Spurgeon encourages us...

While we .are reading, let us also be adoring at the same time, for the. words of Christ have a gracious divinity about them; they are infinite; they are omnipotent. There is a kind of life in them; a life which communicates itself to those who hear them. Our Savior did not preach sermons: he preached texts; all his sermons are full of golden sentences, not hammered gold leaf, like those of men, but they are ingots of solid gold, and the gold of that land is good, the most fine gold; there is none like it. Thus he preaches in the seventh chapter of Matthew.

Here are some other translations...

Do not criticize, do not sit as a judge upon another man’s motives, do not attempt to interpret the desires of his heart. (Pentecost)

Do not judge others until you are prepared to be judged by the same standard. And then, when you exercise judgment toward others, do it with humility. (Weber, Stuart, Max E. Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew)

John Lightfoot writes that...

This is a very common proverb among the Jews: In the measure that a man measureth, others measure to him.

Spurgeon writes...

Use your judgment, of course: the verse implies that you will judge in a right sense. But do not indulge the criticizing faculty upon others in censorious manner, or as if you were set in authority, and had a right to dispense judgment among your fellows. If you impute motives, and pretend to read hearts, others will do the same towards you. A hard and censorious behavior is sure to provoke reprisals. Those around you will pick up the peck measure you have been using, and measure your corn with it. You do not object to men forming a fair opinion of your character, neither are you forbidden to do the same towards them, but as you would object to their sitting in judgment upon you, do not sit in judgment upon them. This is not the day of judgment, neither are we his Majesty’s judges, and therefore we may not anticipate the time appointed for the final assize, nor usurp the prerogatives of the Judge of all the earth.

Surely, if I know myself aright, I need not send my judgment upon circuit to try other men, for I can give it full occupation in my own Court of Conscience to try the traitors within my own bosom.

Oswald Chambers writes...

Jesus says regarding judging - Don't.

This is not completely accurate however and in fairness to Chambers he does speak to the "quality" of this judgment noting that Christians can be exceedingly critical individuals. God is the only One Who can be justifiably and perfectly (in turns of motive) critical, for He alone can tell us what is wrong without destroying us. And so Chambers is not saying don't ever make a judgement, but be careful about the spirit in which you pass a judgement. If you are going to judge with a critical spirit - Don't. Citizens of the Kingdom of heaven are challenged (and empowered by the Spirit and grace) to cultivate an uncritical temperament. They must ever be alert to the temptation to place themselves in a position of superiority over others. Superiority belongs to God's alone and He will not allow it to be usurped, subverted, supplanted or superseded! Obedience to Jesus' command is good for your spiritual health! To break this command is sin and to suffer disruption of fellowship with your Father Who is in heaven. Do you need to confess and repent of this sin (and/or this sinful attitude) even as you read these notes? Why is this so important to your spiritual health? John explains that...

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin... If we confess our sins (naming specific sins, agreeing they are offensive to Him and destructive to us  and exhibit a willingness to genuinely repent from the sin - not just "confess" so we can get a "clean slate" and go out and immediately commit that sin again), He is faithful and righteous to forgive ("send them away from") us our sins and to cleanse (katharizo - give us a spiritual "catharsis" so to speak) us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:6,7, 9)

Spurgeon writes...

You are not called to judge; you are not qualified to judge: “God is the Judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” There is much better work to be done by us than that of setting up as judges of others.

Set not up for critics, especially in the act of worship. Probably there. is no greater destroyer of profit in the hearing of the word than is the spirit of carping criticism.

Do not judge (2919) (krino related to English > critic, criticize) primarily signifies to distinguish, choose, separate or discriminate; then, to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, without necessarily passing an adverse sentence, though this is usually involved. It means to sift out and analyze evidence.

