Understanding Jesus' Teaching on Judging Others

DAY 269 CHALLENGE “Christians shouldn’t criticize others’ lifestyles or actions. Didn’t Jesus say not to judge?” DEFENSE Jesus didn’t tell us that we should close our eyes to moral evil in the world. The exhortation not to judge is found in Jesus’ major ethical discourse (Matt. 5:1–7:29, Luke 6:17–49). The point of the discourse is to give moral instruction. In it, Jesus discusses what conduct counts as good and bad, and he expects his followers to acknowledge the difference. Not only does he expect them to distinguish between good and evil in their own behavior, he also expects them...