Verse one of Matthew chapter 7 is, number one, the preamble to what Jesus actually wanted to enrich man’s faculty of understanding with. Number two, verse one is not the conclusion; the concluding wholesomeness of this teaching is in the second verse. Half truths can be dangerously misleading. True contextual paraphrase of the two verses is like this: “Do not tag another with rash criticism, in order not to deserve sharp criticism. Because the degree of your wrong judgement will your criminality be.” We always forget that verse one does not stand alone. It is only complete in the next verse two. Jesus is, from this part of the long Sermon on the Mount, warning against censoriousness. “Don’t judge” is one of the didactic faux pas that thrives unnecessarily, and quite disappointingly, on various pulpits. Scriptural facticity points to righteous and unrighteous judgements. There are not three types of judgements. There are only two and they are righteous and unrighteous judgments. Read More