A judge observes the evidence, evaluates it, and arrives at a certain conclusion. In sum, krino has a wide semantic range that can mean to: judge (judicially), to condemn, or to discern.  In context, Jesus clearly does not forbid all judging of any kind, for the moral distinctions drawn in the Sermon on the Mount require that decisive judgments be made and are even mandated (eg "you will know them by their fruits" v20).

What Jesus is addressing is the spirit and/or motivation of one's judgment. The OT prophets were often very judgmental toward Israel, but the difference is that they were speaking God's words to His rebellious chosen people!

Do not judge is in the present imperative with a negative particle (Greek = "me" = negates) which calls for them to stop doing this implying that they were judging. The truth is that fallen flesh is by nature critical and condemning. And so in these first two verses of chapter 7 Jesus is telling His audience (and us) to...

Stop hypercritically judging others, in order that you may not be the recipient of similar judgment.

He is saying cease judging others with a spirit which is censorious, carping (marked by or inclined to querulous and often perverse criticism), caviling (raising annoying, petty, trivial and/or frivolous objections), condemnatory, critical, disapproving, disparaging, fault-finding, hypercritical, scathing or severe. Why? For such judgment is harsh, self-righteous, lacking in mercy and short on love. Unfortunately the church of Jesus Christ is far from immune and as someone has quipped a few in the church even think their critical spirit is their spiritual gift! They euphemistically call it a "spirit of discernment"!

Even Shakespeare saw the light on this precept writing...

Forebear to judge, for we are sinners all.

James has a similar admonishment...

Do not speak against (present imperative + negative particle = Stop speaking ill of, in a degradingly, defaming or slandering manner) one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law (NLT "If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God's law"), and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12) (The person who judges his brother disobeys the law, thus in effect placing himself in a position above the law and thus treating it with contempt.)

In a parallel passage Luke quotes Jesus' (four) commands  including...

Be (present imperative) merciful, (How? What is our "standard"?) just as your Father is merciful. And (note the connection of mercy and inappropriate judging - a judgmental attitude is not merciful) do not judge (present imperative + negative particle = Stop passing unfavorable, critical, fault finding, condemnatory judgment)  and you will not be judged; and do not condemn (this is God's right) (present imperative + negative particle = Stop declaring or pronouncing others guilty [as if you were the Judge of men!]) , and you will not be condemned; pardon (present imperative), and you will be pardoned. (Luke 6:36-37)

So that (2443) (hina) introduces a purpose clause - in this case the reason we should not judge others hypocritically and/or hypercritically is so that we "cut off" a similar judgment upon ourselves. This purpose clause should serve to motivate us to obey this command enabled by the Spirit and grace.

Be patient with the faults of others.
They have to be patient with yours!

D A Carson comments that...

Those who "judge" like this will in turn be "judged," not by men (which would be of little consequence), but by God (which fits the solemn tone of the discourse). The disciple who takes it on himself to be the judge of what another does usurps the place of God ("Why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God" - see note Romans 14:10) and therefore becomes answerable to Him. The hina me ("in order that...not"; NIV, "or") should therefore be given full telic (tending toward an end) force

Do not assume the place of God by deciding you have the right to stand in judgment over all-do not do it, I say, in order to avoid being called to account by the God whose place you usurp (cf. b Shabbath 127b; M Sotah 1:7; b Baba Metzia 59b). (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)

Judge Not

Judge not: the work of his brain
And of his heart thou canst not see;

What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,
In God's pure light may only be
A scar, brought from some well-fought field
Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.

The look, the air, that frets thy sight,
May be a token that below
The soul has closed in deadly fight
With some internal fiery foe,
Whose glance would scorch thy smiling grace,
And cast thee shuddering on thy face.
--Selected

Guzik has an excellent exposition of this command writing that...

This is the Bible verse that seems to be most popular in our present day. But most the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They seem to think Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching. If we see what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, He commands us to know people by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessment is necessary for that.. The Christian is called to unconditionally love. But the Christian is not called to unconditional approval. We really can love people who do things that should not be approved of. Instead, Jesus is speaking against being judgmental, that is, judging motives and the inner man, which only God can know. We can judge the fruit of a man, but we can rarely judge their motives with accuracy.

