Daniel's response to me was blog worthy. "But Mom, you're judging them! Jesus said He's the only one who can judge. You spend six hours a day reading about Jesus, you should know that!"
"Daniel, I want you to go get your Bible and show me where Jesus said He is the only one who can judge. If that is true, how are we to determine what is right and wrong? How are we to evaluate each and every situation in this life? How am I to attempt to keep you kids out of harm's way and away from people who are going to cause you trouble?"
My conversation with Daniel was very one-sided after that, the details of which are not as important as the central theme of this entry which is the great deal of confusion surrounding the topic of "judging." Confusion that is entirely due to Biblical illiteracy. If you do not read and study the Bible in it's entirety for yourself (with the counsel of the Holy Spirit) but instead accept someone's interpretation of one line of Scripture taken out of context, you will be mistaken about much of the wisdom scripture has to impart. Simple reasoning and careful examination of the Word should prove whether one's interpretation is correct or faulty.
That said, the subject of judging is covered extensively in the Bible; why isn't the entire text a manual for deciphering right vs. wrong by God's standards and ultimately the plumb line by which everything that exists will be measured? Did He not give us His Word to use as a guidebook to judge all matters of this life? Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? God told the Israelites in Leviticus 19:15, "You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly." Jesus said in John 7:24, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” These scriptures appear to contradict someone's interpretation of Jesus saying only He can judge. Furthermore that interpretation defies all common sense.
If Jesus truly said we are never to judge, than we are all guilty of this "sin." The fact is, we judge things and people every minute of the day and we lie to ourselves if we say that we do not. We meaning everyone; both the saved and the unsaved. For the saved, the Bible sets the standard of how to judge all things with impartiality and righteousness. For the unsaved, the standard by which morality is judged is different from person to person and the bar continues to be lowered as society accepts more and more depravity. And herein, we have two extremes in judging that are both dealt with in the Bible. Knowing that scripture does not contradict itself, any contradiction then, is human error. One must dig deeper; study the scripture in context, search the Bible as a whole and further examine who the audience is in each instance to gain understanding on how that scripture should be applied. Just looking at Jesus's words in John 7, one can clearly see Him telling us not only that we are to judge but also that there is a right and wrong way of doing so.
Let's scrutinize the judging of humans because that's really the crux of the judging issue here isn't it? No one complains when you say nice things about them but if you point out a sin, that's another matter entirely. Do not judge and Let he who is without sin through the first stone are the two scriptures most often abused when someone does not appreciate an appraisal of their sins. And let's face it, it sucks to have someone point out the ugly in you. Nobody likes it but it can be done lovingly, with compassion and righteousness. Unfortunately after so much misuse of the scriptures above, it would appear that Christians can no longer tell the difference between a loving rebuke and a merciless rake over the coals. Some are so deeply entrenched in their sin that it no longer seems wrong to them; that is until someone points it out and then they use the above scripture to justify their sin because "WE ALL SIN (so it's okay)." And certainly the world is filled with people who feel it's their job to judge everything everyone else does, minding everyone else's business but their own and they are those whom Jesus is talking to when He said, "Judge not." And it's usually the very same people who use "judge not" and John 8:7 (Let he who is without sin....) as a defense when someone points a finger back to them. You can see how the wisdom of scripture has been so diluted.
John 8:7 bears special mention because Jesus is dealing with people who bear false witness against a woman accused of adultery, the penalty for which was death. The penalty of bearing false witness was also death and once He pointed the accusers to THEIR sin, they left. Jesus is not fooled. If someone falsely accuses another, they will be judged by Him. And yet, He showed mercy to the merciless here that we might learn a lesson if we'll dig deep enough to find it: do not twist His Words and Laws to justify evil as the merciless do. How often I have heard this scripture quoted by a person who used it improperly to justify their sin or the sin of another. I cannot help but find it interesting that words Jesus used to rebuke liars are now quoted by people who are lying to themselves about the condition of their souls. But I digress-
"Do not judge" is part of Jesus's first sermon and is directed at everyone in attendance; both the worldly and His followers. It's a warning for us all because we will all judge improperly if and when we are ignorant of His teachings. The scripture in context is, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." Notice Jesus clarifies His warning here as being for those who "judge" based on their own moral code, not His. He sheds even more light on this by showing that the most judgmental people are also the biggest hypocrites. "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:1-5 Have you ever noticed that the person who most vehemently condemns someone else's sin is often the one whose guilt for the same sin is later exposed? (A certain NY Governor comes to mind here but there are many more examples) This is an example of this scripture "judge not or you'll be judged," coming to fruition. It's a warning and a promise to those who judge with self-righteous severity, sharp-tongued criticism, and condemnation.
