It seems like the only verse everyone knows from the Bible is Matthew 7:1—"Judge not, lest you be judged."
However, contrary to popular belief, the Bible doesn't call us to avoid judgment; instead, we as Christians are called to righteous judgment—in other words, judging someone's sin, not judging someone by their sin.
It's a line that can be vague or easy to cross, but here are 8 Bible verses about righteous judgment that help explain how to judge the sin and not the sinner.
1. Leviticus 19:15
Leviticus 19:15 states that the people of God should not treat those of greater or lesser wealth differently but that all people should be judged fairly and equally. Specifically, it commands that we should "do no injustice in judgment"—in other words, that we should judge righteously, based on someone's heart and soul, as opposed to their outside appearances.
2. Proverbs 31:9
In Proverbs 31:9 we are commanded to pursue justice, to speak out against injustices and to "defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." We are called, then, to make judgments about the actions of other people and to stand up for those who are being harmed when needed. This verse proclaims an ideology that most people (hopefully) subscribe to—essentially fighting against the bullies of the world, on both a small scale in our own personal lives and on a larger scale, against unjust or discriminatory laws or governments.
3. Matthew 7:1-5
Matthew 7:1 seems relatively straightforward—don't judge—and this would be an accurate interpretation if we were only reading Matthew 7:1 without context. However, verse five tells us that at some point, we should be able to see clearly enough to take the speck out of our neighbor's eye. How does that work, if verse one commands us not to judge the speck in our neighbor's eye? What Matthew 7:1-5 is telling Christians is not to avoid judgment but to avoid self-righteousness. We should call out others when they are continuously engaging in sin, but we need to have the self-awareness to recognize and work on our own flaws and shortcomings before we try to convince our neighbors to work on theirs. Hypocrisy will only draw others farther away from God; admitting your mistakes will allow them to see that they are loved and accepted despite their sins.
4. John 7:24
In John 7:24, Jesus has just healed a man, and the Pharisees are displeased because it is the Sabbath day, which God ordained was a day of rest. He states that we are to judge righteously, without focus on outward appearance; essentially, he commands us to judge based not on the letter of the law, but on the spirit of it. In practice, this idea would mean being patient with the alcoholic who desperately wants to stop but is physically addicted to alcohol; by the letter of the law, he is continuously sinning by drinking excessively, but he does want to stop and just doesn't have the ability to do so. Again, judge not by how it looks, but by the intention and spirit.
5. John 8:3-11
Everyone has heard the story of the woman caught in adultery—"He who is without sin, cast the first stone"—and its implications that people should not be judged by their sins. This is absolutely true—people should never be judged by their sins or past failings; however, what most people forget is that at the end, Jesus tells the woman to sin no more. While her past sin does not define her, that does not excuse future sins; in the same way, if she falls again, repenting and coming back to Christ erases the mark of that past sin. Jesus, in that moment, saw her as more than just a sin, but that didn't mean he refrained from judging the wrongness of her actions.
6. Romans 2:1-3
This verse again calls out all who are hypocrites. We are allowed to call out others, but not if we too are practicing those same sins without repentance; if we are hypocrites, we will be judged by the same unfair standard that we applied in judging other people.
7. Galatians 6:1-6
In this verse, we are instructed to avoid comparing ourselves with others; when we judge others by their actions, we are inherently putting them down in an effort to feel better about ourselves. Galatians 6:1-6 calls us out for this behavior and commands us to stop judging ourselves by the standard of others—aka, using others' failings to feel good about our own.
8. Ephesians 4:29
Ephesians 4:29 states it most concisely out of all the verses listed—we are allowed to challenge others when they are not being witnesses of Christ in their actions, but the way we talk to or address them should always be loving, wholesome and in their best interest, as opposed to a rant or an attempt to tear down their self-esteem.
The Bible does not preach against judging, but against hypocrisy or the judgment of others by their sins. No one deserves to be condemned for past wrongs; every person is more than a sum of their successes and failures. After all, as John 3:17 states, Jesus came to the world not to judge it, but to save it, and we are called to do the same.
