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“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
— Matthew 7:1–2
Let us look at what the Word of God says. The central theme before us is judgment—how we judge others, and how God in turn will judge us by the same standard we have used.
Linked with this are two other vital scriptures:
> “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
> — John 7:24
> “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
> — Romans 2:1
The lyrics you have before you simply echo these solemn statements of Jesus and Paul. They form a spiritual law: the measure you use becomes the measure God uses for you. This is not a suggestion. It is a divine principle that governs how God deals with us in matters of criticism, condemnation, and even mercy.
If you wish to grow in spiritual maturity, walk in freedom from condemnation, and live under the favor of God, you must understand this law of judgment and measure.
### Matthew 7:1–2 – Part of the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:1–2 is located in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Jesus is speaking to His disciples with the crowds listening. He is describing the ethics of the Kingdom of God—a higher standard of righteousness, not according to external law only, but according to the condition of the heart.
Just before and after Matthew 7:1–2, Jesus addresses inner attitudes:
He is not speaking to pagans. He is speaking to people who are interested in God, many of them religious. That is crucial: the greatest danger of wrong judgment often lies among religious people.
### John 7:24 – In the Midst of Conflict
In John 7, Jesus is teaching during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. There is widespread division about Him. Some think He is good; others say He deceives the people.
Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath (John 5), and the religious leaders were offended. In John 7:23–24, He points out their inconsistency: they circumcise on the Sabbath but condemn Him for making a man completely whole on the Sabbath.
Then He commands:
> “Judge not according to the appearance (literally: according to the face), but judge righteous judgment.”
> — John 7:24
So in Matthew 7, Jesus warns against hypocritical, condemning judgment.
In John 7, He commands right, righteous discernment.
This tells us something important: Jesus is not forbidding all judgment. He is forbidding a certain kind, and commanding another.
### Romans 2:1 – Paul Confronts Religious Hypocrisy
Romans 1 describes the open sins of the Gentile world: idolatry, immorality, and depravity. Many religious Jews listening would have agreed and said, “Amen.”
Then in Romans 2:1, Paul turns the spotlight:
> “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
Paul is especially addressing religious people (see 2:17–24). They condemn the gross sins of others but excuse their own sins of the heart: pride, stubbornness, hardness, unrepentance.
Notice the same principle as in Matthew 7: the standard you use to judge others becomes the standard that condemns you.
So, in all three passages, the context is the same:
– Religious people
– A tendency to condemn others
– While excusing or overlooking their own sin
This is where the “measure of judgment” becomes deadly.
We will focus on two key Greek words:
1. “Judge” – krínō (κρίνω)
2. “Measure” – métron (μέτρον)
### 1. “Judge” – krínō (κρίνω)
The verb *krínō* means:
It is a broad word. In the New Testament it can mean:
In Matthew 7:1, the emphasis is on condemning judgment—a critical, fault-finding attitude that puts oneself in the place of judge over another’s worth or standing.
In John 7:24, the same verb is used, but Jesus commands a different kind of judgment—righteous judgment, which means discernment according to God’s standards, not superficial appearance.
So we see:
Understanding *krínō* protects us from two errors:
### 2. “Measure” – métron (μέτρον)
In Matthew 7:2:
> “and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
*Métron* means:
The picture is simple: you hold a “measuring container” in your hand. However you use that container for others, God will use the same one for you.
If you measure out:
then that is the very container God will use in evaluating you.
On the other hand, if you measure out:
that is the container God will use for you.
This emphasizes a spiritual law of reciprocity. It is like sowing and reaping, but applied to inner attitudes of judgment.
Let us walk through the themes echoed in the lyrics and place them alongside Scripture.
---
### “Do not judge,
or you too will be judged.”
This is almost a direct quotation of Matthew 7:1.
Jesus gives a prohibition:
“Do not judge”—that is, do not take the place of God as the final evaluator of a person’s worth or destiny, especially while harboring similar sin.
We must distinguish two kinds of judgment:
1. Condemning judgment (forbidden)
2. Discerning judgment (commanded)
#### Condemning Judgment
Condemning judgment is:
This is the attitude Jesus illustrates in the verses that follow:
> “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?”
> — Matthew 7:3
The “speck” and “plank” form a powerful image:
The sin of the heart—pride, hypocrisy, a critical spirit—is greater than the visible, external sin you are pointing out.
#### Discerning Judgment
Elsewhere, Jesus and the apostles command discernment:
So Jesus is not telling us to suspend all moral evaluation. Rather, He is saying:
Do not adopt the role of condemning judge, particularly in hypocrisy.
---
### “For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged,
and with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.”
This is the heart of the teaching: the law of reciprocal judgment.
Compare with:
The principle is consistent:
Your internal attitudes form the atmosphere in which you yourself must live before God.
This deeply affects spiritual warfare. A critical, condemning spirit:
Many believers live under continual condemnation, oppression, and accusation, not realizing they have sown condemnation toward others and are now reaping it back.
---
### “Judge not according to appearance,
but judge righteous judgment.”
This line captures John 7:24.
Here Jesus balances Matthew 7:1. He clarifies that the issue is not judgment itself, but how and on what basis we judge.
#### “According to appearance”
Literally: “according to the face.” That means:
God repeatedly warns against this:
To judge by appearance is to assume you know:
when in fact you see only a fraction of reality.
