"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. Matthew 7:1-2

Jesus’ words about being judged by the same standard by which we have judged others must not be taken literally. Why? Because we frequently judge others by improper [unfair] standards. Will the Judge of all creation judge us unfairly because we have judged others unfairly? Hardly.

The point that these words drive home is that though there are times when we must judge (refer to the two previous posts), we must judge justly, not unjustly. Truthfully, not hypocritically.

These words remind us not to judge improperly since we would not want to be judged improperly.

Let us first remember that we are all guilty before the just eyes of God. Then secondly, let us remember that as believers we have been declared “not guilty” because of what Christ has done to save us—a mercy that we have received, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by faith alone. Therefore, as God deals with us mercifully, let us commit to judging others mercifully. We must not hypocritically insist on justice when judging others, while depending on mercy for ourselves.

We will not receive God’s mercy because of how mercifully we have dealt with others, but as we deal mercifully with others, we validate that we have received God’s mercy, and are saved.