Jesus says in Matthew 7:1.-7 “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. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’, and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Jesus is very clear that if we are to judge someone we have to make sure that we are not guilty of committing that same sin ourselves. In other words, we need to keep in mind that God is judging us on the same standard that we use to judge others. Jesus is concerned about your heart and your false sense of righteousness when you judge others for doing wrong. Are you judging others but do you consider yourself righteous? Romans 3:10 says “There is no one righteous, not even one”.
Jesus actually shows us a practical example of why we are in no position to condemn anyone for their sin. In John 8:7-11 when the people gather around to stone a woman for sinning, Jesus says to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
The main part of this story is that everyone knew that the woman had sinned but only Jesus was able to condemn her for it. When the people realized that Jesus was speaking to their false sense of righteousness, not one of them could cast a stone as they realized they were in no position to condemn her for her sin. Our duty as Christians is to show compassion to our fellow human beings when they sin instead of condemning them. Many Christians have left the faith and their churches because of other Christians condemning them for their sin. We are all sinners and we have no power or authority to condemn anyone for their sin. The only thing we can do is to treat them with the same compassion and love that Jesus showed to those that sinned.
In Galatians 6:1 Paul tells us what to do when someone sins. “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” This is the right attitude for dealing with those who sin. We have to understand when someone among us has sinned and we have to try and restore them and pray for them. Jesus is the ultimate judge for all the sins of this world. Our duty is to point our fellow sinners to Jesus. After all, Jesus came into this world to save sinners and not to condemn them. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” If there is any hope for those of us that have sinned then it is only through Jesus Christ.