#### “Righteous judgment”
Righteous judgment is:
Galatians 6:1 is a model:
> “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
“Righteous judgment” is concerned with:
It recognizes the reality of sin but approaches it with the fear of God and awareness of one’s own vulnerability.
---
### “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man,
whoever you are who judge,
for in whatever you judge another
you condemn yourself,
for you who judge practice the same things.”
This is Romans 2:1 in lyric form.
Notice three key truths:
1. “Inexcusable” – There is no defense before God when we condemn others while doing the same.
2. “In whatever you judge another you condemn yourself” – Your own words set the standard.
3. “For you who judge practice the same things” – Often the very sin you condemn is present in your own life, perhaps in a more subtle or hidden form.
This is especially true of:
Often the religious person says, “I thank You that I am not like other men” (Luke 18:11). But Jesus shows that the humble tax collector who cries, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” goes home justified, while the self-righteous Pharisee does not.
The real issue is not whose sin looks worse externally, but who stands rightly before God in humility and repentance.
---
### “Do not judge—
you will not be judged.”
This echoes 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.”
Luke adds:
Again, there is a clear spiritual law.
If you want to live free from condemnation, you must stop condemning.
If you want to experience ongoing forgiveness, you must forgive.
This does not mean ignoring sin. It means:
---
### Repetition: “For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged,
and with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.”
The lyrics return to this phrase because Scripture emphasizes it. Jesus repeats principles like this so they will be engraved in our consciousness.
When a truth is repeated, it signals a law in the spiritual realm. This particular law influences:
If you consistently wield a “measuring rod” of:
it will come back upon you—not only from people, but in your own heart before God. Your own conscience will become your accuser. Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), will find much in you that agrees with him.
But if you consistently choose:
you will open the door for God to deal with you in the same way.
This teaching must move from theory into practice. Here are clear, practical steps.
### 1. Examine Your Measure
First, we must identify the “measure” we are using.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you:
You might ask:
Write down patterns the Lord shows you. Bring them into the light.
### 2. Repent of Condemning Judgment
Second, we must repent. Repentance is not emotion; it is a decision of the will followed by confession.
You may pray something like:
Be specific where the Holy Spirit convicts:
Remember Romans 2:1: “You are inexcusable…” when you condemn others while doing the same things. Repentance is the only way to remove your own words of condemnation from being used against you.
### 3. Choose Righteous Judgment, Not Appearance
Third, we must embrace righteous judgment instead of superficial, hasty, or appearance-based judgment.
This means:
Practice:
If you must confront sin or error:
### 4. Adopt a Deliberate Measure of Mercy
Fourth, we must consciously change our measuring instrument.
Decide, in the fear of God:
You are not ignoring sin; you are changing your internal default response.
Concretely:
You are shaping the measure God will use for you. If you want God to be strict and unbending with you, be strict and unbending toward others.
If you want God to be merciful, apply mercy.
### 5. Make Scriptural Proclamations
Finally, we must align our mouths with the Word of God. Proclamation is a key to spiritual victory.
Here are some sample proclamations you can make regularly:
1. “I will not judge according to appearance, but I will judge righteous judgment, according to the Word of God.”
2. “With the measure I use, it will be measured to me; therefore, I choose the measure of mercy, forgiveness, and humility.”
3. “I refuse a condemning, critical spirit. I submit to the Holy Spirit of truth, love, and restoration.”
4. “I am not the judge of others. God is the Judge. I will walk in mercy, and I will receive mercy.”
Proclamations seal in your heart what God has shown you in His Word.
### Proclamation
Say this aloud, thoughtfully and deliberately:
> **I proclaim that Jesus is my Judge and my Lord.
> I am not the judge of my brother or sister.
> I renounce condemning judgment and a critical spirit.
> I choose to judge not according to appearance,
> but to judge righteous judgment according to God’s Word.
> I accept the law of God that with the measure I use,
> it will be measured to me.
> Therefore, by the grace of God,
> I choose the measure of mercy, forgiveness, and humility.
> I will forgive, and I will be forgiven.
> I will show mercy, and I will receive mercy.
> I lay down the role of judge
> and take up the role of servant, intercessor, and restorer,
> in the name of Jesus. Amen.**
### Prayer
Heavenly Father,
I come to You in the name of Jesus, under the authority of Your Word.
You have said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,”
and “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I confess that I have judged others, sometimes harshly,
sometimes based on appearance,
often without knowing the full truth.
I have spoken and thought in ways that belong only to You as Judge.
I humble myself before You.
I ask You to forgive me for every word, every thought, every attitude
of condemning judgment.
I ask You to cancel every harsh measure I have used against others
where it has stood against me in Your presence.
Holy Spirit, search my heart.
Reveal to me any remaining patterns of criticism, pride, or self-righteousness.
Teach me to walk in righteous judgment, grounded in Your Word,
and in a spirit of gentleness and restoration.
Lord Jesus, I acknowledge You as the only rightful Judge.
I entrust every person, every situation, every offense into Your hands.
I choose today to use the measure of mercy.
Let mercy triumph over judgment in my heart.
Strengthen me to forgive as I have been forgiven.
Guard my lips from careless words.
Guard my heart from bitterness and accusation.
Let my life testify that I have received great mercy,
and therefore I show great mercy.
I ask this in the name of Jesus,
and I thank You for hearing me.
Amen.
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