To Judge or Not to Judge
Rev. Dr. Mel White writes, “Romans 2 begins with ‘Therefore, [referring to Romans 1], you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself…’ Paul warns us that judging others is God’s business, not ours.”
Simply reading the text reveals just how fallacious Rev. Dr. Mel White’s application of the text is:
“Therefore you are without excuse, O man, everyone who judges; for in that in which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge do the same things. But know that the judgment of God is according to truth on those who practice such things. And, O man, the one judging those who do such things, and practice them, do you think this, that you shall escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1-3).
Clearly, the text is not a condemnation of any and all judgment but a warning to those who pass judgment against that which they themselves are doing. Rev. Dr. Mel White’s convenient ellipsis points appear to be a way for him to make it appear as if the Bible teaches that if we judge homosexuality to be wrong then we will be condemned by God.
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Jesus actually commanded appropriate judgment, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
If the Bible condemned judgment Rev. Dr. Mel White could not judge judgmentalism to be wrong, he could not judge who was being judgmental, and he could not condemn those who condemn homosexuality (see my essay On Judgmentalism for further details).