Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

When Jesus says "Judge not", does he mean to never judge, period? Not quite. Scripture forbids us from two types of judgement: judging the eternal state of unbelievers, and judging others' heart motivations. But Jesus commands his followers to remove the logs from their eyes for a purpose: to see their brother's speck more clearly. After we remove the logs from our own eyes by repenting of our sin, then we will be able to judge (that is, to discern) our brothers and sisters in Christ who are caught in explicit sin, with the hope of restoring them to proper fellowship within the local church.