"Judge not," found in Matthew 7:1, may be the most misused phrase in Scripture. An increasing number of people, including Christians, use it to rebuke people who advocate God's moral principles, especially those principles that oppose popular culture.

But Matthew 7:1-4 doesn't teach against judgement; it teaches against hypocritical judgement. Pulling the words "Judge not" out of context distorts the meaning and contradicts the rest of Scripture.

God tells us to judge:
1. Bad companions -
1 Corinthians 15:33
2. False teachers - Matthew 7:15-20
3. Sin and unrepentant sinners -
Ephesians 5:1-13; Matthew 18:15

God also tells church leaders to judge sinning members (1 Corinthians 5; Matthew 18:15-17).

We must judge ourselves and our motives first (Matthew 7:1-4), but when we have done that, it is God's will that we judge sin and sinners. Not only does it benefit the church, it rescues and restores the sinner (James 5:19-20 ; Matthew 18:15).