Jesus does not prohibit judgment of others. He only requires that our judgment be completely fair, and that we only judge others by a standard we would also like to be judged by. Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, not because we judge according to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard - we ignore the standard in our own life.

We judge others by one standard, and ourselves by another standard - being far more generous to ourselves than others. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you:

According to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus' time, God had two measures that He used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. Which measure do you want God to use with you? Then you should use that same measure with others. (Mt 7:2). (Matthew 7)

Be quick to judge yourself
But slow to judge others.

People Magazine was interviewing a well-known actor who was defending the moral indiscretions of former President Clinton.

Why should we be upset over such a thing? We're all sinners, and it just shows that President Clinton is just like the rest of us. The Bible says, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.'

Whenever Christians warn against or condemn our society for its loss of moral moorings, it is not uncommon to have them misquote Matthew 7:1 to counter our "judgmental attitude", but as discussed in this section such a use represents a distortion of what Jesus actually meant in context (remember context is "king" in [accurate] interpretation). Clearly Jesus was not forbidding one from making moral evaluations which is the way this actor and the unregenerate world interprets this verse. They say "Do not judge. Do not make moral evaluations. Do not condemn anything." Wrong! That is not what Jesus is commanding, for all through the Gospels He teaches we are to continually make moral judgments about both issues and people (cp Jesus' moral judgment regarding adultery - see notes Matthew 5:27; 28) If we interpreted Matthew 7:1 the way the world wants us to interpret it, we could not say there was such a thing as adultery... it's just an "affair" (note the world's euphemistic way of toning down evil.) Christians as salt and light are to make sound moral judgments, but we must do so with a humble, loving attitude for nothing is more harmful to the cause of Christ than believers who cry out with a shrill voice using harsh language which condemns others (there is only one Judge) with an angry, unkind attitude. The point is that believers are not to manifest a judgmental, critical, fault-finding attitude, always being negative, always carping about things, always being aware of minor problems in the lives of others while oblivious to the faults they are demonstrating in there negative, judgmental attitudes. Believers can and should make Spirit-led moral judgments, but not in an unloving, unkind manner. We are never to despise others or regard them with contempt. As we have often heard, God hates the sin, but loves the sinner, which is why He sent His Son. We are to "be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love." (see notes Ephesians 5:1; 5:2)

Dwight Pentecost addresses the problem of judging others by reminding us that...

God’s standard of conduct for His children is His own unalterable, intrinsic righteousness and holiness. Peter stated this so clearly in 1 Peter 1:15, 16 (note)

As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

When a man asks himself, “How good must I be?” the biblical answer is, “As good as God.” While that standard is written into the hearts of all, they acknowledge they cannot attain it. So men universally set aside God’s standards and substitute their own. Every religion, no matter how depraved it may be, has its own standards of conduct. But the standard of conduct is not the standard of the character of God, nor of the Word of God...

When a man sets up his own standards of conduct in lieu of the standards of God, he must become a judge of men’s conduct. When men make their own rules, they then become judges to determine what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, and to distinguish who conforms to their standards and who does not. The peril of legalism is that it will not lead a man to holiness in his conduct. Also, inevitably, it makes a man judge both the actions and the motives of other men. (Pentecost, J. D. Design for living: Lessons in Holiness from the Sermon on the Mount. Kregel Publications)

Oswald Chambers writes that Jesus is charging His disciples to

Stop having a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every man's case about which we know nothing. The first thing God does is to give us a spiritual spring-cleaning; there is no possibility of pride left in a man after that. I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

The fault we see in another
may be the reflection of our own.

The Holman NT Commentary writes that...