Luke 6:37-45 is a similar account to Matthew's on this subject and goes into even greater detail. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned." Interesting that this one includes "do not condemn" and also "pardon." What does that mean but to forgive a repentant sinner. Forgive and do not bear a grudge after one repents. Do not condemn, but pardon. In 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Paul reminds us that, "The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
Let's now examine an instance of judging that God approved as being righteous. Have you read 1 Corinthians 5 in which Paul was dealing with a church that embraced a member who was sleeping with his father's wife? This church had a BIG problem and rather than mourning the fact that such a sin had crept into their church, and rather than confronting the sinner privately and then corporately if he did not repent as lined out in Matthew 18:15-18, they chose instead to affirm the sin and even boast about it. If Jesus truly meant that we are never to judge, then Paul is going to be in some very hot water when He stands before Christ over how he dealt with this. Paul's exhortation to them would be shocking to many churches today. How many misinformed Christians do you know who would cringe and scream, "Jesus said you cannot judge me" if it were they he was talking to? Here is what he wrote to them, "You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?" 1 Corinthians 5:2-5 Furthermore Paul goes on, v11, "I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one." v13 "REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES."
Let's explore this. The audience here is the church at Corinth. People who should have known better but let this moral decay slide to a point where they didn't see anything wrong with it. Sin unrepented from blinds us to the dangerous condition of our soul. 1 John 3:4-10 says that a child of God CANNOT practice incessant and unrepentant sin. If they do, they neither know Him nor belong to Him. John minces no words pronouncing this judgment. Now understand, as James says, we all stumble in many ways. (James 3:2) Or as Paul says, we all sin and fall short (Romans 3:23). Habitually practiced sin is not the same accidental slip as oopsie, I said a bad word because I was mad or I didn't deal with a situation as God would. (Forgive me, Lord!) A Christian is not immune to sin but they also do not enjoy it nor practice it because they know it has consequences; namely that it separates them from God and will eventually bring about His discipline. If His discipline doesn't work and one just keeps on sinning, what sacrifice is left for them? (Hebrews 6:4-8 see also 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Galatians 5:19-22)
Paul's harshness with this church was not nit-picking accidental sins (slips) that we're all guilty of. (And that should tell us plainly that we should not be nit-picking someone elses slip-ups) As John writes, a Christian cannot practice a life of unrepentant sin nor endorse it or they are NOT a Christian. Something is very wrong if this is the case. Paul was harsh on the church at Corinth because they didn't even recognize sin as sin. He further cited that their acceptance of that sin had defiled the entire church and put everyone within it in spiritual jeopardy. Hence, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Sin spreads like wildfire if it's not stopped in it's tracks. It not only affects the sinner but everyone around them will be led astray if it's not cut off. Paul's judgment was to expel the sinner from the church with the hope that the sharp rebuke would lead those who remained to the godly sorrow that leads to repentance. So what did the church do? If you read 2 Corinthians 2:1-12, you'll see that the entire congregation repented including the sinner and all were reconciled to Christ and when Paul came to visit this church in person, his visit was full of joy in their "obedience in all things." All was forgiven and everyone moved forward in the Lord.
It's worth noting that in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul clarifies to the church that while we may judge those within the body of Christ, we are NOT to judge the worldly who either do not know or reject God. Judging them is the Lord's job (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) and a waste of our time since they do not perceive sin as sin. 1 John 5:16-17 tells us that we should always pray that the Lord open their eyes to to sin so they may be reconciled to Him.
Confronting a Christian about their habitual sin with the hope and prayer that they would be led to repentance and forgiveness is the mark of compassion even though it may not feel at all as such at the time. The mark of cruelty is in the hypocrite who could care less if you repent. They only expose your sin as being so horrible that it's unforgivable in order to help justify their own sins or make themselves appear more righteous to others. Jesus is not confused as to our heart's motivation when we judge others so we need examine ourselves closely before ever saying a word to a fellow Christian about their sin.
I have experienced being "called out" about a certain practiced sin by a very much respected godly woman (Delma) and also many hypocrites. I knew I was living in sin and I didn't need anyone to point it out, but Delma being Delma, wanted me reconciled to God before I got so far away from Him that I could no longer be reached. I blogged about it here because the way she went about talking to me, with so much loving kindness and compassion is something I'll never forget and hope that I can emulate if I ever need to confront another Christian in their practice of sin. Paul encourages us to imitate the faith of the godly and Delma was one whose faith is worth imitating. Certainly I learned that I do not want to imitate the hypocrites who, if they had had stones, would have mercilessly stoned me to death.
We all have to judge in order to live this life. And there is judging that is not sin. God gave us the manual on this, that we should learn and teach our children to judge the difference.
PLEASE NOTE: Effective next week. "Hands Full" will move to Thrusdays. School is starting you know!
1 comments:
i just wanted to pop over and say thank you so much for your kind message. it really meant so much to me.
Post a Comment