10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
But thou, why dost thou, etc. As he had made the life and death of us all subject to Christ, he now proceeds to mention the authority to judge, which the Father has conferred on him, together with the dominion over heaven and earth. He hence concludes, that it is an unreasonable boldness in any one to assume the power to judge his brother, since by taking such a liberty he robs Christ the Lord of the power which he alone has received from the Father. But first, by the term brother, he checks this lust for judging; for since the Lord has established among us the right of a fraternal alliance, an equality ought to be preserved; every one then who assumes the character of a judge acts unreasonably. Secondly, he calls us before the only true judge, from whom no one can take away his power, and whose tribunal none can escape. As then it would be absurd among men for a criminal, who ought to occupy a humble place in the court, to ascend the tribunal of the judge; so it is absurd for a Christian to take to himself the liberty of judging the conscience of his brother. A similar argument is mentioned by James, when he says, that "he who judges his brother, judges the law," and that "he who judges the law, is not an observer of the law but a president;" and, on the other hand, he says, that "there is but one lawgiver, who can save and destroy." (James 4:12.) He has ascribed tribunal to Christ, which means his power to judge, as the voice of the archangel, by which we shall be summoned, is called, in another place, a trumpet; for it will pierce, as it were with its sound, into the minds and ears of all. [1]
1 - The words "We shall all stand," etc., may be rendered, "We must all stand," etc. It is indeed the future tense, but this is according to what is often the case in Hebrew, for in that language the future has frequently this meaning. Romans 13:12 may be rendered in the same manner, "So then every one of us must give account of himself to God." -- Ed.
But why - Since we are all subjects and servants alike, and must all stand at the same tribunal, what right have we to sit in judgment on others?
Thou judge - Thou who art a "Jewish" convert, why dost thou attempt to arraign the "Gentile" disciple, as if he had violated a law of God? compare Romans 14:3.
Thy brother - God has recognised him as his friend Romans 14:3, and he should be regarded by thee as "a brother" in the same family.
Or why dost thou set at nought - Despise Romans 14:3; why dost thou, who art a "Gentile" convert, despise the "Jewish" disciple as being unnecessarily scrupulous and superstitious?
Thy brother - The Jewish convert is now a brother; and all the contempt which you Gentiles once cherished for the Jew should cease, from the fact that "he" is now "a Christian." Nothing will do so much, on the one hand, to prevent a censorious disposition, and on the other, to prevent contempt for those who are in a different rank in life, as to remember that they are "Christians," bought with the same blood, and going to the same heaven as ourselves.
We must all stand - That is, we must all be tried alike at the same tribunal; we must answer for our conduct, not to our-fellow man, but to Christ; and it does not become us to sit in judgment on each other.
But why dost thou - Christian Jew, observing the rites of the Mosaic law, judge - condemn thy brother - the Christian Gentile, who does not think himself bound by this law?
Or why dost thou - Christian Gentile, set at nought thy Christian Jewish brother, as if he were unworthy of thy regard, because he does not yet believe that the Gospel has set him free from the rites and ceremonies of the law?
It is a true saying of Mr. Heylin, on this verse: The superstitious are prone to judge, and those who are not superstitious are prone to despise.
We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ - Why should we then judge and condemn each other? We are accountable to God for our conduct, and shall be judged at his bar; and let us consider that whatever measure we mete, the same shall be measured unto us again.
(11) But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
(11) The conclusion: we must leave to God his right, and therefore in matters which are either good or evil according to the conscience of the individual, the strong must not despise their weak brethren, much less condemn them. But this consequent cannot be taken of equal force in the contrary, that is, that the weak should not judge the strong, because the weak do not know that those who do not observe a day and eat, observe it not to the Lord, and eat to the Lord, as the strong men know that the weak who observe a day and do not eat, observe the day to the Lord, and eat not to the Lord.
But why dost thou judge thy brother?.... These words are spoken to the man weak in faith, that scrupled eating of certain meats, and chose rather eat none, and live on herbs, and who esteemed one day above another; and was very apt to censure and condemn such as made use of their Christian liberty in these things, though they were brethren, not in a natural or civil, but in a spiritual relation:
or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? these words, on the other hand, are directed to the stronger believer, who believed he might eat all things, and esteemed every day alike; being fully persuaded, that the distinction of meats and of days was now ceased; and such were apt to be puffed up with their superior knowledge and faith, and were ready to treat with an air of contempt those that were weak; showing little or no regard to their peace and edification, though they stood in the same relation to each other. The emphasis lies upon the word "brother", in both branches of the expostulation; and the force of the apostle's reasoning is that they should not judge or despise one another, because they were brethren, stood in the same relation to God and Christ, belonged to the same family, were partakers of the same grace, and had no pre-eminence one over another; they had but one master, and all they were brethren: and which he further enforces with the following reason or argument,
for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; at the last day, when he shall sit on his throne of glory, and all nations shall be gathered before him, and he shall pronounce and execute the decisive sentence on each of them: there is a particular, and a general judgment; a particular judgment at death, when the soul is immediately consigned to bliss or woe; and a general one in the end of time; which may be proved both from reason, as from the relation creatures stand in to God, from the inequality of things in this life, and the conscious fears of men with respect to a future one; and from divine revelation, Christ will be the Judge, he is so appointed by his Father, and is every way fit for it, being God omniscient and omnipotent; and when he shall appear in his glory, he shall sit on his judgment seat, the dead will be raised, the books will be opened, and all shall be summoned to appear before him, of every age and sex, of every rank and degree, and of every character, good or bad: here the saints are particularly designed, "we shall all stand"; whether ministers or private Christians, weak or strong believers; they that are apt to judge, and others that are too ready to despise; they shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ, who is sole Judge, and shall render to every man according to his works, and from whom they shall all receive their sentence. The allusion is to human courts of judicature, in which the judge sits upon a bench, and they that are tried stand before him; see 2-Corinthians 5:10. The Alexandrian copy reads, "the judgment seat of God".
But why, &c.--The original is more lively:--"But thou (the weaker believer), why judgest thou thy brother? And thou again (the stronger), why despisest thou thy brother?"
for we shall all--the strong and the weak together.
stand before the judgment-seat of Christ--All the most ancient and best manuscripts read here, "the judgment-seat of God." The present reading doubtless crept in from 2-Corinthians 5:10, where "the judgment-seat of Christ" occurs. But here "the judgment-seat of God" seems to have been used, with reference to the quotation and the inference in Romans 14:11-12.
Why dost thou judge thy brother? Christ, the Lord of all, is his Lord. He shall judge him and us alike. We are not the judges, for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.
For it is written. In Isaiah 45:23. The passage quoted declares that the whole world will yet make humble acknowledgment of the sovereignty of Jehovah.
So then every one of us shall give account. God's universal sovereignty gives him the right to call every mortal to account. Hence, we should leave judgment to God.
Let us not therefore judge one another. Since God is to judge us all, brethren should not condemn each other for differences of opinion over some untaught question.
But judge this rather. Rather condemn severely throwing a stumbling-block in a brother's way. A stumbling-block is anything which might cause a brother to fall.
Or why dost thou despise thy brother - Hitherto the apostle as addressed the weak brother: now he speaks to the stronger.
*More commentary available at chapter level.