"But we're not supposed to judge!"

I’ve heard far too many Christians say something along the lines of that statement, throwing about passages like Matthew 7:1-6, John 8:7, and Luke 6:37. According to most, God is the only one allowed to judge. That’s it. Nothing more.

But what about verses like John 7:24, Proverbs 31:9, Amos 5:14-15, 1 Corinthians 5:12, etc? All of those tell us to judge those within the Church. God commands us to do so! But the catch is that we must judge with righteous judgment.

What is righteous judgment?
Well, first, if you’re going to judge, make sure you know all the facts. Don’t be quick to pass judgment when you barely read the Bible.
Judging fairly means to not water down the Truth for friends and strengthen it for people we don’t know or like. If we’re judging right, we say the exact same thing in the exact same manner to everyone, whether it be a family member, friend, enemy, stranger, etc.
 We also may not hold a double standard: if we’re judging other people, we need to judge ourselves with the same measure. Sin is sin, no matter who is committing it.
 We must also judge mercifully, for we will reap what we sow, and, as in what is written in Matthew, God will judge us in the way we have judged others.

 If we “aren’t allowed to judge,” then what is the point of the passages about knowing a tree by its fruit? Romans 16:7? 1 John 4:1? Psalm 37:30? I’m not saying those verses in Matthew 7, John 8, and Luke 6 are wrong. They aren’t whatsoever. They are telling us not to judge if we have not taken a look at ourselves first and are working on changes. But Scripture is very clear that we should make judgments righteously and biblically, without favoritism, harshness, or holding double standards.

God is the Judge, but that does not mean He is the only one who judges.