Judge
"Judge not," right? Yes and no. In Old Testament times, before Israel had a king, judges presided over local problems within their tribes. Sometimes God used judges to deliver the Israelites from oppressing nations.

But when Jesus Christ tells us to not judge, he's talking about judgments of the heart. Rather than condemning people because of their appearance or because of what they do, we should love them. (For a definition of love see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

In the Bible, the book of Job tells of a man who's loyalties to God were tested when God allowed him to be stripped of his wealth, children and health. Job's friends thought they had the answer: Job must have done something wrong. Why else would God do this to him? They were judging Job's heart, and they were wrong. In fact, God had allowed bad things to happen to Job to prove how righteous Job was. Judging someone is easy; love takes a whole new kind of heart, the kind Jesus has and gives to his followers.

God sets up judges to keep the Israelites focused on serving him and to save them from enemies.
Judges 2:18; 3:12-30; 4:4-6; 6:1-8:33; 13:1 - 16:30
God is our judge. One day he will judge all nations. Because he is perfect and without bias, only he is able to accurately evaluate human action and issue fitting reward or punishment.
Deuteronomy 32:36
Psalm 98:9; 110:9
John 12:48
Romans 2:1
Revelation 20:11-15
God tells us to not judge each other but rather to love each other. God is the final judge.
Matthew 7:1-2
Romans 2:1-4; 14:10-12
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
James 4:11-12