This is a common phrase spoken constantly in our culture. And it has even made its way into the church now. Our culture has redefined the terms judgment, acceptance, and tolerance to say that if you say anything against anyone else, it is judging. They say, “Who are we to judge the words, thoughts and actions of others?” The pillar text to back up this statement- is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Also, Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” And while I absolutely agree that we should not judge others in the sense of seeing ourselves as morally superior and others as morally wretched (deluding ourselves), I believe a distinction must be made between two kinds of judgments or the church will continue to flounder in its influence to hold up the Gospel as THE WAY to God in this wretched, increasingly paganizing culture filled with poisonous doctrine that is against the Gospel. There is a type of judgment where you simply assess a situation, a persons’ words, understanding someone’s statements, and come to a discerning conclusion, based upon information given in that circumstance. Jesus spoke of this in John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” And then there is a judgment in which you make ultimately final, authoritative calls: that is not your place to do so, Jesus’s point in Matthew 7. It is God’s place, and we are not God, therefore, we should not assume His place in this. And if we presume to take God’s place as the judge, we should fear because it fundamentally shows we have not really gotten the Gospel, Pauls point in Romans 2. So on the one hand, we make probably thousands of judgments (discerning calls) every day concerning all kinds of things. Are these evil? No! What is an evil kind of judging though? When you take God’s place as judge and set yourself up as morally pure and others as morally wretched, looking down upon them. It is making the proclamation that you are morally worthy of God’s favor based upon your works, not Christ’s, and are therefore righteous as a final authority in all the universe. How evil. It is ultimately a rejection of the Gospel and God’s grace. We should beware if we fall into this. Romans 2 and Matthew 7 in particular speaks to this very point.
Now I want to show the other type of judgment, the discerning type, that is not evil by bringing in some other Scripture passages that speak of a kind judging, or making judgments, that are not to be taken in the same way Matthew 7 and Romans 2 are taken. Galatians 1:9 says, “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Romans 16:17, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Ephesians 4:11-14, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry … so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 1 Timothy 1:3, “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.” 1 Timothy 4:3-5, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.”
Is Paul not making judgments here and telling those he writes to to do the same thing? But what kind of judgments are these? Is he asserting his place as God, presiding over the judgment of men’s souls? No, he is making calls concerning false teachers and every wind of doctrine that blows to and fro that would lead us astray, that is from man and not from God. Are we as the church not supposed to make these kinds of judgments? Yes. Are we not to be discerning of good and bad doctrine? Absolutely we are. If we don’t, we will lose the truth altogether in our culture. However, we are not supposed to judge by taking God’s place as the final judge of all things. We do not know men’s hearts ultimately and have no place to make such an assertion before the time of judgment by God. However, are we not supposed to be discerning about what people state as the truth of the Scriptures? Paul seems to think so. Are not Paul’s writings inerrant Scripture? It seems to me the postmodern talk of tolerance, acceptance, and the cultures’ understanding of Jesus’ words have infiltrated the church’s understanding of when to make calls concerning right and wrong doctrine. the more muddled and grey the statements of Scripture become, the more we forfeit the only hope given among men by which they must be saved: Jesus Christ crucified.
So when someone says to me, “Who are you to judge,” my response to them is, “Who are you to judge me?” I’m trying to make the point to them that they are making a judgment about me just as I am of whoever else we are talking about (remember, a discerning judgment). In attempting to be inclusive of all people, once again, they are making exclusive judgments and doing the same thing to me they accuse me of doing. This thought process must be confronted, lovingly, first in our churches (where we stand up for doctrine and confessions of the Scripture) and then secondly, address our culture, and in doing so recover the Gospel, the hope of the world. This thought process is self-refuting and hinders the progress of Gospel-truth in our churches.
Many people in our society simply cast aside such a comparison as non-sense, mainly because 
What is at stake in the debate over limited atonement? Well, ultimately the Gospel itself is. This is the very thing John Owen went to painstaking lengths to demonstrate in his book 
“Paul had preached the Gospel throughout Galatia, founding many churches which after his departure were invaded by the false apostles. The Anabaptists in our time imitate the false apostles. They do not go where the enemies of the Gospel predominate. They go where the Christians are. Why do they not invade the Catholic provinces and preach their doctrine to godless princes, bishops, and doctors, as we have done by the help of God? These soft martyrs take no chances. They go where the Gospel has a hold, so that they may not endanger their lives. The false apostles would not go to Jerusalem of Caiaphas, or to the Rome of the Emperor, or to any other place where no man had preached before as Paul and the other apostles did. But they came to the churches of Galatia, knowing that where men profess the name of Christ they may feel secure.”
“How can the existence of evil, physical and moral, be reconciled with the benevolence and holiness of a God infinite in his wisdom and power?
“There is [a] reason we need a different definition of sin for postmodern people. They are relativists, and the moment you say, ‘Sin is breaking God’s moral standards,’ they will retort, ‘Well, who is to say whose moral standards are right? Everyone has different ones! What makes Christians think that theirs are the only right set of moral standards?’ The usual way to respond to this is to become sidetracked from your presentation of sin and grace into an apologetic discussion about relativism. Of course, postmodern people must be strongly challenged about their mushy view of truth, but I think there is a way to move forward and actually make a credible and convicting gospel presentation before you get into the apologetic issues. I do it this way, I take a page from Kierkegaard’s The Sickness Unto Death and I define sin as building your identity—your self-worth and happiness—on anything other than God. Instead of telling them they are sinning because they are sleeping with their girlfriends or boyfriends, I tell them that they are sinning because they are looking to their careers and romances to save them, to give them everything that they should be looking for in God. This idolatry leads to drivenness, addictions, severe anxiety, obsessiveness, envy of others, and resentment.
Interesting … science backing up the Scriptural, spiritual reality of our hearts. We are sinful from birth, even from the time our mothers conceived us, just as David says in this Psalm. Well, we at least begin lying at six months old, as this article states. Before this study, it was thought babies did not lie prior to 4 years old. Now the bar has been lowered to six months. This study simply confirms that which is stated in the Scriptures: we are sinners from the womb. Our disposition, from the very beginning, is bent on evil, namely a suppression of the glory and righteousness of God. We must be delivered from this very nature by the work of Christ alone in order to even see Christ at all as worthy of our praise. The only difference between a grown up and a baby is that the adult has the means to carry out the wickedness that lies within the heart. Babies can’t talk in tangible language, they have very little strength to exert, but they can throw tempter tantrums, scream until they get their way, and as shown in this article, they have scientific proof babies begin conceiving deception in their hearts as early as six months. As cute as babies are, this is the reality of all of us and it starts at conception (just as the Psalm said). “It is hard to exaggerate the importance of admitting our condition to be this bad.” (Piper) We must be saved utterly by the work of God in Christ to deliver us from the deadness and nature of our hearts that are turned away from the glory of God. It is by grace alone (God granting regeneration, repentance, and faith) through God-wrought faith alone, in Christ alone that we are saved. Praise God for His mercy and may He move on my daughter Adelaide to turn her heart from the natural deadness that lies within, turned away from God, and draw her to Himself. May He raise her up, by His pure mercy, even now, and grant her regeneration unto salvation. We are prone to wander unless God holds us back by His mercy. This verse and this science both show this to be the case.