It is one thing to exercise judgment, and quite another to have a judgmental attitude. One is an action that might be carried out with right or wrong motives; the other is a negative character quality... This is the central application of 7:1-5. Our habitual response to Scripture must be to say, "What about me?" rather than, "What about others?"  (Weber, Stuart, Max E. Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew)

An Appropriate
Time to Judge

As alluded to Jesus is not saying we are to condone or excuse sin, for the Scriptures clearly do not forbid men to distinguish between good and evil. Yes, we are to get rid of a critical spirit, but we are encouraged to cultivate a discerning spirit as in the exhortation in Hebrews where we note that...

solid food is for the mature (see teleios), who because of practice have their senses (see aistheterion) trained to discern (gumnazo - perfect tense = they have been mentally and spiritually trained and are still in that condition) good (see kalos) and evil (See note Hebrews 5:14)

And so contrary to popular opinion, Jesus is not forbidding all judgment but  He is condemning hypocritical judgment of those who held others to a higher standard than they themselves were willing to live by. In fact, in the following verses Jesus clearly indicates that taking a speck out of your brother’s eye is the correct thing to do, as long as you have been careful to first remove the log out of your own eye. On the other hand, we are forbidden to judge the motives or attitudes of others for unlike God, we are not able to discern “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (see note Hebrews 4:12).  Only God can judge the heart, because only God can see the heart (1Sa 16:7). As the psalmist rightly asks...

Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. (Ps 44:21)

As Spurgeon rhetorically asks...

Would God not with holy indignation have detected unfaithfulness to itself, even had it been hidden in the heart and unrevealed in the life? For He knows the secrets of the heart. He is acquainted with the inner workings of the mind, and therefore this could not have escaped Him. Not the heart only which is secret, but the secrets of the heart, which are secrets of the most secret thing, are as open to God as a book to a reader.

As God cannot be deceived by our subtlety, so he cannot be excluded by our secrecy. Thomas Watson.

In Proverbs we read...

All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD weighs the motives. (Pr 16:2).

And in Romans Paul instructs us that there is coming a day when...

according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (see note Romans 2:16)

And writing to the Corinthians Paul instructs his readers...to

not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.  (1 Cor 4:5)

The upshot is that judgment of other's motives is not our job but God's job.

To reiterate, Scripture does urge us to judge between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil. For example, Jesus said

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge (present imperative) with righteous judgment. (John 7:24) ("Righteous judgment" implies we are in communion with God, that our conscience is clear, that we are filled with His Spirit, and we are motivated by a desire to further His glory. Fulfill these requirements [among others] and then you can "judge according to appearance.")

Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers

I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. (1 Cor 10:15) (In context Paul is saying he is confident that the Corinthians had the wisdom to understand the correctness of what he was about to tell them and that they could make correct judgments about what they should do - read 1 Cor 10 for the full context)

Clearly, God requires us to be discriminating when it comes to matters of sound doctrine.

We are also instructed to judge one another with regard to overt acts of sin. Writing again to the Corinthians, he asked...

Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. ‘Remove (aorist imperative = do it effectively. This command even conveys a sense of urgency.) the evil person from among you’ (1 Cor 5:12-13) (Comment: Paul is referring to the ministry of other believers in judging sin which took place within members of the body. In addition to rightly judging sinful behavior, disciplining was called for as shown by the context. This type of prescribed proper judgment within the body of Christ is often shied away for fear of being too confrontational when in fact it is the very process by which the body is kept spiritually sound and vibrant.)

This same process of discipline ("judging") is outlined by Jesus Himself in Matthew 18...

"And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. 18 "Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. (Mt 18:15-20)

Comment: Note that the verse often quoted in the context of prayer or fellowship is in fact usually taken out of context for it is clearly in the context of disciplining a brother - compare the phrase "two or three" to the previous verses!

Thomas Constable agrees writing that...

