Inside the church? Yes. At least he admits that this fallacy exists in his mind alone and there it should stay. By the way; addictions, failed relationships, misguided beliefs are all related to sin issues Carey, not "epic battles." We do not need to "help" outsiders. We need to present them the Gospel, no matter how hard some of the truths may be. None of us want to hear that we are a sinner in need of a savior but we cannot get saved without it.

Jesus was never harsh to people outside the faith? What Bible version does Carey Nieuwhof own? The Aesop's Bible? Technically the Pharisees were not in the faith and He was the harshest with them! The only people that were in the faith when He ministered were the disciples. The rest walked away when the teaching got too tough. I am not suggesting that Jesus was a tattooed biker but this pansy Christ is a false Christ. You do not think He was being harsh by making the hero of one of His parables the Good Samaritan? Do some research on the cultural context and you will see how harsh a rebuke this was. Carey Nieuwhof brilliantly displays the purpose driven slop one's mind becomes when you chase nothing but carnal metrics for church growth. His theology is chock full of carnal wisdom and eloquence wrapped in scripture references that he does not seem to understand. Look beloved. We should never judge harshly or hypocritically but to pretend that all judgment is wrong is simply unbiblical and will lead people to not be their brother's keeper. Carey Nieuwhof needs to stop selling carnality as Christianity. Sorry if that was too harsh a judgment Carey but I sincerely hope you repent.

Reverend Anthony Wade -

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.