Today, we will wrap up what we started several weeks ago when we began looking at Matthew 7:1-5 and asking the question—Can the Christian judge? We found that Matthew 7:1 cannot be interpreted to mean all judging is wrong and in fact, Jesus commands His followers to judge with righteous judgment (Jn. 7:24). In order to judge with righteous judgments, we must use the Scriptures (Ps. 119:105; Jn. 17:17); therefore, when we speak, we must speak as the oracle of God (1 Peter 4:11a) to make proper judgments.

There are some people, however, who say that it is impossible to judge others, because we cannot know their hearts, but the Scriptures would disagree with this, because Jesus said we can know false prophets by their fruits (Matt. 7:16), and then He extended this to include everyone when He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matt. 7:17-18). This would imply that the fruit every individual produces dictates whether they are good or bad, and this fruit can be seen by us. Therefore, we can make a judgment based upon this fruit, whether someone is bad or good (of God).

One of the fruits that man produces is the fruit of repentance and if this fruit is not present, then one has obviously not repented (Matt. 3:8). The first step in bearing the fruit of repentance is in Acts 2:38. “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” If this fruit of repentance is not present in your life, then you are not a Christian because you have never been saved (Mark 16:15-16; 1 Peter 3:21) and added to the church. “Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Mark 16:15-16 and First Peter 3:21 say that baptism saves; thus, if you have not been baptized, you are not saved.

If you are not saved, you are not added to the church by the Lord. If this fits you, then I plead with you by the righteous judgment of the Word of God (which has the authority to judge you [Jn. 12:48] and by which I am commanded to teach you [Matt. 28:18-20]) to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, and let Christ add you to the church or else be eternally lost.

If you are reading this, you have just been loved and if you need to respond to the truth, it is now up to you to respond appropriately. I am not perfect but I am covered by the blood of Christ, which I contacted in my baptism though the death of Christ (Rom. 6:1-7), which gave me the authority to say this and make this judgement, not because I am perfect but because Jesus has washed my sins away with His blood (Acts 22:16) and removed the plank (Matt. 7:3) and cast it as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), so I can see clearly (Matt. 7:5) to make this righteous judgment from His Word (Jn. 7:24). Therefore, so long as I walk in the light, I have fellowship with Him by His blood and it continually covers my sins when I repent, so that I can continue to proclaim His Word and see clearly to help others by making proper judgments (1 John 1:7).

If you are living in sin, I love you because I tell you to repent. If I did not, then I don’t love you! Make righteous judgments, not because I say so, but because the Word of God commands it. It is not my responsibility to judge anyone. I am merely of servant doing my best to convey what God wants us to know in His Word. If there is any judging to be done, it is to be done by God through His Word.

Just something to consider.