It should be obvious from the context that this promise does not refer to whatever two or three disciples agree to ask God for in prayer. The Bible contains many promises concerning prayer but this is not one of them. In the context “anything” {v19} refers to any judicial decision involving an erring disciple that the other disciples may make corporately. God has always stood behind His judicial representatives on earth when they carry out His will (cf. Ps. 82:1). This is a wonderful promise. God will back up with His power and authority any decision involving the corporate discipline of an erring brother or sister that His disciples may make after determining His will. Here again Jesus takes God’s place as “God with us”. This statement implies a future time when Jesus would not be physically present with His disciples, the inter-advent age, specifically the period following His ascension and preceding His return. Jesus anticipated His ascension. (See Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible)

Another kind of judgment which is required of every believer is to examine and judge our own selves at the Lord's Table for Paul states that...

if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. (1 Cor 11:31)

This self-judgment calls for an honest, transparent searching of one's own heart every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper. And Paul preceded this admonition by giving us ample motivation to judge ourselves rightly...

For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (some even died). (1 Cor 11:29,30) (When was the last time Paul's complete admonition was emphasized in your church prior to communion? Could it be that some of those in your church are weak and sick or have even died because they have taken the Lord's Supper in an unholy manner with unclean hands and unconfessed hearts? God has not changed, and His strong words caution through Paul are not meant to hurt us but to heal us. We must not back away from speaking the whole counsel of God's Word. The reason I am so emphatic is I have been in so many communion services where Paul's warning was not read in its entirety. Only rarely has it been read in its entirety and then without any significant exposition. Am I being judgmental? Perhaps!)

In a similar way, all other righteous forms of judgment depend on this honest self-examination which is exactly what Jesus was alluding to when He said

Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. (Luke 6:42).

Hendriksen explains that...

To be discriminating and critical is necessary; to be hypercritical is wrong. One should avoid saying what is untrue (Ex 23:1), unnecessary (Pr 11:13), and unkind (Pr 18:8)... the habitual self-righteous faultfinder must remember that he himself can expect to be condemned, and this not only by men but also and especially by God, as Mt 6:14, 15 has already indicated. Cf. Mt 18:23-35. (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew Grand Rapids: Baker Book House)

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul addressed the issue of the church's lack of action and failure to mourn over and deal with the grievous immorality in their body...

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus...For what have I to do with judging outsiders (unbelievers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church (The NLT paraphrases it "but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways")? But those who are outside, God judges.  (2Corinthians 5:3-5, 12-13)

Similarly believers must distinguish (judge) between true and false doctrine. And thus we read passages like...

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1John 4:1)

Now these (Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining (a word used in Greek to describe the questioning of someone in order to pass a judicial sentence!) the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. (see note Acts 17:11)

But examine (present imperative = command to continually be testing in order to draw a conclusion about the worth of) everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good (1Thes 5:21)

Beware (present imperative = command to continually be watching out for or guard for) of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves... So then, you will know them by their fruits." (see notes Matthew 7:15; 7:20)

We are also at times called to judge whether others are true believers, for otherwise we could never recognize the unequal yoke that Paul commands us to avoid...

Do not be (present imperative + negative particle = Stop being unevenly yoked or mismatched) bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14)

Jesus is telling His audience to avoid the hypocrisy and condemning spirit that arises from self-righteousness. Believers are not in the condemning business and are to leave any necessary condemnation to God the only righteous Judge. To reiterate, we are not to judge other peoples motives for as Scripture clearly teaches...

God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. (1Samuel 16:7b)

"Speck ministers" tend to emphasize the faults of others rather than their strengths and to focus on other's faults rather than their own faults. Criticism of others is foolish because our knowledge of them is only partial at best. But even if we had all the facts, we still might misinterpret them because our judgment, unlike God's, is fallible. And such judgmentalism generally tears down rather than building up.

Stated another way, we can judge what people do or say, but we cannot judge why they do it or why they say it. How can we know the heart motives of other people when Jeremiah tells us that our...

heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Solomon warns us that...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

Ray Pritchard elaborates on "faultfinders" ("spiritual vultures") concluding that...

