I hear it daily: "The Bible teaches us not to judge."
It’s not true, but it effectively confuses and silences Christians.
Here are three reasons people claim we shouldn't judge:
1. Because we're all sinners.
True, we're all sinners, but Scripture only prohibits one type of sinner from judging: hypocritical sinners who refuse to deal honestly with their own sins.(1)
2. Judging is God’s job, not ours.
God commands individuals and churches to judge sin and sinners for various reasons. If God says it's our job, it's our job.(2)
3. Judging is hateful.
When we judge as the Bible commands, speaking the truth in love and gentleness (Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:15), it is the most loving thing we can do.(3)
We lose our salt and hide our light when we refuse to judge and warn people as God commands (Matthew 5:13-15).
Silence makes us popular with our culture, but not with God (Luke 9:26).If you still feel it's not your place to judge others, at least be honest about it. You have no biblical reason unless you're a hypocrite.
-----------------------------------------
Listen to this devotion on YouTube HERE.
Notes:
Please see the Misunderstandings About Judgment archive of 1-minute devotions.
(1) Matthew 7:1-5
(2) A variation of this argument is "Jesus didn't judge anyone, and neither should we." See "Did Jesus Come to Judge?" and these passages which command Christians to judge: 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; Galatians 6:1;Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.
(3) This doesn't mean people will always respond in a positive way, but we still must be faithful to do what God commands us to do.
I encourage you to do the Bite Size Bible Study on this devotion. Ezekiel 33:1-11 is especially pertinent to this subject.
Bible Love Notes
The scriptures given do not support the principles identified. We do not lose our saltiness because we refuse to judge but because we do not reflect and glorify Jesus. Our commission is to point to Jesus as Lord and Savior.The commandments are for the discipling of believers. We cannot judge the lost because scripture tells us they have no choice but to sin. Unless they are born again they do not have the power to resist sin. So any kind of judgment is only within the church. Those are the ones who can be “ judged” and restored.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela,
DeleteLet me address each of your points with Scriptures:
Your words: “We do not lose our saltiness because we refuse to judge but because we do not reflect and glorify Jesus.”
God’s Word:
1. The context of these verses (Matthew 5:13-15), which you say do not apply:
Matthew 5:11-12:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
If we reflect Christ, we will reflect His judgement of sin. People don’t rebuke and insult you if you approve of their sinful behavior.
This is confirmed in Christ’s statement in John 3:20: “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
And it is also confirmed in Christ’s rebuke of those who disbelieved Him: “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.” John 7:7
In fact, Christ says that one sign of being a Christian is that the world will hate us:
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18
2. Your words: “Our commission is to point to Jesus as Lord and Savior.”
We cannot point to Christ as Lord unless we talk about sin. The purpose of Christ coming was to save us from sin and change our sinful hearts. If someone accepts Christ without understanding their sin, they have not understood the Gospel.
Luke 24: 45-47: Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.…
I encourage you to get a concordance and go through and see how often Christ said repent and be saved. Repent of what? Sin.
3. Your words: “The commandments are for the discipling of believers.”
Galatians 3:24: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
It's pretty obvious that a person can't repent unless they understand that their behavior opposes God's commands.
continued in next comment due to space text allowed per comment box.
4. Your words: “We cannot judge the lost because scripture tells us they have no choice but to sin. Unless they are born again they do not have the power to resist sin. So any kind of judgment is only within the church. Those are the ones who can be “ judged” and restored.”
DeleteIt's true that we must have God's Spirit in order to love and obey Him, but the law and commands have a purpose in bringing us to that point as explained in the passage above.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 Talks about formal church judgement/punishments and it says that we are not supposed to bring these formal judgments against non-church members. But that has nothing to do with our need to judge sin and sinners outside the church for our own protection and to warn them of God’s coming wrath against them if they don’t repent. This can be done with love and grace, and it is commanded.
1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
To accept this warning, we must judge our company and avoid those people who corrupt our character.
Ephesians 5:5-13: For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
In addition, there are a number of Scriptures that tell us to judge false teachers and false teachings in and outside of the church. Colossians 2:8, the book of Jude, etc.
We must know the full Gospel, and the full Gospel teaches us to judge in and outside the church. There are people who do this in rude and ungodly ways, and this causes some Christians to avoid all forms of judgement. But refusing to judge Biblically is no better than judging in ungodly ways. Both violate Scripture.
My first time here. I will be brief. When we are baptized into Christ, we can no longer live in or perpetuate sinful behavior. We will always stumble, but living in and perpetuating sin is something different. Paul made that very clear in Romans 6. Evil comes in many forms in our World. We are all totally dependent Grace and Mercy!
