Can Christians be judges? There is a famous, often (ab)used phrase, "judge not, lest you be judged" , which implies (to me at least) that people on the whole, and Christians in particular, should defer from judging other people. The only person/power/entity (whatever you call it) that can pass judgement is God.

This is a belief upheld by most monotheistic religions that I know of. I attended a Catholic school, and remember that one of my teachers was a former deacon.  When he was asked to be a jury member in a big court case, he said he had to decline as he took a vow, which prevented him from passing judgement, especially in matters that concerned life and death.

I wonder, though, how this affects Christians that did not take the same vows. I mean: "the judge not" bit seems applicable to everyone who adheres to the Christian faith, does it not?

Does being a judge or member of a jury have a whiff of sin about it, as a result?

So my questions are:


Can Christians be judges?
If so, can they ever sentence someone to death?
If not, can they judge in any matter, or are they allowed to settle domestic disputes or rule in material matters?
Is sentencing or being on a jury a sin?
Can Christians be judges?

Yes. We are told to judge others within the church. (1 Cor 5:12)

As @CecilBeckham said, we are told not to judge people's hearts/righteounness. (Mt 7:1-2, Lk 6:37) We are also told not to be hypocritical in our judgment (Ro 2:1)

Paul endorses the idea of governmental authority in Romans 13, and says


  Romans 13:4 (NASB)
  But if you do what is evil, be afraid ; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.


We are certainly expected to exercise judgment/discernment. (John 7:24, Lk 12:57)

There's no prohibition (even in sense or intent) in what the Biblical authors say that would prevent anyone from being employed as a secular judge (or even as a Christian arbiter). Judges (in America) do not judge men's hearts, nor do they claim to assign their eternal station. They decide issues of the written law. I can imagine that a Christian judge might have difficulty if the law itself were immoral or required something sinful, but that's an exception, not a rule.

Can they sentence someone to death?

The example in the Old Testament is that the community was a witness against people who had committed a crime worthy of death. Certainly humans were fit to pass this kind of judgment on another.

We are not commanded to do such a thing in the New Testament, but it stands to reason that it is at least justifiable. Paul's statement about the God-ordained authority of the government suggests that punishment is within its rights (even if the rulers are evil or if the laws are immoral—as was the case with the Roman law of the day). He wasn't writing a legal treatise, but was saying that the government isn't wrong to punish us, because they get their authority from God (and I would assert: even if they abuse it).

For the protection of innocent people, it seems like it might be possible for there to be a situation in which execution is the best thing to do. We're (indirectly) told not to murder (Mt 5:21, but murder and killing are not the same, nor was killing ever the subject of the sixth commandment (Ex 20:13), because the Jews were required to pass judgment on their brothers when they had committed a serious offense for which the punishment was death.

Also, in America, judges don't (decide the) sentence of death. That is always a jury trial. One exception might be a military trial—I don't know much about the legal system of the U.S. military.

Is sentencing a sin?

If you're thinking of some specific reason why this might be wrong, you will have to say what it is.

There's not any form of injunction against deciding someone's punishment for a legal infraction. Anyone with authority over another certainly seems to possess the power and right to decide punishment (within their sphere of authority). Parents "sentence" their children, employers "sentence" their employees, teachers "sentence" their students, etc. Sentencing (as a judge or jury member) isn't any more wrong than being a judge or jury member, because it's part of the task assigned to you.