Tag: unbelievers

Judge Not

This post is part of the Twisted Scriptures series, where we look at familiar Bible verses in their original context and consider what they truly mean. Series started May 3, 2026.

Matthew 7:1 may be one of the most quoted verses whenever someone feels corrected.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.”

The verse is often used to shut down any conversation about sin, choices, or accountability. The idea is that Christians should never question another person’s behavior because Jesus told us not to judge. But Jesus was not forbidding all moral discernment.

In the verses that follow, He warns against trying to remove a speck from someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own. His concern was hypocritical judgment. He was confronting people who were quick to expose the faults of others while refusing to deal honestly with their own sin.

The Greek word translated “judge” is krinō, pronounced KREE-noh, and written κρίνω. It can mean to judge, evaluate, distinguish, or reach a decision. The word itself is not always negative. The context determines whether the judgment is wise and righteous or proud and condemning.

Jesus did not say that the speck should remain in the other person’s eye. He said to remove the plank from your own eye first, and then you will see clearly to help your brother. That means self-examination must come before correction.

There is a difference between discernment and condemnation. Discernment recognizes what is true and responds according to God’s Word. Condemnation looks down on someone, assumes the worst, and treats their failure as proof of our superiority.

There is also an important difference between judging those inside the church and those outside it. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:12–13, “Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges.” We should not expect unbelievers to live as though they are already submitted to Christ or accountable to the church.

That does not mean God’s Word has nothing to say to them. The gospel is for unbelievers, and Scripture can expose sin and point a person toward Christ. However, spiritual truth is not understood apart from the work of God in the heart.

Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the natural person does not receive the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned. In 2 Corinthians 3:16, he wrote that when someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Jesus also opened the understanding of His disciples so they could comprehend the Scriptures.

Our first responsibility toward unbelievers is not to treat them as though they are already under Christian discipline. It is to share the gospel, show them Christ, and pray that God opens their eyes to the truth.

The situation is different when someone claims to follow Jesus. Scripture teaches that believers are accountable to one another. Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “You will know them by their fruits.” That does not give us permission to condemn people, gossip about them, or assume we know everything happening in their hearts. It does mean we are allowed to examine whether a person’s life agrees with the profession they are making.

Fruit matters.

A person can say the right words, use Christian language, and appear spiritual in public. Over time, however, the fruit of a life reveals what is being cultivated within. Jesus did not tell us to ignore fruit. He told us to pay attention to it.

Christians are called to speak truth, but we are not called to enjoy catching people in the wrong. We should never correct someone from a place of pride or act as though we are beyond the need for grace. At the same time, refusing to call anything wrong is not love.

The question is not whether we will make judgments. We make them every day. The question is whether our judgment is shaped by Scripture, humility, patience, and love.

Before confronting someone else, we should ask God to examine our motives. Are we trying to restore them or embarrass them? Are we grieving over sin or enjoying the opportunity to point it out? Are we willing to receive the same honesty we are offering?

Truth without humility becomes harsh, while humility without truth becomes avoidance. Jesus calls us to speak truth without condemnation and exercise discernment without pride.

Bible Promise

Matthew 7:5

“First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

God can give you the clarity to help others when you first allow Him to deal honestly with your own heart.

Reflection Questions

  1. Are you more likely to excuse the fruit of someone who claims to follow Christ, or judge an unbeliever as though they are already accountable to the church?
  2. Is there a situation where you need to exercise biblical discernment without slipping into pride or condemnation?

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for showing me both truth and mercy. Help me examine my own heart before I correct anyone else. Keep me from pride, hypocrisy, and the desire to condemn. Give me wisdom to recognize the difference between an unbeliever who needs the gospel and a believer who needs accountability. Help me judge fruit according to Your Word without assuming I know everything in another person’s heart. Give me courage to speak when necessary, humility to listen when I am corrected, and love in everything I do.

I give You all honor, all the glory, and all of the praise. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen & Amen.

Unequally Yoked: Is 2 Corinthians 6 Really About Marriage?

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV

For years, Christians have used 2 Corinthians 6:14 when talking about dating and marriage. Recently, though, I have heard the argument that Christians have been using this verse incorrectly because Paul was not specifically talking about marriage in the surrounding passage.

There is some truth in that. When you read the passage in context, Paul is talking about spiritual compromise, idolatry, and the believer’s allegiance to Christ. He talks about righteousness and lawlessness, light and darkness, Christ and Belial, and the temple of God and idols. So no, Paul did not sit down and write 2 Corinthians 6:14 as a marriage instruction.

But I think it is a mistake to go from saying, “This passage is not specifically about marriage,” to saying, “This passage has nothing to say about marriage.”

The entire point of the passage is that believers should not bind themselves to unbelief in a way that compromises their walk with Christ. Marriage is one of the closest and most binding relationships a person will ever enter. Two people are building a life together, making decisions together, raising children together, handling money together, deciding what their home will look like, and determining what values will guide that home.

If one person is trying to follow Christ and the other does not believe in Christ at all, that difference eventually touches almost everything.

Some will point to 1 Corinthians 7 and say Paul clearly told Christians to stay married to unbelievers.

He did.

“If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.” 1 Corinthians 7:12, ESV

But that passage is dealing with an existing marriage. Paul is not telling a Christian to go marry an unbeliever. He is telling a Christian not to destroy a marriage simply because the other spouse does not believe. Those are two completely different situations.

Later in that same chapter Paul talks about a widow who is free to remarry and says: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 7:39, ESV

That last phrase is important. Paul gives her freedom to marry whom she wishes, but he still says “only in the Lord.” That is much more direct than trying to make 2 Corinthians 6:14 carry the entire argument by itself.

The Old Testament gives us the same concern. Israel was warned repeatedly about marriages that would pull people away from God. The issue was not simply ethnicity. The concern was worship and faithfulness. Solomon is probably the clearest example. “For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods.” 1 Kings 11:4, ESV

That is the danger. A person can love someone deeply and still be pulled spiritually in a direction they never intended to go.

So I do not think Christians need to pretend 2 Corinthians 6:14 is only about marriage. It is broader than that. Paul is warning believers about joining themselves to unbelief in ways that compromise their devotion to Christ.
Marriage absolutely fits inside that principle.

When you add 1 Corinthians 7:39, where Paul says a believer should marry “only in the Lord,” the direction becomes even clearer. A Christian should not knowingly enter a marriage covenant with someone who does not follow Christ.

That is not because Christians are better than unbelievers. It is because faith is not supposed to be one small part of a Christian’s life. Following Christ affects how we live, how we raise our children, how we handle our money, what we believe is right and wrong, and what direction we believe our family should go.
If Christ is at the center of one person’s life and absent from the other person’s life, eventually that difference is going to matter.

Bible Promise

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1, ESV

Reflection Questions

  1. If faith in Christ shapes the biggest decisions in life, what happens when husband and wife do not share that foundation?
  2. Are there relationships or commitments in life that are making it harder to follow Christ faithfully?

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Help me to understand Your Word in context and not simply use verses to make them say what I want them to say. At the same time, help me recognize the principles You have given and apply them honestly to my life. Give me wisdom in the relationships I choose and help me put obedience to You ahead of feelings, attraction, or convenience. I want my relationships and my home to honor You.

I give You all honor, all the glory, and all of the praise. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen & Amen.