ARE YOU AWARE of the most commonly used Bible verse? It’s usually quoted this way; Someone takes note that a sin exists in another’s life and to stop the rebuke this one will say, “Judge not, for God so loved the world that He gave His only son.”

It’s as if to say, “You can’t judge me, God loves me just as I am.” They quote this verse in defense of sin, assuming the belief that the Bible condemns judging others because we’re saved by God regardless of our behaviors.

In the hybrid verse, “Judge not, for God loves me,” a new meaning emerges which is so very different from the meaning which can be easily understood if one will study the context of these verses.

In actuality, these are two separate verses, not one, which are, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” and “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” [Matthew 7:1; John 3:16]

In Matthew 7:1, Jesus is teaching about making false or poor judgements hypocritically. We know this because of verse 2 & 3, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

Making judgements, determinations, is not condemned in scripture. The condemnation comes when we judge according to non-biblical or hypocritical standards. We must first begin with ourselves, looking at God’s standards, then we can look at others. If we were not allowed to make judgments, how then could we ever determine if somebody needed to hear the gospel to be saved?

The second half of this hybrid verse is also abused when it’s removed from its context. Yes, God does love us, all of us. It’s from this love that we even have a savior, [Romans 5:8]. To suggest that God’s love excuses un-repented sin is contrary to so many other verses in scripture. [Rom 6:1; Acts 2:38; 8:22]

Look closely at all of John chapter 3. Verse 5 shows the need to be baptized. Verses 20-21 shows the need to change from doing evil. Speaking about belief, John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the RIGHT to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (emphasis mine)

When we believe in Jesus, the Christ, we have the RIGHT to become children of God. Belief alone never GIVES US salvation, just THE RIGHT to become saved. [James 2:24; Mark 16:26; Matthew 28:18-20] Belief is the reason we will obey the Gospel. Any reason short of believing that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” [Matthew 16:16], is inadequate for our salvation.