Faultfinding is the “venom of the soul.” It destroys our joy, drains our happiness, and prevents us from having close friendships. No one likes a faultfinder because no one likes being around a nit-picking critic. This sin comes partly from spiritual pride and partly from disguised envy. We criticize others in order to bring them down to our level. Or worse, we tear them down to prove they are really beneath us. Faultfinding is a deadly disease because if not kept in check, it turns us into cynics (people who believe the worst about other people or the outcome of events) who expect the worst from others. The faultfinder expects failure and secretly gloats when he finds it. Is it any wonder that the faultfinder almost always is a gossip and a talebearer? First we spot the flaws of others and then we can’t wait to spread the news. There is such a thing as a spiritual vulture. Like the vultures of the air that live off dead, rotting flesh, these sad individuals thrive on the mistakes and sins of others. They fly across the landscape, keeping a close eye out for the failures of others. Then they swoop in for their daily feast. (Matthew 7:1-5 Judge Not!) (Bolding added)

H W Beecher once said that...

The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one

Richard Strauss adds that...

Negative criticism is a poison that kills the enthusiasm of Christian leaders and hinders the progress of God’s work. It is a contagious disease that spreads among God’s people, and can turn a loving community of believers into a battleground. It is a sledgehammer that breaks marriages, homes and lives into little pieces. That is why Jesus said, “Don’t judge.” Stop dwelling on the flaws in others, real or perceived. (Matthew 7:1-5 Bits and Beams)

In Romans Paul addresses the religious person (including unsaved, orthodox Jews) who were judging the pagans for their horrible sins in Romans 1...

You (you self righteous religious people), therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. (see notes on Romans 2:1-2) (NIV) (The principle in this verse is that the things we criticize most in others are usually the very things of which we ourselves are guilty. We don’t like those things in ourselves, but we have a tendency to overlook them. Seeing them in others reminds us of these ugly faults, but instead of dealing with them in our own lives, we focus attention on the same faults in other people's lives. As long as we are occupied with the "speck" in the eye of others, we can avoid dealing with the "log" in our eye. And if we can keep the attention on them, they will not be putting pressure on us to change.)

In Romans 14-15 Paul addresses the issue of judging other believers in the body of Christ writing...

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith (one who does not yet have full knowledge of how to live as a Christian. In this case it is one who eats only "vegetables" and not meat.), but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God. (so be careful how you judge others!)
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

(Comment: In this section Paul is referring to making critical judgments regarding the inward reasonings of others and says don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. We dare not be judgmental in disputable or "gray" areas. Unless a practice is specifically revealed in Scripture to be right or wrong, each believer should be free to formulate his own personal convictions about it. New Christians may still feel constrained by certain criteria they had followed earlier, and thus may be reluctant to change when they become saved. Unless the practices are specifically prohibited in the Word of God, older believers should receive them into fellowship without arguing or critically judging them. Paul emphasizes that believers are not to judge one another in the matters such as food, etc, because God has received both the weaker and stronger believer, because we can differ in good conscience (as discussed in verses 4-6) and because we shall all be judged by the Lord (verses 7-12). (See notes on Romans 14:1-6, Romans 14:7-9, Romans 14:10-12, Romans 14:13-15, Romans 14:16-22, Romans 15:1-3, Romans 15:4-6, Romans 15:7-10)

Ryrie adds that Jesus...

does not mean that one is never, in any sense or to any extent, to judge another, for verse 5 indicates that when one's own life is pure he should take the speck out of the brother's eye. It does mean, however, that a follower of Christ is not to be censorious. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)

Morris adds that...

Here Jesus warns against condemning the actions or motives of others. Only the Lord has the right to condemn since only He has full knowledge of a person's actions and motives (John 5:22; Romans 14:4,10). On the other hand, He has commanded us to "judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). We should be able to recognize false teachers and "from such