How many
times have you heard someone whine, "Judge not, that ye be not
judged?" This verse of Scripture from Matthew 7:1 is often quoted out of
context by people who are terrified at the idea of someone preaching against sin
or pointing out any form of error in anyone, especially in themselves.
As I stood
in a voting line one day I overheard a woman justifying her foolish choice for
president by saying, "Well, we aren't supposed to judge." Imagine
that! Choosing NOT to judge a political candidate on election day! No wonder
our nation is in such a mess!
As for
Matthew 7:1, the context (verses 1-5) allows judging after you have first
judged YOURSELF. Jesus did not make a blanket statement against judgment. He
simply pointed out a RULE for judging.
Now, the
word "judge" in its various forms (judgeth, judging, judgment,
judges, etc) is found over 700 times in God's word. One whole book of the Bible
is titled "Judges" for it was written at a time when God raised up
judges to lead His people.
As we are
about to see, God EXPECTS His people to judge. In fact, you are sinning against
God if you refuse to judge! (Read that again, please)
God Expects
Us to Judge
"The
mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of
judgment." (Psa. 37:30) A righteous person will talk of judgment. He will
not REFUSE to judge. He will talk judgment.
"Seek
good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall
be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish
judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious
unto the remnant of Joseph." (Amos 5:14-15) How can you hate the evil and
love the good if you refuse to judge? You can't. You are SINNING when you refuse
to judge.
Our
generation is well described in Isaiah 59:8: "The way of peace they know
not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked
paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace." People have refused
to judge, so there is no peace.
Paul said in
I Corinthians 1:10 to ". . . be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment." Why would Paul make such a statement if judging
is wrong? In I Corinthians 2:15 Paul says, "But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." Judging is not a sin;
judging is a characteristic of being a spiritual person! Satan has been lying
to us, hoping that we will NOT judge, because he knows that the right kind of
judgment PLEASES God and betters our lives and Christian service.
Someone
says, "But should we judge PEOPLE?" Yes, we certainly should. Paul
actually REBUKES the Corinthians for NOT judging: "Dare any of you, having
a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the
saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world
shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye
not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge
who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that
there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge
between his brethren?" (I Cor. 6:1-5) If judging is wrong, then Paul needs
to confess and repent for misleading these Christians! He clearly told them to
JUDGE PEOPLE.
If judging
people is wrong, how can we obey Romans 16:17-18? II Corinthians 6:17? II
Timothy 3:5-6? I John 4:1? Friend, if judging is wrong, then God has
contradicted Himself and His words cannot be trusted!
Notice
Malachi 3:18: "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."
WOW! Does that sound like it is wrong to judge?
What about
Revelation 2:2? " I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and
how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say
they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:" Why would the
Lord be pleased with these Christians if judging was wrong? Is it not
impossible to find someone a "liar" without judging them?
If the Bible
is clear about anything, it is clear about the importance of judging on a
regular basis in order to properly serve and honor God. To ignore this fact is
to ignore all of the Scripture just presented and also the rest of the Bible.
God expects us to judge.
God's Rules
for Judging
Now I do not
wish to imply that we should spend all of our time judging. Sometimes people
judge when they have no business doing so. In John 7:24 Jesus tells us to judge
RIGHTEOUS judgment. This can only be done by following the rules that God has
established in His word. Here follow seven good rules from Scripture:
Judge Scripturally
Isaiah 8:20
says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them." Our standard is God's
word, not our feelings, our traditions, or our opinions. Right and wrong should
always be determined by God's word.
Don't Judge
When God's Word Is Silent
If God's
word is silent about a subject, then you may not have to judge at all. Don't
rush to judgment on an issue when the Bible says very little or is silent about
it. Don't make more of a matter than God makes of it. A good example of this is
found in Colossians 2:16: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath
days:" That is, these are not subjects of great importance today, so let's
not make these great issues of judgment.
Pray for
Good Judgement Ability
When Solomon
received his kingdom he asked God to "Give therefore thy servant an
understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" (I Kings 3:9)
James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." We should pray for good judgment ability.
Don't
Respect Persons
Proverbs
24:23 says, "These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have
respect of persons in judgment." Treat all parties fairly without favoring
anyone, such as family members or friends. A truly fair judge is blind and deaf
to any outer influence. (Isa. 42:1, 19-21)
Judge in
Truth
Do not judge
another when you do not have all the relevant facts. Jeremiah 5:1 says,
"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and
know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be
any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon
it." A true judge is one who seeks the truth. If you must judge, be sure
and get all the facts. A Japanese proverb says to "search seven times
before you judge."
Judge
Mercifully
Remember the
words of Jesus in Matthew 7:2: "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall
be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you
again." You'll reap what you sow (Gal. 6:7-8). If you are swift and harsh
in judging others, then God will see to it that you receive the same from
others. Has God not been very merciful to you, even though you deserved it not?
Likewise, you should exercise mercy toward others.
Don't Forget
to Judge Yourself
I
Corinthians 11:30-31: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."
If you are a true Christian, then you belong to God. You are God's child. If
you refuse to judge and improve yourself as a child of God, then God will take
it upon Himself to judge you. Many of the troubles that we face in life are
nothing more than God's way of judging us since we often neglect to judge
ourselves.
Wouldn't it be amazing if every Christian actually took time to judge
themselves before judging anyone else? In Matthew 7:4-5, Jesus says, " Or
how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;
and, behold, a beam 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
out of thy brother's eye." A good judge will not fail to judge himself.
