In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus commands us saying, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."
But that does that mean that Christians should not step forward and stand against wrongdoing at all?
We live in a day and age when the world would rather call for tolerance than have the beliefs of some people challenged. As a result, Christians are generally attached to a stigma of legalism and bigotry. And while that's partially our fault, given that there can be times that judgment becomes a personal attack on people and groups, it's just not true. Not all Christians are judgmental. Some simply stand by their beliefs. So is that judgment and should we stop doing so?
It's true that Jesus spoke many times against hateful judgment, especially those that came from legalistic Pharisees and teachers of the law. But the judgment that He often went against was personal attacks towards others at the expense of judgment and discernment of one's own actions and faults.
If there's anyone we should be quickest to judge it's ourselves, not in a manner that condemns but one that keeps us open and humble so as to keep growing more and more in Christ and like Christ. Matthew 7:3 says, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" Our first priority is always our own logs before the specks of others.
And even with that, not all judgments towards others are bad. The Greek word for judgment is the word "krino," which means to rightfully determine and discern something. Philippians 1:9-10 urges us, "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ."
God wants us to judge in the context of discerning truth from lies both in our life and those of others. But always remember that the truth must always be spoken in love and in the context of a relationship. That's why Christians can sometimes be viewed as legalistic — because there is an absence of love and relationship.
1 Corinthians 13:1 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
To the world we can sound like "clanging cymbals" that do nothing but judge simply because there is an absence of the love of God. If we walk in that love, our judgment will become more effective.
