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Blessings
in Christ!!
This is not an official issue of Captive Hearts,
but an answer to a question.
Recently one of the readers asked me a question
on the topic of judgment.
Rather than answer her alone, I chose to share
the Q-and-A with you since judgment is the most
misunderstood doctrine in Christianity today with
many believing that no judging is allowed ever.
This is not the case. Before expounding on this,
here is the question given to me by one of my
readers....
Over and over and over and over whenever we take
a stand for the things of God the same old
"accusation" comes to us "Hey
Christian I thought the Bible says DO NOT JUDGE
LEST YOU BE JUDGE" AND "JESUS HUNG OUT
WITH SINNERS!"
Over and Over and Over the "crucified
context" of these verses used by people
grieves me. It's not only being used by
non-believers BUT the make-believers as well, yes
those who say "I am a Christian" and
"God loves everyone and accepts them",
and "you people judge and tell others they
are wrong that's not very Christian like, that's
why so many leave the Church."
Firstly, let's answer the simpler of the two
points you brought up- "Jesus hung out with
sinners." THAT IS A LIE!!!! Jesus DID NOT
"hang out" with sinners. He moved in
their midst, there is a world of difference.
"Hanging out" denotes that Jesus was
buddy-buddy with sinners and participated in
their activities...isn't that what we do when we
"hang out" with friends?
Jesus did nothing of the kind. He moved in the
midst of sinners, showed compassion to them, and
called them to repentance and to leave their life
of sin! The favorite passage of folks who
advocate Jesus "hanging out" with
sinners is the adulteress about to be slain by
the mob and they quote Jesus saying,
"Neither do I condemn you." They forget
the verse that follows where Jesus says,
"Now go, and SIN NO MORE." In other
words, "CLEAN UP YOUR ACT, QUIT BEING AN
ADULTERESS!" Jesus had compassion on
sinners, NEVER on their sin! In fact the Bibles
teaches that Jesus was-
"harmless, undefiled, and SEPARATE FROM
SINNERS" Hebrews 7:26. So much for
"well...Jesus hung out with sinners."
Secondly the issue of judgment...I could write a
book on the amount of times I have heard this
verse abused...
"Judge not, that ye be not judged"
This is the perennial favorite of Christians and
non-Christians who wish to justify their
disobedience to God. In the last issue of Captive
Hearts I spoke from Romans 14 which says
"who art thou that judgest another man's
servant?"
This was speaking to passing your own personal
judgment on another and this is forbidden. We are
NEVER to use OUR own standards to judge another.
We are however, not only allowed but COMMANDED to
use God's standard (His Holy Word) to judge right
and wrong.
"Judge not according to appearance but JUDGE
RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT" John 7:24
Righteous judgment is using God's word to rule
what is good or evil. This is commanded among the
body of believers. We are to instruct from God's
word what is and is not acceptable to God (just
be very careful not to add to His word or impose
your own views onto the text. This is a heresy
known as eisegesis which means "to read into
the text what is not there."). Let's look at
God's command-
"For what have I to do to judge them also
that are without (the church)? Do not ye judge
them that are within? But them that are without
God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves that
WICKED PERSON" I Corinthians 5:12-13
Why does it say that those without the church
body will be judged by God while we are to judge
(according to God's word) those within? Simple,
those who are not saved are already under the
judgment and condemnation of God....
"He that believeth not is condemned already
because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. And this is
condemnation that Light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil." John 3:19
Those within the body are to be kept in line by
one another because we are indeed our brother's
keeper. It is our responsibility out of love, to
make a fellow believer aware when he or she is
violating God's word. If he or she is truly
saved, though the correction may sting, he or she
will appreciate what was done. But what of
Matthew 7:1, "judge not, that ye be not
judged" ? Well, let's look at the rest of
the passage.....
"...for with what judgment ye judge, ye
shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again. Why beholdest
thou the mote (speck of dust) that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye...thou hypocrite FIRST cast
out the beam out of thine own eye; AND THEN SHALT
THOU SEE CLEARLY TO CAST OUT THE MOTE OF THY
BROTHER'S EYE." Matthew 7:2-3 & 5.
This passage is not a blanket prohibition against
judgment!! It is an exhortation to get right
(repent of sin and place trust in Jesus for
salvation) with God, and when you do, He will let
you see clearly to help your brother/sister get
their life right with God.
The judgment is to be God's word, not your own
opinion or view and it is to be done in a spirit
of loving correction, not spiteful condemnation.
Suppose one of you saw me ready to step on a high
voltage wire, would you warn me of my folly, or
would you let me get electrocuted? This is and
should be the spirit behind correcting a brother
in sin. It is done out of love and concern; if
he/she wants to be foolish and touch the high
voltage wire, it is their prerogative. God has
urged us to give the warning but He'll allow
folks to be as foolish as they want to be. As I
said in a previous letter, everyone who ends up
in hell got there by his or her own choice. Hell
is the reward of rebellion toward God. If you are
an unbeliever who uses Matthew 7:1 to justify
your perverted behavior, be warned, the only one
fooled is you and you are already under the
judgment and condemnation of God (John 3:19) If
you use Matthew 7:1 to do as you please, you'd
better read that passage again because you are
greatly mistaken. If you choose to walk in
disobedience, God will deal with you
accordingly...
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap." Galatians 6:7
Some other Scriptures to meditate on:
John 8:14-17
14Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if
I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for
I know where I came from and where I am going;
but you do not know where I come from and where I
am going. 15You judge according to the flesh; I
judge no one. 16And yet if I do judge, My
judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am
with the Father who sent Me. 17It is also written
in your law that the testimony of two men is
true.
John 5:30
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge;
and My judgment is righteous, because I do not
seek My own will but the will of the Father who
sent Me.
2Corinthians 2
10But God has revealed them to us through His
Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes,
the deep things of God. 11For what man knows the
things of a man except the spirit of the man
which is in him? Even so no one knows the things
of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have been freely given to us by God.
13These things we also speak, not in words which
man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy[4] Spirit
teaches, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. 14But the natural man does not receive
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. 15But he who is
spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is
rightly judged by no one. 16For "who has
known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct
Him?"[5] But we have the mind of Christ.
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