ReplyDeleteJudging other Believers is dangerous territory in my humble view. We know about the ‘plank in our own eye’ response. There are times when people disagree over Scriptures. On the other hand, there are times when Satan has been able to penetrate the heart and mind of some, and they feel things God has made as imperatives are really not what God meant. That is a problem and Believers should not subscribe to that thinking. If that is what you want to call judging, then that would be an example. We have two situations that cause issues within the Church, Legalism and Libertinism. Both are detrimental for very different reasons.
On the other hand, those who have never accepted Jesus as their Savior, are not a citizen of the Kingdom. They are outside the body of Christ, they have accepted to this point the World’s view, some would say from the tree of Adam, rather than Under the tree of the second Adam, to all of us Jesus Christ. There is no reason to ‘judge’ them, as it were. It is important, as we go into the World, to share the Good News, the Gospel with those who are not citizens of Heaven, as the Bible calls out. When Christ returns, all knees will bow, including those outside the Church. At that point, judgement will occur. In my humble view, we can leave the judging piece to Jesus for those outside the Gospel of the Kingdom, while always sharing the Good News that is the only way to truly enjoy joy and peace in this temporary home we live currently.
Thank you for the opportunity of feedback!
1. In your comment you made a judgement, not only of the devotion but of me or anyone who subscribes to the belief presented in it. This is a proof that it's impossible not to judge teachings and people. And actually, the type of judgement you made is the kind Matthew 7:1-5 warns against. You judged me for saying we should judge (i.e. you said you didn't believe in judging others but you did it.)
Delete2. It's not up to us to decide if and when we can judge. It's up to God and He commands us to judge people and things in certain situations. He also commands us to judge ourselves, but He doesn't stop there.
If you refer to my devotion called "How, Who and What to Judge According to Scripture" (you can find it if you use the search tool in the top left or you can copy and paste this URL: https://biblelovenotes.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-who-and-what-to-judge-according-to.html) you will find what God's view is in Scripture.
3. Several times you refer to your "humble view" but it's not very humble if it disagrees with God's view.
Hello Gail...
ReplyDeletePerhaps nothing new under the sun! Judging is not an easy subject. The unknown writer above, I could have written much of that myself. Because the last line I used in the secular world often, and still do when sharing thoughts with people on Scripture to this day. The Gospel of the Kingdom is magnificent, impossible to define. It’s called various things in the Bible, but they all point to the same...the Gospel, the Gospel of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even the Good News.
Perhaps discernment would be a word I would use when it comes to evil. That discernment comes from the Holy Spirit, who serves as our Helper, Counselor and Advocate. The worldly system is so broad that many Believers fall victim to its grasp. You only need to look at politics to grasp how it infiltrates the minds and hearts of Believers. In the Faith tribe I grew up in, the current ratio is about 2/3 Republican and 1/3 Democrat. People are quick to say you can’t be a (you fill in the political party) and be a Christian. That for sure is judging. What I share with individuals these days is that whether you are on the Right or Left politically, the World is crumbling away, as Scripture calls out, and the ship is going down, regardless of which side of the ship of political views you are engaged.
Evil has penetrated every known government and education system. I would say in my youth that was perhaps not as true as it is today. Cultural acceptance of things Believers see in Scripture as against the fabric of teachings is obvious to most. If you want to call that ‘judging,’ then perhaps there would be acceptable to many. Abhor what is evil is direction we all realize is an imperative statement.
The interesting thing about Jesus’s life is that the Left and Right of the time He walked on this earth, the Sadducees and Pharisees, Jesus did not like or support either. As you know, Jesus called them out on many subjects, including hypocrisy.
If a person is outside the Kingdom, their citizenship is of this World. We know this person has not accepted Jesus and been baptized into Him. This person does not understand or know that ‘happiness’ is not the same as ‘joy’ for a citizen of the Gospel of the Kingdom/Heaven. The joy we should experience now, and I cannot say I feel and share that all the time due to the fleshly desires, but so many feel the only thing is what they have to look forward to in the next life, but I would suggest they are missing today what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ and to be a part of the Kingdom. Regardless of what happens in this life, our hope and the promise of Sanctification when Jesus returns gives us nothing but pure joy, or it should.
Those outside the Body of Christ will be judged, just as you and I will be when Jesus returns. The challenge of discernment on what is good and what is evil carries with it a responsibility to share the Good News as we go into the World. Some will accept, but many if not most, will reject it. Jesus experienced the very same, so we should not expect anything different.
As I approach the throne of God every day, my prayer always includes asking the Holy Spirit to guide me and all other Believers, so that by our Words, Example and Deeds, others would be drawn to the Kingdom, a light on the hill, a lamp unto their feet. God did not put us here to make the World a better place, but rather to be the better place in the World. (think I first heard that from Dr John Nugent) It was what he wanted from the Israelites, but never received. The question we have to ask is...are we doing that daily? If our desire is to be the better place in the World, judging or discernment would not deserve the amount of attention the subject receives.
Thanks for the opportunity to share feedback!
Thanks for sharing your insights. Lots of good truths.
Delete