I recently observed two individuals having a loud public argument. One man was pointing out an obvious sin the other was committing. The accused individual was screaming, “You have no right to judge me. You have no right to judge me.” I am sure the only reason he did not add, “The Bible says do not judge” was the fact he was not a Christian. This was certainly not the appropriate venue or method for addressing sin. For believers Jesus said, If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private (Mat 18:15). However, in our present-day world, often the response comes, “you have no right to judge me. The Bible say do not judge.” The truth is that we do have a right and a duty to judge.
The most out-of-context verse in the Bible is probably; do not judge (Matt 7:1). Increasingly, it is taken to the extreme by many who fear even pointing out false doctrine being propagated in the name of Christianity. Last year, a televangelist disassociated his organization with a fellow minster for bringing attention to those who were mixing Christian and Muslim beliefs. He defended his disassociation by announcing, “We do not judge! We just love.” One of the failures of the church today is lack of judgment. Political correctness has pressured some churches to replace judgment with tolerance. Non-Christians are offended when Christians say that Jesus is the only means of salvation. Do I really ‘love’ someone if I do not point this out? Jesus said, A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit (Luke 6:39)? But is it not, a worse sin to see and allow a spiritually blind person to fall into the pits of hell, because we fear it is judging?
The first problem with quoting do not judge, is the fact this is not the entire verse. Second, even when people know the complete verse, they do not connect it with the verses that follow—the context. If they did, they would see that Jesus was not making a blanket statement against judging. He was pointing out the rule for judging. He was addressing the issue of hypocritical judgment. 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 . . .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 (Mat 7:3, 5). Before Christians make a judgment, they must first judge themselves and get any logs (sins) out of their eye. Then they have the right to judge their brother who has an issue, which they can help him remove.
The word “judge” in its various forms is found over 700 times in the Bible. It means to distinguish, that is, decide (mentally or judicially), to conclude, condemn, determine, call in question, or think. Simply put, judging is the distinguishing of good from evil, righteousness from unrighteousness, and right from wrong. So what is the purpose of judging? First and foremost, the motivation is restoration of a fellow believer who is committing sin. In addition, it is judging between false doctrine and clear biblical truth in order to warn others.
Another rule is that we must judge with righteousness judgment. Jesus commanded, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (Jn. 7:24). In other words, judge by the Word of God and not your emotions, cultural norms, or your unfounded suspicions. Be sure you have all the facts. Is the person violating the teaching of Scripture? Paul chastised the church at Corinth for not judging. I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers (1Co 6:5)? He said earlier in this letter, The person with the Spirit [the spiritual person] makes judgments about all things . . . (1Co 2:15). Rather than being a sin, this verse says judging is a characteristic of a spiritual person.
Jesus gave the steps for judging a fellow believer who has sinned. Go to him privately, if he will not listen, take two or three other believers, and if he still refuses, bring him before the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you (Matt 18:17). Paul goes even further in Corinth; I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved (1Corin 5:5). Note Paul’s purpose, that his spirit may be saved.
We must not allow the opinions of the world to intimidate us. We have the responsibility of calling attention to false doctrine. When Christians buy into the politically correct idea of moral relativism, what is good for you may not be good for me, they are being deceived. If we stop judging and using common sense, we will reach the point of being unable to distinguish right from wrong. Darkness and light will become a milky gray muck. Ezekiel gave Israel a strong warning, But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes . . . his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand (Eze 33:6). Watchmen had to judge if those approaching were friends or enemies. If the watchman judged them as enemies, he was required to warn the people.
We are all watchman over someone. Parents must teach their children how to judge what is good and what is evil. Christians in the spirit of love must judge with righteous judgment and warn fellow believers when they have sinned. Pastors as watchman must judge those propagating false doctrine and warn their congregations.
SUSTAINING WORD FOR THE WEEK:
We are not executioners judging for revenge, but we are watchman judging what is false in order to warn of unbiblical teachings and judging in order to restore those who have sinned.