Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

What is meant by "righteous judgment"?

Righteous judgment is the biblical concept of evaluating situations or behaviour based on God's standards of truth, fairness, and love, rather than on outward appearances, personal prejudice, or hypocrisy. It involves discerning right from wrong, with the goal of restoration and correction, not condemnation, based on divine law rather than human emotion. 

Jesus commands this in John 7:24, advising against judging by appearance (outwardly) but to judge with "righteous judgment".

It requires looking past the surface to understand the facts and the heart of a matter.

It is motivated by a loving, humble desire to see someone stop destructive behaviour and grow, not to condemn or destroy their reputation.

Righteous judgment requires that the person judging has addressed their own shortcomings first.

It uses the Bible as the standard for evaluating behaviour (e.g., discerning fruit) rather than personal, societal, or subjective opinions. 

It uses God's Word and laws as the measuring stick, rather than artificial traditions, personal preferences, or "gut feelings" (like the Scribes and Pharisees did).

It recognises that God's mercy tempers absolute justice; James 2:13 notes that "mercy triumphs over judgment". 

It involves identifying injustice and interceding on behalf of victims (e.g., protecting the weak from the wicked). 

Each day, we make judgments about people. Yet, as imperfect humans, we are not able to judge matters perfectly as Jesus does. We tend to be influenced by what appears to our eyes. Nonetheless, when Jesus was on earth, he commanded: John 7:24: "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment." Jesus wants us to be like him and not judge others by their outward appearance.

We need to scrutinise ourselves in the light of God's Word to see if we are holding on to any prejudiced thoughts or feelings. (Ps. 119:105) We might also need loving help from others who may see prejudiced attitudes in us, even if we cannot see them in ourselves. (Gal. 2:11, 14)

If we judge others by their material wealth, we could create class distinctions within the congregation. The disciple James warned that this problem was dividing some congregations in the first century. (Read James 2:1-4.) We must be on guard to prevent this thinking from affecting our congregations today. 

Despite our human imperfection, we can learn to see others through the impartial eyes of God. (Acts 10:34, 35) But it takes continual effort on our part and constant reminders from God's Word. By applying these reminders, we will progress in obeying Jesus' command to stop judging by outward appearance.​—John 7:24.

21 hours ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Truth Finder Supporter

Righteous judgment is nothing but mere spiritual discernment in a physical world without condemnation of those involved in the situation. To judge with condemnation is to judge unrighteously as JESUS said. Judging with condemnation of others brings condemnation upon yourself for it does not show you to be a son or daughter of GOD. It shows that you do not have mercy and compassion on others as GOD had mercy and compassion on you.

14 hours ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report