Hey! The Bible says not to judge me!

I heard a caller call into a christian radio show the other day make that comment. The man was asking for a solution to an apparent problem when the host realized that there was a deaper issue of sin involved. When the host addressed it the man emphatically replied "Hey! The Bible says not to judge me!"

Does the Bible say that at all? Yes it actually does. Matthew 7 says "Do not judge," but is that all it says?  If you clicked on the link and read the entire passage I'm sure you'll realize that this is NOT all it says. The passage goes on to explain that you're not supposed to judge unless you are clean yourself.

We take this to the extreme when we couple it with the verse where Jesus says in John 8:7 that "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

"Why those two verses say that you better be pure before judging someone and since we aren't without sin we can't judge at all."

What we see is typical flawed logic of someone trying to get away with something. Scripture is filled with examples of judging and calling out people for their sin. As Christians it is our duty to prop other believers up and exhort each other.

Paul numerous times exhorted the believers to turn from their sins. Was Paul not judging? He sure was. Was Paul sinning? I believe not.

I believe there are a few steps as Christians we should take in order to judge others.

1. Examine your own heart - Are you guilty of this sin? Are you guilty of any other sins? Do you need to make things right in order to have the proper fellowship with God?

2. Examine your Motives - What is motivating you to call out someone? Are you attempting to do it for personal gain or are you attempting to restore a fellow believer?

3 Examine the implication of your actions - Are you prepared to handle the situation if you bring it up? Are you ready to council your friend? What is your plan?

Living for Christ involves taking stands against evil, and being willing to exhort unto righteousness.Unless we are not willing to call sin sin and call people out on it, we can never live radically for Christ.