Billy Graham Clarifies ‘Judge Not’ Scripture Passage

The Rev. Billy Graham recently responded to a question concerning what the Bible has to say about judging others.

Someone wrote in the question to Graham, and he answered it on the Answers section of his website.

"I don't think it's up to us to judge who is religious and who isn't. I have my own beliefs, and I get upset when someone tries to question me about them or make me believe the same way they do. Didn't Jesus say somewhere that we shouldn't judge others?" the reader asked, according to CharismaNews.com.

Graham directed the reader to Luke 6:37:

“You're probably thinking of Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount, commanding us not to judge or condemn others—something only God has the right to do,” wrote Graham. “He said, ‘Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned …’."

Although Graham acknowledged that only God has the right to judge others, he went on to say that this doesn’t mean we are free to live our life according to how we think best.

“This doesn't mean, however, that we're supposed to be indifferent to right or wrong, or be unaware of the dangers that come from immoral decisions or false beliefs,” he wrote. “Nor does it mean we should overlook our own sins. In fact, later in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus urges us to judge between true and false ways of living (which we do by seeing their results). He also commands us to be judges of our own sins—which may be far greater than those we see in others.”

Graham then went on to assure the reader that, although God is a righteous judge, He does not judge and condemn those who have faith in Him through Christ.

Publication date: August 26, 2016